A new film adaptatn of Shakpeare's The Merchant of Venice rais the ntroversial qutn of whether the tle character was gay.
Contents:
- IS THERE ANY EVINCE FOR A GAY RELATNSHIP THE MERCHANT OF VENICE?
- WAS THE MERCHANT OF VENICE GAY?
- STAGE REVIEW: ‘THE MERCHANT OF VENICE’ TAK A GAY PATH TO TRAGEDY
- IS THERE ANY EVINCE FOR A GAY RELATNSHIP THE MERCHANT OF VENICE?
IS THERE ANY EVINCE FOR A GAY RELATNSHIP THE MERCHANT OF VENICE?
The RSC webse has a 1965 productn wh "the unmistakeable suggtn of a homosexual dimensn to the relatnship between Bassan and Anton". It uld be showg them as gay or bisexual, or uld jt be showg the difference male iendships across different plac and tim. More direct discsn of queerns - or jt bg the bullet and showg the characters as gay - seems to start the late 1970s, gog by Joseph Pequey's The Two Antons and Same-Sex Love Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice (PDF).
A new film adaptatn of Shakpeare's The Merchant of Venice rais the ntroversial qutn of whether the tle character was gay. "He's not sayg they're gay or they're straight, he's leavg up to his actors. I didn't want to be a homosexual love bee that's an easy optn.
"Obvly you n emphasise one thg or another, " he Herman Gallob says Shakpeare scholars have not generally nsired a homosexual motivatn for is the thor of Me and Shakpeare: Adventur wh the says he would attribute the kiss to "directorial licence".
WAS THE MERCHANT OF VENICE GAY?
The homoerotic unrtone of Anton and Bassan’s relatnship is easily discsed by analyzg the ditn and claratns of love by Anton bee he do not have a heterosexual romantic relatnship to unteract agast his love for Bassan. Rememberg that Bassan’s relatnships take place durg a time when homosexualy is a s and a punishable crime, the dience n translate Bassan’s actns as the actns of one who is assumed heterosexual by societal flt. Shakpeare has ma clear that the path to Bassan’s heterosexual love nnot seperate self om Anton’s homosexual love.
STAGE REVIEW: ‘THE MERCHANT OF VENICE’ TAK A GAY PATH TO TRAGEDY
Here the word love, rarely ed the erotic form wrg of the perd, do not seem to suggt any homosexualy between the men. I have e up on a hypothis that Anton is gay and Bassan is a bisexual. I nclu that Anton is gay bee he lov and ador Bassan, Bassan is bisexual bee he lov both Anton and Portia.
" If you're lookg for somethg to hang your Anton-is-gay terpretatn on, might be Anton's "distaste" for the ia of a girliend.
Is there any evince for a gay relatnship The Merchant of Venice? There are many, many quotatns that reveal the homosexual relatnship.
IS THERE ANY EVINCE FOR A GAY RELATNSHIP THE MERCHANT OF VENICE?
His "extremt means" is, of urse, his an, suggted by the reference to "his person" which he is unlockg for Bassan's e for the first time as homosexual rol are reversed.