Visions of Venice in Shakespeare

Book excerpt: Despite the growing critical relevance of Shakespeare's two Venetian plays and a burgeoning bibliography on both The Merchant of Venice and Othello, few books have dealt extensively with the relationship between Shakespeare and Venice. This timely collection fills a gap in the literature, addressing the new historical, political and economic questions that have been raised in the last few years about early modern globalization, multiculturalism, and multiple social and ethnic identities.