The scene serves to highlight the dual nature of Lancelot Gobbo, the plays clown. Lancelot opens the scene by declaring his mischievous nature: the fiend gives me more friendly counsel [than my conscience] (Shakespeare 24). Having resolved to leave Shylock, he then encounters his father, whom he proceeds to tease after realizing Old Gobbo does not recognize him. Relentless in his desire to make fun of people, Lancelot keeps pressing his own father, ultimately telling the old man that the young gentleman [&] is indeed deceased (Shakespeare 25). However, Gobbo still does not recognize or disbelieve him, lamenting that Lancelot was his sole support. At this point, Lancelot shows his more positive side, deciding to drop the act and reveal himself to his father. While he feels no remorse for his actions, he knows when to stop and shows genuine respect and love, taking a knee to receive Old Gobbos blessing. Through this demonstration of familial loyalty, Shakespeare makes Lancelot more likable and helps the audience sympathize with his later misadventures.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Edited by A. R. Braunmuller, Penguin Publishing Group, 2017.
Religion in The Merchant of Venice is the main aspect that gives a node to the vices of ultimately estrangement, persecution, and discrimination that is depicted in the play. Religion in itself is not portrayed in the book as a cause for spiritual paradigm or a spiritual belief system. Religion in the book is observed to be almost like a club, where the club members are illogically included or excluded and due to religion some characters in the book are simply doomed to be out of this religious club . Interestingly enough Mr. Shylock, the Jewish man in the book is an outcast and more prone to giving references to the bible to justify or disapprove of anything that he does. He does this simply because he thinks that his religion is superior and that he must do everything possible to justify his Jewish religion. Christianity seemed to have dominated the place and Christians enjoyed the status quo that existed because of the way Christianity had been rooted. Due to this the Christians in the book needed not to defend or uphold their Christianity stances. In the play, religion takes to be used as a powerful weapon as depicted from the way Shylocks daughter Jessica takes to disapproves of his fathers beliefs and wishes when she decides to marry Lorenzo. The most powerful potency of religion as depicted in the play was not to build Berlin walls or bridges for people but to enhance and reinforce hatred among the people (Weis, Theodore pp127).
We can see a distinct division between the Christians and the Jews. The Jews with an example of Shylock who is the most outstanding character in the book, always finds himself mentioning biblical references which he must justify or defend given that his religion requires that he has to justify what he says. This is in contrast to the Christians who do not necessarily have to justify their religion. The Christians are said to be enjoying the way the status is at that time as they are not held to justify their stands in their religion. It is therefore clear that religion has been used as a weapon to attack others. If we take Shylocks daughter Jessica as an example, she gets married to a Christian irrespective of her being brought up by a strict Jew. With this, she is using the religion to attack her father who is a very staunch Jew. This act by Jessica therefore forces her father Shylock to turn to Christianity not because he wants it or because of revelation, but because he is receiving punishment from Jessica who has gotten married to a Christian thus he is forced to shed off his Judaism and turn to Christianity.
Apart from the role of religion being a weapon to a source of attack to other people in this play, it has also been used as a source of collision. As we can see in the book when Shylock to his disbelief, tables turn on his face and he has snatched his faith and is forced to become a Christian. He therefore does not join Christianity out of his will but because of being punished for his bad deeds and his unjust economic principles.
Shakespeare in his book merchant of Venice depicts Jews to be evil through the roles and actions of the books characters especially Shylock and Antonio who are the main characters in the play (Weis, Theodore pp127). In his writing he was attempting to condemn the Christians who he considered to be errant as compared to the Jews, in terms of their ethical values and moral issues. Religion in this book is not portrayed as a matter of faith, spiritual or belief but its seen to be a point where discrimination is based on terms of whether one should be part of one religion or not. It happens that religion is the core thing that is discussed in the book as it is used as an opening towards practicing discrimination or even persecution. We can see a distinct division that exists between the Christians and the Jews. The Jewish way of life is depicted through the roles played by Shylock the most outstanding character in the book, who always finds himself mentioning biblical references which he must justify or defend given that his religion requires that he has to justify what he says. This is in contrast to the Christians who do not necessarily have to justify their religion. The Christians are said to be enjoying the way everything goes on and they are not held to justify their stands in their religion. The religion we, therefore, find has been used as a weapon to attack others given that Shylocks daughter Jessica gets married to a Christian irrespective of her being brought up by a strict Jew. With this, she is using religion to attack her father who is a very staunch Jew. This act by Jessica therefore forces her father Shylock to turn to Christianity not because he really wants it or because even because of revelation, but because he is receiving punishment from Jessica who has gets married to a Christian. Shylock is therefore forced to shed his Judaism and turn to Christianity.
