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3 unusual facts about The Jew of Malta


The Jew

The anti-Jewish tradition on the English stage dates back at least to the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and is exemplified by the characters of Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Barabas in Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta.

The Jew of Malta

It is also quoted in Ernest Hemingway's 1950 novel Across the River and into the Trees, as well as referred to in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.

It is an often quoted line, also appearing in Nicholas Monsarrat's 1951 novel, The Cruel Sea, where it is used to underscore the blunt tragedies of war- the novel cuts off a side story of a romance, and the protagonist quotes the line, bitterly, as the main storyline resumes.



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