Shylock, the Hated Jew of The Merchant of Venice

Shylock, the Hated Jew of The Merchant of Venice

Many of William Shakespeare's plays have sparked controversy. Probably

the one that has sparked the most controversy is The Merchant of Venice, which

many intellectuals have dubbed an anti-Semitic play. The character that this

discussion centers around is Shylock, the rich moneylender Jew. The problem

with most of these anti-Semitic arguments is that they lack the perspective of

the sixteenth century audience. Throughout Shakespeare's The Merchant of

Venice (M of V), the audience's perception of Shylock moves between utter hatred

and varying amounts of pity. In contrast to today's audience, the original

sixteenth century audience saw Shylock's religion as his biggest shortcoming.

Our first glimpse of Shylock's character comes in Act I, scene 3, where

Shylock reveals to the audience why he hates Antonio. The first reason he gives

of why he hates Antonio is because he is a Christian. (I. iii. 43) This to the

sixteenth century audience would be unreasonable, and this would evoke a sort of

villainy towards Shylock. But a few moments later, the audience witnesses

Shylock's speech about Antonio's abuses towards Shylock. (I. iii. 107-130)

This speech does well in invoking the audience's pity, however little it might

be in the sixteenth century. But again at the end, Shylock offers that Antonio

give up a pound of flesh as penalty of forfeiture of the bond, which Antonio

sees as a joke, but which Shylock fully intends to collect. (I. iii. 144-78)

This action negates any pity which Shylock would have one from the audience just

a few moments before. Shakespeare, in this scene, uses Shylock's dialogue and

soliloquies to push loyalties of the audience back and forth in a result of a

negative view of Shylock.

In Act II, scene 8, Salarino and Salanio describe to the audience

Shylock's reaction when he finds out that his daughter, Jessica, has run away to

marry a Christian. Says Salanio:

"I never heard a passion so confused,

So strange, outrageous, and so variable,

As the dog Jew did utter in the streets:

'My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!

Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!