Why did Shakespeare set his plays in Italy?

Answer 1

History suggests that the Merchant of Venice was set in Venice probably because Venice was a very popular city at the time the play was made. It could also do with the fact that the words Merchant and Venice sound good together.

When looking at Shakespeare's motives for setting the play in Venice, it may help to look at why 'Othello' was also set in Venice...

You may notice in Merchant of Venice how Shakespeare shows Venice as a state divided against itself - for example Christians resent the practice of usury, despite the fact that it is essential to their booming economy. Antonio spits on Shylock one minute, yet is asking for his help the next - Christian society at the time is shown to be ignorant of it's foundations, to the point of resenting them, and is therefore shown to be unstable.

Going back to the question - one reason the play could be set in Venice is so that Shakespeare could present his critical view of the Christian/Monarch situation in England at the time, without attracting censorship of his work by the English government.

Venice may also have been used as it has an element of mystery about it - bear in mind that few had been to exotic places such as Venice at the time, so it would've added an additional layer of mystery to the play.

Answer 2

There are a lot of plays which are at least partly set in Italy. The reason for this may well have to do with Shakespeare's sources. As a student in school, he would have been set Latin passages for translation, and these would have included Roman historians like Tacitus. We know that some of Shakespeare's plays derive directly from Tacitus. In addition, more modern Italian storytellers like Bocaccio and Ariosto were popular in England of that time, and many Italian stories found themselves translated, first into French and then from French to English (The Romeo and Juliet story followed this route).

Against a background of stories from ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy, it would make sense to use these familiar settings for original tales (Ancient Greece was another favourite, used by Shakespeare on six occasions). The Italians were thought of as sophisticated, cunning, devious and perhaps a little licentious. These qualities went well with comedies which relied on deceptions and sexual passion to drive the plot. Venice was a cosmopolitan place, making it a natural setting for plays that deal with race relations (Merchant of Venice and Othello)

Further, in writing comedies, Shakespeare avoided (with one exception) setting them in contemporary England. Perhaps he felt that a foreign setting made the play more exotic and helped the audience to get into it better. However, there were a lot of popular prejudices against various European peoples (the Spanish in particular were disliked having recently attempted to invade England) and of all of them the Italians were probably seen in the best light.

Answer 3

The Merchant of Venice and Othello are both set in Venice. Venice was well known as a commercial centre (hence the Merchant) and also as a place where people were subtle, sneaky and devious (like Iago).

Answer 4

Shakespeare chose Venice as Cyprus as settings for Othello, because in this story about racial tension, Othello had to be Moorish and dark-skinned. Those places had strong Moorish influences, and it was plausible for Othello to be stationed there.

Answer 5

Shakespeare took the elements of this story from a number of sources, none of which are set in Venice. He may have chosen Venice because it had a significant Jewish community, and he wanted to make Shylock a Jewish as opposed to Lombard moneylender. This may have had something to do with his acquaintance with Emilia (Bassano) Lanier, who is supposed to have been Jewish. Then again, Venice was known as a cosmopolitan commercial city, the kind of place where someone like Antonio might live. Venice also had a reputation as a city of intrigue, of covert plots and subtle schemes, but this does not have much to do with what goes on in the play. Or we may be trying to read too much into it--he may have chosen Venice because he liked the name.

Answer 6

Shakespeare set his plays in Italy because it wasn't very well known, anything could happen there.

Answer 7

The Merchant of Venice, of course, and also Othello.

Answer 8

I don’t know