BOSTON – Is “The Merchant of Venice” anti-Semitic? Scholars, directors, actors, and theatergoers continue to debate that question and diverge greatly in their interpretations of the play written by William Shakespeare in 1596. As reported in Smithsonian Magazine, late Shakespeare expert Harold Bloom wrote in “Shakespeare and the Invention of the Human,” his 1998 book, … Continue reading At its core, ‘The Merchant of Venice’ remains anti-Semitic