Beginning of Essay
Auden, W.H. "Brothers and Others." "The Dyer's Hand" and Other Essays. New York: Random House, 1948. In a casual but seminal essay on the play, Auden calls The Merchant of Venice one of Shakespeare's "Unpleasant Plays." The presence of Antonio and Shylock disrupts ....

Middle of Essay
.... hatred from Venice would ruin its innocence. (Paradise lost.) Alas, as Auden suggests, there are no utopias. In Venice, time is of the essence. If one were to momentarily forget the real world, one would be trampled down by its massive stampede of events, bonds, et cetera constantly being made, ubiquitously in its domain. Shylock and Antonio are just one pair of culprits adding to the ultimate imperfection of Venice. However, the bond made between Shylock and Antonio sets them completely apart from the normal villainy dealings, "If you repay me not on such a day... let the forfeit / Be nominated for an equal pound / Of your fair flesh, to be cut off ....