Apart from the role of religion being a weapon to a source of the attack on other people in this play, it has also been used as a source of collision. As we can see in the play Shylock who is the Jewish moneylender is hated by a society that is very anti-Semitic (Tacitus, Publius p321). He has been stereotyped in a bad way, and he is described by people as an individual with red hair which is used to refer to the devil in the ages of the seventieth century, he is said to have very little compassion for other people, he dresses in very dirty clothes and also more to that he has a big nose (Tacitus, Publius p321-322). This kind of description presents a person who is unwanted or looks abnormal according to the society that he lives in. Its a manner that is not well accepted in society as such kind of a person is not compatible with others as he always looked strange even in the company of other people. Thus apart from his controversial way of describing him, Shylock is caught in another controversy when his daughter gets married to a Christian. The daughter moves into marriage with Lorenzo taking away with her a considerable sum of money that belonged to his father Mr. Shylock. With this turn of events, Shylock is caught in a dilemma as the daughter is in an away trying to punish him. It makes Shylock be very desperate and undecided.
In the merchant of Venice, two characters have been the center of attraction in religious issues of the play. These two are Antonio and Shylock; they have been portrayed in their views of both religion and moneylending rules. They are two people who seem to contrast in all aspects given that Antonio was a staunch Christian whereas Shylock was a staunch Judaism believer and each one of them believed that his own religion was much more superior to the religion of the other. Antonio was a business person and he owned valuable goods and ships, he was also a very generous person, and when compared to Shylock who was a very greedy man for he used the bible as his source of income given that he could make references to the bible to satisfy his own personal interests of collecting and lending money to borrowers. Thus we can say that Antonio and Shylock are two people that are each the opposite of the other. Antonio is a good man but just because he is a Christian, Shylock hates him. This is because of his belief that all Christians hate Jews which is not the case for Antonio. This makes Shylock have a very negative attitude towards Antonio just because of his religion. Therefore we can say that in this aspect religion has been used as a tool of spreading hatred among the people as we can see from the words of Shylock, I (Shylock) hate (Antonio) for he is a Christian&. (Antonio) hates our sacred nation this just shows the beliefs that both the Jews and the Christian had towards one another in the play (Victor Hugo, p224).
Antonio too is not an exception in this case given that he too thinks that all Jews are not kind. This is because of what he is seeing from Shylock who was once his friend and one day turned to be an evil man. When he now finds that Shylock is becoming generous given that he was always selfish, he believes that no Jew can be generous so he thinks that Christianity is much more superior to Judaism. This he illustrates by saying that, the Hebrew (Shylock) will turn Christian; he grows kind (William Shakespeare pp15). Another depiction of the enjoyment of dominance that Christianity owned at that time in the play, is when Shylock is made to join Christianity not because of the fact that he had experienced a revelation, but because of the turn of events that worked against his wish that made the initiation to Christianity to be the only remaining thing to do after he received a punishment. The daughter had in some way punished him by getting married to a Christian thus making Shylock conform to Christianity. When Antonio found out this he then believes that his religion of Christianity is much more superior to that of Judaism.
Although Shylock is a greedy man, he too is a wise businessman this can be seen when he said this, Mark what Jacob did& and in the doing of the deed of kind [Laban] struck them up before the fulsome ewes, who then conceiving did in earning time full particolored lambs, and those were Jacobs. This was a way to thrive, and he was blest; And thrift is blessing if men steal it not (William Shakespeare, pp12). He had given Antonio a loan which he was waiting for Antonio to repay with interest. When he had given Antonio the loan he had charged him interest by justifying it using the story in the bible of Jacob and Laban. Shylock loved using the bible to justify the references as a way of doing his business and collecting cash repayment from his debtors. Therefore in this case he is comparing Antonio to Laban as he puts himself in the shoes of Jacob, who was a righteous man as he says that both of them must be givers of interest. This thus portrays the personality of Shylock as being that of a greedy character. From this we can say that in a way Shylock and Antonio are similar and also very opposite kinds of people as they both believe that their own religion is much superior to the others and different in the sense that Antonio is a generous person and is ready to pay the amount of interest that Shylock asked for which is three times the loan amount that was given to him by Shylock, whereas the greedy characteristics of Shylock and his wisdom is seen in using the bible to justify his asking for interest that is three times the loan that he gave out to Antonio. It thus shows that though people may look good from the outside their inside may contain very negative traits.
