Is Shylock a victim or villain? Does he deserve his fate? Is your decision influenced by any of the productions you have seen?
Shakespeare Essay - Merchant of Venice
Is Shylock a victim or villain? Does he deserve his fate? Is your decision influenced by any of the productions you have seen?
The Merchant of Venice was written by William Shakespeare in the Elizabethan period. The play, which is set in Venice in the late 15th century, is a tragi-comedy and was written in 1599. The Merchant of Venice has two main plots, Shylock's downfall and the romance of Portia and Bassanio, both of these are existing story lines, which Shakespeare drew on and altered to great dramatic effect.
In this period England was a Christian country, all children were baptised as soon as they were born, and were taught a Christian faith. Attendance to church was compulsory, if you failed to be present without a medical reason you would be fined. As a consequence before the play even started, Shylock would be condemned by the audience for being a Jew and a moneylender. Christians hated Jews because Christians were unable to lend money because of their religion, therefore Shakespeare was taking a big risk when he wrote this play. To portray the Christians in an unfavourable light, or to make the Jew look too much like a victim, could lose him his life. This is why the play is set in Venice; by being set somewhere else it allows the audience to distance themselves from their similar issues. This may also be why Shylock is rarely shown with other Jews, so that we only perceive the Christians' point of view. In the Merchant of Venice Shylock is portrayed both as a victim and a villain.
In Act 1 Scene 3 Shylock is portrayed as a villain. It is the first opportunity Shylock has had to have power over the Christian Antonio, so he makes him wait by repeating Bassanio's lines 'Ay, sire, for three months', 'For three months, well.' and asking questions that he already knows the answers to 'how many months do you desire?'
We learn in this scene that Shylock and Antonio are old enemies 'I hate him for he is a Christian' We are led to believe that Shylock is lending Antonio the three thousand ducats to him in the hope that some time in the future he will be able to seek revenge, as he is so eager to lend Antonio money, that he is prepared to borrow money from Tubal,
'I cannot instantly raise up the gross of full three thousand ducats. What of that? Tubal, a wealthy Hebrew of my tribe, will furnish me.'
In Act 1 Scene 3 we learn in what form Shylock hopes his revenge will take; he offers to lend Antonio the money without asking for interest, he then suggests as a joke that if the bond is not paid in three months then he will have a pound of Antonio's flesh,
'In a merry sport, if you repay me not on such a day, in such place, such sum or sums as are Express'd in the condition, let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh.'
By saying 'merry sport' Shylock convinces Antonio that it is all a joke, yet the audience know that he is serious because of the aside earlier on in the scene where he says 'cursed be my tribe, if I forgive him!' Bassanio is wary, yet Antonio still enters into the contract.
In Act 2 Scene 2 Launcelot ...
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'In a merry sport, if you repay me not on such a day, in such place, such sum or sums as are Express'd in the condition, let the forfeit be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh.'
By saying 'merry sport' Shylock convinces Antonio that it is all a joke, yet the audience know that he is serious because of the aside earlier on in the scene where he says 'cursed be my tribe, if I forgive him!' Bassanio is wary, yet Antonio still enters into the contract.
In Act 2 Scene 2 Launcelot is very eager to leave Shylock's employment and move to a Christian employer, which may give us some insight into how cruelly he treats his employees. This is backed up by Jessica's speech in Act 2 Scene 3 'Our house is hell', 'To be asham'd to be my father's child!'. Even his own daughter dislikes him.
When his daughter leaves his house to marry Lorenzo, instead of grieving his loss, he damns his daughter in Act 3 Scene 1 'She is damned for it'.
The key speech in Act 3 Scene 1 portrays Shylock as a villain, but also a victim, as his reasons for villainy are based on him being a victim,
'To bait fish withal: if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge.', 'and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?'
When he learns that his daughter has totally disappeared he is even more condemning 'I would my daughter were dead at my foot'. When he learns of Antonio's losses in Act 3 Scene 1, he confirms our belief that he will try to obtain his bond of a pound of flesh
'I am very glad of it: I'll plague him; I'll torture him: I am glad of it.'
In Act 3 Scene 2 Salerio tells Bassanio of Antonio's misfortune, and also tells of how Shylock will not be moved, he wants his bond,
'He plies the duke at morning and at night, and doth impeach the freedom of the state if they deny him justice'.
In Act 3 Scene 3 Shylock refers obsessively and repeatedly to his bond, and the audience begins to realise he is immovable, and will not show mercy for Antonio, even if it means all other people hating him and being ostracised even more from the community.
Throughout the court case, Act 4 Scene 1, he continues to refer obsessively to his 'bond', and the duke calls him 'a stony adversary' which basically summarises how he acts throughout this scene. Even when he is offered twice the money owed he still persists in obtaining his bond, and when asked why he refuses to be swayed he replies,
'I give no reason, nor will I not, more than a lodg'd hate and a certain loathing I bear Antonio.'
He sharpens his knife in this scene 'Why does thou whet thy knife so earnestly?' and seems to be eager to cut Antonio's flesh 'To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt there.'
Portia makes a famous speech in this scene about the quality of mercy, but even this does not move Shylock, he still insists on his bond,
'My deeds upon my head! I crave the law, the penalty and forfeit of my bond',
with this speech he seals his fate, as the Christians later remind him that he wanted justice, and would show no mercy.
Shylock mocks the Christians when he believes he will procure his bond by honouring Portia 'O wise young judge, how I do honour thee!'.
