Rabindranath tagore

Shylock
Although critics tend to agree that Shylock is The Merchant of Venice’s most noteworthy figure, no consensus has been reached on whether to read him as a bloodthirsty bogeyman, a clownish Jewish stereotype, or a tragic figure whose sense of decency has been fractured by the persecution he endures. Certainly, Shylock is the play’s antagonist, and he is menacing enough to seriously imperil the happiness of Venice’s businessmen and young lovers alike. Shylock is also, however, a creation of circumstance; even in his single-minded pursuit of a pound of flesh, his frequent mentions of the cruelty he has endured at Christian hands make it hard for us to label him a natural born monster. In one of Shakespeare’s most famous monologues, for example, Shylock argues that Jews are humans and calls his quest for vengeance the product of lessons taught to him by the cruelty of Venetian citizens. On the other hand, Shylock’s coldly calculated attempt to revenge the wrongs done to him by murdering his persecutor, Antonio, prevents us from viewing him in a primarily positive light. Shakespeare gives us unmistakably human moments, but he often steers us against Shylock as well, painting him as a miserly, cruel, and prosaic figure.
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He's disgracefully treated by the Christians: they mock his religion, refuse to trade with him, spit on him in the street, and - even in the trial scene - mock him and taunt him to his face. Throughout the play he's referred to as "Jew" rather than "Shylock", and you can see why he longs to "feed fat" his grudge against the Christians.
He is devastated when his daughter leaves him, without any warning, and without any evidence of negative behaviour towards her from him (she says "this house is hell", though the scene doesn't make it clear exactly why she feels like that). Shylock is, I think Shakespeare makes it very clear, a victim.
He is also a villain. He deliberately opts for the "pound of flesh" because he has a grudge against Antonio, and, when the chance comes to get his revenge, he behaves in an extremely undignified and certainly unmerciful way. He gloats in front of Antonio, even attending the gaoler who arrest him, and openly proclaims his right to the flesh, against any sense of common humanity, in a public court. He also values his money extremely highly - not negative in itself - but, when he seems to value his ducats more than his daugther, you have to be suspicious. He's undoubtedly also a villain.
You can make a case either way. For me, I'd argue that he's both at once: though like the Wittgenstein duck/rabbit, at any one moment he seems one or the other.

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The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare features a plot curtailing the life of a Jewish money lender named Shylock. There has been historic debate on Shakespeare's intentions with Shylock. Through examination of the cultural period in which Shakespeare lived, the way that the Christians treat Shylock and the presence of a feeling of victimization, I will explain how Shakespeare's intent was not Anti-Semitic. The time in which he existed did not permit him to have a Jewish character as a hero, so Shakespeare challenges the Jewish stereotype through blurring the line between villain and victim with his creation of Shylock. The end result of the play is not a feeling of division and hate, but compassion and pity toward the maltreatment of the Jew by the Christians.
Almost the entire history of Jews in Europe throughout the middle ages has been stricken with persecution. From as early as the year 1189, Jews were the butt of ethnic cleansing attempts all over and throughout Europe. During the coronation of Richard I, Jewish torture and massacre was part of the ceremony. A great mass expulsion began by King Edward in France and then spread through England. By 1490, Portugal and Spain joined into this and marked the culmination Jewish mass expulsion from large areas of Western Europe. After 1517, the only Jews that remained in England or Europe as a whole were those who falsely professed Christianity as their religion (Edwards, 13-19). These people were called "Marranos," a term that described people that professed Christianity but continued to live as a Jew in secret (Berek, 131). As this behaviour extended into the period in which Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, it is very possible that he would not have even met, or perhaps knew of a Jew.
Other than the ethnic cleansing that took place in England, Shakespeare was exposed to other cultural forces that may have helped shape his image of Jews. Jews had been blamed for plagues, inexplicable deaths and were regarded as a form of the devil incarnate. In his essay A Discourse Upon Usury, Berek explains, "Like the Jew and the devil, the usurer is a perpetual danger, not because he is frightening and hateful, but because he is attractive" (167). Slightly before Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, Christopher Marlowe wrote and released the play titled The Jew of Malta. This was a very successful play in England and featured a villainous Jew who is eventually boiled alive to the delight of the audience. Marlowe's character Barabas, became the poster boy of Jewish characters in Elizabethan renaissance theatre. To further understand the creation of Barabas, we must also examine the basis for his character. Marlowe created Barabas after a caricature of a real Jew existing in England, Dr. Lopez. He was a Portuguese Jew who was Queen Elizabeth's Physician. In 1594, he was tried and executed for obviously false allegations as he represented an example of the English anti-Semitic beliefs of that time (Speaight, 97).
Let us know examine Shakespeare's representation of Shylock. Although Shylock is clearly villainous, it is important to determine whether the root cause of his villainy is indeed his Jewishness. Shylock is hated by many of the Christians because he lends money for profit. Shylock is immediately set apart from the other characters in the play. His manner of speaking is very repetitive and mechanical. This allows the audience to see him as different from the other humans and as an outsider.
As the play begins, we are immediately thrust into stereotype as Shylock is introduced as userer in Act I. Bassanio, a Christian, seeks out Shylock in order to borrow the money he needs. He comes to Shylock in Antonio's name, another Christian whom Shylock bears a grudge against, "I hate him because he is ChristianI will feed the fat the ancient grudge I bear him" (Act I, Sc iii). This grudge that we learn about early in the play foreshadows the revenge that Shylock later tries the exact unto Antonio. Antonio specifically refers to Shylock as a "dog" several times as if to dehumanize him. This grudge also represents Shylock's greater hatred for all Christians, who have tormented and ridiculed him as a Jew. Shakespeare makes sure the audience is aware of the religious persecution Shylock has suffered on behalf of the Christians.
Bassanio's quest to borrow money from Shylock opens the door for Shylock to have the upper hand on Antonio, as he would be in debt to Shylock if he does indeed lend the money to Bassanio. Antonio's fortune is invested in his ships, which are at sea, which is why he cannot lend the money to Bassanio himself. Shylock sees both profit and the opportunity to hold power over Antonio in this situation. Shylock takes the opportunity and agrees to lend Bassanio money in Antonio's name. The deal stipulates that if Antonio does not pay the money back on time, Shylock is entitled to a pound of flesh from Antonio. This again dehumanizes shylock as it shows his emphasis on revenge instead of respect for life. Shakespeare subjects the audience to many comparisons between Antonio and Shylock. This FOIL will become important at the trial scene toward the end of the play.
While the main plot evolves, Shakespeare also uses subplots to engage the audience into Shylock's character. His clown Launcelot, who resides in Venice, flees from Shylock's services and joins Bassanio. This of course further demonstrates the damnation of Shylock by the Christians. If this was not enough, Shylock's daughter Jessica runs away from home and elopes with Lorenzo, another Christian. Jessica and Lorenzo also take a great deal of money and jewellery from Shylock. When this occurs, Shylock appears more concerned about his money and that it was stolen by a Christian than he does care about his daughter being gone. To a Christian, it would seem absurd to value money more than family, but this was a common stereotype of Jews. This tremendous treachery marks the culmination of Shylock's patience toward Christians.
The three-month lending period has finally arrived and Antonio's ships have not turned profit in time. Shylock furiously demands Antonio to pay him for the three thousand ducats he had lent to Bassanio. This brings us to the climax of the play, the famous trial scene. The contract is presented and Shylock stresses that the law demands a signed contract to be carried out. Antonio can offer no defence, as the letter of the law clearly stipulates that Antonio is bound by contract to give Shylock a pound of his flesh. Just as the judge is about to side with Shylock, Portia arrives disguised as a doctor of law and proceeds to convince Shylock to have mercy on Antonio. Mercy is a quality that any Christian would be expected to exact in a situation like this. Shylock denies any mercy and demands his pound of flesh from Antonio.
Since Shylock binds himself to the letter of the law rather than mercy, Portia takes a different approach. She cleverly points out that Shylock cannot legally take anymore or less than one pound of flesh. She asks Shylock how he proposes to take this pound of flesh without extracting any blood, which he is not at all entitled to. In the case that any blood is drawn all of Shylock's goods would be confiscated. As Shylock agrees to forego the bond, Portia goes on to enlighten the court that under Venetian law, Shylock may be charged for attempted murder. As part of a negotiation to avoid these charges, Shylock is required to give half of his fortune to Antonio and once he dies, Jessica and Lorenzo are permitted to the fortune. As a final torment, Antonio demands that Shylock must become a Christian. This is an example of how the Jews were being treated during Shakespeare's time. If they wanted to live or exist in Christian society, they would have to become, or at least, falsely profess Christianity,
Through examining the view of Jews during Shakespeare's time, it is clear that there was no other way of characterizing a Jew other than a villain. I argue that although Shylock is a villain, he is also a victim. Throughout the play we are consistently reminded of the torture that Shylock has suffered at the hands of the Christians. He is constantly being dehumanized and abused by all of the Christians in the play. Although this demonstrates his villainy, it also justifies his extreme hatred and lust for revenge toward Antonio. In this sense, Shylock's villainy is a result of others and not as a result of his fixed personality as a Jew. In fact, it is Antonio who has no true justification for his hate toward Shylock. This reveals the hollowness and unwarranted bias that forms the prejudice and hate behind the Christian's hate toward the Jews.
Although the Christians consistently dehumanize Shylock, probably much to the delight of the Elizabethan audience, Shakespeare gives him a voice. If Shakespeare did not intend for Shylock to be human, he would not have given Shylock his speech is Act III, Scene i:
Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us should we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrongs a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrongs a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example."
With this one speech, the audience will forever ponder the difference between Christians and the Jews. It also invokes a sense of sympathy for Shylock by the audience. This is the difference between Shakespeare's representation of a Jew and those of the anti-Semitic representations of others. Shakespeare has wittingly given Shylock human qualities while still catering to the Elizabethan audience. Shakespeare is a genius at taking a stereotype and working against it while not overthrowing the stereotype for the pleasure of the audience. Thinking that Shakespeare would be writing a simple, as-it-seems anti-Semitic play would be to sell the great play-write short.
I believe Shakespeare subtly exposes the hollowness of anti-Semitism. The Merchant of Venice is a play exposing what it is like to be a Jew, not a play about invoking hatred and division. Bigotry is exposed not only through the characters, but also by the plot. The act of choosing a casket to win Portia's love further backs up this idea. In having patrons choose a casket, Shakespeare reveals the judgement that will determine Portia's love is based on an empty decision on which casket is the one which contains the key to Portia's love. It was in fact the lead casket which contained the true beauty inside it. Those who chose the caskets that appeared to contain riches were sadly mistaken. This reveals that prejudices arise through the judgement of others based on empty judgements and biases.
In conclusion, William Shakespeare's creation of Shylock was not with anti-Semitic pretences. England of Shakespeare's time did not allow for Jewish characters to appear in good light. He cleverly blurs the line between villain and victim with Shylock in order to challenge Jewish stereotypes while still remaining true to his audience. Since the use of Shylock does not cause the audience to feel hate or division from the Jew, the intention was not anti-Semitic. Rather, the effect was a feeling of compassion and pity for the way in which the Jew was treated.

