Shakespeare's Presentation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice
This essay is an analysis of how the character of Shylock, in the play
'The Merchant of Venice', is presented to the audience, by
Shakespeare, in different ways.
The riveting play shows the best and worst aspects of human nature and
contains one of Shakespeare's most reviled, complex and compelling
characters. Love and romance end this play, yet before that come
bigotry, racism, hatred, death threats and money-especially the money.
The dramatic courtroom scene and Shylock's cruel downfall will
challenge your heart and your sense of justice.
Shylock is a successful Jewish moneylender, who is filled with bitter
words for the Christians, much prejudiced over his own religion and
the practice of moneylenders, such as himself, of charging interest.
Shylocks of the past and present have been portrayed in different ways
on screen and in the theatre. He has been played by Anthony Sher, John
Woodvine, Ralph Richardson, Dustin Hoffman, John Gielgud and Barrie
Rutter. Each of the actors has tried to show him in either his best or
his worst possible light.
In some interpretations of 'The Merchant of Venice', the technique
that the directors use is to cut a lot of Shylock's original lines to
make him seem less harsh and more undeserving of all the hatred that
the people around him give him constantly. In most cases, the
intensity of the performances, of the actors playing Shylock, go
towards getting his character across to the audience.
In the play, religion seems to be inextricably connected with business
Shakespeare puts Shylock in a bad situation as soon as his char...
... middle of paper ...
...ery valid observation in that speech. He
was trying to point out that humans are all the same, no matter what
they believe in, we are all born, living and are eventually going to
die in very much the same ways, so why can't he have his revenge?
The desire of revenge is almost inseparable from the sense of wrong
and we can hardly help sympathising with the Shylock, hidden beneath
his "Jewish gabardine," his madness by repeated, undeserved name
calling and labouring to get rid of the obstructions, from
opportunities and freedom, heaped upon him and all his tribe by one
desperate act of 'lawful' revenge. The ferociousness of the means by
which he is to carry out his purpose, turn us against him. Even so,
when disappointed of the revenge on which he built his hopes and the
way he is punished for his actions, we pity him.
also Raymond who has a stutter and John he is a bit of a hero and is
Also, the character Dukie in The Wire and the character Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Beautiful
Eric Birling the character I am going to focus on does not seem to be
make the leading actors the understudy so he can figure out how to make the other characters “pop” as well.
himself and his family because of his new appearance. For a fact, he has a lot
In Susan Pharr's "The Common Elements of Oppression", she defines "the other" as the outcast of society, the ones who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how `against the grain' it may be, the ones who try the hardest to earn acceptance, yet never receive it. In Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice", Shylock, the `villain' is portrayed as the other simply because of his faith, because he is Jewish in a predominantly Christian society.
Josh Hartnett, I have chose him because when he is put in pale make up
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.
say, “If I can catch once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient
Tom Meehan. With every new show, there is always competition to be the best show.
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
William Shakespeare attained literary immortality through his exposition of the many qualities of human nature in his works. One such work, The Merchant of Venice, revolves around the very human trait of deception. Fakes and frauds have been persistent throughout history, even to this day. Evidence of deception is all around us, whether it is in the products we purchase or the sales clerks' false smile as one debates the purchase of the illusory merchandise. We are engulfed by phonies, pretenders, and cheaters. Although most often associated with a heart of malice, imposture varies in its motives as much as it's practitioners, demonstrated in The Merchant of Venice by the obdurate characters of Shylock and Portia.
“I am a jew?”-Shylock the merchant. The Merchant of venice is a play from William Shakespeare, in which a merchant called Antonio gets a loan from Shylock to pay for Bassanio's trip. Through a string of unfortunate events lead to a angry Shylock nearly killing Antonio, but that is narrowly averted. Shylock in the play “The Merchant of Venice” can be seen as a victim due to the hostile prejudice towards his kind, unfair treatment of him, and the random events that cause him misery.
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.
flesh and blood, hates him so much that she robs him and runs away to