The Presentation of Shylock and Antonio as Conflicting Opposites in The Merchant of Venice

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The Presentation of Shylock and Antonio as Conflicting Opposites in The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare personifies the juxtaposed themes of this play; justice and mercy, forgiveness and revenge. He contrasts characters of Shylock and Antonio to represent these key ideas. Shakespeare’s character representations of these themes certify that they are constantly played out against each other throughout the play. The play presents anti-semitic ideas, depicting Shylock, a Jew, as evil and Antonio, a Christian, as good. Stereotyping in this play is used to portray Shylock as malicious, selfish and hateful man who only cares about money. Antonio, on the other hand, is portrayed as the ‘perfect Christian’; merciful and kind. Shylock only appears in a couple of scenes in the play, but the audience can gather an opinion of him by the way the other characters on stage talk about him. Shylock appears to be disliked by those who are closest to him, for example his daughter, Jessica (in act 2). This is one of the reasons the audience see him as the evil character. On the other hand, Antonio appears to the audience as a very merciful man. When he does not appear in a scene, those closest to him talk about him highly emphasising his good features, this makes Antonio appear in a better light than Shylock. Every time Shylock is talked about or seen by the Elizabethan audience in a bad manner, consequently, Antonio’s good qualities are emphasised. This backs up the idea that the portrayal of Antonio and Shylock works on the ‘idea of scales’. As one side goes up the other side goes down: Every time Antonio is seen in a heroic, generous or kind light, Sh... ... middle of paper ... ... Venice do,” This shows Antonio’s generosity, and also further supports the fact that he has taken on a father like role in his and Bassanio’s relationship. As Antonio appears in such a positive light in his first appearance, Shylock will be instantly compared to him when he appears. He is Antonio’s rival, who expresses hate for him, and therefore appear in a negative light due to this. Antonio is shown to have lots of companions who all care for him and display affection; he is always surrounded by some of his friends in the scene. This fact helps demonstrate how Antonio is a good-natured and caring man. This is done via what people think of him and how they are willing to help him. It shows the audience that as he is surrounded by so many compassionate friends that he must too be a caring and loving friend to them.

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