Shylock Victim or Villain?

The main or at least one of the main characters is a Jewish money-lender called Shylock living in Venice. The Jews in that time were segregated and abused by Christians. Between them the Jews and the Christians there has been a long, ancient grudge. Shakespeare puts the play in at the time where the ancient grudge is still strong. Shylock is a very controversial character as he in cases is a villain in some cases a victim and even in some cases both. As we are focusing the point on whether Shylock is a victim or a villain, let’s see first why Shylock is a villain. There are quite a few reasons for Shylock being a villain in my opinion supported by text from the play. Firstly, near the beginning of the play, Shylock has a chance to take against the Christians when Bassanio (a Christian) wants to borrow three thousand ducats off Shylock (a money lender). Antonio, (also a Christian), his friend is prepared to do the deal as he is the only one who will be able to pay the money back. Shylock agrees with the deal, but then slyly comes up with a bond that said if Antonio could not pay his money back in time; one pound of his flesh could be cut off. ‘Of your fair flesh, to be cut off’ is quite a horrible deal which shows some of the villainy side to Shylock. It is just the way of thinking that is quite disgusting from Shylock. Another point is that when his daughter, Jessica leaves him, he says ‘I would my daughter dead at my foot’. I think this shows that he is a bad father, saying that he wants his daughter dead where he can see it. If he was a good and caring father he would try to find her and resolve it between them. He should be upset on losing her instead of getting angry at her for leaving him. From that, it also shows us that he doesn’t love his daughter that much. As she also takes some of his money, he finishes the last quote with ‘and the jewels in her ear’. When he says this, it makes you think that Shylock cares...

