In your opinion does Shakespeare portrayShylock as a victim or a villain

Authors Avatar

In your opinion does Shakespeare portray

Shylock as a victim or a villain

Throughout the play ‘The Merchant of Venice’ there are constant references to various characters and the way they relate to one another, however there is no character so diverse and so complex as Shylock’s character. Shakespeare tries to portray Shylock in a number of ways however I believe his main focus in the play, is on his villainous side. This may be portraying the time of Shakespeare where ethnic minorities like Jews were hated and condemned for their religion. Jews like Shylock weren’t awarded equal rights during Shakespeare’s times and there was definitely a lot of prejudice against them. They were forced to earn a living in ways not practised by Christians like lending money. However this was against Christian religion and therefore Jews were seen as villains for taking part in this type of business, as they were seen to be exploiting their religion to earn money from the Christians. So this is most likely why Shylock is portrayed as such a villainous character; or is he?

There are definitely a lot of instances in this play where Shakespeare portrays Shylock as a villain however there are also instances where he is presented as a victim and I believe that in Act 1 scene 3 Shylock is being portrayed as a victim. In this scene Shylock is explaining how Antonio has been abusing him, “ Many a time and oft in the Rialto you have rated me about my moneys and my usances.” In this case Shylock is saying that Antonio is always abusing him about his money and his interests, so in this instance Shylock is most definitely being portrayed as a victim. As well as Shylock being abused by Antonio with words, Shylock also describes how he is abusing him physically. “ And spit upon my Jewish gabardine.” So in this example you can clearly see how Antonio is abusing Shylock and therefore in this case in point he is unquestionably being portrayed as a victim.

There may be examples where Shylock is portrayed as a victim in this scene, but there are also numerous cases where Shylock is described as a villain. Although Antonio may have been abusing Shylock there are also numerous occurrences where Shylock is abusing Antonio. “ I hate him for he is a Christian.” Here we can see how Shylock has some racial issues with Antonio, and therefore it can argued that he has a villainous streak. One of the most disturbing and conclusive pieces of evidence that prove he is a villain is the point at which he demands Antonio’s flesh; “ Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken in what part of your body pleaseth me.” This truly shows his villainous side, as he is demanding flesh as a forfeit in his bargain with Antonio. Not just simply some money or some of his possessions but instead he is demanding flesh. In my opinion this clearly shows how Shylock is a villain.

I believe this grudge between him and Antonio runs deeper that first may meet the eye. I believe that his villainous side stems from the fight between Christians and Jews. “ I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.” This quote shows how Shylock will make this old grudge between Jews and Christians grow and how eventually he wants to avenge this grudge, and in turn make Antonio pay. So once again we can clearly see how Shakespeare wants to portray him as a villain.

As well as Shakespeare showing Shylock’s villainous side through the way he wants to avenge grudges and payments, he also shows us his villainous side through the way he does business with others. “ That all the earlings which were streaked and pied should fall as Jacobs’s hire.” This is a passage from the Bible, which says that it is acceptable to take advantage of people and cheat. “ Fall parti-coloured lambs, and those were Jacob’s.” This shows how Jacob cheated to get coloured lambs and therefore how Jacob took advantage of the situation. Here Shylock is pulling up examples from the bible, which would condone his behaviour but overall I believe that you can’t condone a cheat and a thief and therefore in this instance we must call Shylock a villain.

Join now!

Although these points, which I have just raised above, seem very clear-cut and decisive there are other points in this scene, which aren’t quite so black and white. Take for example this point. “ He lends out money gratis and bring down the rate of usance here with us in Venice.” This undoubtedly shows us why Shylock hates Antonio so much. It shows that Antonio will give money away freely without having any money having to be paid back through interest. Now when Antonio gives out money like this he is damaging Shylock’s business and his way of life ...

This is a preview of the whole essay