The Merchant of Venice

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                     The Merchant of Venice         Nicola Woolfries

“The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare is a famous play in which there are numerous struggles over money.  Shylock is the main character in this play.  

The play is set in Venice, and is about a rich merchant Antonio, who tries to borrow funds for his friend Bassanio.  He approached Shylock, a Jewish moneylender and an enemy of his.  Antonio is positive he can repay Shylock, but disaster hits his business dealings and he is unable to repay his debt.  Shylock has been promised “a pound of flesh” if the debt was not repaid, so he appeals to the court.  In a desperate attempt to save Antonio, Bassanios new wife adopts the disguise of a lawyer and manages to convince Shylock not to take his “pound of flesh”.  Shylock eventually has to convert to Christianity as part of the settlement.    

I felt that Shylock was a complex character who was a hero, and a victim, and a villain.  This may seem to be an unusual opinion but in the play there is evidence to support this.  

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For me, Shylock had all the qualities, which make a villain.  Shakespeare presented him as a very cruel and hardhearted individual.  Perhaps the best example of this can be seen in the way in which he treated his daughter Jessica.  Jessica was around twenty years of age but Shylock refused to let her leave the house in case she met any Christians; “Clamber not you up to the casements then, Nor thrust your head into the public street to gaze on Christian fools with varnished faces”. He believed that Christians were unpleasant people because of the way they treated ...

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