Determining Whether there is a Presence of Anti-Semitism in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

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Determining Whether there is a Presence of Anti-Semitism in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

It is quite clear when reading The Merchant of Venice that there is a

large focus on Shylock being a Jew. This is very prominent in his "I

am a Jew" speech he, the Jewish moneylender, angry and betrayed, rails

against the non-Jewish world which torments him. Antonio "hath

disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses,

mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my

friends, heated mine enemies - and what's his reason? I am a Jew," he

exclaims. Then comes the famous speech. "Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not

a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions…."

However from this alone we cannot decide if Shakespeare's play is anti

Semitic.

In Shakespeare's day, anti-Semitism was all the rage in England.

Despite the fact that Jews had been kicked out of the country three

hundred years previously by the Edict of York, hatred for them

remained powerful. Ten generations of Englishmen had never seen or

talked to a Jew, but that didn't stop them from thinking Jews were

evil, smelt bad, committed ritual murder and had other salacious

traits.

Elizabethans didn't wash. Queen Elizabeth herself was considered a

little quirky for insisting that she took a bath once a year. But it

was a well known fact that Jews bathed - Jewish women once a month in

the ritual mikve, and Jewish men just before the Sabbath. Somehow the

general public knew that the immersions in water were related to the

monthly cycle - so they firmly believed that Jewish men menstruated

too - and every week!

It wa...

... middle of paper ...

...bethan audience would probably harbour a little sympathy for

Shylock because of the way the Christians persecute him but however

hard Shakespeare has tried to even out the playing field with regards

to the portrayal of Jews in a bad light, the audience would of

probably left the theatre with their anti Semitism intact or inflamed.

Viewing the play through modern eyes, Shylock can be seen as both an

Elizabethan stereotype but also a human being. Ironically, it is

precisely because of the stereotypical elements in Shylock's character

that many people argue against The Merchant of Venice, viewing it as

an anti-Semitic work, which is an understandable reaction in a

post-Holocaust era. Shakespeare, however rarely creates a

one-dimensional villain, but a complex character who usually has many

lessons to teach the audience.

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