Merchant of Venice Essay: Refuting the Critics -- Merchant Venice Ess

In The Jew of Venice, Granville takes up and refutes the principal subversions, in The Merchant of Venice that modern and postmodernist critics have imposed upon on the play.  Without its alleged contradictions, the play has a tight formalist structural unity, it focuses on an essentialist Platonic idea, and, resolving all conflicts, it ends in closure.              On the subject field of Antonios sadness, Granville picks up a clue that to my knowledge no modern critic has noticed.  In his methodizing process, he moved Antonios play-opening line--I know not why I am so sad--to Bassan- ios feast, between the toasts and the masque, and merged it with Jessicas fifth act misgiving--I am never merry when I hear sweet medicinal drug (5.1.69). Listening to the unison at his friends feast, Granvilles Antonio laments,                        & nbsp             O Bassanio           There sits a heaviness upon my heart           Which wine cannot remove  I know not           But music ever makes me thus. (2.2.35-38)   Lorenzos comforting answer to Jessica in act 5 of Shakespe ares play then becomes Bassanios comforting answer to Antonio act 2 of Granvilles           The reason is, your spirits are attentive     &nb... ... spoils.             In The Jew of Venice, Granville, who resides in Shakespeares own moral community, takes up and refutes the principal subversions, leaks, interrogations, and dark shadows in The Merchant of Venice that modern and postmodern critics, working from what I beg are irrelevant post- capitalist prejudices, have imposed upon on the play.& nbsp Without its alleged contradictions, the play has a tight formalist structural unity, it focuses on an essentialist Platonic idea, and, resolving all conflicts, it ends in closure.  Unless there are other reasons than those commonly given for alleging that The Merchant of Venice is multivalent and plural in meaning, we will have to assume, for the time being at least, that it isnt.