You call’d me dog…
Antonio: “I am as like to call thee so again,
To spit on thee again, to spurn thee too”
This extract shows that Antonio has open disrespect to Shylock, and happily admits it, which gives an audience a negative impression of him compared to the impression that we get of Shylock; therefore at this stage in the play, audiences would quite sympathetic to Shylock, and had his fate come at this stage, there would be much more sympathy for him, however our opinion of him changes as the play progresses. Shylock seems good natured as he offers to forgive Antonio and “Forget the shames” that Antonio has shamed him with, this offer of friendship and kindness is cruelly rejected.
When his daughter Jessica runs away with the Christian Lorenzo, we do not see Shylock’s direct reaction but Solanio describes the scene in Act 2 scene 8. He says that Shylock said:
“My daughter! O my ducats! …
Justice! Find the girl!
She hath the stones upon her and the ducats!”
This suggests that Shylock is more concerned with his money and his precious stones than he is about his daughter, which gives the audience a very negative impression of Shylock, as one would think that the first and foremost concern should be the fact that Shylock has lost his daughter, and not that Shylock has lost his ducats.
Act 3 Scene 1 also deals with the flight of Shylock’s daughter. Solanio and Salerio are openly admitting pride at their involvement in Jessica’s disappearance. At this point, our sympathy for Shylock returns. In lines 49-67, Shylock gives his speech:
“…and what’s his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes...The villainy you teach me I will execute…”
In this passage, Shylock’s true feelings are revealed; about how he disapproves so much of the racism he has been shown, and how he is so clearly angry at this. He says “The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.” This can be interpreted as Shylock has been taught how to be cruel by the Christians, and although it will be difficult for him, he can be just as cruel as them, and better. This is a threat to the Christians, but I think that most people would feel sorry for Shylock and support his feelings.
In Act 4 Scene 1, which is the trial scene, this negative impression of Shylock is further re-enforced by the fact that Shylock fully intends to cut away the pound of flesh that he is owed, and kill Antonio in the process, despite being given many opportunities to have mercy, however his stubbornness is slightly understandable as he is spoken to with much disrespect at the beginning of the scene by the Duke, who is clearly racist:
“…From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint,
From stubborn Turks, and Tartars never train’d
To offices of tender courtesy.
We all expect a gentle answer, Jew”
The Duke is comparing Shylock to other racial groups in an offensive way, and states that even unfeeling Turks and Tartars who have never been taught to behave would give mercy. He then refers to Shylock not by name but “Jew” which further adds to the racism shown against Shylock. However, he is giving Shylock an opportunity to forgo the forfeit but Shylock refuses, although at this stage it is understandable given the racism he has been shown. It is not just the men in the play who are racist, Portia also has these negative tendencies; in Act 2 Scene 1 he Prince of Morocco says: “Mislike me not for my complexion” showing that Portia is also racist, however she seems to put these feelings aside as the technique used by her in an attempt to persuade Shylock to change his mind is quite different to how the Duke tries to tackle the problem. Where the Duke has been rude and racist, she shows Shylock respect and talks to him politely, even flattering him to try to get him to change his mind. Later in the scene, Portia, disguised as a lawyer, re-offers the opportunity to be merciful. She first talks to Shylock about mercy, and how it is a good thing:
“The quality of mercy is not strain’d
…It is an attribute to God himself”
In this passage, Portia is trying to persuade Shylock to have mercy by elevating him to the level of a God if he gives mercy. This is a clever technique to try and persuade Shylock to have mercy, however he declines it. Unlike the Duke, she is being polite to Shylock and treating him no differently to how any other person should be treated, and so the audience might expect that Shylock, having been shown respect, might back down, but this is not the case; Shylock says:
“…I crave the law,
The penalty and forfeit of my bond.”
The audience’s impression of Shylock is further reduced by this refusal. Portia then offers him the opportunity to take three times the value of the original bond in return for mercy, but Shylock declines this offer also even when Portia begs Shylock to be merciful:
Portia: “…Be merciful:
Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond.”
Shylock: “…I stay here on my bond.”
Portia then suggests that Shylock allows a doctor to be nearby, so that even if Shylock take the flesh, Antonio may have some chance of survival, but his offer is also declined, Shylock stating “I cannot find it; ‘tis not in the bond.” Shylock has now had many opportunities to give mercy, all of which he has declined. This constant refusal to be merciful severely dents the audience’s sympathy for him.
Shylock prepares to cut the flesh from Antonio’s chest, but Portia has realized that he cannot do so legally, because in his bond he has made no allowance for a single drop of Antonio’s blood.
