Discuss Shakespeares portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice is he portrayed as victim or villain Essay Example For Students

Discuss Shakespeares portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice: is he portrayed as victim or villain Essay At the time this play was written anti-Semitism was very common in England. Anti-Semitism is essentially anti Jewish feelings and prejudice towards them. It existed because the Jews were originally seen as Christ killers so therefore the hatred between Christians and Jews has existed ever since then. Nowadays it is not as common as it was in the sixteenth century but it is still prevalent in many parts of the world. Of course racism still exists but Anti-Semitism appears to have decreased in society as time has gone by. The last major case of anti-Semitism was during Hitlers reign as the leader of Germany where he ordered millions of innocent Jewish people to be sent to concentration camps to be executed. Hitler believed that, as the Jewish nation had their land taken from them, that they married into and poisoned nations. Shortly before this play was written Dr Roderigo Lopez was found guilty of treason. He was Portuguese and Jewish and was working as a physician for Queen Elizabeth the first. The trial was rigged and Dr Lopez was to be hung, drawn and quartered. On the scaffold before he was hung he swore that he loved the Queen as much as he loved Jesus Christ! By saying this he was saying that he wanted to convert to Christianity, but the spectators saw this as a confession, that he is guilty, but in a matter of fact the spectators see it as him saying I hate the Queen as much as I hate Jesus Christ. The Jewish people were seen as a race apart. They were feared, disliked, persecuted and nomadic. Martin Luther, founder of the Protestant Church, once said: Know, Christian, that next to the devil has no enemy more cruel, more envious and violent than a true Jew. The Jewish religion was so envied by European society because as a religion they were wealthy, had good jobs, were well educated and the people of Europe were very jealous of this. The stereotype of the Jew was that he was seen as tight with money, (possibly because the only profession which they were legally allowed to follow was to practice usury) seen as money obsessed, hard dealers. This play was very popular amongst Hitlers anti-Semitism and was acted out on many occasions in Germany during Hitlers reign to justify what was being done to the Jews. To prove that even the great William Shakespeare agrees that Jewish people are treacherous and worthless in society. Hitler used the message from this play to get the message across to the people of Germany that what is happening to the Jewish people should happen because they are worthless characters. In this play Shakespeare takes the stereotype of the Jew and partially agrees with it but he also challenges the stereotype. He is an entertainer. He wants to give the audience what they want and if society dislikes the Jewish nation then Shakespeare has to give them what they want to watch. Thus Shakespeare gives them a stereotypical villain, a Jew. This is somebody that the audience will recognise and enjoy seeing punished. Shylock in this play is almost like a pantomime villain, a character that the audience would boo and hiss at every time he enters the stage. We even see evidence of him playing a pantomime villain as he talks in an aside to the audience, explaining why he hates Antonio: because he is a Christian, lends money without interest therefore putting Shylock out of business, he insults and abuses Shylock in public. But while Shakespeare is portraying Shylock as a villain he also portrays him as a victim. Shylock tells us how Antonio abuses him in the street: And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur (Shylock, The Merchant of Venice Act One Scene Three, line 112) He portrays Shylock in this way to try and get audience to think about their prejudices and stereotypes and to look beyond them. Just because he is Jewish it does not mean he is inhuman; he is just like me or you: If you poison us do we not die (Shylock, The Merchant of Venice, Act Four Scene One) Shakespeare brilliantly manages to get both the idea of Shylock being victim and villain across in the play. There IS lots of evidence in this play to suggest that Shylock is a villain and Jew of the popular stereotype. It certainly seems that way in Act one Scene Three. Shylock for once in a position of a power, plays with Bassanio refusing to give an answer one way or the other. He takes twenty-five lines to give his answer: (I think I may take his bond). Also in this scene we see Shylock talking in an aside to the audience, like a pantomime villain. He gloats about the chance of revenge (If I can catch him once upon the hip). He tells the audience how and why he hates Antonio; he is too devious to say this to Antonios face and is most certainly very untrustworthy in that he appears to want to ingratiate himself with Antonio. In the scene he becomes very money obsessed another very typical stereotype of the Jew. What is the role of fate in the tragic plays Oedipus by Sophocles and miss Julie by Strindberg EssayI am a Jew. Hath not Jew eyes? (Shylock, The Merchant of Venice, Act three scene one) In reading this we see that Shakespeare is now challenging the stereotype. Shakespeare explains to us that despite his religion or the religion of anybody they are still human. The Jewish nation are not an object of loathing, the Jewish nation are human beings just like the rest of us. Maybe what we see in, Act One Scene Three, is the loan in what he said that it was. Shylock claims that the bargain in which he is making is in fact a peace offering, a hand of friendship: To buy his favour, I extend his friendship. In act four scene one we see the trial in which Shylock is about to be put in front of. The court of justice, but whom is receiving justice. The whole court is prejudice against Shylock, he is a Jew in front of a jury of Christians, and nobody will be on his side. He is not addressed by his name: call the Jew into the court, the Duke calls him an inhuman wretch. He is supposed to stay neutral, not to take any sides. The court tries to browbeat Shylock, try to harass him into the right decision: We all expect a gentile answer Jew. We see again how Shylock is not addressed properly, called Jew. While on trial Antonio makes a speech of great scorn and loathing. He says how the trial is a waste of time, and that you might as well try and stop the tide than prevents Shylock getting what he wants. Antonio wants the trial to be over and done with. This scene gets the balance across greater than any other does, whether Shylock is victim or villain. Shylock shows to us that he is a villain in the way in which he sharpens his blade in anticipation of the pound of flesh. He also refuses the offer of more money that he is owed; indeed three times the amount loaned to Antonio. Shylock shows great delight at the announcement of the prospect of legalised murder. He cannot wait to get what he regards as his just deserts: I have them ready. Talking about the knives which he is about to put to Antonios flesh. But we see that Shylock is also a victim, we see that Gratanio cannot hide his delight at the sight that the Jew has now been caught on the hip. Not only is Shylock fooled he is being forced to live the rest of his life as a Christian, a very savage humiliation. From this Shylock leaves the stage a broken man. Everything he is against he now is as what he wanted was not the money back but justice. And he would get his justice against all the Christian religion if the deal would have been kept, and he would have got his pound of flesh. The evidence in the play portrays Shylock as both victim and villain depending on the way in which you look at the play and, of course, the way in which the director acts it out. I would incline more towards Shylock being victim rather than villain. I incline this way as I believe that if another race or religion persecutes a man of whatever race or religion he is going to want revenge. And when the perfect opportunity arises to take that revenge the person being persecuted will do anything to make sure that it happens. And if that person is forced to be converted to the race or religion which has persecuted him for some many years he will feel resentful. To do that to somebody just because they are of a different religion is evil. It is a fine example of bullying, he is victimised by everybody. Shylock tells us in a very moving speech, Act Three Scene One, that he is just like everybody else: if you prick me do I not bleed. The man lends money to one of his worst enemies, he could have refused and walked away. Yes, there is a great amount of evidence to incline my opinion towards the villain side but I do believe that Shylock is a greater victim than a villain.