Shylock Critical Essay

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Laura Combe

Shylock Critical Essay

     My critical essay is on Shylock, who is one of the main characters in the play, “The Merchant of Venice,” which was written by one of the most famous playwrights of all time, William Shakespeare. In this essay I intend to prove that Shylock was the villain of this play and although there may have been moments where he appeared to be a victim, he was a cruel and evil villain. He was an unforgiving character who was scheming to get his own way throughout the whole play.

     At the start of the play we see Shylock grudgingly lending Antonio money-3000 ducats. Even though he does not like Antonio he lends him the money with the agreement that if Antonio should not be able to pay him back, within the time given, Shylock will take a pound of his flesh. During the play Shylock’s daughter Jessica runs away from him taking all of his money and some of his jewels with her. Shylock is very angry that she has run away and taken his belongings but I think the worst bit for him is knowing that the man she ran away with is a Christian. He is not upset long though, as he soon finds out that Antonio’s ships have come into trouble and he won’t be able to pay back the loan. He takes him to court to argue his case, he says all he wants is justice as Antonio has broken his bond and this is the punishment they agreed to. It is a close case and right up until the end it looks as though Shylock might just win but at the very last moment Portia, posing as the lawyer, catches him out, and he is charged with attempted murder.

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     I think that from Shylock’s very first scene of the play you can see clues to his scheming and conniving nature. In it we see Shylock trying to work out whether or not to give Antonio the money. You can see him trying to decide whether it is worth his while, trying to decide if there is anything in it for him. He also shows the nasty side to his personality when he makes certain comments about Antonio’s ships that would imply he would like harm to come to them. “ I mean, pirates; and ...

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