Describing Shylock of William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice

In ‘The Merchant of Venice’ Shylock is very strong minded and is singled out of the play because he is a mean Jew that charges interest. Shylock is very stubborn and determined to keep to his bond; a pound of flesh of Antonio.

he is: "The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard

Shylock is a character famously known as being the antagonist of Shakespeare’s play merchant of Venice. In this play, Shakespeare portrayal of Shylock the moneylender is one of anti-Semitic stereotype. Shylock is depicted as a typical bloodthirsty Jew who lives a life void of any depth or meaning. His sole purpose for living seems to be to amass wealth and vengeance as seen from his adamant claim for his “pound of flesh”. Despite Shakespeare’s attempts to humanize Shylock at points in the story, it appears that his primary focus is to steer the audience against Shylock, painting him as being a cruel, bitter and inaffable figure. It is clear that in both Shakespeare’s merchant of Venice and Grace Tiffany’s Turquoise Ring, Shylock exposes

“There is no doubt that Shylock is a cunning and vengeful man, but nothing can justify the treatment he receives at the hands of the Christians.”

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes?” (III.i.53-58). He is making it clear that Antonio has committed multiple acts of cruelty against Shylock merely because of his religion. Shylock goes on to portray that Jews are exactly like Christians except in their beliefs, and that there is no justified reason for their contempt for Jewish people. Although he is a usurer, which is considered an undignified position for anyone to be in, as a Jew, Shylock is the target of a great amount of derision. In Wheeler’s truthful depiction of the play, he states, “Above all, [Shylock] is a Jew. In his most famous speech he asserts the fundamental humanity of his nation, but the Christians persist in calling him ‘the Jew’ and the laws of Venice make him an alien.” Conversely, Portia is a well respected Christian woman living in the nearby city of Belmont. As a Christian, she is not discriminated against because of her religion and she enjoys many rights and privileges that Shylock and the Jewish people do not. Merely the fact that she is Christian allows her more freedom than Shylock could ever dream to achieve. She, not unlike the rest of the Christian people, believe that they have the right to judge Jews and others that they deem are beneath them. For instance, when Morocco, a player in Portia’s “marriage lottery”, leaves after picking the wrong casket, Portia says, “A gentle riddance! Draw

Throughout the play Shylock is presented in different ways: a victim who lives in a prejudice and intolerant society, a villain who deserves scorn and rejection and a tragic figure who has admiral traits worthy of respect but destroys himself by giving in to his flaws and weaknesses. This

In every confrontation with Shylock, the other characters attack him with insults that make him appear even viler than his cruel demeanor portrays. There is a common trend throughout the play of demonizing Shylock. In Act 1, scene 2, Antonio counters a legitimate argument that Shylock makes to support his usurping by stating that "the devil can cite scripture for his purpose!" (1, 3, 107) In Act 2, scene 2, Lancelet Gobbo identifies Shylock as "a kind of devil", "the devil himself", and "the very devil incarnation." (2, 2, 24-28) Solanio identifies Shylock as "the devil . . . in the likeness of a Jew" (3, 1, 20-22) and Bassanio identifies Shylock the same way, as "cruel devil." (4, 1, 225) This repeated characterization is certainly driven hard into the minds of the audience

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a victim throughout the play, but as he seeks revenge towards the Christians and everyone who has done him wrong, Shylock defends himself with some villainous behaviour. To a modern audience, the discrimination and suffering Shylock experiences, place him as a victim. Throughout the play, Shylock, a Jewish money lender, is perceived as a greedy and miserly man due to his Jewish culture. In Shakespeare's time, exploitation of Jews was common; particularly in Venice as it was an anti-Semitic city. However, Jews thought of themselves as victims of harassment and oppression. Shylock has been discriminated against, but nevertheless seeks revenge on people who have done him wrong which displays another side to Shylock. Therefore, Shylock is viewed as a victim and a villain, but more of a victim because of the abuse he has suffered.

Shakespeare criticizes society’s output on Judaism through his play with the characters Shylock and Jessica. Shylock and Jessica are seen as outsiders in Venice and are discriminated by the Christian characters in the play for being Jewish. For instance, Gratiano describes Jessica, a former Jew, as an "infidel "(III.ii.223) despite converting and marrying a Christian. By calling Jessica an “infidel”, Gratiano is implying that she isn’t a true Christian and is still a Jew. Later in the play, Jessica is also told there’s "no mercy in heaven.."(III.v.31) because she was Jewish. This statement evokes the idea all Jews are sinful and can’t enter heaven. The two examples above show how Jews are seen as inferior to Christians in the play. Because of this bigotry, Shylock is vengeful toward Antonio with his bond. When he finds out about Antonio’s lost ships, he exclaims: I'll plague him, I'll torture him. I am glad of it." (III.i.115-116). This line demonstrates the stereotypical image of Jews that Christians see. What Shylock says relates to the 16th century where Christians often believed that Jews used their blood in religious ceremonies. By saying he’ll “torture” and “plague” Antonio, Shylock is conforming with the negative image society has of him. However, Shakespeare also paints Shylock as a human character treated unfairly by the Christians in Venice. After finding out that his daughter Jessica eloped to a Christian man, Shylock delivers a powerful speech about Jews being equals: “Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases [...]as a Christian is?” (III.i.48-54). This speech presents to the audience that Shylock is human

Shylock finds joy when roles are reversed, causing people to beg for his mercy. Throughout the play, Christian characters were racist to him, they were constantly disrespecting him due to his Jewish background. However, in Act III Scene III, roles are reversed when their racist antics turn into mercy. The characters want to save Antonio from being harmed, and so they beg Shylock to change his mind:

His hatred for Antonio is also obvious and it is so strong that he refuses all offers of money so that he can cut off a pound of his flesh. In Act 3 Scene 1 Shylock makes his famous “Hath not a Jew eyes?” speech, and it is probably at this point that the audience

Another factor in Shylocks character that leads to him being perceived as the villain is that he is parsimonious. He will not give or

did this through Shylock. In Act 3 Scene 3, Shylock tells of how he is

Shakespeare characterised Shylock in such way that he highlights the inequalities of him, them being ungrateful, vengeful, and religious intolerance. As each is explored Shylock is directed towards a harmful act to deem his vengeance upon his greatest rival, Antonio. Shakespeare’s idea in the play tells us mercy is preferable to revenge. In Act 1, Scene 3

Shylock’s revenge against years of ridicule is what brought about his downfall. In the end, his refusal to accept anything but the bond that was agreed upon caused him to lose his home, his daughter, his fortune and his religion. This is a tragedy indeed.