The Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare wrote 'The Merchant of Venice' in 1596, a time of fiercely held Christian views when all Jews were discriminated and persecuted. They suffered huge prejudice during the Middle Ages when they were wrongly accused of killing children and causing the 'Black Death'. Massacres of Jews occurred and eventually in 1290, the entire community was expelled from England and not re-admitted until the mid-seventeenth century, just because of their religion.
The Jewish villain was a stock character in medieval literature and re-enactments of the crucifixion of Jesus always portrayed the disloyal disciple Judas, as a stereotypical Jew. Subsequently, authors such as Christopher Marlow and William Shakespeare always cast Jewish characters as villains. They cashed in on the fact that Elizabethan audiences would lap up the racial discrimination towards Jews, because of the huge conflict between the two religions, by writing 'The Jew of Malta' and the 'Merchant of Venice'.
'The Jew of Malta' written first by Christopher Marlow, portrayed Barabas as the revengeful Jewish moneylender, which became a huge success. Shakespeare followed suit and used Barabas as the prototype for Shylock-also a revengeful Jewish moneylender.
Shakespeare was probably not even interested in Shylock's Jewishness. In fact, he had probably never been acquainted with a Jew. He used the prevailing anti-Semitic stereotypes to characterize his play's villain. Because of this, the audience would have judged Shylock even before he first spoke, just the way they would have judged any Jew.
Venice provided Shakespeare the perfect setting for his play, as the Venetian Christian attitudes towards Jews were much the same as the Elizabethan's. In this particular city, Jews were forced to live in ghettos, separate walled parts of the city which were locked at night, and the only jobs they were allowed to occupy were that of moneylenders. The people of Venice pretended that Jews didn't even exist.
The hatred between Shylock and Antonio had accumulated over many years. Shylock had been verbally and physically abused for his Jewishness by Antonio,
"You call me a misbeliever, cut-throat dog and spit upon my Jewish Gabadine"
This discriminating and harrowing treatment towards Shylock explains his immense desire for revenge against Antonio. So when Antonio enters a bond with Shylock to borrow three thousand ducats for Bassanio, Shylock introduces a forfeit. If Antonio doesn't repay the amount within three months, Shylock will be allowed to cut a pound of flesh from any part of Antonio's body. When Antonio's ventures seem to fail, Shylock claims his forfeit and they both end up in court.
Act 4 Scene 1 is the key scene of the play, which is set in court. This is the scene where the several subplots of the main storyline, (the 'pound of flesh' bond, the casket test and the ring bond) come together and reach their climax. It is also the climax of the relationship between the Christians and the Jews with Antonio and Shylock representing each.
The setting is in a huge, grand court room, creating a very tense and intimidating atmosphere, especially for Shylock. He is the only Jew present in the court-he has no one ...
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Act 4 Scene 1 is the key scene of the play, which is set in court. This is the scene where the several subplots of the main storyline, (the 'pound of flesh' bond, the casket test and the ring bond) come together and reach their climax. It is also the climax of the relationship between the Christians and the Jews with Antonio and Shylock representing each.
The setting is in a huge, grand court room, creating a very tense and intimidating atmosphere, especially for Shylock. He is the only Jew present in the court-he has no one but himself for support, whereas Antonio has a room full of Christians to stand by him. Because of this, Shylock is made to feel as the outsider, the underdog as soon as he sets foot in that court room.
The Duke's greeting for Antonio is warm and sympathetic inclining the audience to feel the same. They are all rooting for their 'hero', the one who is prepared to sacrifice his life for the love of his friend to win the court case. To them he is the innocent Christian, a victim of the evil Jew's malicious plans to murder him.
When Shylock enters the courtroom, the extent of hatred, which is felt both by the audience and the actors in the play, is obvious. The Duke speaks to Shylock with such intense forcefulness, that to our eyes, he seems hardly the suitable judge to try this case,
"A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch,/Uncapable of pity, void and empty,/From any dram of mercy."
However, this statement only re-instates the views of the biased audience.
The audiences' hearts are won once again by Antonio when he acts with a noble nature by accepting the verdict of the law with patience and a 'quietness of spirit'.
Although by now everyone is completely against Shylock, he still has the upper hand, the law is still on his side. Pressure is put on Shylock to be merciful from the Duke and Portia, who is disguised as the lawyer, Baltazar, when she says 'Then the Jew must be merciful'. Her speech praises the virtue of mercy: "The quality of mercy is not strain'd...' but he adamantly refuses. Shylock only wants revenge and is only interested in Antonio's death. This point becomes even more obvious when he refuses six times the original amount of ducats offered to him by Bassanio, and comments no matter how much money was offered he 'would have my bond'
Throughout this scene Shylock is offered the choice of showing mercy or the law and justice, but of course, Shylock chooses the law and justice. The Dukes asks him,
"How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?"
Without realising it, Shylock ultimately secures his own fate by rejecting mercy in favour for the law. This statement from the Duke was obviously preparing the court for the time when showing Shylock no mercy.
Shylock repeats how he 'craves the law' several times, re-igniting the audiences' hatred for him and keeping it continuously burning.
Although Shylock has already sealed his own fate as a victim of his own success, he is oblivious and his confidence grows steadily as the trial progresses. He thoroughly believes that Portia is on his side when she agrees that, 'The Jew shall have all justice' a dramatic irony as this is the final nail in the coffin for Shylock-the man who insisted on just that-justice without mercy. However, still oblivious to that fact he refers to her as 'A Daniel come to judgement'. Daniel was a figure of high importance in the Jewish faith, so it would have been a compliment for a Jew to hear this-Shylock thinks of Portia as the 'Jew' on his side.
