- F. Murray Abraham: The Merchant of Venice is hardly what we see as a comedy today. It's a play with dark shadows and the character that casts the longest one is Shylock. Shylock will not go away because we haven't answered his questions. We can't explain why we persecute differences, why we reject the outsider, why we refuse to see each other's humanity.
- Prof. Justin Champion: Shakespeare's world is one that's defined in binary opposites. We're good Protestants, everybody else is evil.
- F. Murray Abraham: What would you do if you were despised? If you were ridiculed, humiliated, resented? If you had the chance to take revenge, would you? This is the choice facing one of Shakespeare's most vilified characters, Shylock.
- F. Murray Abrahm: Do you think Shakespeare knew any Jews?
- Prof. Justin Champion: That's really a tough question, and obviously if he had met any Jews in London, they would have had to have been pretending to be Christians. So, unless he was deeply friendly with them and perhaps went back to their homes, he wouldn't have known they were Jews. Since 1290, when the Jews were expelled by Edward I, there technically shouldn't have been any practicing Jews in the whole of England.