The Merchant Of Venice :: Free Merchant of Venice Essays

In The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, there appears loan shark. He is a Jew, that untold we are told in the cast list. But, as the play unfolds Shylock is seen to be the villian. He is protrayed as being cold, unbending, and evil. But is he? Is Shylock real the antagonist in this play or can he also be viewed as persecuted individual who resorts to revenge only after he has been pushed too far.To fully understand the character of Shylock we must kickoff look at Elizabea consequently attitudes towards Jews. In the sixteenth century Jews were rarely if invariably seen in England. In the Middle Ages Jews had fled to England to escape persecution in France under the Normans. They were granted charter in England by Henry I in impart for a percentage of their profits from trade and money lending. It is here that the stereotype of Jews lending money was started. Because of the tariffs placed on them by the crown Jews took to charging high fire rates to secure profits for themselves. Here we see echos of Shylock with his usury. lastly the Jews were ordered out of England in 1254 by Edward I. They did not return to England until the afterwards half of the seventeenth century. (Lippman 3-4) Jews were also viewed as devils by Elizabeathan audiences. Old stories envisioned them as "blood-thirsty murders" that poisoned wells and killed Christian children for their bizarre Passover ritu als. (Stirling 21) These were the stereotypes which Shakespeares audience held in regard to Jews. Shakespeare himself had never seen a Jew but he goes to great lengths to humanise Shylock even while perpetuating the stereotype.In Act 13, before Shylock ever says a word to Antonio, he lets the audience know in an aside that he hates Antonio. He hates him for having hindered him in business and for having humiliated him in public by spitting on him and calling him names much(prenominal) as "dog" and "cutthroat Jew". Shylock tells the audience he hopes to choose revenge on Antonio both for his own humiliation and for the persecution that the Jews have prospicient suffered at the hands of the Christians. I hate him for he is a Christian. . . If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will pabulum fat the ancient grudge I bear him.He hates our sacred democracy . . . Cursd be my tribe if I forgive him (I,iii,40-49) Shylock then tells Antonio that he wants to be friends with him and will conclude the bond for a buffeting of flesh as a "merry sport.