The Merchant of Venice Coursework
Although 'The Merchant of Venice' has been classified as a comedy, the critic AC Bradley considers this inaccurate describing Shylock as 'a figure with which the destined pleasant ending of the play would not harmonise' How far do you agree?
Many things that are written hundreds of years ago can often change meaning caused by many factors such as the reader, the critic, the time-period and most importantly the context that it was written in can change interpretation of the play every time it is read. The Merchant of Venice was written to be a comedy which tells the story of the downfall of a Jew and the love and life of other people in Venice. When the play was written Shakespeare lived in an anti-Jew society and were able to laugh at the misfortunes of the Jew Shylock, but today's modern world Shylock can be seen as sympathetic, not comedic, because of this many critics such as AC Bradley consider the classifying of 'The merchant of Venice' as a comedy to be incorrect.
In the Elizabethan times Jews in Europe were seen as the lowest class of society and were discriminated against in extreme ways, and were often blamed for all the problems of the world. In the 1000's Jews lived amongst the other people of city but were outcastes in poorer parts of the city even though Jews were often wealthy. Most of them became money lenders in their society, something which the Christians were not allowed to do in theirs but yet were still able to go to them. Because of their jobs they often had to be the debt collectors as well and for this reason they were often resented upon by the others and this lead to a lot of negative views on the Jews with religion becoming the main focus of this bad feeling. As stated by Jami Rogers 'In the late 12th century, preparation for the Third Crusade brought a heightened level of anti-Jewish sentiment. Anti-Semitic violence culminated in two massacres, one at the coronation of Richard I in 1189, when 30 Jews were killed, and the other in 1190 in the city of York, when 150 Jews were massacred. The Magna Carta, the basis for English constitutional law, is itself a testament to the growing unpopularity of Jewish money-lending activities.'
Jews were also expelled from certain societies much like many African-Americans were in America during the 17th and 18th century. Judaism was seen as a lesser religion to Christianity, they were often seen as less human to an extent as they were insulted, mistreated and altogether hated due to their religion. Many laws were formed against Jews such as if the person in debt died then the family would not have to pay it, it would be written off, this was done to lower their power in society. After the expulsion of Jews from many countries, rumours were ...
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Jews were also expelled from certain societies much like many African-Americans were in America during the 17th and 18th century. Judaism was seen as a lesser religion to Christianity, they were often seen as less human to an extent as they were insulted, mistreated and altogether hated due to their religion. Many laws were formed against Jews such as if the person in debt died then the family would not have to pay it, it would be written off, this was done to lower their power in society. After the expulsion of Jews from many countries, rumours were spread about them for example their love for murder, their greed, and also their love for money even though Shakespeare probably never met a Jew was they were expelled from England at the time the play was written the myths about them provided the context for what most people think of as the main part of the play.
The Merchant of Venice reflects the context that it was written in for example the Jew were separated from the main part of the city living in ghettos were mistreated and disliked by Christians if the Jews were not segregated for example the richer Jews they lived in their own little city so that they would not have to come in contact with the non-Jew society. Shylocks character was largely based on context as Shakespeare had probably never met a Jew he was based on the history and also the theatre that was done before him. Shakespeare was a good businessman and knew what the public would want, the portrayal of Jews in plays was a long time tradition when Shakespeare was writing the Merchant of Venice, and knew that the Jew was the people that non-Jew people loved to hate.
Shylock was portrayed as an anti Christian which Shakespeare makes it clear for people to know as in the first of his scenes he is made to say explicitly ' I hate him for he is Christian,' when talking about Antonio, he was also usurer, a cruel monster and a money loving person crying over the loss of his wealth every time some is taken from him. He was especially created not be shy away from the common stereotypes even at some points of the play embracing them, this was probably done as the audiences of this play were not likely to understand a play with Jews but not having the characteristics of them. Shylock is mistreated throughout the play. For example, in Act 1, Scene 3, Antonio says, "mark you this Bassanio, The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose." We see hear how he is being called the devil. The insults do not stop here Later in the play; Gratiano calls Shylock an "inexecrable dog." He is saying hear that Shylock is no more than a wild animal. These are just two out of a hundred remarks about Shylock that he has to face because of his religion. These insults show the influences of context of the play because in real life Jews were subjected to a lot of the abuse similar to what Shylock received.
