Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
The play was "A merchant of Venice" was written in 1599, in
Elizabethan times. Shakespeare's main two sources for writing the play
were two folk tales woven together. One involving a marriage suitors
choice among three chests and therefore winning here hand in marriage.
The other as based on a greedy creditor trying to extract a pound of
flesh from a man. A contemporary play written by Christopher Marlowe
gave Shakespeare the inspiration for the character of Shylock.
In Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice the antagonist of the play is
Shylock. Shylock is a wealthy Jewish moneylender. Shylock is probably
the most memorable character in the play because of Shakespeare's
excellent characterization of him. In the play Shylock loans Antonio
money, and out of jest he suggests that should the loan not be repaid
in time Shylock may cut off one pound of flesh from Antonio's body.
When Antonio's ships do not come in and he is not able to repay the
loan Shylock is no longer interested
in getting his money back. Shylock wants revenge for the loss of his
daughter and as his treatment as a Jew through the fulfilment of the
bond. After the loss of his daughter Shylock ran through the streets
crying "My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!" as children followed
him, mocking him. This causes us to feel sympathy for Shylock, even
though we may feel him to be a villain. Besides the loss of his
daughter and his ducats, after the trial Shylock also looses his
property and his religion. The loss of his property was certainly a
blow to Shylock but it can hardly compare to his loss of his religion.
His forced conversion to Christianity brings out more sympathy for
him.
However I believe that the context of the play does determine the
response of both the characters and audience, but I also believe that
Shylock is not as bad as he seems. Often, The character Shylock, in
Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, is portrayed as a beastly
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.
tied up at sea, Antonio agrees to ask for a short term loan of the
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,
It is evident in both plays by William Shakespeare that ambition and pride seem to be the
Antonio that he will take a pound of flesh if the money is not repaid
Antonio and Shylock are both successful entrepreneurs in Venice but they both have different attitudes and experiences. When Antonio is asking Shylock for the loan he says, “Within these two months – that’s a month before this bond expires – I do expect, return of thrice times the value of this bond.” (1.3.169-170). Antonio and Shylock both are well off and successful businessmen. Antonio, being a man who is treats everyone nicely, lends his good name to Bassanio to woo Portia. Shylock on the other hand, could never do that and is a very greedy man who asks for three times the value of the loan. Also, Antonio is a risk taker and thinks things will always go the right way for him and his success will continue, which is shown when he accepts the high interest rate and the bizarre payment if the money isn’t received. Shylock handles his business straightforward and charges interest because it is his job, although being a very high amount and if it isn’t carried out, Shylock gets his payment of one pound of flesh. Shylock is depicted as the greedy businessman while Antonio is the nice man who tries his luck.