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...
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... 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
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.
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
receives. So it would not be fair to say that he was totally evil as
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.
asks to borrow money from him in Antonio’s name. ‘ I hate him for he
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?”
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
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.