Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
One of the most interesting and thought provoking characters in the
Merchant of Venice is Shylock. Throughout his five scenes in the play
he is looked down upon, betrayed, deserted, punished and humiliated by
Christian society, his daughter and all those that will eventually
need his money. His faith and his way of making a living are the
Christians' only justification for this treatment, yet even in his
alienation he is still, as we see later, constitute to Venetian Law.
Shylock's first appearance in the Merchant of Venice is in Act 1 Scene
3, where Bassanio is talking about Antonio taking out a loan on his
behalf. Shylock seems jovial in this first scene, before the
Christians start to heap insults upon him. I believe that this scene
may contain the only true indicator of Shylock's true demeanour, i.e.
an agreeable businessman. This view is unfortunately shattered by the
arrival of Antonio and his good credit rating.
Shylock hates Antonio, not only on principle, as the Christians hate
him, but also due to Antonio's own money lending activities and this,
his cardinal sin, of charging no interest. As Shylock says, "I hate
him for he is a Christian; but more, for in low simplicity he lends
out money gratis, and brings down the rate of usance here with us in
Venice."
Even now, you can recognise Shylock's hatred, firstly upon principle
of religion, and secondly hatred on behalf of his business, which may
be the most important thing to Shylock apart from his beloved
religion. The burden of his race gives Shylock both a sense of
righteous indignation and an overwhelming sense of ...
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... he ever want to marry Portia? By the end of
the play, I had almost forgotten that the only reason was because he
wanted a steady source of income without the hassle of working. I
believe that Bassanio may have been just as devious as Shylock. He
worked out that by showing his greed to Portia during the test, would
spell the end of the relationship. Portia could even have been in it
for greed. If not for money, then maybe different collateral, lust for
Bassanio could be interpreted as greed, could it not?
If you think about it, all the characters are driven by greed when you
get down to it. As I stated earlier, Shylock's race had little or
nothing to do with the outcome of the play. If he had been a Christian
moneylender, the same would have happened. In the end, the saying is
true: money is the root of all evil.
still a common view of Jews is for them to be penny pinching, both in
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice An ogre is according to the Collins Dictionary “a monstrous or cruel being” but more significantly as “something or someone who eats human flesh.” Is this how Shylock is portrayed in the play or is he a simple human being, a species capable of showing emotions and feelings such as vulnerability and love. Certainly, Shylock is presented to the audience in so powerful a way that even though he only appears in five scenes, many consider him the central character. Throughout the play Shylock appears to be the butt of all the jokes and many critics see his status in the play as the tragic hero.
‘villain’; he is a complex mix of both. In the first part of the play,
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Shylock's character in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' has long been a controversial subject- more so now than it was when the play was written in the late 16th Century. First performed in 1605, it seemingly conforms to the anti-semitic stereotypes towards Jews and their conduct but, unlike Shakespeare's rival's work ('The Jew of Malta) by Christopher Marlowe, the main Jewish character is attributed not only the negative traits associated with Jews at the time, but also a side that sees to show humanity. Therefore, in this essay, it is my aim to explore whether calling Shylock the villain in the play is justified or not based on his actions and those of the characters surrounding him (to see if there is evidence of provocation), and placing this into the context of Elizabethan England and thus coming to conclusions abut whether views towards the extent of his villainy have remained the same. The one single action in the play which seems most convictive of Shylock is his argument with argument over the lending of 3,000 ducats-and the penalty fixed in case of its late return in Act 3 scene 1.
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice "Shylock is a two dimensional villain who does not deserve our
Shylock as the Villain in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare wrote 'The Merchant of Venice' in about 1597. It was first performed by The Chamberlain's Men at the Theatre Shoreditch. The Merchant of Venice was in the repertory of Shakespeare's company before they took up residence at the Globe in 1599. The play was written as a comedy, but has become a serious drama.
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare features, Shylock a very controversial character due to his religion, profession and personal traits. Professionally Shylock lends money to people in debt, in order to gain interest and profit. Although, this is very much central to our modern way of life, in the Elizabethan period, money lending was not accepted as an acceptable profession. Throughout "The Merchant of Venice" Shylock is portrayed as menacing, inhumane and slightly eccentric, yet at times misunderstood and induces sympathy from the reader.
get his own back, as the text says; 'Cursed be my tribe if I forgive
Antonio, in which he gets to cut off a pound of flesh from his body,
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
actions, "I am as like to call thee so again, To spit on thee again,
the worst bit for him is knowing that the man she ran away with is a
It is evident in both plays by William Shakespeare that ambition and pride seem to be the
things he has called him and for all the many times he has spat on him
William Shakespeare shows how two tradesmen can have completely different lives when others view them differently in the play The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, needs money to pursue his love. They seek a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Antonio’s name. The contract is for three times the value of the bond in three months or else Shylock cuts off a pound of flesh from Antonio. While all this is happening, there are love plots going on. One of which is for Shylock’s daughter to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Later on, Antonio’s source of money, his ship, is reported sunken in the English Channel, dooming him to the loss of one pound of his flesh. There is a trial on the bond, and when it seems sure that Antonio will die, Portia, disguised as a doctor of laws legally gets Antonio out of the situation and Shylock recieves harsh penalties. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely to heighten the drama of the play and mold a more interesting plot.