He is shown in a particularly unfavourable light when Portia suggests that Shylock provides a surgeon to try to save Antonio's life, and he replies 'Is it so nominated in the bond?'
Shakespeare also portrays Shylock as a victim in this play.
When he speaks from the heart in Act 1 Scene 3 about how he is treated by Antonio and the other Christians we are shown what kind of a life he must lead, and why he seeks revenge later in the play,
'Fair sir, you spat on me on Wednesday last; you spurn'd me such a day; another time you call'd me dog'
Antonio speaks to him with contempt, even after this heart-felt speech, and says that he has done so in the past and he will again in the future,
'I am so like to call thee so again, to spit on thee again, to spurn thee too.'
The Christians trick Shylock into leaving his house to dine with them 'I am bid forth to supper, Jessica', and then they go to his house and help his daughter Jessica to elope with Lorenzo, even when they think he has been kind enough to lend Antonio and Bassanio the money without any interest.
Shylock loses Jessica and the ring of his dead wife. Both of these originally hurt him deeply 'Thou torturest me, Tubal' before his mood changes and he seeks revenge.
Shylocks key speech in Act 3 Scene 1, although establishing him as a villain, also contains elements of the victim within it,
'He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies'.
In the court scene Portia manipulates Shylock into digging his own grave, by getting him to show no mercy, making him say that he wants only justice and by making him seem even more villainous when he rejects the suggestion that he employs a surgeon for Antonio. She knew how she was going to manipulate a way to save Antonio, yet she continued with the pretence that Shylock would secure his bond, to make his downfall greater.
He is mocked by Gratiano when he repeats the words that Shylock had used when he believed he would obtain his bond 'O upright judge! Mark, Jew: O learned judge!'
The punishment that is inflicted upon Shylock is very harsh, to force him to change his religion 'He presently become a Christian', and to make him give the little money he is allowed to keep, when he dies, to his daughter is very harsh when he had planned to cut her off. Especially when it is Antonio that makes this decision. Antonio quickly forgets how awful it is to be shown no mercy or compassion, as do the other characters; they quickly put aside Portia's speech about the quality of mercy and act as though it does not apply to themselves,
Shylock is dismissed from court extremely quickly and he leaves looking pathetic and totally different to the way he entered court. The scenes that follow are happy and humorous. No mention of Shylock is made again, which suggests the Shylock is an insignificant character.
I believe that Shylock was not intended to be portrayed as a villain by Shakespeare, or he would have made him a total villain and not have added in other sides of his character. However it would have been impossible to make him appear a victim because of the pressures of his time, so he made him seem both like a victim and a villain.
I personally see Shylock as a combination of the two. He is definitely a victim, the Christians in several of the scenes blatantly persecuted him. Hints that these were not isolated occurrences, but a sample of his normal life, were given,
'Fair sir, you spat on me on Wednesday last; you spurn'd me such a day; another time you call'd me dog'
Most people would seek revenge in these circumstances, however the revenge he tries to exact is out of proportion to the way he was treated. If I had to choose between a victim and villain I would say victim, as he only became a villain because of years of mistreatment by Antonio.
I also feel that the fate he receives is totally unfair. Portia talks about the quality of mercy, yet none of the Christians show any real mercy to Shylock, they take everything from him. His money; which he has worked so hard for, his religion; which is also his identity without it all his friends would disown him, and his pride; by making him give his daughter, which he publicly disowned, the money he has.
Different actors have portrayed Shylock both as a victim and villain to great dramatic effect. I have seen both the BBC Production and the New National Theatre Production.
The BBC production is quite traditional, set in the right period and with traditional costume. However the text has been shortened, omitting speeches and re-ordering some scenes to make it easier to understand and more accessible. Shylock is presented as a stereotypical Jew, with a strong accent and different mannerisms to the rest of the cast. His costume is dark, dirty and scruffy, and compared to the other actors, all wearing light, clean and neat costumes, it is obvious that the intention of this production is to portray him as a villain.
The BBC also uses music and lighting to make him seem more villainous, the music is sinister and the stage is dark, compared with the Christian scenes which are always
shown flooded in light and with soft music. If I had just seen this production of the play I think I would perceive Shylock as a villain.
However, I also have seen the New National Theatres production. In this production Antonio is portrayed as being overtly homosexual, and it is uncomfortable to watch. The rest of the Christians are shown to be decadent. It is shown in black and white, reflecting the 1920's setting.
The New National Theatre production does not use music to influence your views of Shylock. Antonio flagrantly shows hatred to Shylock, and Shylock looks horrified when he realises who he is expected to lend money to in Act 1 Scene 3.
In Act 3 Scene 1 Salanio and Salerio practically bully Shylock, performing the words with much more venom than in the BBC production and, I believe, than Shakespeare intended. Shylock appears older, frailer and more distressed than in the BBC production. The key speech in this scene, in which Shylock gives his reasons for seeking revenge, is delivered more as an appeal than in a threatening way. However, he is delighted when he hears of Antonio's losses.
The court scene Act 4 Scene 1 is much more dramatic than that in the BBC production. Tubal is almost attacked by the Christians when he enters the courtroom, and Shylock appears nervous and doubtful throughout the scene.
If I had seen just this version I think I would have perceived Shylock as a victim. However, as I have seen two productions showing Shylock in opposite ways, I don't feel that my judgement of whether Shylock is a victim or a villain is affected. Therefore the conclusion I made before, that Shylock is more a victim than a villain, still applies.
