Merchants of Venice in A Knack to Know an Honest Man.

Knack to Know an Honest Man, A (Book); Merchants in literature; Drama criticism; Literary settings; Merchant of Venice, The (Play : Shakespeare); Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616; Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.); English drama (Comedy); Social conditions in England; Sixteenth century

Venice (Italy); Italy; England

The article argues that the Venetian setting of the play "A Knack to Know an Honest Man" allows the comedy to resolve ideas about trade and merchants in a way that would not be possible, and indeed was not, in other plays set in England and treating trade in the sixteenth century. The author considers the idea that the play could have been influenced by William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice."