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Shylock's Nature in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
For years, Shylock, one of Shakespeare's most complex characters has
questioned audiences. He may be seen as a 2-dimensional but there is
something more real about him. The fact that he is a Jew is clearly
stated right at the beginning of Act 1: Scene 3, when Shylock first
enters the play. As the play unfolds, Shylock is presented to be the
villain of the story because he is portrayed as cold, greedy and evil.
But is he? Is Shylock really the villain in the play or can he also be
portrayed as the victim?
In Shakespeare's times, the sixteenth century, Jews were rarely seen
in England. In the Middle Ages, Jews had fled to England to escape
France as they were being persecuted by the ruling Normans. They were
given permission to live in England by Henry I, in exchange for a
percentage of their profits from trading and usury (money lending). It
was from this that the Jews were stereotyped as usurers. As the Jews
had to pay some of their profit to the king, they would charge high
interest rates to make sure that they had enough money for themselves
and because of this, all Jews had to leave England in 1254 under the
orders of Edward I. They did not return to England until the later
half of the seventeenth century. In Elizabethan times, Jews were
viewed as devils and bloodthirsty murderers who would poison wells and
kill Christian children for their "bizarre" Passover rituals. These
were the views that Shakespeare's audiences had of Jews. Shakespeare
had never seen a Jew before so he made strong, emotional speeches to
make Shylock as human as possible, (Act 3: Scene 1, lines...
... middle of paper ...
... Shylock leaves without friends, family and
the very thing that got him in to this mess, his faith. He leaves as
nothing.
So in conclusion to the question "Shylock: villain or victim?", I say
that Shylock is the victim of the play, although he does act in
villainy sometimes. Although Shylock had every intention of taking the
flesh, he didn't actually do it. By the end of the play, Shylock had
only said his feelings of hate toward Antonio- he hadn't abused
Antonio physically or verbally as Antonio did to him, so Shylock was
really innocent compared to Antonio. Shylock is an alien in a society,
which has a minority of Jews. The characters are obviously living in a
society full of racism and hatred between the Christians and the Jews
and this is what causes Shylock to act in the way he does. Can he
really be blamed?
Throughout the play, Shylock was often reduced to something other than Human. In many cases, even the simple title of "Jew" was stripped away, and Shylock was not a man, but an animal. For example, Gratiano curses Shylock with "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!" (IV, i, 128) whose "currish spirit govern'd a wolf" (IV, i, 133-134) and whose "desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (IV, i, 137-138). Or when Shylock is neither a man nor an animal, he becomes "a stony adversary, inhuman wretch" (IV, i, 4-5). When the Christians applied these labels to Shylock, they effectively stripped him of his humanity, of his religious identity; he was reduced to something other than human.
Yet many critics and commentators on the play believe that this is not a plea for equality but to justify his imminent revenge. In conclusion, throughout this play we discover Shylock has as many faces and personas as a Mexican wrestler. We have quite literally seen the good, the bad and the ugly which makes this character so powerful and the focal point of the play.
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,
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, there is a strong theme of prejudice. Portia has to deal with prejudice against her sex, the Prince of Morocco has to deal with prejudice against his race but the character that is most discriminated against is Shylock. He is hated for being a Jew and a money-lender, but Shakespeare has not made Shylock a character easy to sympathise with. He appears to be mean and cruel and it seems as though he loves money above all things. However during the play there are moments when Shakespeare gives Shylock speeches which show his humanity. In these moments, the audience is made to feel sorry for Shylock. Shakespeare has created a character that the audience’s feelings will change for by the minute.
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
Shylock also seems to show little or no love towards his daughter, Jessica. He may have been hurt by his daughter running away with a large amount of his wealth and with a Christian lover (Lorenzo); this is a point where Shylock can be viewed as a victim in the story. This still does n...
If he had been more daunted by Christian influence, he might have been forgiven, as Jessica is subjectively exonerated. He is not contrite and it is believed that his appalling birth cannot be absolved (Bonnell). All of the characters are defined by Shylock. Launcelot Gobbo, Shylock’s servant, treats his father disrespectfully, but this disdain is not ill-received by the audience; like the other examples of inequity, Launcelot’s apathetic attitude toward his near-blind father is inexplicably tolerated by past and contemporary society (Picker). Launcelot’s contempt is generally assumed to be a result of his underprivileged upbringing, if it is noted at all.
with how Shylock treats him since he calls Shylock “a kind of devil” and also
But at the same time, it seems clear (to me, at least) that Shakespeare creates Shylock against an historical and cultural backdrop that was intensely hostile to Jews. Given this social context and historical tradition, it should come as no surprise if some of this hostility against Jews should infiltrate Shakespeare's work. Shakespeare was, after all, a commercial dramatist and many commercial dramatists make their livings by pandering to, rather than working against, conventional social mores.
The way that Shylock is portrayed in the play is also a good indication of the feelings towards him. Shylock is portrayed as miserly and selfish. This is shown by his attitude towards his daughter Jessica especially when he finds out that has stolen his money.
Shylock Deserves Sympathy Shylock is indeed a complex character and has the dimension of pain-he has suffered, still suffers and is one of a people who have suffered over centuries. However, to what extent should Shylock suffer and does he deserve our sympathy or hostility. Although anti-Semitism is totally unacceptable today, it was quite normal in Shakespeare's time. However, as he has done with other villains, Shakespeare actually plays around with his audience's preconceptions and makes Shylock an interesting, complex and sometimes likable character.
Shylock is a wealthy Jew who invests money into shipments and trades. When Shylock’s enemy, Antonio, requests a loan of 3000 ducats, “Shylock adopts this Christian model of "kind" lending in his bond with Antonio as a means for lawful revenge.” Shylock’s agreement is that if the ducats are not returned, Antonio must repay his loan in human flesh. This is a way for Shylock to either make money or kill a Christian, either will satisfy him. Lee describes Shylock’s feelings towards Christians, “Indeed, although Shylock will neither "eat," "drink," nor "pray" with the Christians, he is willing to "buy" and "sell" with them.” This is where Shakespeare first introduces the devil inside Shylock. Had Antonio been a Jew, there would not have been a payment of flesh. Shylock’s hatred propels the story from start to finish. His hatred causes him to lose his daughter, drives Portia to use her money and wit to save Antonio, and why he ends up losing
which tells us that Shylock is being referred to as a dog, not like a