<P> In his essay "Brothers and Others", published in The Dyer's Hand, W.H. Auden describes Antonio as "a man whose emotional life, though his conduct may be chaste, is concentrated upon a member of his own sex ." Antonio's feelings for Bassanio are likened to a couplet from Shakespeare's Sonnets: "But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure, / Mine be thy love, and my love's use their treasure ." Antonio, says Auden, embodies the words on Portia's leaden casket: "Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath ." Antonio has taken this potentially fatal turn because he despairs, not only over the loss of Bassanio in marriage, but also because Bassanio cannot requite what Antonio feels for him . Antonio's frustrated devotion is a form of idolatry: the right to live is yielded for the sake of the loved one . There is one other such idolator in the play: Shylock himself . "Shylock, however unintentionally, did, in fact, hazard all for the sake of destroying the enemy he hated; and Antonio, however unthinkingly he signed the bond, hazarded all to secure the happiness of the man he loved ." Both Antonio and Shylock, agreeing to put Antonio's life at a forfeit, stand outside the normal bounds of society . There was, states Auden, a traditional "association of sodomy with usury", reaching back at least as far as Dante, with which Shakespeare was likely familiar . (Auden sees the theme of usury in the play as a comment on human relations in a mercantile society .) </P> <P> Other interpreters of the play regard Auden's conception of Antonio's sexual desire for Bassanio as questionable . Michael Radford, director of the 2004 film version starring Al Pacino, explained that although the film contains a scene where Antonio and Bassanio actually kiss, the friendship between the two is platonic, in line with the prevailing view of male friendship at the time . Jeremy Irons, in an interview, concurs with the director's view and states that he did not "play Antonio as gay". Joseph Fiennes, however, who plays Bassanio, encouraged a homoerotic interpretation and, in fact, surprised Irons with the kiss on set, which was filmed in one take . Fiennes defended his choice, saying "I would never invent something before doing my detective work in the text . If you look at the choice of language...you'll read very sensuous language . That's the key for me in the relationship . The great thing about Shakespeare and why he's so difficult to pin down is his ambiguity . He's not saying they're gay or they're straight, he's leaving it up to his actors . I feel there has to be a great love between the two characters...there's great attraction . I don't think they have slept together but that's for the audience to decide ." </P> <P> The earliest performance of which a record has survived was held at the court of King James in the spring of 1605, followed by a second performance a few days later, but there is no record of any further performances in the 17th century . In 1701, George Granville staged a successful adaptation, titled The Jew of Venice, with Thomas Betterton as Bassanio . This version (which featured a masque) was popular, and was acted for the next forty years . Granville cut the clownish Gobbos in line with neoclassical decorum; he added a jail scene between Shylock and Antonio, and a more extended scene of toasting at a banquet scene . Thomas Doggett was Shylock, playing the role comically, perhaps even farcically . Rowe expressed doubts about this interpretation as early as 1709; Doggett's success in the role meant that later productions would feature the troupe clown as Shylock . </P> <P> In 1741, Charles Macklin returned to the original text in a very successful production at Drury Lane, paving the way for Edmund Kean seventy years later (see below). </P>

When was the merchant of venice first performed