Although in this book the Jews were ever considered to be very cruel people, Shakespeare has contradicted the view of the audience with the trend to the Jews given that at some point he has portrayed them as seeking empathy. This is seen when Shylock is maligned by Antonio with some of his Christian doctrines, this is seen when he says that, hath not a Jews eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions& if you prick us do we not bleed&? (William Shakespeare, pp36).
In this book we find that the Christian characters like Antonio and Bassasio do consider worthiness of a person in terms of what that person has in monetary terms (Rowe, Nicholas, pp24). As they believe that money is what constitutes a man or a woman. These are the same Christians that force Shylock into the money lending business and in making him believe that revenge is the only way out in the field of business that is the reason why Shylock is seen as a character that has a lust for revenge and greed in money.
In the play, it is quite evident that Christians have created a very hostile world for the Jews; this is the reason why Shylock believes that the only way to survive in a hostile Christian place is to use the bible to conduct the hi business of money lending. Another reason is that Christians are not regarding Shylock as a human being as they are using very bad terms to refer to him. They do not call him by his real name, but they fabricate names such as; the devil, the villain Jew, infidel and so many others (Weis, Theodore, pp127). Thus we see that there is a magnitude of reasons as to why Shylock should have a passion for money and accumulate wealth. He tells Antonio that, I breed money as rams and ewes breed lambs . He also informs his daughter called Jessica of his love for money. He tells Jessica that, I always dream of money bags . It therefore happens that when Jessica stole the money bags and runs away with Lorenzo who is a Christian, Shylocks couldnt believe this event and it is clearly depicted from how he acts after the actions of her daughter as he shouts, My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice! The law! my ducats and my daughter! (William Shakespeare, pp31). Through this utterance, we learn that Shylock is much more worried about his money than he is even worried about his daughter. Shylock is angered that despite his daughter Jessica stealing his ducats, she even goes with it to join Lorenzo in marriage yet Lorenzo was a Christian. Shylock considered Christians to be his religious enemies. This just increased the amount of anger he had towards the Christians and this broke his heart a great deal.
In his writing Shakespeare was attempting to condemn the Christians who he considered to be errant as compared to the Jews, in terms of their ethical values and moral issues. Religion in this book is not portrayed as a matter of faith, spirituality, or belief but rather its seen to be a point where discrimination is based in terms of whether one should be part of one religion or not. It happens that religion is the core thing that is discussed in the book as it is used as an opening towards practicing discrimination or even persecution.
Works Cited
Hugo, Victor. Analysis of William Shakespeares works. Translated by Melville B. Anderson. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
Rowe, Nicholas. Quoted in Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1939.
Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. History: Classics of Roman Literature. Wedeck, Harry E., ed. Trans. Anonymous. Paterson, N.J.: Littlefield, 1964.
Weis, Theodore. The Breath of Clowns and Kings. New York: Atheneum, 1971.
William Shakespeare. Merchant of Venice. Leipzig Bernh, Tauchnitz, 1843.
Religion in The Merchant of Venice is the main aspect that gives a node to the vices of ultimately estrangement, persecution, and discrimination that is depicted in the play. Religion in itself is not portrayed in the book as a cause for spiritual paradigm or a spiritual belief system. Religion in the book is observed to be almost like a club, where the club members are illogically included or excluded and due to religion some characters in the book are simply doomed to be out of this religious club . Interestingly enough Mr. Shylock, the Jewish man in the book is an outcast and more prone to giving references to the bible to justify or disapprove of anything that he does. He does this simply because he thinks that his religion is superior and that he must do everything possible to justify his Jewish religion. Christianity seemed to have dominated the place and Christians enjoyed the status quo that existed because of the way Christianity had been rooted. Due to this the Christians in the book needed not to defend or uphold their Christianity stances. In the play, religion takes to be used as a powerful weapon as depicted from the way Shylocks daughter Jessica takes to disapproves of his fathers beliefs and wishes when she decides to marry Lorenzo. The most powerful potency of religion as depicted in the play was not to build Berlin walls or bridges for people but to enhance and reinforce hatred among the people (Weis, Theodore pp127).
We can see a distinct division between the Christians and the Jews. The Jews with an example of Shylock who is the most outstanding character in the book, always finds himself mentioning biblical references which he must justify or defend given that his religion requires that he has to justify what he says. This is in contrast to the Christians who do not necessarily have to justify their religion. The Christians are said to be enjoying the way the status is at that time as they are not held to justify their stands in their religion. It is therefore clear that religion has been used as a weapon to attack others. If we take Shylocks daughter Jessica as an example, she gets married to a Christian irrespective of her being brought up by a strict Jew. With this, she is using the religion to attack her father who is a very staunch Jew. This act by Jessica therefore forces her father Shylock to turn to Christianity not because he wants it or because of revelation, but because he is receiving punishment from Jessica who has gotten married to a Christian thus he is forced to shed off his Judaism and turn to Christianity.
