Shylock in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

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Shylock in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

'The Merchant of Venice' is a play written by William Shakespeare. In

this play I will be analysing whether the character of Shylock is

classed as a villain or victim. His character is unclear, as he can be

seen as an orthodox Jew, where he is vicious and cunning, or he can be

seen as a nice and caring person. I will begin by explaining the ways

in which he can be seen as a villain.

Shylock is seen as a villain because of the way he acts towards other

people. Shylock is a very selfish man, and he will often only talk to

people if he knows it will affect him in a financial way. Shylock

resents Antonio because he lends out money without interest, this is

the reason why Shylock does not like him because it is bad for

Shylock's money lending business. This is showed when Shylock says,

'Gaoler…tell me not of mercy, This is the fool that lends out money

gratis.'

In Act 1 Scene 3, Antonio and Bassanio go to Shylock and ask him for a

loan. Shylock accepts because he sees this as a chance to make money

to help his business, this is why Shylock acts towards Antonio as a

friend saying, 'I would be friends with you, and have your love,

Forget the shames that you have stain'd me with.' Shylock then goes

alone and speaks to the audience and tells them how he really feels

towards Antonio, ' I hate him for he is a Christian…Cursed be my tribe

if I forgive him!' Shylock has planned a scheme, where he takes

Antonio's money away from him. Shylock is being very deceiving because

he is pretending to be Antonio's friend when really he hates him

inside. This shows Shylock as a villain as he is trying to rob Antonio

of his money.

Shylock is also seen as villainous in the way he treats his daughter

Jessica. In Act 2 Scene 5, he treats Jessica in the same way he may

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