The Character of Shylock in William Shakespeare's Othello William Shakespeare was born in 1564, in the small town of Stratford.
He wrote many plays, including the revered Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth,
Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Hamlet and, of course, The Merchant
of Venice. He died in 1616, aged 52.
This essay aims to take a look at Shylock as a character, to decide
whether he is a victim or a villain. A vital gauge in the proceedings
is the contrast between the reactions of audiences from Elizabethan
days to recent years. The latter audience would have taunted Shylock,
purely because of the fact his character is a Jew. In the sixteenth
century, England was a Christian country, and all children would most
certainly be baptised soon after they were born. They would also be
taught the essentials of the Christian faith at a very early age.
Attendance at Church was compulsory; if you failed to go without a
good medical reason you would be fined. Before the plot even starts,
the audience condemns Shylock because he is a Jew. During the
sixteenth in England the Christians subsequently despised Jews, and
any other religion or paranormal existence that they did not
understand. Jews were often forbidden to own land or engage in trade
in England, so the only occupation open to them was money lending,
which they exploited to maximum potential. There was also a great
opposition between Christians and Jews in Venice, where Christians
again prevailed, because they made up the majority of the population.
Jews were portrayed as inferior, and marginalized, because of t...
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...ch further, making him a
complex character whose sufferings at the hands of racists motivate
his anger and subsequent bitterness towards Christians.
While Shakespeare gives no definitive portrayal of Shylock's
character, he does make important suggestions in support and in denial
of this antagonist. His profile of the Jew leads to new levels unknown
by any of the audiences at the time, an angle of persecution, a
perception questioning the integrity of Christian's prejudicing a
minority, in this case Jews
Having said that, it is my belief that Shylock is not the victim of
the play; he is the villain. The facts are that although he was mocked
and scorned, the real reason that he was hated was no that he was a
Jew, rather a merciless beast who overcharged his loans and cheated
poor people out of hard-earned money.
and his series of new wives gave people a negative view on him as a
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.
Dual Nature of Characters in Othello Many of the characters in Shakespeare's tragedy, Othello, are duplicitous to the extent that how. they are perceived in public is not how they behave in private. The perception of the public plays.
Desdemona is a stunning, youthful, white, Venetian debutante. She is her father's pride and joy, but she refuses to marry any of the rich, handsome Venetian men that her surroundings expects her to spend the rest of her life with. Instead, she elopes with Othello – an older black man, an outsider to Venetian society. Turns out, this is a pretty intrepid move – Desdemona not only defies her father's expectations (that she marry a white man of his choosing), she also thumbs her nose at a society that largely disapproves of interracial marriages. In this way, Desdemona's relationship with Othello speaks to the play's concerns with Sixteenth Century attitudes about sex, gender, and race. Desdemona withholds many attributes to the play Othello by Shakespeare. She leads on a perfect life, as the perfect woman, but will it last forever?
Debra Winger had stated once that “Most bad behaviour comes from insecurity”, this could not hold anymore truth in Shakespeare’s “Othello” as the story progresses only due to the insecurities of the characters. For starters, Othello is the protagonist so we get to see his internal conflicts about societal standards and judgement on display. Meanwhile, Iago’s vulnerabilities as a villain are only showed during his monologues as he is hinted to having a superiority complex against Othello, and a complete reverse of Iago, Cassio’s issues are visible from the readers perspective and the characters as his reputation is slandered and used against him. These are all prime examples of how insecurity was used as a primary plot device to advance the
Shakespeare's Othello is not simply a play which embodies the conflict between insider and outsider. The paradigm of otherness presented in this play is more complicated than the conclusion, "Othello is different; therefore, he is bad." Othello's character is to be revered. He is a champion among warriors; an advisor among councilmen; a Moor among Venetians. Yes, Othello is a Moor, but within the initial configuration of the play, this fact is almost irrelevant. His difference is not constructed as “otherness.” Othello, by his nature, is not an “otherized” character. Besides being the dark-skinned Moor, Othello varies in no real way from the other characters in the play. Further, Othello and Iago can be seen as two sides of the same destructive coin. With Iago as a foil and subversive adversary, Othello is not faulted for the indiscretions he commits. It is the invention and projection of otherness by various characters in the play, especially Iago, which set the stage for the tragedy of dissimilarity which is to ensue.
“I asked her to wear something revealing, so she showed up in a prophet's toga.”(CITE) Jarod Kintz’s words are an example of miscommunication, or failure to comprehend meaning. In this case, it is implied that one person misunderstood the message of another, but incomprehension also applies to problems other than falsely interpreted requests. Incomprehension can occur when people misinterpret another’s words or intentions, or when a person misreads situations or events. The outcome described in Kintz’s quote is unexpected and unintended, but there are instances of incomprehension that have consequences of greater severity. Perhaps a classic tragedy with a high body count falls under these parameters.
Shakespeare wrote different types of plays such as comedies, tragedies, and historical plays. The play Othello is one of his tragedies. It is about a character named Othello who is a Moor, in the service of Venice. Throughout the play Iago, Othello's lieutenant, manipulates Othello to believe that Desdemona, Othello's wife, is cheating on him. Various characters in the play Othello appear to be virtuous, upstanding individuals, but their actions reveal that they are not as they appear to be.
In everyones life there is always the one person who you think you can trust, and later come to find that they have been playing you all along. This is the exact case for Othello. Iago, whom Othello thought was a person he could trust, betrayed him in many horrific ways.As you read the famous Shakespearian play, Othello, the Moor of VeniceI, you come to realise pretty quickly that Iago is the evil charecter in this play. The readers do not actually get to see a good side of Iago, if there is any, because he is constantly using and playing people. Readers will also come to learn that no matter how evil Iago may be perceived as that he is very much a coward, using other people to do most of his dirty work for him.
of the play as he is in contrast to Antonio and surely no victim would
hate him for he is a Christian” this is not a valid reason to hate
Sympathizing With Shylock At The End Of Act 4 in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
the very thing that got him in to this mess, his faith. He leaves as
Othello as a Tragic Character in William Shakespeare's Play The play Othello by William Shakespeare is about passion, treachery and revenge. Othello is a black, well-respected army general in Italy. He falls in love with the white daughter of Brabantio, a senator of Italy, called Desdemona and gets married to her without Brabantio's consent. Iago and Cassio are Othello's best friends, Iago turns out to be two-faced and evil towards Othello because he gave the job of lieutenant to Cassio when Iago thinks it should have been his.
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.