“THE MERCHANT OF VENICE” ,written by William Shakespeare in 16th century that is during the Elizabethan period is technically classified as a comedy, but sometimes referred to as a “problem comedy” mostly because it’s so controvertial or a “tragicomedy”, because it shares features in common with commedies but also contains the kind of dark elements we typically find in tragedies. Shylock’s desire for a pound of flesh is pretty intense, and the way shylock is treated by christians characters is pretty sickening and well,tragic .
In this play, Antonio is the leading merchant of venice.He is quite popular, wealthy and is a respectable man.He has a friend named Bassanio who is very dearly to Antonio.Bassanio owes a good deal of money but he is
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This play was written in Elizabethan period. Elizabethan period was a time when Christians hated Jews. Jews had to bear all the atrocities done by the Christians. They had suffered a lot.
Similarly in this context, shylock is a Jew and Antonio is a Christian.
A conversation between Shylock and Antonio –
Shylock – you call me a misbeliever, cut-throat dog
And spit upon my Jewish gabardine
[...]
Fair sir ,you spit on me on Wednesday last
You spurn’d me such a day; another time
You called me a dog ; and for these courtesies
I’ll lend you thus much moneys’ ?
Antonio - I am as like to call thee so again,
To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too.
Antonio has insulted Shylock many a times. He has spitted on him. Then Shylock was called a cut - throat dog. He has treated him like a garbage and even if he i.e. Shylock lends money to him,Antonio then also his racist behaviour would not change against Shylock.
Therefore, Shylock had to suffer and also had to bear all this, the reason being that he was a
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However in terms of historical context, the Elizabethan audience were majority Christians. They held very prejudician view of Christian. They still held very pejudician view of jews and blamed them for crucifying christ,which by the way is a perversion of christianinty because christians believe that christ was crucified for the sins of the world, everyone included, so it is our own sin that crucified christ, not the jews. Shylock bemoans the fact that ‘ For sufferance is the badge of all tribe,’
The jews had been prosecuted throughout Europe, thrown out of many countries. Everywhere shylock goes he is called as a currish jew or a dog.Naturally, hate has build up in his mind and if he can get even with non jews, he will and in this play, he does . Antonio is not so innocent . He has treated Shylock very badly in the past. Due to these reasons Shylock wanted to take revenge by taking a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body.
At least,Shylock had the courage to go against Antonio who is a christian, and file a suit due to breach of contract suffered by
When Bassino was looking to get a loan from someone he found Shylock they started talking and then Shylock said, “You spurned me such a day; another time/ You called me a ‘dog’; for these courtesies/ I’ll lend you thus much moneys?”(1.3.137-139). With this, he is saying that Antonio and Bassanio have called him a dog and insulted him yet they have the audacity to ask him for a loan.This shows how he was the victim of Antonio and Bassanio because he is a jew. After Shylock agrees to give them the loan they talk about what will happen if they don’t pay the 3,000 ducats in three months: “Expressed in the condition, let the forfeit/ Be nominated for an equal pound/ Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken/ In what part of your body pleaseth me” (1.3.160-163). This is saying that if they fail to pay him back Shylock gets to take a pound of Antonio's flesh from where ever he wants. This is showing that being treated as a victim made him want revenge of Antonio and that blinded him because, in the end, this will be his downfall. When Shylock and Antonio went to court because Antonio didn’t pay back Shylock back in time Balthazar decide this: “Tarry, Jew./The law hath yet another hold on you./It is enacted in the laws of Venice,/If it be proved against an alien/That by direct or indirect attempts/He seek the life of any citizen,/The party 'gainst the which he doth contrive/Shall seize one half his goods; the
Throughout the play, Shylock was often reduced to something other than Human. In many cases, even the simple title of "Jew" was stripped away, and Shylock was not a man, but an animal. For example, Gratiano curses Shylock with "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!" (IV, i, 128) whose "currish spirit govern'd a wolf" (IV, i, 133-134) and whose "desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (IV, i, 137-138). Or when Shylock is neither a man nor an animal, he becomes "a stony adversary, inhuman wretch" (IV, i, 4-5). When the Christians applied these labels to Shylock, they effectively stripped him of his humanity, of his religious identity; he was reduced to something other than human.
