The Charater of Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
In his chapter “Shakespeare and Dissident Reading,” Alan Sinfield argues that viewing Shylock as anything but an evil villain is “achieved only by leaning, tendentiously, on the text” (Sinfield 1994, 6). This is an oversimplification of Shylock’s character as portrayed in The Merchant of Venice. Sinfield portrays Shylock as static and unchanging. However, emotions and portrayal of Shylock are not as forward as Sinfield claims. Constantly evolving, Shylock goes from being described as a human, with emotional pitfalls and grief, to being angry and vindictive, and portrayed as an animal. Shylock’s emotional changes inflate and add dimension to his character, challenging the notions of villainy that are so often associated with him.
Shylock is not a static character in the least. He undergoes many emotional oscillations throughout the play, going from vindictive to sad to broken. In Act 1, Scene 3 Shylock identifies what seem to be his passions in life: money and his Judaism. He defines Antonio as a “good man” because “my meaning in saying he is sufficient...He hath an argosy bound to Tripolis…” (1.3.15-18). Shylock is associating virtue with fiscal wealth and knowledge. He trusts that Antonio has a constant flow of money and that he will be able to pay off his bond, and is therefore a trustworthy and “good” man. Shylock also asserts the importance of his religious identity in this scene, turning his previously favorable fiscal opinions of Antonio around when the subject of religion arises: “I hate him for he is a Christian...He lends out money gratis and brings down the rate of usury...He hates our sacred nation and he rails...on me, and my well-won thrift” (1.3....
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...rom hence; I am not well” (IV.1.394-95). This sickness is the cap to Shylock’s emotions in The Merchant of Venice. He has gone from being a character with dimension, to being portrayed as an animal an ultimately, as a broken and deflated man. Throughout the play, we have seen Shylock’s vibrant and varied emotions. Whether they be sad, sentimental or animalistic, it is important to note that Shylock is not the flat, evil caricature painted by Sinfield, but a dynamic character experiencing a multitude of emotions throughout the play.
Works Cited
Bevington, David, ed. The Complete Works of Shakespeare. 4th ed. New York: Longman-Addison Wesley Longman, 1997.
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Bevington.
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, Sir; John Dover Wilson Cambridge University Press 1953
Clark, W.G., and W. Aldis Wirhgt, eds. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol 2. USA: Nd. 2 vols.
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.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespear. Othello. Dir. Grenblatt, Cohen, Howard, and Eisaman Maus. (second ed.) New York. 2008.
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Clark, W. G. and Wright, W. Aldis , ed. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 1. New York: Nelson-Doubleday
At the end of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock has been both a victim and a villain. He is a victim of his religion, and a victim of his greed and overwhelming need for revenge. Shylock is definitely the most villainous character in the play, and only a few elements can show him as a victim overall, even then, his victimisation only seems to be a consequence of his own actions. His daughter running away, because of her treatment, and apparent lack of love. The taking of his assets, because he would show no mercy towards Antonio. The final conclusion must be that Shylock is unreasonable, spiteful, heinous, greedy - and a villain.
In "The Merchant Of Venice." English Literary Renaissance 34.3 (2004): 286-305. Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Merchant of Venice. New York: Washington Square, 1992.
Everyone who reads The Merchant of Venice must bear in mind that it is, like any other literary work, a creation of a skillful writer, rising a case that can be a subject for many interpretations and not necessarily revealing a specific view of its writer, however it aims to convey a certain moral to the readers. Therefore, the character of shylock, being stereotyped or not, with its controversy is a tool manipulated to convey a moral message: when people live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members – regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and beliefs – they will be one step closer to living in a civil society. Works Cited 1) Encyclopaedia Britannica, the definition of "Anti-Semitism". 2) E. E. Stoll, Shylock (an essay in Shakespeare Studies, 1927). 3) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock. 4) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock.
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. 1967. Ed. W. Moelwyn Merchant. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996.
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