The Merchant of Venice has been interpreted over time as both a defense and an attack on Jews. (“Shylock”) Although it would seem unlikely that Shakespeare was far-sighted enough to completely reject the anti-Semitic sentiment of his time, the play is too complex to be classified as a simple attack on Jews. Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice was not written to make a pointed statement about anti-Semitism, but to push audiences to question their preconceived notions about Jews in England during the Renaissance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There is no doubt that Shylock is not a pleasant character. As the show progresses, he goes from simply plotting to get revenge on the Christians to becoming fanatical about killing Anthony. The portrayal of Shylock as a devious, scheming Jew who is practically a “devil” would have greatly appealed to anti-Semitic audiences of Shakespeare's time. (“Shylock”) However, if this had been Shakespeare's sole intention, he could easily have made the character of Shylock both one-dimensional and an excessive caricature of a Jew. Instead, Shylock is a fascinating and multi-layered character. In Act III, he gives a powerful speech about acceptance that is hard to ignore: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Does a Jew not have hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, wounded with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and refreshed by the same winter and summer as a Christian? (3.1.52-58). Shylock uses this argument to explain why he wants to get revenge on the people who hurt him. However, it is too telling to simply be the distorted reasoning of a villain. When you discover what was done to Shylock, you suddenly see the world through Shylock's eyes and sympathize, if only briefly, with his desire for revenge on Antonio. This reversal most likely made the Christian audiences of that time ("Shylock") feel uncomfortable, which was exactly Shakespeare's intention: to make the audience question their assumptions about Shylock's "evil" character and, by extension, their stereotypes of Jews as a people. group. Shakespeare also forces the audience to question the standards of their society through his characterization of Christians. While he doesn't portray them as badly as Shylock, they are all far from perfect, especially in their hypocrisy. Antonio condemns Shylock for both his religion and his practice of usury while simultaneously borrowing money from him. Furthermore, although Shylock's superficiality is mocked in the form of his fixation with money, the characters of Portia and Bassanio are also depicted as superficial due to the importance they place on beauty. However, the most substantial display of hypocrisy on the part of a Christian is Portia's actions during the trial in Act IV. At the beginning of the trial Portia, as a doctor of jurisprudence, greatly emphasizes the concept of mercy in an attempt to convince Shylock to be merciful to Antonio: “…then Jew, / Though justice be thy supplication, consider this, / That in the course of justice, none of us / should see salvation: we pray for mercy, / and that same prayer teaches us all to perform / the works of mercy. (4.1.93-98). Soon after, Portia overturns the law and is given the immediate chance to show Shylock the same mercy that, 1999.