Apart from the role of religion being a weapon to a source of attack to other people in this play, it has also been used as a source of collision. As we can see in the book when Shylock to his disbelief, tables turn on his face and he has snatched his faith and is forced to become a Christian. He therefore does not join Christianity out of his will but because of being punished for his bad deeds and his unjust economic principles.
Shakespeare in his book merchant of Venice depicts Jews to be evil through the roles and actions of the books characters especially Shylock and Antonio who are the main characters in the play (Weis, Theodore pp127). In his writing he was attempting to condemn the Christians who he considered to be errant as compared to the Jews, in terms of their ethical values and moral issues. Religion in this book is not portrayed as a matter of faith, spiritual or belief but its seen to be a point where discrimination is based on terms of whether one should be part of one religion or not. It happens that religion is the core thing that is discussed in the book as it is used as an opening towards practicing discrimination or even persecution. We can see a distinct division that exists between the Christians and the Jews. The Jewish way of life is depicted through the roles played by Shylock the most outstanding character in the book, who always finds himself mentioning biblical references which he must justify or defend given that his religion requires that he has to justify what he says. This is in contrast to the Christians who do not necessarily have to justify their religion. The Christians are said to be enjoying the way everything goes on and they are not held to justify their stands in their religion. The religion we, therefore, find has been used as a weapon to attack others given that Shylocks daughter Jessica gets married to a Christian irrespective of her being brought up by a strict Jew. With this, she is using religion to attack her father who is a very staunch Jew. This act by Jessica therefore forces her father Shylock to turn to Christianity not because he really wants it or because even because of revelation, but because he is receiving punishment from Jessica who has gets married to a Christian. Shylock is therefore forced to shed his Judaism and turn to Christianity.
Apart from the role of religion being a weapon to a source of the attack on other people in this play, it has also been used as a source of collision. As we can see in the play Shylock who is the Jewish moneylender is hated by a society that is very anti-Semitic (Tacitus, Publius p321). He has been stereotyped in a bad way, and he is described by people as an individual with red hair which is used to refer to the devil in the ages of the seventieth century, he is said to have very little compassion for other people, he dresses in very dirty clothes and also more to that he has a big nose (Tacitus, Publius p321-322). This kind of description presents a person who is unwanted or looks abnormal according to the society that he lives in. Its a manner that is not well accepted in society as such kind of a person is not compatible with others as he always looked strange even in the company of other people. Thus apart from his controversial way of describing him, Shylock is caught in another controversy when his daughter gets married to a Christian. The daughter moves into marriage with Lorenzo taking away with her a considerable sum of money that belonged to his father Mr. Shylock. With this turn of events, Shylock is caught in a dilemma as the daughter is in an away trying to punish him. It makes Shylock be very desperate and undecided.
In the merchant of Venice, two characters have been the center of attraction in religious issues of the play. These two are Antonio and Shylock; they have been portrayed in their views of both religion and moneylending rules. They are two people who seem to contrast in all aspects given that Antonio was a staunch Christian whereas Shylock was a staunch Judaism believer and each one of them believed that his own religion was much more superior to the religion of the other. Antonio was a business person and he owned valuable goods and ships, he was also a very generous person, and when compared to Shylock who was a very greedy man for he used the bible as his source of income given that he could make references to the bible to satisfy his own personal interests of collecting and lending money to borrowers. Thus we can say that Antonio and Shylock are two people that are each the opposite of the other. Antonio is a good man but just because he is a Christian, Shylock hates him. This is because of his belief that all Christians hate Jews which is not the case for Antonio. This makes Shylock have a very negative attitude towards Antonio just because of his religion. Therefore we can say that in this aspect religion has been used as a tool of spreading hatred among the people as we can see from the words of Shylock, I (Shylock) hate (Antonio) for he is a Christian&. (Antonio) hates our sacred nation this just shows the beliefs that both the Jews and the Christian had towards one another in the play (Victor Hugo, p224).
