random observations from Jew of Malta

Barabus is kind of like the serial killer in the Saw movies: he doesn't necessarily commit the crimes (at first), but only constructs situations where death is impossible to avoid under the guise of a game. When Barabus "springs up" from the dead at the end of the play, it is similar to the first Saw movie where the serial killer, posing as a dead man on the floor throughout the movie, comes back to life, having orchestrated a twisted game.

If I were the director for a postmodern acting troupe, Playmakers or something similar, I think I'd stage this play in a very nihilistic tone. I'd play up all the comic elements and all the absurdity, but paint it all within a very grime world with the imminent threat of destruction: In 3.5 Ferneze is discussing with the Callapine a possible pending war, ending by saying "And naught is to be looked for now but wars, / And naught to us more welcome is than wars." Earlier, in 1.2.105, Barabus says "of naught is nothing made." Despite all the absurdity over religion, money, race, Other, hypocrisy, etc. the characters of this play have constructed a world where there is a true outside threat, but concern of money and social status are more important to its characters, and they are all ultimately destroyed.

I found it really interested how Ithamore develops as Barabus's "imp." As the play progresses, Ithamore picks up more of Barabus's manerisms, language, etc. Barabus is constantly using pig and hog imagery in terms of disgust, a habit that Ithamore develops by the end of the play. While they seem to connect in their first shared scene, Ithamore's claims of debauchery all mirror Barabus's - indeed, it would appear Ithamore engineers a background that would appeal to Barabus. The best evidence of this involves Ithamore's word choice based on his audience - when alone, he speaks in elongated blank verse, when around Bellamira and Pilia-Borza he speaks as they do, and is always sycophantic towards Barabus; he mocks Pilia-Borza by reversing his own words against him, much like Barabus does by inverting scripture when insulting Christians.

Marlowe's language is really brilliant. When he satirizes his own poem ("be my love..."), he is at the height of black comedy, where truly nothing is off limits. When appealing to the two holy men, Barabus's language mimics that of the Psalms, which would surly have moved the men's hearts. Barabus's bad imitation of a bad French attempt at English shows a great understanding of language, and even small word choices, like when Barabus exclaims "Corpe di dio!" show deep levels of meaning - how insulting it would have been for a Jew, and especially a Jew named Barabus, the name of the man exchanged for Christ, to cry out "the corpse of [and note he uses a lower case 'd' in 'dio'] god!"

Jewish Persecution

Why is it that, throughout most of modern history, the Jew has been object of criticism, of persecution, and of hate? Both The Merchant of Venice and The Jew of Malta give satirical examples of the Renaissance view of Jews - but in this satire seems to be a hint of truth. Blamed for the death of Christ, it seems Jews have been more hated in the last two thousand years than any other socio/religious/ethnic group. The Holocaust and the current situation between Israel and Pakistan (and the history leading up to said conflict) are very obvious examples of the persecution of Jews, but the stereotype of Jew as money hungry, greedy, etc. have existed at least since the Renaissance, if not before, as is evident from our class texts. Even today most people can think of a handful of jokes about Jews, and these are still associations between Jews and money, especially jobs involving money, as is displayed by our current pop culture: shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy poke jokes, Jerry Seinfeld has based a large part of his comedic success, etc. While these representations aren't necessarily malicious, they do hearken back to a time when such accusations were meant to do harm. Why are Jews such a popular target?

Demonizing the Jew

I found it interesting how Marlowe decides to demonize Barabus - quite literally even. Barabus often references the fact that he is "framed of finer mould than common men...For evils are apt to happen every day." At the start of the play, Machevill says that Barabus' "money was not got without my means." Their tie is more closely exposed a few lines later: "And let him not be entertained the worse / Because he favours me." Given the Machiavellian stereotype - willing to do anything to succeed, even the ruthless and immoral - one could argue the evilness of the Machevill in this play. In fact, one might view Machevill as the devil, and Barabus as having sold his soul - he does in fact have much more wealth than anyone else, enough even to buy the entire island of Malta, but doesn't wish to do anything with it but hoard it. And if Barabus is a minor demon of the satan Machevill, I guess that makes Ithamore a sort of imp, willing to do his master's bidding, his dirty work, if you will (like poisoning a nunnery...). In fact, I think Marlowe uses the dialouge between Barabus and the other jews to set Barabus apart from jews in general as a particularly evil figure; he is evil for evil's sake, not because he is jewish, as is supported by the stark contrast between Barabus and the other jews in the play.