The quality of mercy is not strained
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes. ’Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes
The thronéd monarch better than his crown.
– The Merchant of Venice, Act 4 Scene 1
For those of us interested in current debates about English/British identity and modern culture and with a particular interest in how our national literary heritage is taught in British schools, it is not hard to be struck by the appropriateness of the timing of Pope Francis’s Jubilee Year of Mercy in the 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death.
