It Is a Happiness to Be in Debt”. Digital Approaches to the Culture of Paradox in Early Modern Drama

In light of the significant innovations introduced by the digital turn in Shakespeare Textual Studies, this chapter invites reflection on how an open-access archive of machine-readable versions of paradoxes, like CEMP, may afford deeper insights into Shakespearean drama in relation to the early modern episteme. Focusing on the notion of debt as a rich source of paradox in Renaissance culture, as most notably exemplified by William Cornwallis’ “That It Is a Happiness to Be in Debt”, the chapter shows the broad hermeneutic horizons that digital resources may open up in the analysis of debt-related discursive practices in Shakespeare, taking The Merchant of Venice as a case in point. From this perspective, light is shed on the playwright’s exploration of paradox as a powerful dramatic instrument to contrast different viewpoints, cultural attitudes and competing value systems on stage. Delving further into debt discourse, the chapter ultimately draws attention to how established assumptions regarding the value of money and human relationships in a rising capitalist society are problematised by Shakespeare, with a view to unveiling the disturbing ambiguities and inconsistencies beneath the monetary ethos of a market-inflected universe that acquires particular relevance in relation to the socio-cultural and ethical conflicts underpinning the play.