"You spat on me Wednesday last" Here Shylock is expressing the life of a typical Jew in 1599. Back then Jews were despised and treated inhumanly by the majority of Elizabethans for the religion they believed in. They were hated because Christians blamed them for the crucifixion of Jesus. A traditional Elizabethan audience would have naturally despised Shylock because of his blameful religion. Whereas a modern audience, would feel pity and sorry for shylock because of the way he has so many problems with people. "You call'd me dog" a typical phrase hated by the Jews, as they saw dogs as a dirty creature. The animosity between the two religions is fiery and continuous, and each religion shows their hatred for each other both verbally and physically.
We are first introduced to Shylock in Act 1 Scene 3 where we learn of his usury. It is in this scene that Bassanio seeks Shylock out and asks to borrow money from him in Antonio's name. He points out that while they spit on him and call him 'a dog'; they expect him to lend them money. Antonio is unmoved by Shylock's speech and says that he would call him this again. Antonio seems to be the one that Shylock focuses his anger on though a lot of other people behave in the same way towards him, for example Salerio and Solanio. Antonio does nothing to absolve himself in the eyes of a modern day audience. In fact he has no qualms about behaving in an openly abusive manner towards Shylock. He speaks in a condescending and scornful manner towards Shylock.Also in this scene do we learn of Shylock's hatred for Antonio and the Christians, also visa versa: Shylock also displays elements of belligerence in his refusal to ever forgive the Christians for the way the treated him. Shylock also shows himself to be devious and cunning by hiding his hatred beneath a façade of friendship in order to entice Antonio to become indebted to him, not just with money but with his life. Antonio is very naïve regarding the terms of the bond taking the 'pound of flesh' clause to be a show of friendship not hatred. Antonio's actions please Shylock, as I believe Shylock would not just hand over the three thousand ducats with the way that he has been treated by the Christians, I feel he is both a villain and victim in this scene, victim in the sense that he is pounced on by mistreating Christians demanding money, He is villainous because even though he lends them the money, he makes a bond that he feels confident in, and has a sense of evilness when he is lending it to them. In this scene, a traditional audience would feel worried and scared for Antonio, and feel an automatic hatred towards Shylock as he is threatening a Christian's life. I think a present day audience would change their minds during the scene as at the beginning, they would find a place in their hearts for Shylock as he is being approached by people who often mock him and then they are asking for money from him, as the scene progresses a modern audience would understand that actually he is actually skilful in the way he plays Antonio to his advantage.
Another way, in which Shylock is established as a villain, is through his treatment of Jessica. We first see an aspect of their relationship in act 2 scene 3, when we see him mistreating her and demanding her to do things, : 'Hear you me, Jessica: / Lock up my doors: and when you hear the drum... Nor thrust your head into the public street... But stop my house's ears...Let not the sound of shallow foppery enter / My sober house.' We can see by this quote why Jessica would feel a hatred to her father, as he ...
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Another way, in which Shylock is established as a villain, is through his treatment of Jessica. We first see an aspect of their relationship in act 2 scene 3, when we see him mistreating her and demanding her to do things, : 'Hear you me, Jessica: / Lock up my doors: and when you hear the drum... Nor thrust your head into the public street... But stop my house's ears...Let not the sound of shallow foppery enter / My sober house.' We can see by this quote why Jessica would feel a hatred to her father, as he is treating her like one of his servants. Jessica appears to seem nervous and Shylock doesn't notice this, in this way I see him as a villain as he can't even be attentive to his own daughter acting strangely, then how can he be a good person. Perhaps Shylock is too preoccupied with generating yet more wealth to concern himself greatly with his daughter. Later on in this Act we see Jessica to run away, with Antonio's friend, Lorenzo, a Christian. In this section, we see her to call him a "Devil" this has resemblance to the play as it is a very religious and contradicting play. In this part of the Act I can see why a modern audience would feel sorry for him because he is losing his daughter, to a Christian, also because she takes all of his jewels, they would feel that she is treating him horribly, leading him to be victimised by the Christians. On the other hand, a more traditional audience would believe that Jessica is doing the right thing, because of the way Shylock has taken care of, or not taken care of her. I would use the phrase "He had it coming to himself" To explain how I and a traditional audience would feel.
The most significant scene to this play concerning Shylocks behaviour is Act 3 scene 1. Here is where he professes his feelings about other people close to him, including his daughter Jessica.
