IndexIntroductionThe character of ShylockConclusionIntroductionDuring the Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare presents a multifaceted presentation of Shylock. Although Shakespeare's presentation of Shylock conforms in many ways to stereotypical views of Jews, presenting Shylock as evil and the problem that must be overcome in this Shakespearean play. Shakespeare also presents Shylock as oppressed and presents a softer aspect of Shylock's character, challenging this atrocious stereotype so typical in the Elizabethan era by presenting the unknown side of the Jews on stage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Character of Shylock When we are first introduced to Shylock in Act 1 Scene 3, it is evident that Shakespeare is presenting Shylock as a hateful character. This is demonstrated when, immediately after being introduced to Antonio by Bassanio, Shylock says, "I hate him because he is a Christian." The word 'hate' clearly shows the extent of his dislike for Antonio, furthermore, the alliteration between the words 'hate' and 'him' further demonstrates his hatred. Shylock also explicitly stated that he hates Antonio "because he is a Christian", this shows that the hatred Shylock has for Antonio is based on religion. This is related to the historical context, since during the Elizabethan era Jews were considered inferior beings, the animosity between Christians and Jews was so great that even King Edward I exiled them from England. In the same excerpt, Shakespeare uses vivid imagery to further convey Shylock's hateful emotions when he says, "If I take him once upon the flank, I will feed on fat the ancient grudge I bear against him." The imagery used when Shylock says, “I will feed on fat,” creates an image of Shylock as a barbaric monster in our heads, feeding on Antonio's fat. Shakespeare uses alliteration again here, with the words "feed" and "fat." When the entire sentence is spoken out loud, these two words draw the most attention, highlighting Shylock's poisonous nature. Finally, at the end of the verse, Shylock says, “Damn my tribe if I ever forgive him.” Shylock is swearing on his religion that he would not forgive Antonio, and at the beginning of the excerpt, Shylock called his religion "sacred", which evidently means that it is important to him. By making such a religious man swear by his religion for revenge, Shakespeare is creating an ominous atmosphere of foreboding as the audience worries about Antony. Furthermore, the public's dislike of Shylock continues to grow, because not only is Shylock a Jew in a time when Jews were despised, but he was also plotting against a "righteous" Christian. Furthermore, Shylock calls his religion his "tribe". In this way, Shakespeare suggests that Shylock is barbaric and primitive, because the word "tribe" was mostly used to describe uncivilized groups of people. At the beginning of the play, Shylock's hatred towards Antonio was quite secret, when speaking on the sidelines, Shylock referred to Antonio as a "public servile", while in public he politely called him "Mister Antonio". The contrast between these two ways Shylock referred to Antonio is evidence of how Shakespeare presents Shylock's deception and cunning. It is also evidence that Shakespeare emphasizes the inferior position and segregation of the Jews in society, as they were not allowed to express their opinions out loud, but only in absolute secrecy for fear of legal punishment. Even in Act 4 Scene 1, the Jews were legalconsidered "aliens" in Venice, even if they were citizens. However, as the play develops, Shylock's power over Antonio increases. The turning point comes when it is discovered that Antonio's ships have all sunk. When this happens, it is up to the Christian to bow before the Jew and beg for mercy. DaShylock was Jewish, it was difficult for Elizabethan audiences to point this out. However, when their beloved Christian Antonio is called "foolish" by Shylock, a simple Jew, Antonio's helplessness spreads throughout the audience. Cleverly, Shakespeare may be trying to make the audience understand Shylock's suffering by forcing a Christian character to suffer the same mistreatment as a Jew. Shylock is not only presented as hateful, but he is also presented as vengeful throughout the play. Accepting the terms of the bond, Shylock declared that if Antonio broke the bond, he would receive "an equal pound of your fair flesh". By using the adjective "fair" to describe Antonio's flesh (which would not conventionally be described as fair), Shylock could be seen as mocking Antonio, almost daring him to back down because he feared a Jew. Disgust would spread throughout the audience as Shylock convinces Antonio to sign the contract. This vengeful presentation of Jewish characters was not abnormal during the Elizabethan era, as there were countless plays that portrayed Jews in the same vengeful light, such as Christopher Marlowe's presentation of the Jew Barabas in his infamous play: "The Jew of Malta". However, unlike these other plays, Shylock does not seek money or anything of monetary value: "If every ducat in six thousand ducats were in six parts, and every part were a ducat, I would not draw them." I would have my bail.' Shakespeare may be trying to demonstrate that the Jews were not driven only by the desire for money, contrary to what was believed in Elizabethan