The downfall of Shylock is sometimes seen as a subplot to the main story of love and friendships of two Christians of the play. The issue between Shylock and Antonio only arises because Bassanio asks Antonio for money to go and court Portia but as Antonio has none available at the moment he takes a loan from Shylock with a bond saying that if he does not pay, a pound of flesh will be taken from him. After Bassanio wins the had of marriage a lot of confusion and follow as Bassanio tries to get Antonio out of the bond as his intended ships with lots of valuables have sunk so is unable to pay the loan back and the comedic elements of the play come near an end after Portia dresses up as a man to fight the case for Antonio and eventually wins. Still dressed as a man she asks for a gift from Bassanio. Portia tells Bassanio, "That 'scuse serves many men to save their gifts, An if your wife be not a madwoman, And know how well I have deserved the ring, She would not hold out enemy forever, For giving it to me. Well peace be with you." This is seen as comedic because Portia is convincing Bassanio to give the ring that she entrusted to him and promised not to be given to anyone, be given to herself. This leads to a comic conversation and motion about love at the end of the play. Many people see this love story as the main plot of the play and because it was romantic and comedic it was sometimes classified as a romantic comedy. One critic called Samuel Ajentole still recognises the romantic comedy as the overtone of the play he says, "But the rejection of idealistic account does not make The Merchant a cynical play. It remains a romantic comedy because it shows that love does not require the myth of its invulnerability and all-conquering power to remain meaningful both in the her-and-now and as a pointer to
something beyond it." The critic says that the play is still a comedy because the main story all the over things that revolves for example the subplots of shylock and the bond all revolve around the main story of true love which is not shown by myths of vulnerability, but by staying truthful to your significant other. Portia and Bassanio do this by confessing their mistakes at the end of the play, resolving the play in happiness for those two much like all of Shakespeare's comedies. Many modern versions of the play give the play a comic feel by focusing more on the love story and adding joke to make it more light heartening and the shylock part of the play was just put in so that the play is not too overly 'lovey dovey' and still have some dark elements about it as all of Shakespeare's plays whether comedy or tragedy had elements from both genres in the play. The play is classified to a comedy but some critics still see a different interpretation of the play downsizing the comedic elements.
Today many critics no longer see 'The Merchant of Venice' as a comedy but mainly about the downfall of Shylock the Jew. Much of the play revolves around Shylock who is a successful usurer in Venice until he gets into a bond with shylock, and by the end of the play he is a broken man with nothing at all. He has lost his religion, his estate and his daughter in what is a tragic downfall. Despite these qualities of the play, it was seen as comedic because of the time and context that it was written in. Shylock was intended to produce the laughs for the play with his bombast nature and pomposity and was supposed to be caricature of Jews. The people were able to laugh at the misfortunes of a character that had a religion they love to hate. This lead to the comedy being a dark comedy in Elizabethan times. However interpretations as early as 1709, Nicholas Rowe had protested against the comic Shylock: "tho' we have seen the Play received and acted as a comedy, and the part of the Jew perform'd by an excellent comedian, yet I can not but think that it was design'd tragically by the author. There appears in it such as deadly spirit of revenge, such as a savage fierceness and fellness, and such a designation or cruelty and mischief, as cannot agree either with the stile or character of comedy." This critic here has noted the play being more tragic than comedic mostly because we are not an anti-Jewish society and today's society is more understanding to people from different backgrounds, One of these critics, Alvin Klein says that "The play is not a comedic read, and it is rarely played for laughs," Klein once again notes the audience that is interpreting the play. He says that today's society isn't one to just laugh at the misfortunes of shylock, audiences know think about the play. This had led to many critics calling it a 'tragedy' or a 'tragic comedy'. I would say that these critics are correct in saying that it is no longer a comedy. The story of shylock seems to take a major role of the play, it is referred to and seen more than the romance parts of the play with the main part being the bond between Shylock and Antonio. The comedic elements do arise in the play enough to be called a dark comedy but the tragic elements in the play are throughout with someone always mentioning the bond with the merchant and the Jew and to say that the few comedic moments can classify it as a comedy would be ridiculous. When it was written the audience was amused by the falling of the Jew, they hated them and would love to see them failing in real life. In today's world the play is a tragedy full of mistreatment, allowing it to be labelled as a tragedy as it no longer provides laughs to the audience or the reader. This play has become an example to show that as the context in which a work of literature is read changes, so can its interpretations.