While engendering the bond in the inciting force of the play, Antonio says to Shylock – the antagonist – “Content in faith. I’ll seal to such a bond, / And say there is much kindness in the Jew” (1.3.149-150) which reveals how Antonio sees such positive terms in the deal. Although the terms may seem simples to follow, Antonio will still face the consequences of putting his life on the line for his dear friend, Bassanio. This bond portion of the play establishes relationships through the rivals and also gives background information about characters, which show the elements of dramatic significance. Subsequently, Shylock’s possessions are at stake during their trial after Antonio fails to pay him back because his argosies were abolished. Shylock’s punishment for attempting to
Shylock is no more greedy than Bassanio begging for money or Lorenzo accepting Jessica’s gifts. Shylock is a loving father who wants the best for his only daughter. This love is expressed by his distress after he finds she has left him and through Shylock’s concern about Christian husbands during the courtroom scene in Act 5 Scene 1. Although Shylock showcases benevolent characteristics, like any individual he possesses faults. Shylock occasionally has moments of great acrimony in which he expresses his displeasment in the society. A strong proclamation of Shylock’s displeasment with his environment is when Shylock cries, “what 's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes?”
Venice is supposed to be a city of equality and religious tolerance, yet Shylock, a Jew, is scorned by society. Shylock poses questions against the outright prejudice: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?” (the Merchant of Venice, Act 3 Scene 2 p.49). Is Shylock not human just like the Christians who ridicule him are? Jews and Christians are “fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, [and] subject to the same diseases”, yet Shylock is discriminated against for his religion. Because of this social inequality, Shylock desires revenge and justice. Like Rose, Shakespeare presents how an inequality spurs the search for justice. However, Shylocks’ tactic for justice is questionable. Shylock demands to cut a pound of flesh out of Shylock for breaking his bond. While this seems crazy, the law is on his side. Shylock, despite not receiving social equality from other people, is guaranteed equality under the law. This is unlike Twelve Angry Men in that Shylock cannot be denied “the course of the law,” while the defendant is denied his rights (the Merchant of Venice, Act 3 Scene 3 p. 64). Knowing the law in on his side, Shylock manipulates the rights he has to exact revenge on Antonio as he confidently proclaims that “the duke shall grant [him] justice” (the Merchant of Venice, Act 3 Scene 3 p. 64). But is what Shylock is doing
It is so important for people to recognize how Jews were portrayed during Shakespeare’s life so that historic events such as the holocaust do not repeat themselves. Teachers who plan on presenting their students with The Merchant of Venice should also present them with articles explaining how Jews received their negative stereotype and explain to them that Jews are not as evil as Shylock. The play can still be useful as a high school reading experience only if taught correctly, in a manner that avoids Jews being insulted and non-Jews getting a completely flawed idea about Jews. Although comedic during the 16th century, The Merchant of Venice can no longer be viewed as a comedy in the 21st century due to the diversity of people and general acceptance of their cultures throughout the United States.
Shylock confronts Antonio for spitting on his gabardine, calling him a ‘dog’, and scolding him in the Rialto about his moneys. Antonio replies with, "I am like to call thee so again, To spet on thee again, to spurn thee, too"(1.3.140-141). Antonio does not deny his actions and instead of apologizing he says he will do them again. He does not hold back his feelings for Shylock and in a broad sense his feelings toward Jews. In the second act, Launcelot is debating whether or not he should seek a new employer. His problem is that he works for Shylock, who is Jewish. Launcelot thinks to himself, "Certainly the Jew is the very devil incarnation" (2.2.24). Eventually, he decides to run away from Shylock rather than continue working for a Jew. He then presents the argument, "I am a Jew if I serve the Jew any longer" (2.2.104) to his father. Before accepting the new job, Antonio discusses the matter with his father and reminds himself that Bassanio is much poorer than Shylock, but that he would much rather work for a Christian than a Jew. Lorenzo harshly insults Shylock when he tells Jessica that if her father ever makes it to heaven, it is only because Jessica converted to Christianity and that is portrayed through the line, "If e’er the Jew her father come to heaven, It will be for his gentle daughter’s sake" (2.4.36-7). Lorenzo describes Jessica using the word gentle. The word gentle in Shakespeare’s time can also be pronounced gentile which means against Judaism. In this quote and later on in the play through the line, "Our house is hell, and the, a merry devil"(2.3.2-3), Shakespeare is informing the reader that Jessica dislikes her father and that the house she has lived in with him is hell.
