The play is set in Venice because I think that during the time he wrote the play, there was a conflict between Christians and the Jews so if he had set the play in England then he would have had been in trouble, so it was best for him to set it somewhere different.
In the play, Antonio asks for some money from shylock for his friend bassanio who is in deep love with a fair girl called Portia. Despite all the horrible things Antonio has said and done to shylock, he actually comes to ask for some money from shylock (rich) because his ships have not arrived yet. This sounds funny to ask something from someone also knowing all the trouble they have caused to that person. This tells us how strong the relationship between the two friends is. Antonio only went to ask for some money from his enemy because of his friend.
The question that I want to discover is why did shylock accept the deal. He hated the Christians a lot then for what reason did he agree to give the money to which he hated. There can be only one answer for that. Shylock knew a lot about Antonio’s ships so he must have known that the ships wound sunk so in this way he could take a harsh revenge on his enemy. When shylock says “ three thousand ducats”. That makes him a greedy cold man and it makes the audience think that shylock is not a good man but in fact he is an evil man. This first passage from the play gives us the impression of shylock. The words three and thousand have alliteration and this makes the script for the character easy to speak without mumbling. It grabs our attention.
Launcelot in the play works at shylocks house and he want to leave him and start working for bassanio. He says, “ The Jew is the very devil incarnation” this means that he does not like to work at shylocks because he does not treat him well. Shakespeare uses the word devil, which can easily make the audience think how horrible shylock must be, and this leads shylock into a villain.
Shylock makes such a big point of locking up his house and really gets annoyed with his daughter for failing to! He ends up reducing her to tears by striking her. This gives us the character of him. Everybody in the play hates him and least of all, his own daughter also hates him
“ Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil.”
This tells us more about the character of shylock. We can accept the fact on why did the Christians hate shylock but even his own daughter calls him a devil. She calls her own house a place of hell. Why can someone own blood call her own father a devil? This is simply because shylock must have kept her in strict conditions and probably might have beat her up. This gives him the major part of a villain role because all parents love their children and would never want to see them unhappy!
Then again shylock is left alone with no family as Jessica elopes with Lorenzo, a friend of a Christian. Shylock earns pity from the audience when he tells bassanio that “ my daughter is my flesh and blood” meaning that with her gone it is as if part of him has been taken too. Shakespeare uses words like my daughter and flesh to create sympathy for shylock I can imagine shylock crying because was only he had now she’s gone he is completely alone. Shakespeare describes this scene really sad for a Jew. Than passage tells us that he loved his daughter a lot making him a soft victim, then why would Jessica want to elope? The answer could me love, love is something nobody can give up. Although they can leave parents but not love so the answer could be that because Jessica loved a Christian, she really well knew that no matter what shylock would never agree with this relationship so she might have eloped without anybody knowing.
Jessica also stole his father’s wealth so this could solve the question. If she hated her father then why did she dare to touch his money? Also, because he hated his dad, what did religion had to do with this? The answer could be that because his lover was a Christian she will also covert to Christianity and this leaves shylock more victim than ever.
Then again the audience turns off when he turns into a villain when he screams showing his emotions and strong views “o ma daughter, my ducats! My daughter my ducats!” this can show us that he was probably more concerned about his wealth than his own daughter. Shakespeare repeats the word daughter and ducats many times to make the audience feel ho much or how many times did shylock love his daughter or ducats.
The major victim role played by shylock was when he tells salerio that he sees difference between Jews and Christians. “ I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eye? Hath not a Jew hands, organs etc” this makes the audience fell really sorry for shy loch because he is saying that he sees no difference between Christians and Jews. Shakespeare’s use of question marks makes us involve with shylock because it makes us answer all his questions and fell sorry for him. This gives him the best victim role. However he loses sympathy when he finishes the sentence off by saying “ if a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humanity? Revenge! This gives him a bad character again because he wants to take revenge with a Christian.
With Jessica eloping and taking his wealth, shylocks hatred for the Christians especially Antonio increases and this makes him want to take his revenge more and it works when he hears the news that Antonio has lost his ships.
Antonio has gone bankrupt as all of his ships sunk out at sea. Shylocks bond has now been activated and he demands his rightful pounds of flesh under Venetian law. I think shylocks represented as a villain in the court scene. He walks in and places the scales of justice on the table. The court scene is shylocks any chance for some justice, if not in the bond then as a way of revenge for how he has been spat by Antonio, given really bad names etc. the side is one sided from the minute shylock is ordered in by the judge “ go on and call the Jew into the court”. This shows the judge as being biased against Jews and shylock, even before they start; he is influencing the court with his own prejudiced views. Shylock is having an unfair trial because he is being judged in a Christian court. Not a court of law. This makes us fell sorry for him because he is the only Jew while all the other characters in the court are Christians.