“…This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood.”
There are different interpretations of this part of the scene, because Shakespeare gives no clue as to whether Portia has realized on the spur of the moment that Shylock can not legally take the flesh, or if it was premeditated. Examples of the different interpretations are in the films directed by Michael Radford (2001) which interprets this as being a last minute realization, and Trevor Nunn (1999) who suggests that it was pre-planned. These two interpretations give different audience opinions. If it was a planned attack by Portia, the modern audience may feel more sympathy for Shylock when his fate is decided (however the original audience would probably have been overjoyed that Shylock was getting what he deserved), as he didn’t really have a chance, but if the bond’s error was realized at the last minute, then we feel that Shylock deserved what he got, and that Antonio’s life has been saved by Portia. My interpretation is that the error in the bond not allowing for blood had been previously realized by Portia, and she was waiting for just the right moment to say about it, because earlier in the play she has shown racist tendencies, and although it was towards black people rather that Jews, I think that the likelihood is that she would have the same unjustified dislike of Jews and she did of blacks, and would therefore want to cause Shylock as much upset as possible.
When Shylock realizes that he cannot take the flesh, and then tries to claim the earlier offer: “Pay the bond thrice”, however, Portia does not allow this, as he has rejected the offer previously. She states that Shylock “shall have nothing but the penalty.” But it must be at his risk. Portia then tells Shylock to prepare to cut the flesh; in lines 322-330
“Therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh.
Shed thou no blood, nor cut less nor more
But just a pound of flesh…”
At this point, I think that audiences will think that Shylock’s punishment at this stage is perfectly fair; however, I think that most opinions would change after this, when Shylock is denied even his original amount of money: “Shall I not have barely my principal?”
Shylock then attempts to leave the courtroom, but he is stopped by Portia, as by attempting to kill Antonio, he has broken the laws of Venice, stated in lines 347-354. Because of this law all of Shylock’s belongings are confiscated, and his life lies in the mercy of the Duke. Although Shylock is just receiving what he wanted-“I crave the law” I think that most audiences would feel sorry for him at this point, and their sympathy is further enhanced when Antonio says he should be punished in lines 378-388. Antonio says that half of his wealth should go to the state, but the other half must be given to “the gentleman that lately stole his daughter” , which I think most audiences would react badly to, as there is no need to upset Shylock further by mentioning again his lost daughter. The final blow is when Antonio demands that Shylock becomes a Christian: “He presently become a Christian”, therefore taking away the one thing that Shylock has left; his Jewish faith. I think that this is where the audience feels most sympathy for Shylock, as in the modern world this would be completely unacceptable.
Overall, I think that modern audiences would feel great sympathy for Shylock by the end of Act 4 Scene 1, as his life has been completely destroyed, and the one thing that matters most to him, his religion, has been taken away, and this has happened unlawfully, as I do not think that at any time, it has been acceptable for the victim of a crime to decide the punishment of the person who has committed that offense. The trial scene brings to light the corruption that was rife at the time, and also the religious hatred. I do not think that Shakespeare intended for an audience to feel this way, because at the time he wrote the play, there was a lot of racism against Jews, and people would find it funny that Shylock’s life has taken such a bad turn. Shakespeare himself probably felt the same way, and there is evidence of his feelings in lines like “the devil can cite scripture for his purpose”, suggesting that the ideas of the Bible are not intended to benefit anyone like Shylock, which is clearly believed in the play, but completely hypocritical, because in the eyes of God, all people are equal. The Christians in the play clearly do not adhere to this understanding, so as well as the possibility that Shakespeare was racist, he could also be criticizing Christians, although this is in my opinion unlikely because of the heavily religious climate in England at the time. This highlights how views of audiences and writers have changed for the better since the play was written. I personally feel sympathy for Shylock from the moment he is told that he can not have the original offer of three times the bond, as he should have some repayment for the loan that he made, and even though the pound of flesh was an agreed penalty, there should be some fair substitute for this. Even though he probably would have killed Antonio if he had had the chance, and there should be some punishment for this, he did not actually inflict any injury upon him, and therefore does not deserve to be punished to the extent that he is. The loss of his daughter is punishment enough for this, and there is no need to further destroy him. That is not to say that Shylock is without his flaws; he is greedy, and also to some extent racist, but the other characters in the play are far worse in moral comparison. Shylock’s fate; his daughter, his money, and his religion all having been snatched from him, is, in the view of most modern audiences, unjust and unacceptable by modern standards.