Summary of the play JEW OF MALTA

                                                                JEW OF MALTA

                                             







                                                                   Summary


 The play opens with a Prologue narrated by Machevill, a caricature of the author Niccolo Machiavill. Machevill  explains that he is presenting the tragedy of a Jew (Barabas) who has become rich by following Machiavelli's teachings.

       Opens with a Jewish merchant, Barabas, waitings for news about the return of his ships from the east. Three Jews arrive to inform him that they must go to the senate-house to meet the governor Ferneze.  There, Barabas discovers that all Jew on the island must forfeit half of their estate to help the government of Malta to pay tribute to the Turks. When Barabas refuses at this unfair treatment, Ferneze forces him to forfeit his entire fortune and convert his house into a convent. Barabas swears revenge but first attempts to recover some of his hidden wealth in his house.  Hi daughter Abigail pretends to covert to Christianity so she can enter th convent to smuggle  out the hidden gold from the floorboards.

        Ferneze meets with DelBosco, the Spanish Vice-admiral, who wishes to sell Turkish slaves in the market place.  Del Bosco convinces Ferneze to break his alliance with the Turks in return for Spanish protection.  In the market place Barabas meets Ferneze's son Lodowick who has heard from his friend Mathias of Abigail's beauty.   He realizing that he can use Lodowick to exact revenge to Ferneze, Barabas promises the young man that Abigail will marry him.  While at the Market Barabas buys a slave called Ithamore who  also hates Christians as much his master does. 

         Barabas and Ithamore both hats Christians and Christianity. 

         Mathias sees Barabas talking to Lodowick and suspects they are talking about Abigail.  Barabas promises Abigail to him as well, setting the two friends against one another. 

         Barabas instructs Abigail to become engaged to Lodowick to make Mathias  jealous.  Ithamore hands a forged letter to Mathias  allegedly from Lodowick, challenging him to a duel.

         In act III introduces the prostitute Bellamira and her pimp Pilia Borza,  who decide that they will steal some of Barabas's gold since business has been dull. Ithamore meets Bellamira and instantly falls in love with her.  Mathias and Lodowick kill each other in the duel orchestrated by Barabas.  Ferneze and Mathias 's mother vows revenge on the perpetrator of their son's murders.  Abigail learns from Ithamore that her father is responsible for the two young men's death.  Betrayed by her father, Abigail, with the help of friar Jacomo reenter the convent but, this time for real. Furious at Abigail's action Barabas decides to poison the nuns at the convent.  He instructs Ithamore to deliver poisoned rice.

         At the convent the nuns are all poisoned.  Abigail enters, close to death and confesses to Jacomo her father's involvement in Lodowick and Mathias's deaths.  Jacomo cannot share this information since it was revealed during a confession.

         Jacomo and a fellow friar arrive to confront Barabas.  Barabas realizes that Abigail has confessed his crimes to Jacomo.  In order to distract the two priests from their task, Barabas pretends that he wants to convert to Christianity and give all his money to which monastery he joins. 

          The two friars start fighting in order to get the Jew to join their own religious houses.  Ithamore strangles the other friar and they frame Jacomo for his murder.  Ithamore drunkenly confesses his master's crimes to Bellamjra.  She decides to report them to the governor after Barabas has given her his money.  Barabas poisons Bellamira her pimp and Ithamore for their treachery.  

          Bellamira confess Barabas's crimes to Ferneze.  Shortly  after, Bellamira, Pilia Borza and Ithamore die.  Barabas fakes his own death and escapes to find Calymath ( Turkish leader) .  Barabas tells Calymath how best to storm the town of Malta.  The Turks successfully storm the town and make Barabas the governor.  Barabas tells Ferneze that he will free Malta from Turkish role and kill Calymath in exchange for a large amount of money Ferneze agrees.

          Barabas invites Calymath to his house for dinner ( with a motive to kill him) .  But , Ferneze kills  Barabas in the boiling Cauldron meant for Calymath.  Ferneze tells Calymath that he is a prisoner on the island untill the Ottoman emperor agrees to free the town of Malta.

 

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