Antonio is often compared to Jesus for example, sacrificing himself for his friend, Bessanio. Portia is portrayed as a smart woman, as Shakespeare would have compared her to their Queen, Elizabeth. Shakespeare had definitely tried to please the queen and today’s audience with the punishment of Shylock ad the ‘justice’ of Portia. Contemporary audiences would respond in a very different way. We would not feel kindly to Shylocks behaviour, however we would be able to see the affect that Christians have had on the Jewish faith at that time. ‘Cursed be my tribe, If I forgive him!’ We see the ways in which the Christians had mocked the Jewish faith by ‘spitting’ at Shylock, and even though Shylock’s punishment is supposed to portray ‘Christian Compassion’, He is hated for being a Jew and a moneylender, but Shakespeare has not made Shylock a character easy to sympathise with. He appears to be mean and cruel and it seems as though he loves money above all things. However during the play there are moments when Shakespeare gives Shylock speeches, which show his humanity. In these moments, the audience is made to feel sorry for Shylock. Shakespeare has created a character in which one could use as a contrast of audiences of the two eras.
Today’s audience may feel sympathy for Shylock, considering that it was money lent without interest, and therefore Shylock would make no profit due to the prejudice of that era.
There are many ways in which Shakespeare shows a biased court verdict. The duke, before Shylock even enters the room, is referred to as ‘The Jew,’ a clearly derogatory term, and ‘incapable of pity’. While Shylock is in court, the Duke badgers Shylock, though he is supposed to be the impartial jury. This, to an Elizabethan audience, would be seen as ‘justice.’ The behaviour of the Duke would be seen as an improper way of treating the prosecutor today.
Shylock, in the play would be dressed as a devilish figure, contrasting him to the idyllic Christian behaviour of Antonio. Shylock’s daughter ran off with a Christian and stole his money, and yet this would have been seen as a ‘leap for the Christian faith’, though today’s audience would see the daughter as a corrupt figure, and we feel pity for Shylock. The devil shows the reaction that the Elizabethan audience would have had to Shylock. He is victimised throughout by the majority faith, Christianity, even though the audience would have not felt compassion.
When the play was written the audience would have immediately disliked Shylock on the basis of his religion and occupation, however nowadays when religious prejudice is not nearly as strong we still find him an unpleasant character. One of the main things, which make him seem unpleasant, is his greed and love of money. His first words are actually “Three thousand ducats; well”, perhaps a method of Shakespeare’s to show the audience immediately what is most important to Shylock. Later on in the first scene, when Antonio enters to talk to him about lending Bassanio money Shylock says to himself;
“I hate him for he is a Christian hate”
Shylock is telling us that Antonio hates him because he is Jewish, however when considering Shylock's place in society, there is more to his hatred than just religion. Antonio also thinks Shylock is despicable because of his un-holy and sinful profession, even though Antonio and the other Venetians take advantage of his business. Shylock's job poses a threat to Christian values, but it is also slightly more significant that just that. The Christian Venetians feel threatened because they themselves are not being very Christian and ruining their society themselves; they are taking advantage of a moneylender, and try to deny Shylock of the Christian virtue of mercy, as Shakespeare tried to depict Antonio.
Shakespeare shows a clear ubderstanding of racism that would have been ignored by the Elizabethan audience. For exanple, the humanities speech said by Shylock earlier in the play is very moving to a modern audience, but a joke to Elizabethan audiences. Shakespeare was able to innitiate with an audience weell before his time and shows ways in which he had manipulated the play to suit the audience. It is a great comparison, and shows the culture of the audience of either time.
