Quiz Guide: McEvoy on Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night (pages 164-174)

Merchant of Venice

• McEvoy says that while some critics found the end of Merchant of Venice lighthearted, they did so by glossing over the "uncomfortable" ending. What sorts of things did he mean?
• McEvoy summarizes the "queered kinship" reading of Merchant of Venice done by Geisweidt. What does he say marriage needs for validation, and why/how?
• What does McEvoy mean by "the inscription of power in language"?
• Define and discuss an example of a "marrano" in London in Shakespeare's lifetime.
• How did Jews live in the actual (not the literary) Renaissance Venice?
• McEvoy implies that because Antonio, not Shylock, is the hero, the real focus of the play is an economic one. Explain.
• What, according to Patrick Stewart, sets Shylock apart and why?
• McEvoy says Shylock resists or cannot participate in wordplay or "power over the meaning of words," which ultimately makes him a victim and outsider. Give an example from the book.
• Give an example of a "riddle" or a "quibble" in this play.
• Why, according to McEvoy, do we sympathize with Shylock?

Twelfth Night

• Give an example from the book of the Twelfth Night's concern with "identity, how we can tell who is who, and how words and names connect with the real world."
• How are puns similar to the "twinning" or "doubling" going on in Twelfth Night?
• Penny Gay suggests that some of the pleasure of Twelfth Night is being in on secret jokes, which gives us a shared power over some of the characters. Give an example.
• How, according to Terrence Hawkes, does Twelfth Night show "double vision"? Whose "single vision" is punished or discredited in the process?