Shylock wants his form of justice in his bond he made with Antonio who is known as the merchant of Venice, which is where the title of the play comes from. Shylock lent bassanio three thousand ducats on behalf of Antonio. The bond was that a pond of flesh nearest to his heart could be taken away if the money was not paid on time. Antonio was sure that his ships will return so he agreed though Antonio’s ships were last at sea, this made the bond active.
During the trial shylock loses the sympathy from the audience by his words and actions. He takes out his blades and starts sharpening in on his shoes destroying any chances that he will show mercy. We can imagine him, as he is not scared at all by taking someone’s life. I get the impression he might have experienced it before. Shakespeare doesn’t create a dramatic irony in the scene because he makes both the audience and the characters anxious to know what will happen next.
He is ready to cut Antonio’s flesh when Portia stops him, “ the bond doth give thee here no jot of blood”. The words exposal is a pond of flesh. Portia reveals that there is a flow in the blood. Shylock is allowed his pound of flesh but not a drop of blood, which would obviously come if he enters his skin, “ if thou doest shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are, by the laws of Venice confiscated into the state of Venice. “ the bond that shylock had created has ruined his plan for revenge. The one thing that shylock cares for more than anything will not be taken from him if he takes his justified revenge. Now Shakespeare makes the audience ant to know desperately of what will happen.
The tables are now turned with Venetian law saying that a penalty must be paid by an alien attempting to murder a Venetian. Still shylock is classed as an alien in his home. Shylocks possessions are confiscated because of the attempted murder of Antonio.
Antonio now makes two conditions for his life. Firstly, shylock must become Christian and secondly, he must make a will leaving all of his wealth to Jessica and Lorenzo. Not only has shylock converted to a Christian and humiliated in front of court, but his friend another Jew tubal walked out on him as he nearly carved a pound of flesh from Antonio. At this point, his only friend left him. So without his revenge, wealth and his daughter, now he is alienated from his fellow Jews. Ironically he is left alone with nothing but what ruined him, his new found Christianity, shylock can be seen as both comic and tragic because of his quick-witted responses, almost playing with the insults that are thrown to him from day to day, and tragic because of the loss of his daughter, friend and possessions. I think because his own Venetians community that has led him to such misfortune and bitterness has driven him to the edge of insanity from the prejudice on him throughout his life.
I think William Shakespeare was not against cause he included a passage that made Christians and Jews alike.
Shylock said:
“ I am a Jew, hath not a Jew eye?”
One of the reason I think Shakespeare’s plays have always been popular is because of their appeal to different audiences. In the merchant of Venice Shakespeare produces a quite intricate play bringing up the question of racism and morality for some of the most educated members of Elizabethan audience, it is simply a tale of a Jew who eventually receives his comeuppance. The Jews were different from the Jews now. Anti-Semitism had been present in England ever since Jews first arrived. It was on this use of anti-Semitism that Shakespeare wrote the merchant of Venice in 1597 and it is clear he takes full advantage of this to enliven his Elizabethan audience. Solerio and salanio are minor characters that are most anti-Semitic in how they treat shylock in the public. It is clear that Shakespeare himself was not anti-Semitic but responds to the audience appetite for the denigration of Jews.
I really enjoyed reading this play although I recognise that the text is open to multiple interpretations. Some can even directly contradict one another. The elements of anti- Semitism are frequent and have led me think more deeply about how the changes in modern society have affected the belief in god and the various ways in which we discriminate against those who are different to us!
Conclusion
I think shylock is a victim because his own daughter Jessica betrays him. Jessica broke the 10 commandments by disobeying her father. She did not realise that when she was born, it was shylock that raised her since from childhood because her mother died. The main reason why I think shylock is a victim is because everyone in the play lives happily ever after in the play besides shylock, his own friend Tubal also left him.
He wanted justice because of the way he was being treated by the Christians. Antonio and everyone humiliated him a lot. The part when he wanted the pond of flesh was actually agreed with Antonio. If it was not agreed then that would have been a different thing but it was agreed. So he deserved it. Instead of justice, he lost everything. He lost his daughter, friend, wealth and also religion. It was not fair for shylock!