The Portrayal of Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
In the 16th century Jews were discriminated against especially in
England and Venice. Christians believed that the Jewish race was
inferior to them and that Jews should not be accepted into their
society. There were very few Jews in England in this period this was
mainly due to the fact that Edward had been lent money by several
Jewish money lenders, he became unable to repay the money he owed
them, and as a result sent them into exile. The remaining Jewish
population were hated even more. In Venice, Jews were not given equal
opportunities. They were unable to own land or work in the country as
anything other than money lenders people resented them for charging
interest on the money they lent which was their only income. Not many
people wanted to do this type of work anyway, as moneylenders were
very unpopular so they left it to the Jews.
This was extremely unfair as the Jews had to rely upon the people
living in Venice to survive in the country. In Shakespeare's 'The
Merchant of Venice' Shylock, a Jewish moneylender is hated by Antonio
(the merchant of Venice) firstly because of his religion, and secondly
because of his profession. Antonio thinks that Shylock is wrong for
charging interest on the money he lends out. (Antonio is very wealthy
so he can do this; it is also not his profession.) Antonio's reasons
for hating Shylock would have reflected the views of Shakespeare's
audience. Shakespeare has made Shylock a very greedy character we see
this aspect of him as soon as he enters the play with his first words
'3000 ducats'. This characteristic is shown in several parts of the
play. To its extreme when Jessica, his daughter runs away taking his
money and jewels with her, he says ' I would my daughter were dead at
my foot, and the jewels in her ear'. This shows he cares more about
his money and jewels than he does about his own daughter being found
the opening scene of the play, as the readers later found out that he had
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.
say, “If I can catch once upon the hip I will feed fat the ancient
The first scene of a play usually sets up the basic themes and situations that the remainder will work with. In Shakespeare’s play King Lear, the very first scene presents many of the play's basic themes and images. The recurrent imagery of human senses and of "nothing," the distortion of familial and social ties, the gradual dissolution of Lear's kingship, all make their first appearances in the first lines of Shakespeare's play.
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, there is a strong theme of prejudice. Portia has to deal with prejudice against her sex, the Prince of Morocco has to deal with prejudice against his race but the character that is most discriminated against is Shylock. He is hated for being a Jew and a money-lender, but Shakespeare has not made Shylock a character easy to sympathise with. He appears to be mean and cruel and it seems as though he loves money above all things. However during the play there are moments when Shakespeare gives Shylock speeches which show his humanity. In these moments, the audience is made to feel sorry for Shylock. Shakespeare has created a character that the audience’s feelings will change for by the minute.
This is shown by 'If it be proved against an alien' (Act 4 Scene 1
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
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.
hate him for he is a Christian” this is not a valid reason to hate
Drama and Tension in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Introduction The merchant of Venice is about a merchant who borrows a loan to help a friend who wants to go to Belmont to Marie a woman called Portia. The person who borrows a loan is a merchant name (Antonio), and Antonio goes and gets the loan off a Jew name (Shylock). After Antonio borrows the loan, Antonio sign a bond saying that if in three month Antonio ships don’t return, shylock would have his pond of flesh.
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
just a pound of flesh.” To cut off an exact pound of flesh and have it
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.