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
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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
Without a doubt, Shylock of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice has been a subject of much controversy and debate for scholars and critics worldwide. Specifically, an element of his character that has been thoroughly reviewed is the harshness with which he proposes his bond with Antonio. As contemporary readers of the pound of flesh story we are naturally mortified by the fact that Shylock would call for such barbarous terms. What many of us do not realize is that while we might feel horror about the idea of the bond, the same is not necessarily true for an Elizabethan audience. This story has been a major source of misunderstanding for many of its readers, as
As the story unfolds, Antonio is struggling with his own mind for an answer to the sinful nature of man and the forgiveness of his God. Under the guidance of Ultima, he learns that he must decide for himself the moral basis of life and live by it so as not to drown in the world of sin he lives in. The theme is expressed when Antonio excitedly enters the church for his first communion, thinking it will bring him an understanding of that that has been troubling his mind, ”A thousand questions pushed through my mind, but the voice within me did not answer. There was only silence.” When he feels nothing at the end of the communion and wonders why his God would not answer his questions, he begins to learn that he cannot rely on his church or his priest to provide him with what he needs to define morality. He learns that moral independence is important and as he fulfilled Ultima’s dying wish, he then understood and forged his own moral independence. Another theme is that culture and blood have a great influence of one’s identity. It can be easily seen that his family’s religious ways and the pride they carry in their blood is greatly troubling Antonio on his road to finding his moral
I repeat it, sir, let it come. " Here, he creates another urgent call to arm in his imperative, exclamatory sentence of
Antonio was thinking. Ultima told her grandson Antonio that it's okay to have different beliefs
This moment stunned me because Ultima may be God in the flesh, guiding Antonio thought his life. If I were Antonio, I would equally be stunned because in Chapter 1 we were told that Ultima felt that Antonio was a special boy, meaning that he was the chosen one to learn the ways of
As stated in the novel (Anaya Page 22) “ It was to be said after one made his confession to the priest, and as the last prayer before death. Did God listen? Would he hear? And where was Lupito’s soul winging to? “. This proves to be a pivotal moment in the novel the backbone to the questions that cling on to Antonio soul like an anchor that gradually drowns him in his search for answers to his paradoxical questions. He starts to question God and whether he would forgive Lupito’s actions or send his soul to an eternity of damnation. This is a key aspect to evaluate as he starts to question authority of the all supreme ruler which is ever so impressive coming from somebody as young as Antonio who is still naïve and gullible to what the Catholic church tells him.
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
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is so alike to our financially afflicted world. The rules of law and commerce are subject to deceptive manipulation, fear of "the other" overwhelms respect for a common humanity, duplicity is the norm, sexuality is a vehicle for ambition, and money drives and wraps almost every action. It is a classic tale that includes important details of the financial crisis in the United States during 2007-2009. Shakespeare’s Venice, like the New York of his time - and the financial capitals of ours - is a city based on borrowing, on market speculation and greed masquerading as wealth and sophistication. Behind the curtains of the practice of lending and borrowing money in Shakespeare’s play lay the transition to capitalism: the rise of banking system; the scarcity for credit in developing industrial enterprises; and the growing dispute of default facing both aristocratic landlords and, above all, small, independent early entrepreneurs on trading ventures. Even though almost 600 years apart from each other, both Shakespeare’s tale and the financial crisis in the United States during 2007-2009 have a similar financial dilemma, each has its unique Shylock, Bassanio and Antonio- people who were responsible for causing the meltdown of their days.
Stereotypes for every different religion, ethnicity, culture, and gender exist among the minds of the human race. These typecasts have ruled this world for as long as there has been diversity among people. In Shakespeare’s comedic tragedy, The Merchant of Venice, one prejudice is very central to the theme. The play is dominantly set in Venice, one of the most liberal cities of the Renaissance era. In this place and time period, anti-Semitism is very much in force. The Jewish people are discriminated against and treated terribly by the Christians living in Venice. Shylock, a wealthy Jew, is mercilessly spurned many times by men like Antonio, a Venetian merchant. In contrast to this blind hatred is the longing and lust associated with
The Merchant of Venus, is a play written by William Shakespeare and is a majority of the time remembered for its scene with Shylock and Antonio. As intricate as the play wove itself, the word that seemed to occur a majority of the time “bonds”, had multiple meanings occurring throughout the play. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) tells us that Bonds can mean the bondage of a marriage, the ways of which a thing is bound or tied down, agreement or engagement binding to him of which who makes it, and a deed, by which binds himself, his heirs, executors, or assigns to pay a certain sum of money. In this play, we see a strong connection between bonds and goods reoccurring from start to finish. The term “bond”, is
William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is a perplexing story of dark humor, race, religion, identity, love, and justice. Generally, most people understand The Merchant of Venice as a comedy about a bitter and outcasted Jewish moneylender named Shylock who seeks revenge against a Christian merchant who has failed to pay his loan back. However, there are many different perspectives on whether The Merchant of Venice is a comedy or a tragedy depending on one’s views on the difference between race and religion. If one views the story as a comedy, it is a dark comedy full of many problems, especially the controversial subject matter of anti-Semitic attitudes of its Christian characters. If one views it as a tragedy, it is a tragedy that concludes with majority of its characters in a “happy ending”—that is if one agrees that Jessica’s decision of love over betraying her father and giving up her Jewish identity is indeed a happy ending.
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
did this through Shylock. In Act 3 Scene 3, Shylock tells of how he is
The Merchant Of Venice is structured partly on the contrast between idealistic and realistic opinions about society and relationships. The play tells us mercy is preferable to revenge. Shylock chose revenge over mercy against Antonio and how his choices affected him. The Court of Venice begging mercy of Shylock. Finally, Portia forgiving Bassanio for giving away his wedding band.
1 scene 3 in a building in a street in Venice. The building in which