Shylock's obvious delight is in disguisable, as he gleefully whets his knife as Portia lets him carry on thinking he has won by stating,
"The Law allows it and the Court awards it"
Once again, the audience is subjected to the now famous traits of the character Shylock has become-a malignant murderous Jew whose malicious blood-lust for Antonio's heart, wipes away any trace of humanity that the audience could have ever saw in him.
By this point, the audience will be riveted as Antonio prepares to die. There is a brief touching scene between Bassanio and Antonio as they re-affirm each other's friendship, which is a stark contrast to Shylock's homicidal attitude. Antonio accepts his fate but happiness is short-lived for Shylock as Portia intervenes at the last possible moment, creating the twist of the scene.
Shylock has consistently placed his faith in the law, the law to give him justice, revenge and long-term profit, and it proved to be his downfall. Portia's interpretation of the law is that Shylock may cut a pound of Antonio's flesh, but only if he does not spill a drop of his blood-this is of course impossible and Shylock has well and truly been tricked.
The law had been manipulated to fit the individuals needs- Shylock uses the bond as means of revenge against his ancient rival Antonio, and Portia twists it so inevitably, Shylock creates his own downfall. The law is used unfairly and unjustly towards Shylock, making him a victim. His character has changed so quickly in this scene-although the audience would have still seen Shylock as the villain who received his comeuppance, modern critics could say how the Christians became the villains after sentencing the Jew to a life of Christianity-an extremely unfair punishment for any Jew.
Shylock didn't show any mercy throughout Act 4 Scene 1, although he was repetitively asked to do so, and that sealed his fate. This is when the Christians step in (i.e. the Duke and Antonio) and 'claim' to give him mercy. Perhaps they grant him mercy in the form of not executing him and with Antonio playing the part of the merciful hero again by interceding so that the court may 'quit the fine for one half of his goods', but then the real blow comes, which begs the question, whether it was an act of mercy, or purely a severe punishment out of spite? Antonio demands that Shylock should become a Christian, and for Shylock, a committed Jew, this was a fate worse than death. The smugness of Antonio is obvious as he patronises Shylock how Christianity is better than Judaism, and Shylock leaves the courtroom with no dignity left-he is a broken man.
The roles of Portia and Nerissa are of them dressing up as men to become the lawyer and the assistant for the trial. Portia plays a significant part in this scene and clearly and cleverly expounds the law, leading Shylock gently along the path to self-destruction, and keeps the scene as intense and exciting as possible for the Elizabethan audience. However, she becomes a hypocrite when passing the sentence on Shylock, about the quality of mercy.
The Merchant of Venice is classed under the 'comedy' section of Shakespeare's works, which I find hard to believe with the inevitable tragic fate of Shylock and the near tragedy of Antonio. However with the story of the rings climaxing right at the end of Act 4, the play is re-established as a comedy. Shakespeare uses this device to capture his audience, to keep them interested. Ending on a light-hearted note instead of court scene laden with revenge and serious issues, contrasts brilliantly as it creates an atmosphere of happiness and enjoyment as it makes the audience smile and laugh again.
Act 4 Scene 1, I think, is the obvious key scene in the play 'The Merchant of Venice'. It has a dramatic impact on the play, as this is the scene where all of the subplots come together for the climax, the trial, and the repercussions of this trial make up the rest of the play.
This is the scene where the major themes of 'love and friendship versus greed' and 'mercy versus justice' are played out, where Portia's love for Bassanio leads her to Venice to overcome Shylock. She eventually forgives Bassanio for parting with her ring, truly showing how love and forgiveness conquer the self-centred greed of Shylock. The mercy versus justice theme shows how if Shylock had only been merciful and had not insisted on law and justice, he could have prevented his downfall. His judgement had been clouded by his immense desire for revenge, spurned only by the discriminating way he had been treated by the Christians.
The trial brings the context of the whole play together; the hatred between Christians and Jews, with Antonio and Shylock as the representatives. It's like the discrimination and alienation of Jews throughout the whole world at that time was brought together and their prejudices between each other acted out in the court scene. The result was that, as it has been since biblical times, Christians emerge as the heroes, with the Jews unfairly discriminated purely for their religion. However, Elizabethan audiences would have still seen Shylock as the villain. Opinions and views have changed though, and a modern audience would have seen through the stereotypical character, and seeing that behind the bitterness and desire for revenge, the real Shylock, who had been treated badly.
Shakespeare's blatant stereotype of a Jewish villain already secured the character's fate from the first we knew of Shylock in the play. It wasn't until Act 4 Scene 1 that Shylock became his most villainous, and in the same scene changed completely into a victim in my eyes. This scene shows Shylock at his most powerful and vulnerable and the attitudes towards Jews in Elizabethan times from Christians, at their most exposed and raw. It just proves how prejudiced people were in those days-rejoicing at a Jews misfortune can hardly be a Christian belief.
Overall the scene is a key scene in many ways. It's where the whole complex of Christians versus Jews reaches a climax along with the various other plots intertwined with the main 'pound of flesh bond'. Shakespeare has indeed written a very thought provoking play, which raises many issues about prejudices and religion.
Vicki Vinton