Shylock's Nature in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
For years, Shylock, one of Shakespeare's most complex characters has
questioned audiences. He may be seen as a 2-dimensional but there is
something more real about him. The fact that he is a Jew is clearly
stated right at the beginning of Act 1: Scene 3, when Shylock first
enters the play. As the play unfolds, Shylock is presented to be the
villain of the story because he is portrayed as cold, greedy and evil.
But is he? Is Shylock really the villain in the play or can he also be
portrayed as the victim?
In Shakespeare's times, the sixteenth century, Jews were rarely seen
in England. In the Middle Ages, Jews had fled to England to escape
France as they were being persecuted by the ruling Normans. They were
given permission to live in England by Henry I, in exchange for a
percentage of their profits from trading and usury (money lending). It
was from this that the Jews were stereotyped as usurers. As the Jews
had to pay some of their profit to the king, they would charge high
interest rates to make sure that they had enough money for themselves
and because of this, all Jews had to leave England in 1254 under the
orders of Edward I. They did not return to England until the later
half of the seventeenth century. In Elizabethan times, Jews were
viewed as devils and bloodthirsty murderers who would poison wells and
kill Christian children for their "bizarre" Passover rituals. These
were the views that Shakespeare's audiences had of Jews. Shakespeare
had never seen a Jew before so he made strong, emotional speeches to
make Shylock as human as possible, (Act 3: Scene 1, lines...
... middle of paper ...
... Shylock leaves without friends, family and
the very thing that got him in to this mess, his faith. He leaves as
nothing.
So in conclusion to the question "Shylock: villain or victim?", I say
that Shylock is the victim of the play, although he does act in
villainy sometimes. Although Shylock had every intention of taking the
flesh, he didn't actually do it. By the end of the play, Shylock had
only said his feelings of hate toward Antonio- he hadn't abused
Antonio physically or verbally as Antonio did to him, so Shylock was
really innocent compared to Antonio. Shylock is an alien in a society,
which has a minority of Jews. The characters are obviously living in a
society full of racism and hatred between the Christians and the Jews
and this is what causes Shylock to act in the way he does. Can he
really be blamed?
Shylock’s characterial flaws prompt an chain reaction of deprivations, as they ultimately all contribute to his ruination. For instance, Shylock’s lack of mercy deprives him of all Judaism associations, as this lack
Throughout the play, Shylock was often reduced to something other than Human. In many cases, even the simple title of "Jew" was stripped away, and Shylock was not a man, but an animal. For example, Gratiano curses Shylock with "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!" (IV, i, 128) whose "currish spirit govern'd a wolf" (IV, i, 133-134) and whose "desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (IV, i, 137-138). Or when Shylock is neither a man nor an animal, he becomes "a stony adversary, inhuman wretch" (IV, i, 4-5). When the Christians applied these labels to Shylock, they effectively stripped him of his humanity, of his religious identity; he was reduced to something other than human.
so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice An ogre is according to the Collins Dictionary “a monstrous or cruel being” but more significantly as “something or someone who eats human flesh.” Is this how Shylock is portrayed in the play or is he a simple human being, a species capable of showing emotions and feelings such as vulnerability and love. Certainly, Shylock is presented to the audience in so powerful a way that even though he only appears in five scenes, many consider him the central character. Throughout the play Shylock appears to be the butt of all the jokes and many critics see his status in the play as the tragic hero.
‘villain’; he is a complex mix of both. In the first part of the play,
But at the same time, it seems clear (to me, at least) that Shakespeare creates Shylock against an historical and cultural backdrop that was intensely hostile to Jews. Given this social context and historical tradition, it should come as no surprise if some of this hostility against Jews should infiltrate Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare was, after all, a commercial dramatist and many commercial dramatists make their livings by pandering to, rather than working against, conventional social mores.
In the beginning of the play Shylock makes an unsettling bond with a well-known, good and generous man named Antonio. Shylock has always had a grudge against Antonio because he is trusting; he lends money without interest, taking away Shylock’s business. He is also a Christian. We know that we can never trust Shylock to have any feeling of consideration towards Antonio, when he says,
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
Shylock is no more greedy than Bassanio begging for money or Lorenzo accepting Jessica’s gifts. Shylock is a loving father who wants the best for his only daughter. This love is expressed by his distress after he finds she has left him and through Shylock’s concern about Christian husbands during the courtroom scene in Act 5 Scene 1. Although Shylock showcases benevolent characteristics, like any individual he possesses faults. Shylock occasionally has moments of great acrimony in which he expresses his displeasment in the society. A strong proclamation of Shylock’s displeasment with his environment is when Shylock cries, “what 's his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes?”
In looking at Shylock, the sixteenth-century audience would deduce all view except the greedy, selfish, manipulating, Jew. In accordance with the normative view, Jews were believed to be out of tune with the universe. This is re-enforce in act 2 scene 5 lines 27-30 when Shylock is comment...
desires. On the other hand, Shylock is a character that is driven by revenge to gain what he thinks
to pay it back. We see Shylock as a Villain in this scene as he plans
with how Shylock treats him since he calls Shylock “a kind of devil” and also
Shylock also seems to show little or no love towards his daughter, Jessica. He may have been hurt by his daughter running away with a large amount of his wealth and with a Christian lover (Lorenzo); this is a point where Shylock can be viewed as a victim in the story. This still does n...
Shylock is a wealthy Jew who invests money into shipments and trades. When Shylock’s enemy, Antonio, requests a loan of 3000 ducats, “Shylock adopts this Christian model of "kind" lending in his bond with Antonio as a means for lawful revenge.” Shylock’s agreement is that if the ducats are not returned, Antonio must repay his loan in human flesh. This is a way for Shylock to either make money or kill a Christian, either will satisfy him. Lee describes Shylock’s feelings towards Christians, “Indeed, although Shylock will neither "eat," "drink," nor "pray" with the Christians, he is willing to "buy" and "sell" with them.” This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment of flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing