For half thy wealth, it is Antonio’s;
The other half comes to the general state,
Which humbleness may drive unto a fine. (IV I lines362-5).
Shylock’s response is:
‘Nay take my life all pardon not that.’
You take my house when you do take the prop
That doth sustain my house, you take my life
When you do take the means whereby I live. (IV I lines367-70)
Shylock’s response is meaningful because he shows the audience there is no purpose to his life if he has no money. Since he lives in Venice where there are businesses he has to have money. The only way he can survive is through usury and this is the only profession Jews are allowed to choose. He lives in a community that is discriminatory against Jews. His only hope of survival is money and this adds on to his misgivings. They are telling him to give half his money to any enemy and this is very hard for him to accept. For a man who has recently learnt that he cannot have his revenge, it is an addition to his numerous catastrophes. Antonio also tells him to change his religion and become a Christian:
‘ He presently becomes a Christian’ (IVi line 385).
Antonio is not requesting Shylock to change his religion immediately. This is unfair because he has no right to tell him to change his religion. Shylock does not make any response to this so as the audience we are led to think that he has accepted it or given up. Knowing the true nature of Shylock it does not make any sense because we expect him to respond and say something against think. I think Shakespeare included this as something to add on to his successful conclusion. He wants everyone to be happy.
Depriving Shylock the chance to choose his own fate is because he is a Jew. During Shakespeare’s time, Jews were shunned upon because a Jewish doctor had recently been accused of attempting to murder the Queen. Since most people loved her, they were angered by this news. Therefore, it led to a general dislike of Jews. People also disliked them because they charged interest when they lent money and it was against the law.
Although Jews were moneylenders, they only did this because it was the only profession available for them to do. They could not buy land so it was very hard for them to even own property. Some Christians would be jealous of them, so they would do anything to make sure that they would not be prosperous. Although it seems as if they did not like him because he was a Jew, I do not think this is true. Jessica is his daughter and the other characters respect her. This shown when Launcelot says:
………………Most beautiful pagan
most sweet Jew!(IIiv lines 10-11)
Jessica is planning to leave her father so that she can get married to Launcelot. He has referred to her as a beautiful unbeliever. This shows that although she is Jewish he does not hold this against her. So Shylock might be Jewish but in this play he is disliked because he is a usurer.
Antonio has labelled Shylock using shameful words like ‘misbeliever’, ‘dog’, ‘Devil’ and ‘usurer’. These descriptions might be correct but they cause Shylock a lot of embarrassment. Salerio and Solanio also mock him behind his back
‘As the dog Jew did utter in the streets, My Ducats, O my Ducats, O my Christian ducats.’(II i)
During this scene, Jessica and Lancelot have stolen his money. These two men are not shown any sympathy towards Shylock’s loss instead, they are laughing at him. He is treated in this manner simply because he is a Jew. This is clearly shown when Antonio’s ships sink. They feel sympathy for him. Shylock shows his grief and pain when he says
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes?
Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections,
passions?(IIIi lines46-8)
Shylock is showing the audience that he is proud to be Jewish, and the questions that he is addressing to the audience cause them to ponder over what he is saying. This speech shows the human side of him. He proceeds to say:
If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.
If a Jew wrong a Christian what is his humility. Revenge! (IIIi lines53-4)
This justifies his thirst for revenge because his comparison between Christian and Jews has showed that both races are not different. The audience are starting to sympathise with him because
However, ‘The Merchant of Venice’ also portrays Shylock as a selfish, vengeful and greedy Jew. Shylock’s vengefulness is shown when he says,
‘The pound of flesh which I demand of him,
Is dearly bought; ‘tis mine and I will have it.
If you deny me, fie upon your law.’
Shylock is in a position to take his revenge on Antonio, even if it means he has to defy the law. He believes that the pound of flesh belongs to him and he should have it. He is also happy when he finds out that Antonio’s ships have sunk. He says:
‘I thank thee, good Tubal. Good news, good news-
ha, ha! - heard in Genoa.
He says this soon after he hears about the sinking of Antonio’s ships form his counterpart, Tubal. He is delighted about this because he knows that Antonio is cannot pay off the bond. At last, Shylock thinks he can get the pound of flesh from Antonio and he feels triumphant. This shows the true nature of his evil glee. When Shylock looses his money, he says:
‘O my ducats! O my daughter fled with a Christian, my Christian Ducats!’(IIi)
Shylock moans when he discovers that Jessica and Lancelot have stolen his money and jewels. He weeps more for his money than his own daughter. This shows that he is a very greedy man. He is not worried about his daughter’s whereabouts.
‘The Merchant of Venice’ presents both tragedy and comedy. Comedy is shown when Lancelot, one of Shylock’s servants, finds delight in misleading his father, Old Gobbo.
O heavens, this is my true begotten father, who
being more than sand-blind, high gravel blind knows me not. I
will try confusions with him. (IIii lines 27-9)
Old Gobbo is blind. He has gone to Shylock’s home to see his son Launcelot. His son recognises him when they meet, so he tries to trick him. This adds humour to the play because He succeeds in doing this
Whilst Bassanio and Gratiano are in Venice, Portia and Nerrisa disguise themselves as two male lawyers. This is very exciting for these women because they manage to fool their husbands and the court. They do this in a plot to rescue Antonio from Shylock’s cruel bond and they manage to save his life. The two women take their husbands’ rings and return to Belmont. There is irony when they do this because Portia says:
‘My Lord Bassanio, let him have the ring:
Let his deservings and my love withal
Be valu’d gainst your wife’s commandment’
She says this because she wants to make sure that Bassanio loves her. She intentionally tells him to go against the oath he made to his wife. Bassanio believes this and he gives her the ring. He is unaware that the young lawyer is actually Portia. When she says this, it is very ironic because she is his wife and no woman would be pleased if she realised that her husband is will to give away his wedding ring as a way of showing his gratitude about something. The second comment she says is,
‘I pray you, know me when we meet again’ (IVi line412)
She says this as soon as they the court has ended. Everyone is pleased Antonio has been released they are all showing their thanks to the two layers. The uses of the words know me is very ironic because she is saying recognise me when we meet again. It seems that he does not understandt what she has said.The last ironical comment is:
Your wife would give you little thanks for that
If she were to hear you make that offer. (IVi lines 281-2)
She says this immediately after Bassanio has offered to sacrifice everything he has for Antonio. His offer shows the extent of his love for his friend. It also expresses the importance of friendship during Shakespeare’s time, which is shown in most of his plays. Her response shows displeasure and how she rates friendship.
The Merchant of Venice’ is not entirely a comedy. Antonio ‘s ships sink and this brings joy to Shylock but grief to Antonio.
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He knows that he cannot pay off the bond and he is about to die. He is nearly slain all because of his love for his friend Bassanio, who seeks to lure Portia. He has merely borrowed money for his friend and Shylock wants him to suffer. All of Antonio’s problems show that it is not a comedy for all the characters.
When the Prince of Morocco and the Prince of Aragon have chosen the wrong caskets, it is a saddening situation because they have to return to their countries unhappy men who are unable to marry other women.
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Something about Jessica
Shakespeare causes the audience to assume that the main problem between the two men is the usury. When in actual fact there were other socio-economic problems that people in medieval times were facing. A play mainly emphasising wrongs of usury, and encouraging people to continue living in medieval times. To some extent, it shows the world is evolving and turning into a place where everyone believes in doing what is to his or her advantage, instead of following the usual norm. We are under the impression that Shylock is a sympathetic character, when he actually presents a lot of comedy
During Shakespeare’s time a tragedy was usually classified as a death and a comedy as a happy ending. The play is not a tragedy but a comedy because at the end everyone is happy. Although Shylock looses everything he owns and his right to be a Jew, it is no a tragedy. Although Antonio faces near tragedy, he is not killed and he continues living his life.
So the Merchant of Venice is not a tragedy for Shylock because he does not face death. It is a tragedy for him considering that he is left secluded whilst all the other Characters are enjoying themselves. It is a comedy for the other characters because there are two marriages and a father finds his son. These two follow the usual trend in
