William Shakespeare's Presentation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

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William Shakespeare's Presentation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Shylock is one of the main characters in the play. He is a Jew who is treated very badly by all Christians. He is presented with an ideal opportunity to kill Antonio, who is a Christian moneylender, when Antonio goes to Shylock on behalf of Bassanio to ask for 3000 ducats so that he can go to Belmont and try for the hand of Lady Portia - a wealthy and beautiful heiress. The three men meet and agree to the bond to a bond, which states that Bassanio will have the loan of 3000 ducats for three months, but if Antonio fails to repay Shylock, Shylock will claim a pound of his flesh. Shylock is in many scenes of the play and his first one is Act 1 Scene 3 where Antonio and Bassanio first approach him for the loan. He speaks differently to everyone else so it makes out that he is an outsider. He says "-well" after some of his lines. The first thing he talks about in the scene is his business and then he only talks about his religion later, which shows that money is his main priority. He makes it obvious in this scene that he hates Antonio mainly because he is a Christian "I hate him for he is a Christian" (line 34) and also because he lends money with no interest which discredits Shylock's business. We also learn that he is spat on in the streets and publicly humiliated, "And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine," which makes us feels sorry for him and portrays him as a victim of anti-Semitism from Christians. He also shows himself to be devious and cunning by hiding his hatred beneath a façade of friendship in order to entice Antonio to become indebted to him, not just with money, but also with his life. The audience would feel ambiguous towards Shylock because we find out that everyone is horrible to him and insults him. He also gives good reasons for hating Christians and shows us that he is a

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