The Merchant of Venice: Film vs Script Essay

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

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.

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 is channeling all his anger towards Antonio, because he is infuriated with Jessica, along with his enormous loss of money. Jessica has taken his ducats and jewels, and Antonio will not be able to pay back his debt. As well, Jessica traded

mercy (because of the way he keeps going on and on about it) from the

The first event that demonstrates that Shylock is a victim would be that he is ridiculed by his community and his family. Antonio and Shylock were never friends. They always fought because Antonio was a Christian and Shylock was a Jew. They also have different money lending practices which cause a lot of discrepancies. Antonio always mocked Shylock. He calls him a misbeliever and a cutthroat dog. Shylock tells us that Antonio “…call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog,/ and spet upon my Jewish gabardine,” (1.3.108-109). Here Shylock demonstrates that Antonio on a day to day basis mocked Shylock. Later on, Antonio mentions that he will call Shylock that again if he wants to. Another example would be Antonio’s friends. They teas Shylock for his faith and his misfortunes. When Jessica runs away with Shylock’s money and jewelry, he asked the Duke to go help him search Bassanio’s ship for them. Solanio heard

He declares, "I'm very glad of it. I'll plague him, I'll torture him, I am glad of it." (3, 1, 115-116) At the end of Act 3, scene 1, Shylock's true motive is revealed. Shylock says, "I will have the heart of him if he forfeit, for were he out of Venice I can make what merchandise I will." (3, 1, 125-127) All these comments clearly attempt to paint Shylock as a money-worshipping murderer and not as a person.

A villain in a play is a “character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot” and a victim in the terms of this play is “a person who has come to feel helpless and passive in the face of misfortune or ill-treatment”. Shylock in Merchant of Venice is a Jewish moneylender and Jewish people during Shakespearean time were looked down upon, treated unfairly with no respect. Shylock in Merchant of Venice is portrayed as how a stereotypical Jew would be portrayed as, a villain and an antagonist.

Shylock’s theological knowledge changes the audience’s perspective on him as his religious belief warrants an adoption of Semitism to understand, in addition, the modern historical effects of the holocaust gives a sympathetic view and interpretation to his character for modern audiences. Alternately, Shakespeare’s depiction of Shylock appears Anti-Semitist in nature, portraying him as somewhat greedy and hateful, causing a stark contrast to the beliefs held in the modern day. However, this affects the audience’s perception of him in comparison to the Christian characters as the treatment he receives seems undesirable

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.

Shylock is introduced as a greedy villain who craves nothing but revenge. The play begins with Antonio in need of three thousand ducats, he then turns to

<br>Shylock is the representative of the money code, the greed and the hoarding that is contrasted to the Christian code of honour. But does he embody the evil side of the power of money? Or is he just a scapegoat who embodies the qualities embedded in the Venetians? As mentioned earlier, Shylock's character raises a lot of questions. He may have been victimized due to the Christian hypocrisy.

By examining Shakespeare’s use of parallelism coupled with the use passive voice and rhetorical questions during Shylock’s monologue, we see how Shakespeare portrays Shylock as deserving of the audience’s sympathy, as he is the victim of the deleterious effects of religious discrimination on an individual. Shylock lists off his qualms with God using passive voice and a parallel structure, using phrases like “He hath disgraced me” and “[hath] mocked at my gains, scorned my nation.” The use of passive voice emphasizes Shylock’s attempts to blame God for his problems; he, in fact, is the victim to this supernatural entity and unfairly so in his opinion. Shylock similarly presents himself as a victim with his use of rhetorical questions, logically

No one can argue that Shylock is one of the most complex and intriguing characters ever created in literature. He has unique traits that make him who he is. Shylock is a Jewish man in a majority Christian city named Venice. In the Middle Ages usury was banned to Christians by the church and for that reason usury or the illegal act of lending money, was controlled by the Jews. Shylock was one of the most prominent moneylenders in Venice. However in the play Shylock is portrayed as an angry man who is hated by the Venetians. They are not a fond of his angry mannerisms, despise him for his religion, occupation, etc. No one can deny that Shylock is motivated by money, but one can argue that he is also motivated by vengeance.

Shylock is punished by the Venetian court for seeking to end Antonio’s life. He is charged under a Venetian law (of Shakespeare’s creation) and he is forced to give up his wealth and to beg the Duke to spare him his life. Viewed like this it seems simple enough; Shylock broke a Venetian law and, as a consequence, is punished. However, Shylock’s case is far from simple. Antonio’s demand that Shylock should renounce his Judaism and become a Christian and his insistence that Shylock should will his money to the Christian