Shylock's Ghost: "The pound of flesh, which I demand of him, Is dearly bought; 'tis mine and I will have it."

Another hour well spent. How many of us have heard the phrase "a pound of flesh" without knowing the source?

Imagine: Shylock's Ghost (BBC One; Autumn 2015)

Alan Yentob travels to the ghetto in Venice with award-winning novelist Howard Jacobson as he embarks on a retelling of Shakespeare's most performed play, The Merchant of Venice. Through a series of lively - often fiery - interviews, they examine the charge of anti-Semitism against Shakespeare, whose character Shylock remains one of the most odious and divisive fictional Jews in history.

How did the moneylender from Venice become such a useful propaganda tool in Nazi Germany? And how much of a liberty will Jacobson be taking when he uproots the action to modern-day Alderley Edge, and audaciously reinterprets the infamous 'pound of flesh'?

Interviewees include Antony Sher, Anthony Julius and Stephen Greenblatt.

This review of Jacobson's completed novel offers more context.

Shylock Is My Name review – Howard Jacobson takes on Shakespeare’s Venetian moneylender, by James Lasdun (The Guardian)

A bold retelling of The Merchant of Venice, set in 21st-century footballers’ Cheshire, subverts and enhances an appreciation of the original

The figure of the unassimilated Jew, defiantly “other” in skullcap, gabardine and fringed garment, has been a source of Gentile unease for centuries. It is what fuels the main plot of The Merchant of Venice, and its corollary – Jew-baiting – is what gives the play its uncomfortable immediacy. We know this story; its ramifications are still playing out: the Holocaust, Israel, Gaza. Part of its disquieting power, in Shakespeare’s telling, is its unstable moral perspective: are we watching a play about antisemitism, or an antisemitic play? Unlike Malvolio, whose expulsion from the festive world of Twelfth Night is a cause for straightforward rejoicing, Shylock’s fall leaves us jangling with unresolved emotion. Yes, he was going to cut his pound of flesh out of Antonio, but he had been provoked: spat upon, robbed of daughter and ducats, goaded beyond endurance. Although Portia gives him every chance to be merciful, there is something faintly shabby about the “no jot of blood” trick she pulls when he refuses (all it really shows is that he has been playing in a rigged game from the start), and there is something downright chilling about the sentence of forced conversion that follows. The last act tinkles on in Belmont without him, as if Shakespeare half wants us to forget this troubling figure before we leave the theatre, but it is the Belmont lovers we forget. Shylock lingers.

Howard Jacobson’s new novel, part of a series of Shakespeare retellings commissioned for the 400th anniversary of the bard’s death, makes bold use of this haunting persistence.

Shakespeare and the American elections.

Who else but The Economist would connect Bernie Sanders with the Bard?

Bernie Sanders, the modern-day Mark Antony, by Prospero (The Economist)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, that master of political theatre whose quatercentenary is upon us, will be delighted to see his most consummate speechmaker participating in the enormously entertaining 2016 American elections. Enter Bernie Sanders as Mark Antony. Friends, Americans, countrymen, lend us your ears.

The democratic socialist—who would certainly look distinguished in a majestically rumpled toga—and the Roman politician have much in common.

What they're saying: On school buses, prayers and the Bard.

As the weeks go past in route to May's primary election, I'm providing periodic candidate statements of substance, mostly unretouched, as lifted from social media and news reports. Familiar gems such as "yard signs win elections, not people" and "donate to my campaign first, and maybe I'll have something of merit to say much, much later" will be omitted. That's because it is my aim to determine whether our declared candidates have anything to say at all, and I'll quote all candidates, from any and all parties, whether or not they're in a contested race. Just promising change and new ideas without divulging them won't cut the mustard, aspirants.


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We begin with a housekeeping note. Incumbent at-large council members Shirley Baird and John Gonder, both Democrats, have updated their Facebook campaign pages. Gonder also still has his blog, and yesterday  -- perhaps in a nod toward this recent post at NAC -- he published a short piece about schools and public transit.

Food for Thought

Why not have an arrangement between the school system and TARC which uses TARC buses rather than school buses to transport students to and from school?

In a risky move seemingly designed to dissuade Dan Coffey from ever voting for her, Hannegan Roseberry (at-large council, Democrat) has chosen to speak publicly about ... Shakespeare.

Here is an excerpt; click through for the complete post.

Kentucky Shakespeare is bringing its parks tour production of "the Scottish Play" to New Albany's Bicentennial Park on Friday, April 24th at 8:00 pm. What a delight to look forward to! I am pleased that this event got scheduled as a result of a passing conversation between my family and a friend of ours who is an actor with Kentucky Shakespeare. We ran into him at a show in Louisville, he mentioned the tour, and my husband mentioned that the tour should come to New Albany, gave him some names of who he should talk to to get it scheduled, and voila: several weeks later, the schedule was released and we were thrilled to see New Albany had been added to the list!

Coincidentally, Coffey has his own Shakespearean prayer plot line coming tomorrow night, although screenwriting for The Dukes of Hazard comes closer to describing his resolution's overall intent. At-large candidate Al Knable (at-large, Republican) has thoughts on the matter.

It seems the current NA City Council is sailing into waters that have been charted many, many times before.

Like many of you, I have my religious beliefs. They are sacred to me. These beliefs, along with my parents, my life experiences and many secular readings have helped frame my personal behavioral codes. I take these moral and ethical bulwarks to work with me each day and would use them to guide me if elected to the City Council.

But as I would resist anyone imposing their religion upon me, I would not attempt to do so to anyone else.

The "moment for reflection" now held before Council meetings is a working compromise. I suggest leaving it in place and getting on with the actual work of governing our City.

A novel idea, this governing. Is that the same thing as ward heeling?

Democratic at-large hopeful Brad Bell provides today's coda.

The City Council will take up a resolution to re-adopt the saying of the Lords Prayer before every City Council Meeting. Dan Coffey brings the measure for a certain fail on Thursday's agenda. To say that i'm opposed to this resolution is an understatement. I personally think that the moment of reflection is a perfect compromise between the 2 sides. I do happen to agree with my opponent, John Gonder, that a Municipal building is not the place for a cross. I have no problem with organized religion, but there is, though greatly overlooked within the past several years, a separation of church and state in our country. Our founding fathers adopted this legislation for a reason and we have turned our back on it.

You can not cater to one religion over another in a matter such as this. We would literally be sitting through prayer after prayer for hours on end to cover the vast cultural diversity of our city. My opinion stands, that a moment of reflection is perfectly suitable during the start of the City Council meetings. Should I get elected, and should this resolution pass, it would be first on the list for immediate repeal.

Happy voting, folks.

A different kind of search for Shakespeare.

This video provides perspective as the Confidential household continues its watching of Michael Wood's 2003 series, In Search of Shakespeare.

"Anonymous," but in London, not NA.

At first I was disappointed. I was expecting it to be about the little people of New Albany.

But the movie was entertaining, and while I'm well aware of the controversies surrounding the screenplay, and know full well that a work of fiction need not be historically based, the fact remains that an important point is made: Words actually do matter -- just not those dispensed by Erika.