How Does Shakespeare Influence Audience Opinion Of Shylock in 'The Merchant Of Venice'.

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      How Does Shakespeare Influence Audience Opinion

                       Of Shylock in 'The Merchant Of Venice'

Shakespeare influences audience opinion in many different ways in 'The Merchant Of Venice'. However, some of the devices he uses may have differing effects on Elizabethan and modern audiences. Elizabethans had many prejudiced stereotypes that Shakespeare includes in his play. There was less diversity of cultures when Shakespeare wrote the play, and therefore there was a lot more bad feeling towards different races and religions. Elizabethans were also more religious than people are nowadays, so there feelings towards religion and religious beliefs were much stronger than they would be today.

The Elizabethans did not like the Jews, mainly because of the stereotypes that were portrayed of them. Jews were seen to be money grabbing and the Elizabethan's disagreed with their ideas and values about life.

The play was set in Venice, Italy where there was a law of equality which allowed trade to run smoothly as much of the Venetian way of life was based on trading. This would have an effect on the Elizabethan audience because Elizabethans believed that generosity was a great virtue to have, and they believed that Jews were not at all generous, something which is definite of Shylock's character. They also disliked usurers and merchants because they went against the Christian values.

The play is a comedy and a lot of the humour was based on the Elizabethan reaction to Shylock's character and onstage appearance. However, in modern times society is a lot less prejudiced, thus creating more sympathy for Shylock. The Elizabethan audience would also be much more religious than a modern audience, and Shylock was a character that went against everything they believed in as Christians. Most of the Christian values are opposed to the stereotypical portrayal of Jews, especially as they are portrayed in Merchant Of Venice.  Therefore, especially with an Elizabethan audience, the main feeling towards Shylock would not be sympathy, but hostility and loathing.

The Elizabethan audience would immediately recognise Shylock as Jewish because he would we be dressed in stereotypical Jewish clothes and he would be wearing a red wig which was another stereotypical image of Jews. Everything about him would be stereotypical of a Jewish person, most of it in a degrading way as Shakespeare himself would have been a Christian.

A lot of Shylock's speech reflects his character, for instance, he is a miser with words, similar to the way he is a miser with his money. He does not live in the world of aristocrats, but instead the world of merchants, which is why his money is so important to him.

In Act One, Scene Three Shylock speaks first and his words are "Three thousand ducats; well". This gives us an immediate first impression that his main concern in life is his money and wealth. He also repeats a lot of his words and phrases which shows he has a materialistic mind and a lack of imagination. He is very narrow and literal minded as we see in the way that he speaks.

        "Ho, no, no, no, no" and "there be land-rats and water-rats, land-thieves and water-thieves"

It is significant that he used the term 'rats', because the Elizabethan's had strong

views on the sense of order of being. They thought that the order of society reflected the universe. Animals were at the bottom of this chain and therefore the least important. Elizabethan philosophers thought that man would lapse into beastliness if he allowed himself to become selfish. Therefore, the fact that Shylock uses animals as metaphors shows that he is preoccupied with the animal world. This tells us that Shylock is at about the same level as animals in the order of being, giving the audience little respect for him. However, a modern audience may not see this link as they do not have the same ideas as the Elizabethans on the order of being. Other characters in the play also refer to Shylock as a bird of prey which shows us that they perceive him as being the least important person around, and that he is selfish. The audience may react to this differently because it might, for some people, increase their sympathies towards Shylock as he is being mistreated and mocked by the other characters, but other people may see it as a reinforcement to the idea that Shylock is a selfish, unlikeable character.

However, I don't think it would influence a modern audiences' opinion towards Shylock because they would not associate the animal references with the 'chain of being'. Therefore, it would only affect the Elizabethan audiences who would understand the references.

He also repeats short, blunt phrases, showing his stubborn personality and his repetition of the adjectives 'rats' and 'thieves' show, again, that he lacks imagination and it is a great contrast to the metaphorical way of speaking of Antonio and the other Christians.

        "[Antonio]The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul, producing holy witness, is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly rotten apple at the heart."

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This is an example of the poetic speech of Antonio and his fellow Christians. This gives the audience a negative opinion about Shylock compared to Antonio already, as Shakespeare wanted his audience to think that Christians were much more sensitive and open hearted then the Jews. It also means that the audience will subconsciously 'prefer' Antonio to Shylock as his words are much more poetical and less blunt. It also gives us a bad impression of Shylock because we see that Antonio is speaking harsh words about him and we know that there must be a reason for this ...

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