Conclusion
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I believe Shylocks both villain and victim because of the way he is largely represented as both in Act 3 Scene 1, in which we see his villainous and victim sides in the speech beginning "hath not a Jew…".
This speech shows that Shylock has wronged in the form of wanting revenge and has been wronged by being persecuted.

Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

The question frequently asked after reading The Merchant of Venice is: is Shylock a victim or a villain? The best way to investigate this question is to explore the text of the play to find out what
Shakespeare wanted us to believe.

Life for the Jews in the Elizabethan period was often very hard. In
England Jews were viewed with distaste, suspected of a number of heinous crimes such as child murder. They were also distrusted by
Christians for the rejection of Christ as the Messiah and because they did not lend money gratis. Many Christians were financially beholden to the Jews.

Roderigo Lopez was a Jew of Portuguese decent, who fled to England in
1559 where he worked as a physician. His practice grew, and in time he was appointed physician to the Queen of England. But the Earl of Essex found what he believed to be evidence that Lopez had accepted a bribe from the King of Spain to poison Queen Elizabeth. It is true that
Lopez had underhand dealings with Spanish spies, but it is to this day unproven if Lopez ever intended any harm towards the Queen. However, he was found guilty and in 1996 he was hung, drawn and quartered for a crime he probably was never going to commit. The Merchant of Venice was written two years later in 1596, and the treatment of Shylock is similar to that of Lopez. Shylock is shunned by the Christians and treated as an outcast. Possibly, Shakespeare wrote this play as the
Lopez case was fresh in people’s minds, and he knew that a play about a detested Jew would be of great interest.

In Italy, where The Merchant of Venice is set, the Jews were being greatly prejudiced against; they were being expelled from the country, they were made to wear demoralising items such as ‘badges of shame’ and Jewish synagogues were turned into Christian churches. They were made to wear cloaks, caps or badges which indicated that they were beneath the Christians, and they were condemned to live in just one part of the city, the Ghettos, which were often of bad condition. The only place they were allowed to commune with Christians was on the
Rialto where they could do business. The Rialto is where we first meet
Shylock.

Many people say that Shakespeare drew ambiguous characters, and that
Shylock is neither a victim nor a villain. In fact Shakespeare’s characters are very fairly created, nobody is entirely evil, none entirely good, which makes for greater realism. Shakespeare seems to deliberately try to make it hard for the audience to decide if Shylock is a victim or a villain, as he does with all the characters. For example, Antonio appears to be the perfect Christian, but is un-Christian towards Shylock. Bassanio is more feckless, but he learns through his mistakes. When Shakespeare first brings Shylock onto the stage he shows us someone who, at first sight, appears to be a stereotypical Jewish character: vengeful and grasping. Shylock’s assertion that Antonio is a ‘good’ man refers not to Antonio’s moral standing, but to his financial standing, and Shylock later says of
Antonio:

“How like a fawning publican he looks.

I hate him for he is a Christian:

But more, for that in low simplicity

He lends out money gratis, and brings down

The rate of usance here with us in Venice.”