times. As the play continues, Shylock's desire for revenge remains unshakable. In Act 3 Scene 1, Shylock repeatedly says the phrase "Let him look at his bond" in response to Solanio and Salerino begging Shylock to mitigate the repercussions on Antonio if he broke the bond. The short, monosyllabic line suggests a tone of obstinacy and determination to make Antonio suffer. This would be quite unnerving for contemporary audiences, while Elizabethan audiences would simply have their prejudicial ideas about Jews confirmed. Furthermore, the repetition of this phrase indicates Shylock's determination to have his "bond". Similarly, in Act 3, Scene 3, when Antonio begs Shylock to spare him, Shylock continually interrupts his pleas with the declaration, “I will have my bond.” . This reveals many things. First, it shows how in terms of power the situation has completely changed. At the beginning of the show, Shylock was constantly interrupted by Antonio while trying to speak, although in this scene the opposite is true. This would have been quite unexpected to the Elizabethan audience, as they considered the Jews useless, however, Shakespeare is showing that one's religion does not determine their influence in society. The short, monosyllabic phrase and the contraction "I will" suggest a feeling of finality, confirming to both the audience and the characters that Shylock will not ease Antonio's punishments. Furthermore, whenever Shylock refers to the 'bond' with Antonio, he uses the possessive pronoun 'mine', this shows how important the fulfillment of the bond is to him. However, Shakespeare also presents Shylock as oppressed and mistreated countless times throughout the story. play. First, Shylock is constantly dehumanized by one actto the other. He is constantly called a "devil", a "dog", a "curd", and a "bad guy". By having Shylock called such derogatory names, Shakespeare shows how Jews were wrongly considered an inferior species, below Christians in the Great Chain of being, and in the rank of animals. Furthermore, by having each character refer to Shylock using these terms, repeatedly, Shakespeare is revealing that everyone in society saw Shylock this way. Shylock is also constantly insulted with words coming from the same semantic field as religion, such as: 'devil' and 'unbeliever'. This shows how the insults hurled at Shylock were not only due to the characters' antipathy towards him, but also out of their antipathy towards his religion. Shakespeare highlights not only the mistreatment of Shylock, but the mistreatment of all Jews of the time. The words indicate that the characters considered Judaism to be an inferior religion and anyone who followed that religion was to be mistreated. Furthermore, Antonio, who was supposed to be the perfect Christian, treated Shylock with the utmost disrespect. In Act 1 Scene 3, when Shylock says, “thou, who hath shed thy saliva upon my beard,” Shakespeare uses vivid and disgusting imagery to encapsulate the mistreatment of the Jews in a heinous image. By showing this oppressed side of Shylock, Shakespeare asks the audience if Shylock's bond with Antonio was actually justifiable, because although Shylock's idea of ​​punishment seemed overly harsh, Shylock is right when he says, "If you wrong us, we will not shall we take revenge? If we are like you in everything else, we will be like you in this." Using a rhetorical question, Shakespeare questions the paradoxical theme of justice. Shakespeare asks himself the question: why on the one hand is it completely unacceptable that a Christian ( Antonio) is almost killed by a Jew (Shylock), even though he was perfectly within Shylock's rights, while it is perfectly fine for a Jew to be forced to abandon his religion, for fear of wanting to die, and forced to give up most of the his possessions and his wealth, which is probably worse than death, from a Christian? There are also moments throughout the play where Shylock's harsh and hateful behavior on the outside is pierced and his inner emotions are revealed. The most fitting example of this is in Act 3 Scene 1. When Shylock is interrogated by Solanio and Salarino, Shylock utters his famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. In this speech Shylock constantly uses rhetorical questions to express his annoyance at the mistreatment of the Jews. Normally, Shylock only shows anger and hatred towards Christian characters, and always tries to differentiate himself from them. However, in this speech, Shylock is saying that Jews are like everyone else, which was contrary to his previous actions. In this way, Shakespeare shows that beneath his exterior full of hatred and anger, Shylock is just a normal man who just wants to be treated with equality and respect. Since this was performed on stage, it may also suggest that Shakespeare was indirectly questioning society's mistreatment of all Jews at the time. Additionally, rhetorical questions are used to communicate with the audience, further supporting this notion. Later in the same act, Shylock's more human nature is revealed when he realizes that Jessica has sold his wife's ring. He reacted with immense sadness. “You torture me, Tubal.” That's what he said after it was revealed to him. The verb to torture shows us that his ring was very important to him and that it had great value. In fact, the ring belonged to Shylock's wife,,.