Antonio too is not an exception in this case given that he too thinks that all Jews are not kind. This is because of what he is seeing from Shylock who was once his friend and one day turned to be an evil man. When he now finds that Shylock is becoming generous given that he was always selfish, he believes that no Jew can be generous so he thinks that Christianity is much more superior to Judaism. This he illustrates by saying that, the Hebrew (Shylock) will turn Christian; he grows kind (William Shakespeare pp15). Another depiction of the enjoyment of dominance that Christianity owned at that time in the play, is when Shylock is made to join Christianity not because of the fact that he had experienced a revelation, but because of the turn of events that worked against his wish that made the initiation to Christianity to be the only remaining thing to do after he received a punishment. The daughter had in some way punished him by getting married to a Christian thus making Shylock conform to Christianity. When Antonio found out this he then believes that his religion of Christianity is much more superior to that of Judaism.
Although Shylock is a greedy man, he too is a wise businessman this can be seen when he said this, Mark what Jacob did& and in the doing of the deed of kind [Laban] struck them up before the fulsome ewes, who then conceiving did in earning time full particolored lambs, and those were Jacobs. This was a way to thrive, and he was blest; And thrift is blessing if men steal it not (William Shakespeare, pp12). He had given Antonio a loan which he was waiting for Antonio to repay with interest. When he had given Antonio the loan he had charged him interest by justifying it using the story in the bible of Jacob and Laban. Shylock loved using the bible to justify the references as a way of doing his business and collecting cash repayment from his debtors. Therefore in this case he is comparing Antonio to Laban as he puts himself in the shoes of Jacob, who was a righteous man as he says that both of them must be givers of interest. This thus portrays the personality of Shylock as being that of a greedy character. From this we can say that in a way Shylock and Antonio are similar and also very opposite kinds of people as they both believe that their own religion is much superior to the others and different in the sense that Antonio is a generous person and is ready to pay the amount of interest that Shylock asked for which is three times the loan amount that was given to him by Shylock, whereas the greedy characteristics of Shylock and his wisdom is seen in using the bible to justify his asking for interest that is three times the loan that he gave out to Antonio. It thus shows that though people may look good from the outside their inside may contain very negative traits.
Although in this book the Jews were ever considered to be very cruel people, Shakespeare has contradicted the view of the audience with the trend to the Jews given that at some point he has portrayed them as seeking empathy. This is seen when Shylock is maligned by Antonio with some of his Christian doctrines, this is seen when he says that, hath not a Jews eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions& if you prick us do we not bleed&? (William Shakespeare, pp36).
In this book we find that the Christian characters like Antonio and Bassasio do consider worthiness of a person in terms of what that person has in monetary terms (Rowe, Nicholas, pp24). As they believe that money is what constitutes a man or a woman. These are the same Christians that force Shylock into the money lending business and in making him believe that revenge is the only way out in the field of business that is the reason why Shylock is seen as a character that has a lust for revenge and greed in money.
In the play, it is quite evident that Christians have created a very hostile world for the Jews; this is the reason why Shylock believes that the only way to survive in a hostile Christian place is to use the bible to conduct the hi business of money lending. Another reason is that Christians are not regarding Shylock as a human being as they are using very bad terms to refer to him. They do not call him by his real name, but they fabricate names such as; the devil, the villain Jew, infidel and so many others (Weis, Theodore, pp127). Thus we see that there is a magnitude of reasons as to why Shylock should have a passion for money and accumulate wealth. He tells Antonio that, I breed money as rams and ewes breed lambs . He also informs his daughter called Jessica of his love for money. He tells Jessica that, I always dream of money bags . It therefore happens that when Jessica stole the money bags and runs away with Lorenzo who is a Christian, Shylocks couldnt believe this event and it is clearly depicted from how he acts after the actions of her daughter as he shouts, My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice! The law! my ducats and my daughter! (William Shakespeare, pp31). Through this utterance, we learn that Shylock is much more worried about his money than he is even worried about his daughter. Shylock is angered that despite his daughter Jessica stealing his ducats, she even goes with it to join Lorenzo in marriage yet Lorenzo was a Christian. Shylock considered Christians to be his religious enemies. This just increased the amount of anger he had towards the Christians and this broke his heart a great deal.
In his writing Shakespeare was attempting to condemn the Christians who he considered to be errant as compared to the Jews, in terms of their ethical values and moral issues. Religion in this book is not portrayed as a matter of faith, spirituality, or belief but rather its seen to be a point where discrimination is based in terms of whether one should be part of one religion or not. It happens that religion is the core thing that is discussed in the book as it is used as an opening towards practicing discrimination or even persecution.
Works Cited
Hugo, Victor. Analysis of William Shakespeares works. Translated by Melville B. Anderson. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
Rowe, Nicholas. Quoted in Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1939.
Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. History: Classics of Roman Literature. Wedeck, Harry E., ed. Trans. Anonymous. Paterson, N.J.: Littlefield, 1964.
Weis, Theodore. The Breath of Clowns and Kings. New York: Atheneum, 1971.
William Shakespeare. Merchant of Venice. Leipzig Bernh, Tauchnitz, 1843.
The Merchant of Venice is a play about a man who is wronged and almost destroyed by fortune, but then he realizes he has the power to influence his destiny. When a dispute arises between Antonio and Bassanio over money, Antonio agrees to let his brother-in-law kill him and save himself from spending years in prison. It leads to one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated speeches, where he tries to persuade the audience that Antonio was asleep when Bassanio was killed and only wishes to protect him from harm. This essay examines the lessons learned from the character of Antonino and the shape of character change throughout the story.
Lessons learned from the Character
The Character Antonio is a man of wealth, power, and love. He is a man who has everything he needs in this world—except the one thing he wants most: Portia. He is the son of a wealthy merchant and has been raised by his father to become one too. However, when he meets Shylock, he finds himself in a situation where he needs money desperately, and Shylock promises to loan him the money on interest—which is not unheard of for the period in which the play takes place (1592) (Lanier, 2019). However, Antonio is not interested in helping Shylock because he does not want anything to do with the Jews or their money. As people can see from Antonio’s behavior throughout the play, one can see him change over time as his relationship with Shylock progresses. After initially refusing to lend him money, Antonio begins taking on Shylock’s requests while trying to avoid doing anything that would involve his Jewish friend directly; he will not even sit at his table.
In addition, Antonio is not like the other characters in Shakespeare’s play; he is not only physically large, but also mentally large. He does not have the same temper tantrums or violent outbursts as other characters. Instead, Antonio uses his wealth to manipulate others into doing what he wants them to do. Despite this, however, Antonio does develop throughout the play – he learns that it is possible to be powerful without being cruel and selfish. Antonio is a character who learns something about himself throughout the play. He starts as a man who believes that he can do anything he sets his mind to, but we see him change over time and become more aware of his limitations and capabilities. As the story progresses, Antonio learns that he cannot rely on his wealth and influence alone to get what he wants but must work hard. Antonio also learns that he needs to be honest with others if they will trust him or never truly know him.
The characters in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice are many-sided creatures; there are many different sides to each Character, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. Some characters might seem like they are always doing the right thing, while others might seem like they are always doing something wrong; this is especially true when it comes to Antonio’s Character. In Act 2, Scene 3, when Antonio visits Portia’s house for the first time, he is invited inside for a meal. Portia asks what kind of person he would like her daughter Jessica to marry, and Antonio does not know because Jessica has not yet been introduced (Scene 4) (Lanier, 2019). He also learns that Portia would like Jessica to marry someone rich/powerful but has no idea how much wealth/power this person should have – she knows they must be rich/powerful enough so that Jessica can inherit money (Scene 5).
The shape of the Character change
The Character Antonio in the Merchant of Venice is a man who an unjust system has wronged. Although he was not the original perpetrator, he ended up being punished and sees himself as a victim. This idea is conveyed through his Character’s shape and how he speaks to others. Antonio’s Character is portrayed as a man who is angry and upset by the fact that he has been wronged. He speaks in a very animated manner with quick gestures, which helps to convey this idea. In addition to speaking more quickly than normal, he also often touches his face or body as he speaks, which gives him a nervous or agitated appearance. It is reinforced when we see that his face is often flushed pink, as seen in his cheeks and forehead, which emphasizes his anger towards those around him. Antonio’s voice also conveys this idea of being angry at being wronged. He speaks angrily throughout most of the play, but especially when addressing Shylock directly about money for Jessica’s hand in marriage (Lanier, 2019). He also uses swear words like “damned,” “hell,” “devil,” “hugger-mugger,” etc., which again emphasizes his anger.
In addition, Antonio is a man who changes in the play, represented in how he speaks and changes his manner of speech. The first time we see him; he is drunk and makes fun of Shylock. He calls him a Jew and says he will never get a loan from him because “his name is odious to me” (Lanier, 2019). It shows how Antonio has a negative outlook on lending money to others. Later on in the play, when Antonio finds out that Shylock has been insulted by Bassanio, he becomes enraged by what has happened. He yells at Shylock and says, “The Jews have been whipped enough” (Lanier, 2019). It shows how much more seriously Antonio takes this incident than any other previous ones because it’s not just Shylock who was hurt by the insult but also Antonio himself who feels betrayed. After all, he thought he was being honest with Bassanio about his relationship with Jessica.