This makes Shylock seem to be an unpleasant character who dislikes
Antonio just because he is a Christian and has different moral views, but Shakespeare later shows us that Antonio’s treatment of Shylock is just as bad, for he hates Shylock for exactly the same reason; that he is of a different religion: ‘…he hath disgrac’d me, and hinder’d me half a million,” Shylock says of Antonio, “laugh’d at my losses, mock’d at my gains, scorned my Nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies, and what’s his reason? I am a Jew.”
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When Shylock justifies usury by quoting from the Bible, Antonio also says Shylock is like a devil citing scripture for his own purpose, “An evil soul producing holy witness…” and “a villain with a smiling cheek. A goodly apple rotten at the heart’. Shylock reminds Antonio of the names he has called him in the past: a ‘misbeliever’ a ‘cut-throat dog’ and ‘all for use of that which is mine own’. In other words
Antonio hates Shylock for loaning him and others money. Shakespeare makes the injustice which Shylock feels clear later in the speech:
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“What should I say to you? Should I not say,
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Hath a dog money? Is it possible

A cur can lend three thousand ducats? or
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Shall I bend low, and in a bondman’s key

With bated breath, and whisp’ring humbleness

Say this: Fair sir, you spet on me on Wednesday last;

You spurn’d me such a day; another time

You call’d me dog: and for these courtesies

I’ll lend you thus much moneys.”

This speech shows that Shylock feels, rightly so, that Antonio’s treatment of him is unjust; Antonio treats him very badly, but then expects him to lend him money.

Another factor which induces sympathy towards Shylock is the scene in which Shylock talks about the ring his partner Leah gave him, ‘it was my turkis, I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor: I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys.’ However, Bassanio the Christian gives away the ring Portia gave him without too much regret, and this shows that Shylock is definitely not lacking in emotion or love, and in comparison shows Bassanio in a poor light.

In the courtroom Bassanio also says to Antonio:

“…life itself, my wife, and all the world,

Are not with me esteem’d above thy life.”

Shylock finds the Christian view on marriage shocking, as he feels that husbands should give all to their wives, and love them more than anybody else:

“These be the Christian husbands: I have a daughter,

Would any of the stock of Barrabas

Had been her husband, rather than a Christian.”

This tells us that perhaps Shylock has higher morals than Bassanio, and indeed though the lead casket stated that Bassanio should ‘give and hazard all he hath’, Bassanio is putting his friend in front of his wife which is challenging the vows he has recently made.

One of the most important scenes in The Merchant of Venice is the court scene, as this reveals a lot about Shylock and the other key characters. The overwhelming feeling is that Shylock wants justice. He lives in a community of Christians, who shun him at every opportunity and treat him like a dog. Maybe Shylock does act villainously and inhumanely by demanding a pound of flesh, but that could be because he’s been victimised for so many years. Shylock wants justice for justice sake, even though he knows all he will ever gain is his moral victory: “…if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge…”.
There seems to be great bitterness in this speech, as is understandable; Bassanio might say that Antonio is the best of men, but although Antonio treats Bassanio with kindness and friendship, he treats Shylock quite the opposite. Shylock goes on to say:

“The pound of flesh which I demand of him

Is dearly bought, ‘tis mine, and I will have it.

If you deny me: fie upon your Law

There is no force in the decrees of Venice;

I stand for judgement, answer. Shall I have it?”

So Shylock is after justice, a justice which has been denied him and his kind for a long time.

When Portia enters the court disguised as Balthasar, one of the first things she says is, “Which is the Merchant here? and which is the
Jew?” Shakespeare has put that comment in for a reason; he might be saying that neither is better than the other, and in the laws of equality they are both the same.
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During the court scene Portia makes an important speech:

“The quality of mercy is not strain’d…

It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes,

‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest…

It is an attribute to God himself…”

At face value, Portia is saying that Shylock should be merciful towards Antonio, and release him from the bond, but Shakespeare is also trying to put across a message that all mankind should be merciful and accept mercy, and that nobody is entirely good or evil but a combination of both.

In conclusion I feel that Shylock is more a victim than a villain, although he does have a lot of unpleasant qualities. However, he seems to be emotional and has a strong sense of morality, as is shown when he talks about Leah and his views on marriage. The audience feels sympathy for Shylock because it appears everybody is against him, even his own daughter. Nothing seems to go right for him. In Shylock,
Shakespeare has created a character who is a villain in appearance but a victim at heart.