Michael Morpurgo has denied a Sunday Times report that he “refused” to include The Merchant of Venice in a forthcoming Shakespeare anthology for children due to antisemitism. The Merchant of Venice famously features the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who demands a pound of flesh from the merchant Antonio if a loan is not repaid by his deadline. Morpurgo was quoted as saying: “The play can be antisemitic … I did feel this was Shakespeare’s play and I could not tell it honestly. “To be honest with you, The Merchant of Venice is not a play I enjoy myself. “There are certain plays, and The Merchant of Venice is one of them, that I believed would not resonate with eight-year-olds.

Source: The Guardian January 04, 2021 16:18 UTC