Venice

About the lecture

In this module, we think about Venice as a key setting for the play and its significance at the time Shakespeare was writing, focusing in particular on: (i) the historical inaccuracies in Shakespeare’s portrayal of Venice, e.g. his (apparent) lack of knowledge about the Jewish ghetto in the city, and what Renaissance Venice was actually like; (iii) the impact of the Renaissance on European art, literature, religion, economics and education, and how these changes are reflected in the play; (iv) the idea of Venice as a cultural melting pot, in which people of different ethnicities are mixed together; (v) the importance of money-lending and credit in the play; (vi) the importance of Jews to the money-lending industry in 16th-century Venice; (vii) Shakespeare’s personal experience of money-lending; and (viii) the sheer amount of money that is lent and borrowed in the play.

About the lecturer

Dr Sophie Duncan is Fellow in English at Christ Church, University of Oxford. She is an expert on Shakespeare in performance, and in the broader fields of theatre history and the performance of gender and race. Her books include SHAKESPEARE’S WOMEN AND THE FIN DE SIÈCLE (Oxford University Press, 2016), described as "extraordinary .... a welcome antidote to prevailing assumptions" (Times Literary Supplement), and SHAKESPEARE’S PROPS (Routledge, 2019).

She has also published extensively on Victorian theatre and culture, from Jack the Ripper to the suffragettes, via Oscar Wilde and Ira Aldridge (the first African American actor to perform in Europe). With Rachael Lennon, she co-wrote WOMEN AND POWER: THE STRUGGLE FOR SUFFRAGE (National Trust Books: 2018). Her new edition of Henrik Ibsen’s A DOLL’S HOUSE will be published by Methuen early in 2020.

Sophie read English at Oriel College, Oxford, and received her doctorate from Brasenose, Oxford in 2013. In 2018, she was the National Trust’s advisor on their national programme marking the first hundred years of women’s suffrage in Britain. She has worked extensively in theatre, radio and television as a historical advisor, including the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, the Kiln, the New Vic, BBC Studios and Radio 4. She presented an episode of The Essay for BBC Radio 3 and has appeared on Woman’s Hour as well as numerous podcasts.