Skylock in Shakespeare´s Merchant of Venice Villian

One of the earliest idioms taught to students of all ages is “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Oftentimes, a quote like that can easily be disregarded, however, it is applicable to people who aren’t always who they seem to be. Shakespeare’s play the Merchant of Venice is an outstanding work that contains a very strange villain in Shylock, who is hated by all, although he has not wronged them in the past. Thusly, his habits and personality evolved from his interactions with the Venetian populous. By examining the changes Shylock displays in tone, Shylock the villain’s motivations can be seen and ultimately display that no matter how twisted a person is or may seem, the motivations behind their actions indicate that innately they have a shred of humanity and conscience and thusly can be empathized with and pitied.

The passage starts off with Shylock’s simple inquiry into the progress of his kinsman on finding his daughter, presumably because he is concerned for her welfare. Shylock states, “How now Tubal! What news from Genoa? Hast thou found my daughter?” (3.1.75-76). However, the answer he receives from Tubal seems to irk him and instead of responding rationally, he seems dote upon his money and valuables rather than his own daughter. For instance, he responds, “Why there, there, there, there! A diamond gone cost me two thousand ducats in Frankford… Two thousand ducats in that, and other, precious, precious jewels. I would rather my daughter dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear” (3.1.79-83). Shylock places great emphasis on the amount stolen from him; his repetition of “two thousand ducats” and “jewels” borders on obsessive insanity. This tone differs greatly from his tone just moments prior, where he enthusiastically ant...

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...even though they explicitly told them that they should keep the rings forever. There is a clear divide drawn between Shylock and the members of Venetian society, what they value, he does not and vice versa.

Shylock is depicted as vilified by many modern readers, however, he is different from other villains because he is not innately evil, but rather his evil nature spewed from his interactions with society. From this, Shylock’s underlying motivations can be seen. Perhaps Shylock overstepped his bounds and perhaps not. This, however, is simply an arbitrary opinion. What is important is that Shylock is not exactly what he is upon first inspection. He is not an irritable Jew who breeds hate and disgust everyone he ventures. Rather, he is simply a man, excluded from society and bullied for being different, seeking vengeance on a society that has wronged him for so long