The Merchant of Venice.

In the series of lectures on the Dramas of Shakespere, Mr. Clapp took, last night, the special topic of "The Merchant of Venice."

This play, written in 1596, is among the first of Shakespere's works comprising his second period--that of the comedies. It naturally divides itself into two parts, the story of the bond and the story of the casket, and the plot centres about Portia and Bassanio. The story of Shylock, although often considered the centre of the plot, in reality forms merely a supporting set of incidents. There is unhappily one great defect in the play, the anticlimactic effect of the last act. It was recognized by Booth, who omitted it in all his performances, and is generally attributed to Shakespere's comparative inexperience in comedy writing.

In regard to the characters, Shylock is unique in illustrating the passion of pure hatred. In the first act he is led partly by avarice, but as the play progresses his hatred for the race of Christians, represented by his enemy, Bassanio, drives him to the act of pure hatred which results in Bassanio's signing the bond. Yet there is something in the character of Shylock which almost invariably arouses sympathy and pity, because Shakespere created a Jew whose actions, though despicable, are clearly the result of the treatment of unfaithful Christians.

The character of Portia is built on a larger plan than any of Shakespere's other heroines. She anticipated the modern conception of the ideal woman and has the combination of those qualities which are opposite to each other but which are not contrary. In the same way the character of Bassanio may be called Shakespere's ideal of manhood. It is in these beautifully developed and idealistic but not visionary characters that the charm of the play lies.