The Merchant of Venice: Film vs Script Essay

Shylock responds with a weak argument concerning his hatred towards Antonio with, “affection, Mistress of passion,” who affects men’s moods in ways they cannot explain (4.1.49–50). Saying, just as certain people cannot explain their distain towards cats, certain music, or eating meat, Shylock cannot explain his loathing for Antonio; there is no reason. This makes 4.1.43-61 especially powerful with the range of emotion Shylock expresses during his opaic argument. During 4.1.43-61, the use of repetition by describing the same image, “gaping pig” (4.1.53) and the “woolen bagpipe” (4.1.55) solidify Shylocks character in being narrow minded and determined. The question of, “Are you answered?” (4.1.61) is used to satisfy Shylock in his own explanation of his hatred towards

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.

Since Shylock is Jewish, his vengeance is seen as heinous, while Antonio’s would be considered heroic since he’s a Christian character. His religion creates a preconception in people’s mind that he is evil, so any wrong move portrays him as the villain. Also, during the courtroom scene, all of the Christians have complete faith Antonio won’t have to lose a pound from his body because Shylock will take the six thousand ducats instead. However, when Bassanio offers Shylock the money, Shylock turns his nose to the offer. He remarks, “If every ducat in six parts, and every part a ducat, I would not draw them. I would have my bond” (Shakespeare, 4.1.86-88). Shylock’s surprising answer reveals that Jewish people go against even their strongest stereotypes. Jewish people are known to desire nothing but money. However, Shylock feels so hurt from all of Antonio’s past harassment, he craves revenge and nothing more. Stereotypes force people to believe people in certain groups will follow the mold their society has created them and will act more like caricatures than people. Shylock’s need for revenge reminds us Jewish people have the same emotions as everyone else. The heartfelt passages from Shylock demonstrate anti-Semitism is unfair to the Jewish people’s image.

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

The first time Shylock is introduced into the play is in Act 1 Scene 3 where Antonio is to lend Bassanio 3,000 ducats to allow him to meet his love, Portia, in Belmont. However Antonio’s money is tied up at sea; which is why

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.

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

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

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

<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.

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:

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.

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.