Shylock’s generous side is shown here as he still agrees to lend
Antonio the three thousand ducats. He asked for an unusual bond and forfeit, which he is entitled to do.
“If you repay me not such a day, be nominated for an equal pound of flesh be cut off in what part of your body pleaseath me.”
This implies that Shylock has a hidden agenda. This makes the reader think that Shylock posseses inhumane qualities. as he is asking for part of human flesh that he would please him to cut of.
Antonio had the chance to congitate about the bond however, without hesitation and thinking through he agrees to conceal the bond disguarding Bassanio's conflicting opinions and doubts.
Shylock appears next in Act II sc.iv
Shylock’s comic servant Lancelot Gobo exaggerates when he says,
“The Jew is the very devil incarnation.”
Shylock’s one and only daughter Jessica echoed this opinion when she sighs,
“Our house is hell.”
Jessica is very much ashamed to be her father’s child although she knows it is a henical sin for a daughter to have such wicked feelings towards her father. Again we can only feel sympathy towards Shylock.
Shakespeare undoubtedly wants to show the effect that these events are having on Shylock. Shakespeare wants to show that he still possesses humane qualities also to enable us to see another side of him besides the stereotypical Jew as he is known.
We learn of Shylock’s loss in the next scene. His daughter Jessica has run away with another Christian friend of Bassanio with a large amount of money and most of his valuable jewelry. Selerio and Salanio share the new they have heard through laughter, belther and idle talk. This demonstrates the jesting of the two Christians are made to look cruel and spiteful. No matter what opinion we have of Shylock we as readers are forced to sympathize again with He is being treated unfairly as people who don’t even know him are bruiting about him. In Shylocks case the loss of a daughter to a Christian is a real cause for sorrow for Jessica to run away is bad enough but the fact that she is in love with and has run away with a Christian is horrific news to Shylock to whom he so much hates and despises.
We learn of Shylock’s sorrow whey he says
“My daughter is my own flesh and blood”
The words ‘flesh’ and ‘blood’ are used in a positive way here. To show his affections for his only daughter Jessica contrasting to the use of these same words in the bond. Shakespeare again tries to reveal and illustrate Shylocks sympathetic views. Shylock does seem to eventually earn some pity by stating this to Solanio and Selerio.
Later on in Act3 sc3 we learn that Antonio’s ships have sunk at sea and because of this he cannot repay Shylock’s dept before the three-month period is over. Antonio pleas with Shylock
“I pray thee hear thee speak”
Antonio has no option but to plea with the Jew, However Shylock doesn’t want to hear it.
“I’ll have my bond I will not hear thee speak”
Shylock is evidently in the right as he is following the legally signed bond. Shylock appears next in the Venice courtroom in Act4 sc1 and attempts to get what he is owed from Antonio however the Duke asks Shylock to show mercy even though Antonio, is evidently in the wrong. Bassanio offers Shylock three times the amount of money he owes. However Shylock refuses because he knows he has a right to his part of the bond
“ I would not draw them I would have my bond”
Why should Shylock have mercy on Antonio when Antonio legally agreed to and signed the bond. In my view Shylock has the right to what he is owed.
As Antonio’s defence Portia steps in and commences to manipulate Shylock “Do you confess the bond?” This implies that Portia wants Shylock to agree to the bond so that she can control the situation and towards the end prove that the bond is illegal and Shylock is in the wrong. As the reader we know what her aim is but Shylock doesn’t.
Portia’s manipulative ways are unfair towards Shylock. The jury are all Christians and are on Antonio’s side whilst only the law is on Shylock’s The jury offer him other options other than the forfeit of the bond, which they know Shylock will refuse. Throughout the whole trial by his words and actions e.g. the sharpening of the knife on the sole of his shoe. Neither insults nor pleading spoil the enjoyment of his triumph.
Shylock continuously refuses to accept other options besides the actual forfeit of the bond.
“There is no power in the tongue of man to offer me I stay here and my bond”
This automatically implies that Shylock is not going to be persuaded otherwise and has a right to what he is owed. The jury, Duke and lawyers have tried every way of persuasion to make Shylock see through the bond and have mercy on Antonio.
Portia carries through her plan as she prepares Antonio for his forfeit
“You must prepare your bosom for Shylocks knife”
Shylock now believes he has won and gets ready to cut a pound of Antonio’s flesh To finish her manipulative plan she states that no blood can be shed because it is not stated on the bond Shylocks downfall is undoubtedly on its way. Shylock shockingly accepts the news and has no option but to let the Christian go. Shylock lost his part of the bond and accepts the original sum of money borrowed. Gratiano exults over this leaving Shylock saddened having almost everything taken from him
However Portia didn’t stop here. She continued to peruse her advantage and maintains that Shylock’s life is at forfeit for conspiring against the life of a Venetian citizen. However his life is spared generously by the duke Shylock also had to give up half his property to his enemy Antonio and also found out that his “ flesh and blood” Jessica had secretly married Lorenzo (Christian), however the worst was yet to come. Shylock had to convert to the religion he hated the most: Christianity. Overall Shylock was punished very harshly and severely for something that he had been manipulated to say do and.
Shylock took the situation to court to get what was rightfully his. It ended up in him losing his self-respect, sense of meaning and identity, which are not objects that can be replaced, but part of shylock that has been lost. When Shylock gets all his comeuppances we realize that he has been punished enough. It also makes us believe that he doesn’t deserve everything that he got because he is now left with nothing.
Conclusion:
In conclusion to this essay I will review my argument and show how I reached my answer to the essay question: Did Shylock get what he deserved?” I thought that Shylock got a lot more than what he deserved. Throughout the essay I expressed the lead up to Shylock’s downfall and how it affected him as one of the main characters. I showed how the lead up to his downfall made us sympathize with him even though he is known as the most villainous character of the play. To prove my answer had a lot of truth I had to show the story through Shylock’s perspective and not by what other characters thought about him. The story is overall very biased towards Shylock because he is made out to be the villain. Not only that but he is hated because of his religion more than anything else.
The characters of the play were quick to stereotype Shylock because he was a Jew and instantly thought of him as a vindictive, spiteful and money hungry. Forgetting that he was still human and possesses very much the same humane qualities as the Christians. My point was not to prove that Shylock was innocent throughout but to show that he got more than he deserved. The latter of the essay you will find that he even had to revert to Christianity. This punishment was ironic since he was forced to loose his faith and change to the one that led him to act this way in the first place. Shylock lost more than ducats, his daughter and other tangible items, but lost his sense of identity, self-respect and sense of meaning, which are intangible things that can never be replaced.
