Throughout the centuries, no great work of literature has been more contentious than Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Far from a monolithic, anti-semitic work, it is as varied and nuanced as any of Shakespeare’s other works and may rank among his greatest plays. In this class, run by Mitchell Brown, we will do a very close reading of Shakespeare’s play and determine how much of its notoriety is justified. For the first class please try and read the first act. Any edition of the play will do, but the Folger is particularly recommended.