The Character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

The Character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

Victim or villain. These two words are the total opposites of each

other. A victim is someone that 'we' in general should, or may, feel

sorry for and attempt to sympathise or empathise with. But a villain

is the one person that people love to hate. The best example of this I

feel is pantomime. The victims or heroes are clear-cut and the

audience willingly cheers them. But as soon as the villain walks on

stage he is hissed and booed, unfortunately it is not as simple as

this in 'The Merchant of Venice' and how the audience react to the

characters is all important in making the distinction between victim

or villain.

Although the title of the play: 'The Merchant of Venice', implies

Antonio is the central character, I think that Shylock is the most

important, often when he is off-stage, in the words and actions of

others. There is still a debate over whether Shylock is wholly

villainous, or whether his circumstances and life force him to a

certain extent in his actions. This difference in interpretations can

be highlighted in the way audiences would have reacted when the play

was written, and how this compares to a more modern insight into the

play. In particular, this reaction to Shylock is pivotal to the big

question, victim or villain.

In Elizabethan times, Shylock would have been portrayed as a villain

through-and-through. When he tells the audience how he has been

treated, spat upon, and how the Christians insult him, calling him,

"cut-throat dog" and"cur", there would be no sympathy for him; on the

contrary the audience may well have thought that this was a good and

co...

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...I believe Shylock was attempting to peacefully

co-exist with the Christians, and tried to make life easier by lending

money without usury. But, after the elopement, Shylock can be seen to

be definitely more villainous, it is very clear, not ambiguous. Up

until the trial scene he is a proper villain, the genuine article who

would have been hated by everyone, he had no support. But, I think

that the judgement by the Christians was wrong. They had been so sure

that they were for justice, but the truth is, when they forced him to

change his religion they were not being Christian, they had sunk to

his level. This can be confirmed in a sentence by saying, Shylock is a

villain, but to a certain extent this villainy can be understood

because of the actions of others towards him. He is a villain, because

he has been victimised.