However, when Shakespeare created Shylock, he did not insert him in as a purely flat character, consumed only with the villainy of his plot. One of the great talents that Shakespeare possessed, remarks Shakespeare analyst Harrold R. Walley, was his ability to make each key character act like a real, rational person. Walley said of all of Shakespeare's characters, hero or villain, that "Their conduct is always presented as logical and justifiable from their point of view3." To maintain the literary integrity of the play, "Shakespeare is under the necessity of making clear why a man like Shylock should be wrought to such a pitch of vindictive hatred as to contemplate murder4." His evil must have some profound motivation, and that motivation is the evil done to him. Shylock is not an ogre, letting lose harm and disaster without reason. He was wronged first; the fact that his revenge far outweighs that initial evil is what makes him a villain. Beneath Shylock' villainy, the concept of evil for evil runs as a significant theme through the play.
Shylock also seems to show little or no love towards his daughter, Jessica. He may have been hurt by his daughter running away with a large amount of his wealth and with a Christian lover (Lorenzo); this is a point where Shylock can be viewed as a victim in the story. This still does n...
Through the contrasting fates of Shylock and Antonio, Shakespeare reveals that hatred and revenge can lead to one’s downfall. The mutual hatred of Shylock and Antonio leads them to spite each other. However, while Shylock’s pursuit of revenge leads to his defeat, Antonio reaffirms his moral superiority by giving Shylock an opportunity for redemption. Antonio’s acts of mercy allow him to break away from the destructive cycles of hatred and revenge that once held him captive.
...f flesh, and thereby Antonio's life. One might argue that it is Shylock's honesty that becomes his downfall. In the end there is no doubt in anyone's mind that he, as an alien, did "seek the life of a citizen" (IV, i, 347), and that he therefore is liable to persecution.
Shylock is a wealthy Jew who invests money into shipments and trades. When Shylock’s enemy, Antonio, requests a loan of 3000 ducats, “Shylock adopts this Christian model of "kind" lending in his bond with Antonio as a means for lawful revenge.” Shylock’s agreement is that if the ducats are not returned, Antonio must repay his loan in human flesh. This is a way for Shylock to either make money or kill a Christian, either will satisfy him. Lee describes Shylock’s feelings towards Christians, “Indeed, although Shylock will neither "eat," "drink," nor "pray" with the Christians, he is willing to "buy" and "sell" with them.” This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment of flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing
It is difficult to say if Shylock is a complete villain or a victim, as his character is complex and ambiguous. However, it is difficult to view Shylock as anything other than a devious, bloodthirsty and heartless villain in the majority of the play. There are a few points in the story where he can be viewed as victimised, as most Jews were at that time, but Shakespeare has purposely portrayed Shylock as a stereotypical Jew, greedy, and obsessed with money. Shylock has been written to be very inflated and exaggerated. Even when Shylock makes his first appearance in the play, his first words are “Three thousand ducats,” Act 1, Scene 3.
In this play, three timeless elements that are very relevant today and throughout history are prejudice, money, and love. Shakespeare included many examples of all these themes in his play. Bassanio, Antonio, Gratiano, Lorenzo, Portia, and Shylock are the main representatives of these themes. You could take anyone in history and compare him or her to anyone in this play. An example of this would be the prejudice and mean spirit that both Shylock and Hitler share. Shakespeare did a very good job showing these elements in real life scenarios. Samuel Taylor Coleridge put it perfectly; this play is a “representation of men in all ages and all times.”
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.