The way that Antonio speaks throughout the play shows how much his Character has changed from when one first meets him to his final death scene. Even though he dies after saving Jessica from being raped by Shylock’s soldiers – his last words are for her alone: “I am dying! And yet I love thee” (Lanier, 2019). Overall, I believe that Antonio’s Character changes throughout the play. He starts as a gullible, naïve young man who Shylock easily manipulates. As the play progresses, we learn that he has been quite successful in life and has profited from his trade.
Conclusion
Antonio has learned the importance of patience in his suffering. He tells us he is ‘contented to suffer’ and it is through this self-control that he stays alive. But in doing so, Antonio has found his happiness. In Act 4, the story introduces the audience to a new Antonio. Whereas once before, he wanted revenge, now the audience has a man who is pleased to be forgiven.
Reference
Lanier, D. M. (2019). The Merchant of Venice: Language and writing. Bloomsbury Publishing.
The Medieval period, which is also known as the Dark Ages, was an era in the history of humanity where the knowledge of the world was sought in myth, religion and superstition. The period is infamous for incredible isolation and xenophobia, and it is known that people almost never left their villages during their lifetimes. Renaissance, on the other hand, was a period in which this cultural attitude was quickly being abandoned, and the Ancient Greek and Roman ideals were filling its place. Shakespeare lived and created during the Renaissance period in which despite all the changes, the cultural heritage of the Dark Ages was still alive and functional. This is why his plays are often filled with details which are suggestive of racism or anti-Semitism.
His play The Merchant of Venice is one example of such play. Even though Shakespeare’s apologists often defend him by claiming that there was no anti-Semitic intention on his part and that the play only seems to be anti-Semitic on a superficial reading, I believe that due to the cultural context in which he created anti-Semitism in his writing reflects the collective subconscious biases of the time. This is by no means a reason to reject his writing as racist. On the contrary, in addition to their enormous cultural and artistic value, we can use his plays to analyze the cultural setting of the late Renaissance.
The most famous example of Shakespeare’s anti-Semitic views is in the character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. In the play, Shylock, or as he is also referred to Shylock the Jew, is a Jewish usurer in the city of Venice. There is much debate around Shylock’s original physical appearance. Some authors hold that he was originally presented as a hook-nosed and slim old man. Others say that this representation is a nineteenth century modification caused by widespread stereotypes about Jewish usurers. We can all recall Dickens’ representations of Fagin and Stingy Scrooge who are both, although disputably, held to be based on the stereotype of the Jewish usurer. Many authors also find the origins of this stereotype in the Elizabethan theatre, precisely in characters such as Shylock; however, this claim is quite controversial. Nonetheless, it is certain that characters like Fagin have physical characteristics which are a lot more exaggerated than those of Shylock, particularly because Shakespeare does not dwell on his physical appearance at great length. On the other hand, his personality is not that disputable. He is very straightforwardly presented as a revengeful, materialistic and Machiavellian character, but he also has some positive characteristics.
First off, from what we can see in the play, it is evident that Shylock is a revengeful person. This is most easily seen when he is ecstatic about the prospect of ruining Antonio’s life because he had openly expressed his anti-Semitic views. In the following lines, Shylock expresses his joy about the prospect of revenge: it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; (Shakespeare 56-60)
This act of Shylock’s has, for the most part, been the source of the debate around Shakespeare’s anti-Semitism. Some authors believe that since most of Antonio’s contempt towards Shylock was based on merely racist and nationalist views, Shylock’s will for revenge is natural and justified. However, I find this idea problematic because the kind of revenge that Shylock wants for Antonio is clearly disproportionate with the Antonio’s insult. What Shylock wants from Antonio is a pound of his flesh, which was stated in their contract as a guarantee that the loan would be returned. It is needless to say that such an act of retribution is unbelievably brutal and barbarous. In addition, from Antonio’s speeches, it is easy to conclude that what he really hates is the kind of business in which Shylock is engaged and not the fact that he is Jewish.
On the other hand, many influential authors hold that Shakespeare presents the case in the defense of Shylock. “Shakespeare put one of his most eloquent and best known speeches into the Jewish “villain’s” mouth” (Falk 2). The speech in question goes as follows: I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal’d by the same means, warm’d and cool’d by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. (Shakespeare 4.1 58-68)
In this speech, Shylock makes a comparison between Jews and Christians suggesting that there is no difference, and that humans are humans no matter the color, race or religion. Some authors believe that this is enough to conclude that Shakespeare intended Shylock to be the most ethical character in the play. However, such an account disregards the fact that he is engaged in an immoral business and that he is revengeful and materialistic. The fact that he correctly sees racism and nationalism as wrong is not enough to compensate for the abovementioned negative traits.
