Stereotypes and The Merchant of Venice

Stereotypes are a form of prejudice everyone will once experience in their lifetime. Stereotypes are centered around an individual's race, gender, social class, religion, and age. They have been known to be elements people use to make judgments and subjectify people to one key feature. As Gordon Allport states, “ To state the matter technically, a noun abstracts from a concrete reality some one features and assembles different concrete realities only with respect to this one feature”(364). Mr.Allport’s words can be summed up to say stereotypes have been used as key fundamentals to associate one feature or aspect of a person with a group that represents it, typically in an unfavorable way.

Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people whereby we attribute a defined set of characteristics to this group. These classifications can be positive or negative, such as when various nationalities are stereotyped as friendly or unfriendly.

While The Merchant of Venice points out overlooked moments of dehumanization and problems of religious discrimination, the play also provides a process of re-humanization for Shylock to the audience. After Jessica has run away from Shylock with her Christian suitor Lorenzo, Salarino and Solanio, two of Antonio’s friends, begin to mock and insult Shylock as usual. Unlike Shylock’s previous sarcastic reactions to the

The play ‘The Merchant of Venice’ Shakespeare effectively engages the modern audience through the means of comedic conventions within themes and characters. Comedy conventions such as racial and cultural slurs don’t engage the audience as successfully as they did during the 16th century. Since then, our perceptions have changed because of the impacts of historic events. However, the use of double entendre and gender roles continue to amuse modern day audiences. The Merchant of Venice is classified as a problem play/comedy because it deals with contentious social issues between the characters on stage, who typically represent conflicting points of view within a realistic social context along with comedic conventions. Written by the illustrious William Shakespeare about a merchant of Venice who must default in a large loan provided by an abused Jewish moneylender. Shakespeare uses some of the fundamental aspects of society in conjunction with subtle comedic conventions in order to appeal to a modern audience.

A "stereotype" is a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or physical attributes. Stereotypes are generalizations made about a group and then attributed to all members of that group.

Gender stereotypes are not a modern notion and as such expectations and limitations have always existed for both men and women. Fortunately women, who have formerly beared great burdens of discrimination, now have very liberated roles in society as a result of slowly shifting attitudes and values. Shakespeare was integral in challenging the subservient role expected of women in the 16th century. Throughout the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, women are expressed as powerful characters who behave, speak and live in a way that breaks away from the conformist role of females during the 16th century. Therefore, the submissive stereotype expected of women in Shakespearean time is confronted and defied through

The victimization of Shylock for being a Jew makes the reader sympathize with him and for the fact that he is Jewish. It lends an understanding as to how Shylock cultivated a hate for Christians and his justification in doing so. In contrast, Shakespeare makes no mention of Shylock’s past and uses his Judaism as the sole means for his distinctive torment of Antonio.

Stereotypes are deeply embedded in every society in numerous ways. The dictionary definition of a stereotype is “one that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.” Stereotyping or Labeling is a technique that “attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign

It is a universal message, as relevant today as it was 406 years ago, when the play was first performed. However, as mentioned before, Shylock is not a two dimensional character, he is no more simply a champion of civil rights than he is simply a barbarous parasite. One of his next lines confirms his nastier side: and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?10 Shylock’s grief, anger and hatred are more powerful than his compassion and he resolves to have his revenge. A word of

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

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

Shylock can be seen as a victim of anti-Semitism and discrimination. He has long suffered at the hands of the Christians, who seize any opportunity to torment him. Shylock has been spat upon merely because he is Jewish and has been called nasty names such as "cutthroat dog". This dehumanising language demonstrates how poorly the Christian society views Jews as being outsiders and filthy people who do not belong to the world. Shylock has also been called ‘Jew’ twenty-two times and ‘Shylock’ only six times in the play. Shakespeare helped maintain the anti-Semitic meanings of the term

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

The Merchant of Venice was created between 1596 and 1598, it was published as a comic, romantic, tragic in 1600. The play has many struggles in it but the main ones are Bassanio's quest to marry Portia and his attempt to free Antonio from Shylock's deal. The idea that Shakespeare's representation of Shylock is unquestionably Anti-Semitic will be impacted in this essay because thought this book Shakespeare portrayed Shylock as Anti-Semitic.

In the play the ‘Merchant of Venice’ by William Shakespeare the antagonist Shylock is both the victim and the villain. Shylock is a Jewish moneylender and is initially portrayed as anger filled and bloodthirsty but as the play continues we begin to see him as more human and his emotions become more evident. As the antagonist, Shylock is a fearful adversary to Antonio, the protagonist. But as good begins to win over evil, Shylock is crushed and we see evidence of his mortality in his grief. Shylock changes significantly though out the course of the play and he is formed into a too complex character to be labeled just victim or villain.