Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice, a tragic- comedy written in the late 16th

century by the greatest known English author, William Shakespeare.

This is a tale set in the heart of Venice, amongst the Venetian

Christians and Jews. The history of the Jews is marked by terrible

hardship and atrocities; Jewish people kept up their customs and

religion formed tight knit communities and became known for their

intelligent hard work and business expertise. These qualities

sometimes led to them being mistrusted and resented in the community

of Venice in those times. This was especially the case in Christian

countries, where there were strong anti- Semitic feelings. The

greatest suffering for the Jews was endured during the Nazi domination

of Europe during the Second World War and some time before. Six

million Jews lost their lives during this terrible time; a period of

history known as the Holocaust. This appalling cruelty began with the

casual everyday racism, which Shylock also has to endure from the

Christians of Venice. Due to the terrible atrocities Jewish people

suffered during World War Two and centuries of persecution before

that, modern-day pragmatics are very sensitive to language usage that

perpetuates the construction of Jewish identity that could incite

anti- Semitism; hence Shylock’s problematic place in literary history

as a villain or victim.

Shylock is one of the most confusing characters in all of

Shakespeare's plays. On the surface, he is a villain only concerned

about money and revenge. Some critics, however, argue that Shakespeare

takes this "stereotypical" Jew much furth...

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...almost five centuries back, I would say that

Shylock wasn’t a villain, but a victim who was forced to have some

villainous qualities to survive in the ‘game’ of life. To be able to

judge Shylock you have to be very open-minded; his individuality is

what makes him the person he is- you cannot judge him unless you put

yourself in his shoes and try to understand what it must feel like day

after day to endure what he had to, and yet still there will be many

questions left unanswered. Shylock exhibits qualities of both a

villain and victim, but I myself cannot say he is one over the other.

I believe a person does everything for a specific reason, which is

somehow related to past motives, surroundings, people and this can be

said for Shylock, therefore Shylock is neither villain nor victim, or

he is both victim and villain.