“The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes.” The Comedy of Errors (Act 5, Scene 4) Shakespeare is no saint. All of his plays have a little something against our "modern values", and honestly, it's irrational to be surprised. The "Bard of Avon", inventor of most of modern vocabulary, lived from 1564 to 1616. Society four hundred years ago upheld different beliefs and ideals, some which we have retained today, but even more that we 'pooh-pooh' or find straight-up offensive. Elizabethan theatre was...quite a big deal Fiction is a reflection of fact, and fact is a reflection of fiction. When we bring up various issues in Shakespeare's works, are we critiquing the playwright, or the society he was lived in? Case in point: Merchant of Venice. Rampant antisemitism against Shylock the Jewish moneylender. When his daughter elopes and converts to Christianity, it is shown as a positive outcome and an ideal "happy ending". Portia, the oh-so-smar...
Irreverent | Irrelevant | Irrational