Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
My critical essay is on Shylock, who is one of the main characters in
the play, "The Merchant of Venice," which was written by one of the
most famous playwrights of all time, William Shakespeare. In this
essay I intend to prove that Shylock was the villain of this play and
although there may have been moments where he appeared to be a victim,
he was a cruel and evil villain. He was an unforgiving character who
was scheming to get his own way throughout the whole play.
At the start of the play we see Shylock grudgingly lending Antonio
money-3000 ducats. Even though he does not like Antonio he lends him
the money with the agreement that if Antonio should not be able to pay
him back, within the time given, Shylock will take a pound of his
flesh. During the play Shylock's daughter Jessica runs away from him
taking all of his money and some of his jewels with her. Shylock is
very angry that she has run away and taken his belongings but I think
the worst bit for him is knowing that the man she ran away with is a
Christian. He is not upset long though, as he soon finds out that
Antonio's ships have come into trouble and he won't be able to pay
back the loan. He takes him to court to argue his case, he says all he
wants is justice as Antonio has broken his bond and this is the
punishment they agreed to. It is a close case and right up until the
end it looks as though Shylock might just win but at the very last
moment Portia, posing as the lawyer, catches him out, and he is
charged with attempted murder.
I think that from Shylock's very first scene of the play you can see
clues to his scheming and conniving nature. In it we see Shylock
trying to work out whether or not to give Antonio the money. You can
see him trying to decide whether it is worth his while, trying to
After he pays he speeds up in his new car so he can arrive home.
to find out that his daughter had " kissed a black man." He also fears
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.
...rson and he knows that she will take care of the little guy even if the Guy is not around. A distort desire to be free of the situation drive the whole family into tragedy and leave them grieves
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
receives. So it would not be fair to say that he was totally evil as
aged white woman whao flirs with him a good bit. one night while with her is
can be happy as he knows she has always been loyal to him and made
In this essay I will try to discover is Shylock a villain or a victim, in the William Shakespeare play “The Merchant of Venice”
things he has called him and for all the many times he has spat on him
which tells us that Shylock is being referred to as a dog, not like a
“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.
‘In Belmont is a lady richly left, / And she is fair and, fairer than
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