Is The Merchant of Venice an Anti-Semitic Play?
The Merchant of Venice features a Jewish character that is abused and slandered by nearly every character in the play. Throughout the play the behavior of these characters seems justified. In this way, The Merchant of Venice appears to be an anti-Semitic play. However, The Merchant of Venice contains several key instances, which can be portrayed in a way that criticizes anti-Semitism. The first instance occurs in Act 1, scene 3 when the audience realizes that Shylock has every right to be extremely angry with Antonio. The second instance occurs when Shylock breaks out of his one-dimensional character form in Act 3, scene 1 in an extremely powerful speech that attacks the very foundations of anti-Semitism and shows his sorrow that Jessica ran off with Lorenzo. The third instance encompasses all of Act 4, scene 1. Although anti-Semitism is quite prevalent throughout the scene, it is clear that the characters persecuting Shylock are being extremely hypocritical by returning Shylock's malicious wishes with more malice of their own.
Shylock is characterized nearly throughout the play as an evil, murderous man. This image of him is supported by the excessive bloodlust that Shylock exhibits. The audience is made to hate Shylock early on. In Act 1, scene 3, Shylock tells the audience that he hates Antonio "for he is a Christian." (1, 3, 42) For an audience composed nearly completely of Christians, this was a line simply meant to provoke the audience to hate Shylock. Jessica relates how "when I was with him I have heard him swear / To Tubal and to Chus, his countrymen, / That he would rather have Antonio's flesh / Than twenty times the value of the ...
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... rather than a villain, by emphasizing the speech that he makes to Lorenzo and Tubal and by making Portia's cruelty in Act 4, scene 1 especially evident. Because of this notion, The Merchant of Venice is not innately anti-Semitic. It can either be anti-Semitic or an aggressive criticism of anti-Semitism, or anything in between? It depends on how it is interpreted by directors and by actors and how the audience receives it.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Danson, Lawrence. Anti-Semitism in "The Merchant of Venice." New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978.
Granville-Barker, Harley. "The Merchant of Venice." Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism, Leonard Dean, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967.
Shakespeare, William. "The Merchant of Venice." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Oxford: Shakespeare Head Press, 1998.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York; Washington Square Press, 1993.
"Shylock the Jew, one of William Shakespeare's profoundly ambivalent villains, is strangely isolated" (Bloom 24). He is portrayed as a usurer: A leader of money on interest rather than a receiver of stolen goods. This concept will prove to the audience that the Jews are in fact "cheap" and have a frugal sense for possessions. It is an intriguing idea to think that even in Shakespeare's time, stereotyping was a mundane part of their lives. Shakespeare's anti-Semitism seems harsh, but shows that not all Jews are vile like most people believed in his time. Shylock is shown to be hard working (Goddard 5). Believe it or not, there is some compassion for the desecration of the Jews in Shakespeare's play.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespear. Othello. Dir. Grenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Eisaman Maus. (second ed.) New York. 2008.
Shakespeare, William. "The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice." The Signet Classic Shakespeare. Ed. Alvin Kernan. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1998.
‘The Merchant of Venice’ is a play set in Italy in the late 16th Century, written by William Shakespeare. One of the main characters in the play is a cunning Jewish moneylender named Shylock. Shylock is part of a race that was discriminated against, despised and hated for their religion.
Shakespeare, William. "Othello". The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997.
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?”
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. 1967. Ed. W. Moelwyn Merchant. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996.
During the sixteenth-century there was a very prominent existence of anti-semitism. The English audience had a very clear prejudice towards the Jewish people because of the deep-rooted concept of anti-semitism. This mindset carried from everyday life to plays and productions of the time. This ill will towards the Jewish people spawned from political and religious disputes that were unresolved. The portrayal of Shylock as a villainous Jew is a logical move for the sixteenth-century playwrights because of this common belief. When walking into a production of The Merchant of Venice during this ear, one must keep in mind the predisposition towards the Jewish people as well as the cultural beliefs at that time.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
Venice, where this drama takes place, is a largely religious Italian City. Although filled with spiritual people, the city is divided into two different religious groups. Venice was primarily and dominantly a Christian society with Jews as it’s unfairly treated minority. Stereotypes classified Jews as immoral, evil, and foolish people while the Christians were graceful, merciful, and loving. Representing the Christian belief is Antonio who is summoned to court by a Jew who goes by the name Shylock. The cross between Christianity and Judaism begins as Antonio and Shylock create a legally binding bond. The bond’s fine print expresses that if Antonio cannot fulfill his debt to Shylock, Shylock will receive a pound of Antonio’s flesh. As learned in the play, Antonio cannot repay his debt and Shylock publically exclaims his need to receive fulfillment of that bond. Hastily, Shylock is determined to obtain his pound of Christian flesh. Shakespeare provides his audience dist...
At the end of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock has been both a victim and a villain. He is a victim of his religion, and a victim of his greed and overwhelming need for revenge. Shylock is definitely the most villainous character in the play, and only a few elements can show him as a victim overall, even then, his victimisation only seems to be a consequence of his own actions. His daughter running away, because of her treatment, and apparent lack of love. The taking of his assets, because he would show no mercy towards Antonio. The final conclusion must be that Shylock is unreasonable, spiteful, heinous, greedy - and a villain.
William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice presents a battle between love and hate, influenced by money. Written during the 16th Century, Shakespeare depicts an anti-Semitic era through the eyes of both Jews and Christians. Each perspective has it’s struggles, but what stays consistent between them is what makes this play so historical. Throughout this play, it becomes clear that culture affected by love and hatred, under the influence of money, can deliver a powerful message that still speaks to readers today.
Shakespeare, William. “Macbeth.” The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997