Background and Influence: Merchant of Venice

In England, during the lifetime of William Shakespeare, oppression was occurring against people of different races, ethnicities, and even genders. The religious conflicts stemmed from the differing translations of G-d's word. This created conflicts and segregation by religion, turning some people into aliens in their own country. The battles existed between Catholics, Jews, and Protestants although, for the majority of the time, the Protestants pitted the Jews and Catholics on the same side, against themselves. In The Merchant of Venice, a play that was later dubbed a comedy, tragedy was just as evident. I believe that the tragedy of the play was the reality of the situation the play encompassed.

It cannot be a coincidence that there is such a parallel of situations that Shakespeare wrote about. The concept of a Jew being placed into the same circumstances that the Protestants were putting the Catholics into at the same time is obviously analogous of the oppression of the Catholics post-Reformation. The fact that during the estimated time that the play was produced there was a religious persecution ongoing in England is what I believe to be the tragedy of this play.

Roughly the time that Queen Elizabeth I's reign was coming to an end, Catholics were viewed as aliens. The reasons behind the separation and persecution of Jews, Protestants and Catholics respectively, were consequent of the theological differences between each religion. The Reformation led to a Protestant-England in the late fifteen-hundreds, when the play was written. Henry VIII transformed the throne, establishing the Protestant Church of England as the nation's church. After Henry, Edward VI reaffirmed the Reformation. Then after a brief period, post-Ed...

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...realize the mistakes they were making in persecuting people of a different race or ethnicity. So soon are we to point the finger of blame at the person who does not belong, or the person that is the least like ourselves, that we falsely accuse each other of being things we are not. The Jew was but a man trying to make enough money to earn the respect of those around him, therefore escaping the religious persecution that he was enduring daily. His humanity also was conveyed when he sought revenge, legally, on the person that had oppressed him the most. Given the same shot as Shylock, to get back at a person, legally, that admonished us during our life for no reason other than simply being different; I believe most would chose to avenge that person.

Works Cited

Kaplan, M. Lindsay. William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice. Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston, 2002.