“Fair sir, you spat on me some Wednesday last,
You spurred me such a day, another time
You called me dog.”
From what I see, Antonio treats Shylock dreadfully and I think Antonio is very rude asking for a loan after treating Shylock so badly. Shylock calls Antonio “Fair sir” in a sarcastic way and then goes on to give a list of all the dire doings Antonio has done to Shylock. I feel very sorry for Shylock because it seems he put up with a lot more grief than the Christians have.
Shylock then makes a bond with Antonio:
“Expressed in the condition, let the forfeit
Be nominated for an equal pound
Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken
In what of your body pleaseth me.”
I think this is a fair bond that Shylock makes because of all the suffering he has been put through by Antonio. Shylock refers to the bond as “merry sport,” but I think he says this sarcastically and he is almost pretending to Antonio that this bond is just a bit of harmless fun. But it is not. I think Shylock does this to Antonio so Antonio will not worry too much about paying the loan back to Shylock in time. This means that Shylock will get a pound of Antonio’s flesh because Antonio will not have paid the loan back in time. I see Shylock as a victim of the society around him and I have intense pity for the man. I think he is a clean living man but I also think that Shylock enjoys his own money too much.
He almost begs his daughter, Jessica, to keep a good watch on all his money and he does not mention for Jessica to look after herself, while Shylock leaves to dine with Bassanio. While Shylock is away, Jessica elopes with her love, Lorenzo, who is a Christian. When Shylock finds out that his daughter has run away with a Christian he is mocked by the Christians who indicate that Shylock was devastated that his daughter left but he was devastated that his ducats had left with her too:
“My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!
Fled with a Christian my Christian ducats!”
He then shows that he is angrier about losing the ducats than losing his daughter, which makes me dislike him. He seems quite selfish at this part of the play:
“Of double ducats, stolen from me by my daughter!
And jewels – two stones, two rich and precious stones,
Stolen by my daughter! Justice! Find the girl!”
But subsequently in the play he stresses the common humanity of both Jews and Christians. He shows that there is no disparity between the two religions. I feel slightly sorry for Shylock because it is now that the realisation that Shylock is the same as the rest comes across. He stands up for himself and I feel happy that he had the fortitude to do this:
“I am a Jew. Hath a Jew not eyes? Hath not
A Jew hands, organs, dimensions,
Senses, affections, passions?”
Shylock then concludes his speech with the hint that he seeks revenge:
“And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble
You in that… the villainy you teach me I
Will execute and it shall go hard but I
Will better the instruction.”
Shylock wants to seek revenge on the Christians because of the way they have ill-treated him. I do not think it is a very respectable manner in which the Christians have behaved towards Shylock but I also think that Shylock retaliates in a bad way. I do not think people should try and get revenge on someone because I think it seems that you are weak for the reason that you cannot handle the way they are treating you without using brutality. My high opinion of Shylock drops because of this idea that he is going to seek revenge. I now think Shylock is quite cold-hearted compared to before. Earlier on in the play I had pity for him but now I think that he is just as bad as the Christians.
My bad opinion of Shylock is strengthened when Tubal tells Shylock that he did not find Jessica whilst he looked for her and the jewels in Genoa. Shylock gets very angry about the money and the precious jewels that she has taken and he then wishes her dead. I think Shylock is very cruel and I dislike him the same way as I did at the commencement of the play.
The Tubal tells him of Antonio’s misfortune:
“Yes, other men have ill luck too. Antonio
as I heard in Genoa.”
Shylock’s reaction is very disappointing. He is glad that one of Antonio’s ships was lost from Tripolis. Shylock seems to think that Antonio’s adversity is good:
“What, what, what? Ill luck, ill luck…
I thank thee good Tubal: good news, good news!
Ha, ha, heard in Genoa!”
I understand why Shylock thinks it is good but I still do not like him very much. I think he is callous because of this comment. He is just interested in Antonio’s misfortune because Antonio may not be able to pay back the three thousand ducats that are owed to Shylock. I think that is very sad. Shylock then tells Tubal to hire an officer to arrest Antonio. In the next Act or two afterwards, Shylock asks the jailor to guard Antonio closely. When Antonio tries to speak, Shylock interrupts him by saying that he will have his bond and tells Antonio not to speak against his bond. Even when Antonio begs Shylock to let him speak, he is still adamant not to let him. I think he does this because he is proud. He does not want to be seen as a weak, dull-eyed fool because it would be bad for his reputation.
In the famous trial, the Duke asks Shylock to show pity towards Antonio and asks him to drop the current forfeit and let Antonio pay back the loan with ducats. Shylock refuses and he will not tell why he hates Antonio so much to do this. But then I recall how badly Antonio and the other Christians treated Shylock, and as a result of that, my feelings of hatred for Shylock are weakened by feelings of pity. When Bassanio offers to give Shylock six thousand ducats instead of the original ducats, Shylock continues to refuse. At this point, I realise how much Shylock wants Antonio dead.
When Portia, who is dressed up as the Duke and who is also Antonio’s wife, says that Antonio has to stick to the forfeit, Shylock seems to be very jubilant. When the tables are turned and he is at the risk of losing a pound of his own flesh, he is a lot more merciful. He seems very two faced and I finally come to the conclusion that he is a self-pitiful, money grabbing Jew that is just out to help himself.