The Christians seek to torment him when he is most vulnerable; for example when Jessica has eloped they taunt him about his losses and mock him: "Shylock: You knew, none so well, none so well as you, of my daughter's flight." "Salerio: That's certain: I, for my part, knew the tailor / that made the wings she flew withal."
Although he has an arguably unhealthy thirst for revenge, we can empathise with what he is feeling because it is a natural human flaw to want to get back at someone when you have been wronged by them. Shylock passionate speech is designed to make the audience have sympathy for him. 'if you prick us, do we not bleed?' At this point he seems rather victimised by everyone, leading him to be a victim. A traditional audience would not feel any pity towards Shylock because he is a Jew, because they would despise him for that exact reason. Whereas, I can see a modern audience feeling for him, as he is taking all the bad aspects of his life as a Jew and making it out as he is some sort of defenceless man fighting against them/
Although we see a villainous side to him in the very same scene as he tells us of how he feels about his daughter, Jessica. Shylock is disgraceful and ghastly when he confesses his true feelings about his daughter, either in rage or sadness, the way he speaks of her makes him a villain. "I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ears: would she hearse at my foot and the ducats in the coffin" here I see that Shakespeare wants Shylock to still have a sense of him, being a Jew, as a nastier character than the Christians. I think both a traditional and modern audience would be shocked at what he is saying, and feel discouraged by his speech, with saying that.
"It was my turquoise, I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor" At this point, and this point only, I feel purely sorry for Shylock. This is because the point he has made here, is a valid reason for him disliking his daughter. On all the other circumstances, Shakespeare shows Shylock to make the audience feel sorry for him, because of his religion, and I don't feel that is fair.
In Act 4 scene 1, Shylock is victimised when he first enters the court by being spat on and shouted at, but in all fairness, he is going to kill a fellow Christian. Shylock is rather stupid in this scene as the laws at the time when the play was written were in favour of Christians. Jews had few rights, they could not claim citizenship in any country and they depended on the mercy of the society that they lived in. Likewise, after he loses the trial, Shylock's life was in the hands of the Duke: 'if it be prov'd against an alien...He seek the life of any citizen...the offender's life lies in the mercy/ Of the duke only'
I think a traditional audience would have been happy with this as he is getting punishes and all in all, another Jews life has been ruined. I think a modern audience would feel quite sorry for him, but more pity as he is losing everything, but he caused all his pain by causing pain to others.
Shylock is naive in the way that he believes that he can take on the Christians and win when the foundation of Venation law is designed to serve the best interests of the Christians. Shylock's punishment is overly harsh with Antonio forcing him to convert to Christianity. Shylock's life is spared but he may be better off dead because he has nothing to live on, all his wealth has been distributed among his sworn enemies. Although Shylock pursues his revenge eagerly he still has the audience's sympathy because of the unfair and harsh punishment he receives. It strikes a modern day audience as grossly unfair because his punishment reflects not the crime he committed, but his race. A more traditional audience would feel a bit spitefully happy as they have made a Jews life a misery.
In conclusion, considering all the factors of the play I personally feel that Shylock is a villain. All the pain he caused people such as Antonio and Jessica, and it all turns around on him and bites him back in the face. I believe he deserved everything that happened to him as he shouldn't have made such a bond with Antonio. He is intelligent in the sense of they way he almost knows that Antonio's ships will not return. The way Jessica exposes his vindictive and ultimately evil character, and how he treats her as a piece of dirt on his shoe, how could a person treat his daughter like this without being a villain? He lets his lust for revenge engulf all other aspects of his life and his complete lack of mercy towards Antonio renders him a villain in the eyes of the audience.
We will never know why Shakespeare made the character Shylock the way he was, and how he was meant to be portrayed. I feel that Shakespeare intended Shylock to be victim, he was created to challenge the pre-conceptions and ideologies of the Elizabethan era. Having said this, I refer back to what I said earlier about everything coming back round to him, I believe Shakespeare made a character of a Jew, who thought he could beat the law and the community of hating Jew's by lending money to a Christian. But in the end, he will and always, in the Merchant of Venice, is just a Jew, created by a Christian Writer.
We can only guess at the way in which Shakespeare intended Shylock to be portrayed. I feel that Shakespeare intended Shylock to be victim, he was created to challenge the pre-conceptions and ideologies of the Elizabethan era. Having said this, I feel personally that it is not productive for us to simply categorise Shylock as either victim or villain. Through Shylock, Shakespeare explores the way in which the line between the oppressed and the oppressor can become blurred.
