ittufiis
Daitger4
of Shakespeare's 'Merchant'
In a two-part article, which
appeared in recent issues of
Congress Weekly, Rufus Learsi,
one of the most 'prominent Jew-
ish authors of Our day, takes
issue with those who support
the staging *of "The Merchant
of Venice" in the theater and
those who would allow it to re-
main in our secondary schools.
Learsi, in "What Price 'The
Merchant?' " takes the follow-
ing stand on William Shake-
speare's famous and contro-
versial play:
"It is doubtful if, with the
exception of the Crucifixion
and • the blood libel, anything
in the category of a story or
legend has inflicted more in-
dignity and injury on the Jew-
ish people, than 'the Merchant
of Venice.'
"The figure of Shylock as the
typical Jew has penetrated
deep into popular fancy, and
the vernacular has been en-
dowed with loathsome phrases
like 'the pound of flesh,' that
are associated with him."
Learsi points out that while
the overwhelming majority of
people don't read Shake-
speare and don't go to
Shakespear e a it productions,
yet they derive phrases and
images which the play has
deposited. in the popular
mind.
Citing Charles and Mary
.Lamb's "Tales from Shak e-
speare," which has been used
for five generatiOns, since 1807,
as a guide to those who don't
.
necessarily ever read the orig-
inal, Learsi describes the two-
page illustration of Shylock in
the latest reprint in 1954, as
follows:
"The reader will find•. -. Shy-
lock in skullcap and grotesque
"The Epicure"
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gabardine, with long beard,
corkscrew earlocks and a fren-
zied look in his eye, advancing
knife in one hand and scales in
the other t _ o cut his pound of
flesh from a bare-chested An-
tonio' with Portia, lovely but
stern, coming to the rescue. It
is doubtful if Julius Streicher
ever had an uglier cartoon in
his `Stuermer.' "
But, Learsi adds that as much
as he strongly believes "The
Merchant" should be dropped
from theater repertoires for its
"anti-Jewish libel," the teach-
ing of the play in the secondary
school classrooms of the coun-
try is more ominous.
He devOtes his second article
:entirely to the latter problem.
Here, he concedes that there
are at least "anemic consola-
tions" to showing it on the
stag e: audiences are usually
more intelligent, the audience
is a voluntary assemblage, we
cannot suppress its performance
and not be guilty of halting
freedom of expression.
"When, however, we are. con-
fronted. with 'The Merchant' in
the classrooms," Learsi con-
tinues, "even those crumbs are
denied us."
He backs this up by showing
that boys and girls of this age
are not mature nor are they
critical, their 'attitudes are un-
formed, their minds are impres-
sionable.
His major point is that with
over 40 Shakespearean plays
to choose from, why should .
"The Merchant" be selected?
He says that the schoolchild
is a captive audience and
asks:
"If it's wrong to prevent peo-
ple from seeing 'The Merchant,'
is it right - to compel them to
see or *hear it?" .
He suggests that parents who
are concerned with the prob-
lem of exposing their children
to the play in the classroom
should form a group, as was
done in New , York, to make
their position known, in polite
terms, to school board officials
and school principals.
Chicagoan Likes
He says that even if a teacher
Local Congressmen
disagrees with views as to the
anti-Jewish character of the.
Editor, The Jewish News:
As a regular reader of the play, he will not make an issue
of it, but will select any of
Congressional Record, I have out
a dozen others instead.
followed the record's of all
members of Congress, I want
Detroit Jewish News-15
to congratulate the City of De-
Friday, March 23, 1956
troit for sending some. very
fine Representatives to Wash-
ington, among them Charles
Diggs, Martha Griffiths and
John Dingell.
These people exemplify the
highest ideals of our Democ-
racy, and we need more hu-
man-beings like them. I have
had the opportunity of writing
Cong. _ Dingell on several occa-
sions, and each time I have re-
ceived a heartwarming reply,
even though I am not a con-
stituent.
Let us join together and
express our deep appreciation
to these fine friends of our
people.
Jennie C. Loewenthal
7622 .N. Eastlake Tern*
Chicago 26, Ill.
I
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