Explore the portrayal of Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice” Essay Example

all these names,

"Misbeliever", "cut-throat dog", "void you rheum" and " stranger cur" and now Antonio wants his help.

In Act Two Scene Five we see how Shylock hates the Christians and is cynical about his invitation to have dinner with them.

"I am not bid for love," shows that he cannot accept this is a sincere or genuine gesture.

"But yet I'll go in hate" shows his extreme dislike for Bassanio. He is spiteful enough to go as he thinks that it will cost Bassanio to provide him with food. This is also evidence of Shylock's obsession with money. He feels uneasy about the whole event due to his bad dream the previous night, again about his favourite subject money.

He disapproves of the festivities and is very rude about his hosts.

"To gaze on Christian fools." He feels the noise and music will taunt his house and does not want Jessica to hear or see it.

"Let not the sound of shallow fopp'ry enter my sober home." Here we see the pious side of Shylock. He treats all Christians the same, even his loyal servant, Lancelot.

"Who bids thee call?" When he disapproves of Lancelot entering into a conversation between him and Jessica. At the end of this scene we see that Jessica is starting to disobey her father.

"I have a father, you a daughter lost." This tells us that Jessica is prepared to go against her father's wishes and meet with the Christian, Lorenzo.

Later in Scene Eight we see his all consuming passion for money and wealth. This overshadows his love and care for his daughter. Jessica has run away with her love, Lorenzo taking her fathers money and jewels.

"Find

the girl! She hath the stones upon her, and the ducats." His only concern is to recover his possessions, even though he is upset that she has run off with a Christian.

"Fled with a Christian."

We see just how despised Shylock is by the Christians in Act Three Scene One when Solanio and Salerio are talking.

"Lest the devil cross my prayer, for here he comes in the likeness of a Jew." Solanio feels Shylock is quite evil. They purposely irritate him misunderstanding his comments about his rebellious daughter,

"My own flesh and blood to rebel"

"Out upon it, old carrion, rebels it at these years?" Solanio implies that Shylock is misbehaving and not Jessica. In this conversation we see how angry Shylock is and how he lusts for revenge of Antonio when he realises he has lost his ships.

"To bait fish withal, if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge." The use of the word 'bait' suggests catching or hunting something down, which is exactly what Shylock wants to do.

We start to feel sorry for Shylock here because he gives logical reasons for not hating Jews. He uses rhetoric to make his point. He also feels very persecuted, he says that Christians do everything Christians do but do not get punished for it.

"If a Christian wrongs a Jew what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why revenge." This is one of the more powerful speeches in the play making us question whether Shylock really is a victim or villain?

However we quickly lose sympathy when he wishes his daughter dead so as to retrieve his wealth. "I would my daughter were dead at my foot

and the jewels in her ear!" We also see how brutal Shylock can be when he is determined to get his revenge of Antonio.

"I'm very glad of it, I'll plague him, I'll torture him", and finally

"I will have the heart of him if he forfeit." Shylock is determined to get his pound of flesh, however distasteful.

In Act Three Scene Three Shylock continues to show his obsession with money. He is abusive towards Antonio,

"This is the fool that lent out money gratis." In his next speech we see his determination to get revenge on Antonio, this is probably because he feels as though Antonio was rude to him. He uses a metaphor,

"But since I am a dog, beware my fangs." Which creates the image of an angry animal, which will use physical means. Shylock refuses to listen to Antonio and shouts at him when Antonio tries to speak. Antonio understands why Shylock is being so obstinate because Shylock felt that Antonio was bad with money,

"I oft delivered from his forfeitures." Antonio is very worried by this bond

"These grieves and loses have so baited me." He has lost weight through worry and Shylock is showing no mercy and being quite inhuman.

Act Four Scene One, some people feel as though this is the most important scene in the play. We learn that the duke has tried to persuade Shylock not to go ahead with his punishment of Antonio; but never the less his still refers to Shylock as 'The Jew.'

"Call the Jew in to court", "We all expect a gentle answer Jew." This probably explains why Shylock feels persecuted by the Christians. Antonio accepts the fact the Shylock

is so determined and his mind will not be changed.

"I pray you, think you question with the Jew: You may as well go stand upon the beach and bid the main flood bate his usual height."

Although the Duke continues to argue with him, Shylock is being extremely stubborn and will not back down. Portia then enters the scene dressed as a male lawyer. She then delivers her famous speech,

"It is twice blessed: it blesseth his that gives, and him that takes." "It is an attribute to God himself; and earthly power doth then show likest God's." She then delivers another clever speech twisting the whole story. She starts to tell Shylock of how he can have his bond its the law; but if one drop of blood is shed then he has to give half of his possessions to Antonio and half to the state of Venice.

"This bond does not give you one jot of blood. The words expressly are 'pound of flesh.' In this scene we see how intelligent Portia really is, she sees how obsessed with money Shylock is and how greedy he is. Portia outwits Shylock so that he ends up by losing everything and gets no revenge on Antonio. He even ends up begging for his life.

"Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the Duke." Portia refused to let Shylock have his money off Antonio after he refused to take his bond.

Antonio spares his life but takes half of his wealth in trust which will go to his daughter and her fianc� on Shylock's death,

"He will let me have the other half in use, to render it upon his death unto the

gentleman that lately stole his daughter." Antonio also insists that Shylock becomes a Christian, which to Shylock is the worst punishment of all.

"He presently becomes a Christian." Antonio also declares that Shylock bequeaths all his possessions to his son-in-law, Lorenzo and his daughter

"He do record a gift, here in the court, of all he dies possessed unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter." By doing this Antonio was insuring that Jessica did not lose out because she had eloped with a Christian. Throughout the play we are aware of Shylock's obsession with money and his hatred towards the Christians; these two factors make it seem acceptable to him to trick and finally kill Antonio. He was even prepared to discard his own flesh and blood, his daughter, for eloping with a Christian. Half way through the play Shylock comes across as though he is the victor, because there does not seem as though there is a way of preventing Shylock of taking Antonio's life. The courtroom scene changed everything. We see Portia's quick thinking, she miraculously turns the whole story around so that Shylock ends up a broken man losing his religion, fortune and dignity.

In my conclusion on whether Shylock is a victim or villain in this play you could argue either way. It is obvious to us throughout the play that he is a victim of racial abuse; because of this abuse he feels justified in exploiting the Christians. He does this by setting up a bond with Antonio to extract money then he is prepared to kill Antonio and shows his no mercy. You could argue that if Shylock was treated less harshly

by the Christians in the first place he would not have retaliated and been so obsessed with revenge. Can you excuse anyone who wanted someone just because they had a few insults thrown at them? Can you really justify Shylock wanting to kill? To me you cannot justify this; and because of this I think that Shylock is the villain of this play.