Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice By the end of Act 4 scene 1, my view of Shylock is a man who wishes to get revenge at society by trying to take the flesh of a Venetian merchant because of the prejudices that are thrown at him. Shylock is a rich Jewish moneylender and a widow whose daughter has eloped with a Christian, Lancelot. Shylock is treated with the lowest kind of integrity and respect in Venice this was normal for Jews in the Victorian period since most of Europe was greatly Anti- Semis-tic. Shakespeare first introduces Antonio then Shylock, in Act 1 scene 1 Antonio is presented as a rich merchant who is a kind and loyal friend, as he has no money, Antonio goes to his enemy to retrieve some money, just for the matter of Bassanio to woe the heiress Portia who is in Belmont. From this, the audience perceives Antonio as a decent man with a positive and compassionate character. In Act 1 Scene 3, Antonio and Bassanio go to Shylock. When Shylock has seen that Antonio has come to borrow money, he takes advantage of the situation. Firstly, he does this by taunting Antonio about not charging interest when giving out money. Shylock does this by taking the story Jacob and his sheep out of the bible. The second way he does this is by reminding Antonio of the inhuman way he was treated through him, by stating, "You call me a misbeliever, a cut throat dog and spit upon my Jewish gabardine". This of course enrages Shylock, as it is insulting as well as humiliating. Antonio responds in a scornful and condescending behaviour to Shylock. The audience see Antonio in a different light as any decent person would apologis... ... middle of paper ... ... the Venetian law was put their not to benefit Jews but Venetians. Instead of Shylock asking for a pound of flesh he should have thought about turning Antonio into a Jew as then Antonio would have seen how thee prejudices of society affects the turn out of a person such as Shylock. Shakespeare uses contrast in Shylock's behavior as one time the audience views Shylock as a intelligent worthy man who is only driven by his anger and injustice while the other time the audience views him as a vindictive man hungry for revenge. There is great controversy if Shylock is a villain or victim. But in my view o see him a villain who has come to his own destruction and nevertheless is blinded by his revenge in turn leaving him lonely. However I see Shylock as a man only craving to be respected and happy to get on with his own life.
In Susan Pharr's "The Common Elements of Oppression", she defines "the other" as the outcast of society, the ones who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how `against the grain' it may be, the ones who try the hardest to earn acceptance, yet never receive it. In Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice", Shylock, the `villain' is portrayed as the other simply because of his faith, because he is Jewish in a predominantly Christian society.
In this play Shakespeare achieves the near impossible because for most of Shylock’s scenes, one can have as many as three interpretations for its meaning and as displayed by the title, the reader has to decide for themselves as to how they will interpret Shakespeare’s descriptions. During the play we find that the odds are stacked against Shylock. My opinion on this is that Shakespeare did not want to be seen as a pro-Jew or siding with the “enemy” so he gave in and sided with the majority of his prospective audience’s beliefs and views on Jews. Personally I do believe that Shylock is in fact a mixture of both an ogre and a human because I have to give my interpretations according to the text as it is the subject of my piece.
‘villain’; he is a complex mix of both. In the first part of the play,
get his own back, as the text says; 'Cursed be my tribe if I forgive
This is shown by 'If it be proved against an alien' (Act 4 Scene 1
Shylock is in many scenes of the play and his first one is Act 1 Scene
asks to borrow money from him in Antonio’s name. ‘ I hate him for he
hate him for he is a Christian” this is not a valid reason to hate
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Shylock is the most interesting and yet confusing characters in Shakespeare's play “The Merchant of Venice.” He could be seen as just another villain in a story made to be hated by the audience so that his downfall later in the play can be a cheered at. Yet the character of Shylock is much deeper than the stereotypical evil Jewish moneylender, Shakespeare shows how he is a victim of racial discrimination especially from the “loveable” hero of the story Antonio. Shakespeare also suggests that it is this discrimination that forces Shylock to act in revengeful and greedy ways.
Antonio that if his ships do not come back then he would take a pound
keeping his word. He has to put up with quite a bit of abuse from
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Shylock has been very badly treated by certain Christians and he
Shylock is an unsettling character; his heartfelt speeches make it hard for me to label him as a natural villain, on the other hand Shylock’s cold attempt at revenge by murdering his persecutor, Antonio, prevents me from viewing him in a positive light. For moments, Shakespeare offers us glimpses of an unmistakably human Shylock but he often steers me against him as well, portraying him as a cruel, bitter figure.
just a pound of flesh.” To cut off an exact pound of flesh and have it
It is difficult to say if Shylock is a complete villain or a victim, as his character is complex and ambiguous. However, it is difficult to view Shylock as anything other than a devious, bloodthirsty and heartless villain in the majority of the play. There are a few points in the story where he can be viewed as victimised, as most Jews were at that time, but Shakespeare has purposely portrayed Shylock as a stereotypical Jew, greedy, and obsessed with money. Shylock has been written to be very inflated and exaggerated. Even when Shylock makes his first appearance in the play, his first words are “Three thousand ducats,” Act 1, Scene 3.