Analysis of Shylock's Role in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
In this essay, I will be examining one of Shakespeare’s most memorable
and controversial characters, Shylock. Shylock is one of the main
characters in ‘The Merchant of Venice.’ He is often seen as a villain
but some argue that he actually a victim. ‘The Merchant of Venice’ is
a play that explores revenge, love and prejudice. It follows a Jew
called Shylock and a Christian called Antonio. Antonio borrows three
thousand ducats from Shylock for his close friend Bassanio and makes a
bond that says that in the case of forfeiture, Shylock can take a
pound of flesh from any part of the body he wishes. When all of
Antonio’s ships which carry his fortune are ruined, Shylock demands
his pound of flesh and takes Antonio to court. However, he gets caught
between a battle of the wits and is forced to suffer the ultimate
humiliation.
At the time that ‘The Merchant of Venice’ was written, Jews were
treated with prejudice. They were restricted from many jobs and were
forced to live in ghettos. If they were attacked, they were not
allowed to retaliate which provoked many people to abuse the Jews.
This abuse takes place in Shakespeare’s play. In Act 1 Scene 3,
Shylock tells Antonio, ‘You that did void your rheum upon my beard,
and foot me as you spurn a stranger cur.’ Antonio frequently kicked,
insulted and spat upon Shylock like a stray dog. His reply is that he
is likely ‘to call thee so again, to spit on thee again, to spurn thee
again.’ The audience sympathise with Shylock in this scene and perhaps
feel a bit disgusted at Antonio for asking Shylock for a favour after
persecuting him. Antonio and the other Christian characters also
rarely call Shylock by his name, referring to him simply as ‘Jew.’
Despite all of this abuse, Shylock is extremely proud of his religion.
When Bassanio invites him for dinner, Shylock tells him, ‘I will buy
with you, sell with you…but I will not eat with you.
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middle of paper ... ... now go on to comment on one of the rare moments in the play where we see a partly human side to side to Shylock. This is the speech which he makes claiming that Antonio has thwarted for one simple reason that he was a Jew. Shylock might actually have some justification in this statement as we have no evidence that Antonio is any less anti-Semitic than the rest of his fellow Venetians. He then points out that he is as much a human as any other man.
so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead
‘villain’; he is a complex mix of both. In the first part of the play,
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Shylock's character in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' has long been a controversial subject- more so now than it was when the play was written in the late 16th Century. First performed in 1605, it seemingly conforms to the anti-semitic stereotypes towards Jews and their conduct but, unlike Shakespeare's rival's work ('The Jew of Malta) by Christopher Marlowe, the main Jewish character is attributed not only the negative traits associated with Jews at the time, but also a side that sees to show humanity. Therefore, in this essay, it is my aim to explore whether calling Shylock the villain in the play is justified or not based on his actions and those of the characters surrounding him (to see if there is evidence of provocation), and placing this into the context of Elizabethan England and thus coming to conclusions abut whether views towards the extent of his villainy have remained the same. The one single action in the play which seems most convictive of Shylock is his argument with argument over the lending of 3,000 ducats-and the penalty fixed in case of its late return in Act 3 scene 1.
This is shown by 'If it be proved against an alien' (Act 4 Scene 1
In Act 1 Scene 3, we are first introduced to Shylock, we see him as
receives. So it would not be fair to say that he was totally evil as
In this essay I will try to discover is Shylock a villain or a victim, in the William Shakespeare play “A Merchant of Venice”
Discrimination is a resounding theme in The Merchant of Venice (Meyers). All of the characters are affected by inequality. This inequity is clearly evidenced in Shylock, the Jewish usurer. He is treated with scorn and derision by all the characters. Shylock’s misfortunes stem not from poor attributes or even a poor background; it stems from the fact he is Jewish, and what is more, he is impeccably of that distinction.
things he has called him and for all the many times he has spat on him
Throughout Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the main character; Hamlet displays his contemplative side and his sexual deviancy wrapped up in his enigmatic character that makes for a thought provoking play with many interesting twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. Hamlet’s creative character allows for the viewer and the characters in the play alike to search deeper into the meaning of Hamlet’s words hoping find something more about Hamlet than meets the eye. As for Hamlet’s sexual deviancy, his dirty jokes and interest in his mother’s sex life are just another loop Shakespeare employs to get the reader engrossed and slightly disgusted in the story. Hamlet’s philosophical and contemplative side involves the reader in Hamlet's quest to find and accept the whole truth however hopeless it is, due to Hamlet’s love of questions that cannot be answered with certainty.
In Act III scene I Salanio and Salarino confront Shylock, mocking him about his daughter's deception and insulting him. Shylock explains why he will take Antonio's flesh, making his famous speech, 'I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?'
William Shakespeare shows how two tradesmen can have completely different lives when others view them differently in the play The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Bassanio, Antonio’s friend, needs money to pursue his love. They seek a loan from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Antonio’s name. The contract is for three times the value of the bond in three months or else Shylock cuts off a pound of flesh from Antonio. While all this is happening, there are love plots going on. One of which is for Shylock’s daughter to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Later on, Antonio’s source of money, his ship, is reported sunken in the English Channel, dooming him to the loss of one pound of his flesh. There is a trial on the bond, and when it seems sure that Antonio will die, Portia, disguised as a doctor of laws legally gets Antonio out of the situation and Shylock recieves harsh penalties. Antonio and Shylock, two similar businessmen of Venice, are viewed differently and are treated oppositely to heighten the drama of the play and mold a more interesting plot.
In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, we observe Hamlet as an incredibly complex and bewildering character that upon first glance, seems to undergo a plethora of predicaments. Upon identification of such obstacles, we begin to wonder about whether his entirely fictitious existence in the play classifies him as sane while the world around him is in a way, insane or vise-versa. In addition, one of the main problems that superficially seems to be at the root of his conflicts is his melancholy. This is a condition that has always identified with him throughout the entire play, even still presenting itself up until the very end of Act V. In conclusion, the cause of his affliction is generally simplistic but drawn-out, serving to impact his actions significantly.