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Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Essay

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Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

A key feature of the play 'The Merchant Of Venice' is the issue of whether Shylock is a victim or a villain. This issue is raised at many crucial points most of which can be separated into the categories victim or villain.

Act 1 Scene 3 displays Shylock as a sensible business man. This is our first introduction of Shylock and therefore produces our first impressions. The first point where Shylocks' character is revealed in detail is during his soliloquy of lines 37 - 48. At this point Shylock gives an aside to the audience which no character can hear. We learn a lot about Shylocks' behaviour toward Antonio and Christians in general. This …show more content…

The next turn of events is during lines 102-123 we begin to feel sympathy for Shylock. The reasons for his villainous attitude toward Antonio become clear. We learn of the treatment imposed on Shylock by Antonio, the text says, 'spit upon my Jewish gabardine' we begin to empathise with Shylock and we see him as a victim to Christian prejudice.

When we realise the poor treatment of Shylock by Antonio we are greeted of a speech by Antonio's. To our surprise, Antonio does not apologies for his actions, instead saying he is likely to repeat his actions, the text says;

'I am as like to call thee so again' The fact that Antonio is asking for a favour and remains treating Shylock so badly makes us feel more sympathy for Shylock and he is displayed as a victim.

Act 1 scene 3 is an interesting one when considering the issue of whether Shylock is a victim or a villain. There are many features which show his villainy but this is alternated by the times that are shown as a victim. Overall the effect on the audience would be a strong one, we would focus on the poor treatment of Shylock and feel sorry for him. Therefore he is a victim.

There are many points of the play where other characters comment on their feelings toward Shylock. Most notable are the three mentioned below;

During act 2 scene 2 Lancelot is deciding whether he will stay with his master

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