The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 16.0275  Friday, 11 February 2005

[1]     From:   Charles Weinstein <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Thursday, 10 Feb 2005 19:22:49 -0500
        Subj:   Bassanio

[2]     From:   JD Markel <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Thursday, 10 Feb 2005 10:28:43 -0800 (PST)
        Subj:   Re: SHK 16.0237 Bassanio


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Charles Weinstein <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Thursday, 10 Feb 2005 19:22:49 -0500
Subject:        Bassanio

I've always liked the mocking way that Olivier's Shylock pronounces his
name:  "Base Ay-Nigh-O"

--Charles Weinstein

[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From:           JD Markel <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Thursday, 10 Feb 2005 10:28:43 -0800 (PST)
Subject: 16.0237 Bassanio
Comment:        Re: SHK 16.0237 Bassanio

Mr. Pierpont writes:

"Does anyone else out there find the character of Bassanio as
problematic as I do?"

He knows what he wants and how to get it.

"However, the homosexual subtext in the play is as strong as could have
slipped by the Master of Revels, and in that context, isn't Bassanio,
well, a bit of a whore?"

For one, you can read parts of Stephen Orgel's "Impersonations..." to
discover that Shakespeare's plays were relatively prim among his
contempories on homosexuality.

"Is there a good critical source for the above-mentioned subtext?  I've
asked my high school seniors to make note of the lines that hint at a
love relationship between Bassanio and Antonio, and they're finding
quite a bit, much more than a "normal" friendship could account for."

I wouldn't do that.  Let them discover it themselves.

Young students' interests may also be piqued with projects like "Does
Lorenzo love Jessica? Why or why not?" or "Whose love is not complicated
by money?"

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