Shylock and Marsyas

Although never before noted, The Merchant of Venice connects thematically and textually with the myth well-known in the Renaissance of the contest and punishment of the musician Marsyas. Shakespeare had access to many literary texts recounting the myth, and his culture was saturated with visual images of it. New interpretations are offered of certain specific details of those visual representations, which are then argued to link closely with surprising aspects of the play. The cultural history of musical taste as well as Classical and Renaissance mythography, philosophy and iconography are examined to bring these connections into focus. © 2014 © 2014 B.J. Sokol.