Since we have established that Shylock was a negative character, we need to say something about the way in which that fact can be related to Shakespeare’s anti-Semitism. First off, it seems to me that Shakespeare held very ambivalent views towards the Jews. This is quite evident because we see that he does give his Jewish characters positive traits. We can see that Shylock is quite proud of his identity and heritage, and he is also not afraid to confront those around him if he realizes that they are wrong. What Shakespeare tries to present is the idea that Jews have quite different moral views in which an agreement between two people is something that cannot be broken. This is in contrast with the Christian view that people should forgive one another.
It would be possible to say that Shakespeare wanted to convey that message while remaining neutral towards it. However, the overwhelming cultural biases which were functional in England at that time simply had to project themselves in Shakespeare’s writings. To prove this, I will disregard Shakespeare’s intentions and talk about the way in which the play functions in the real world. When discussing the parts of a message which are unintentional, it is useful to consider how people react to it. Since most people experience negative feelings towards the character of Shylock, I believe that we should take that fact as a clue when thinking about Shakespeare’s subconscious anti-Semitism. In this light, I feel that we have to conclude that due to the cultural attitude towards Jewish people prevalent in Elizabethan England, Shakespeare expressed his anti-Semitic biases through characters such as Shylock.
Finally, when taking into account the historical context and the fact that only two centuries prior to his period, the English expelled all the Jewish people from their country, one can say that Shakespeare was fairly progressive in terms of his racial views. However, given today’s standards and the obvious reactions that people have towards the character of Shylock, I have to say that Shakespeare could not get away from anti-Semitic elements that pervaded the cultural setting.
In conclusion, in this paper, I have presented a view which is different from the usual claims that Shakespeare was an anti-Semite in that it holds that anti-Semitic elements were mostly products of unconscious biases and cultural conditioning. The view is also different from those that aim to reject any claims about Shakespeare’s anti-Semitism claiming that he only tried to present the prevalent stereotypes about Jews and then ridicule them. This account seems to be prima fascia false because the attitude that we have towards those characters is overwhelmingly negative. Finally, the fact that his works marginally reflect anti-Semitic biases does not make them worthless. Their artistic value is only greater because they can serve as a document about the culture of a certain period in human history.
Works Cited
Falk, Avner. Anti-Semitism: A History and Psychoanalysis of Contemporary Hatred. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The merchant of Venice. London: Printed for T. Witford, 1769. Print.
There are several aspects in any work of art that make it be characterized as a comedy. The classification is usually based on the form and the content of that particular work of art. In most cases, a comedy has twists and conflicts that are usually solved at the end of it, all hence leading to a happy ending.
They usually end in a festive and triumphant manner, hence causing satisfaction on the side of the audience. The play; ‘The Merchant of Venice’, has numerous scenes that are ridiculous, and this provides comic effect on the audience, which is a common feature for comedies. There seems to be questions concerning the aspects of whoever should be accepted in society and the conditions under which it should happen. Struggle for position seems to characterize both Belmont and Venice (Lablanc 100).
In the play, Portia describes her suitors in a comical way. For instance, she describes the Englishman as being alienated in his imported outfits. She speaks about the German suitor as being a drunkard while the Scottish man is featured as a coward who is depended on the backing of the French. All these descriptions are purely based on her stereotypes. The play can be characterized as a tragic comedy given that it has both the elements of triumph as well as tragedies.
Triumph is particularly evident in the successful resolution of the problems that befall the Christians. The tragic side of it comes out when the Jewish Shylock is forced to be converted to the Christianity and loses his property. It is quite comical that one of the conditions in the case of a default of the loan taken from the Jewish Shylock by Antonio is the repayment of the loan in form of one pond of his flesh.
Given the fact that a comedy ends in a happy ending, it is quite evident that Portia disguised as a doctor of law manages to convince the Duke of Venice to rule in favor of Antonio. She insists that the Jewish Shylock should convert to Christianity and has to give up half of his wealth upon his death to Jessica and Lorenzo. Everyone else seems to be happy at the end with the exception of the Jewish Shylock. It is controversial that the suitors have to rely upon luck so as to win Portia on their side.
Most of them make efforts to choose the gold casket, but their efforts and wealth do not work to their advantage. However, Bassanio manages to choose the right casket after getting a hint from Portia herself. He succeeds even though he uses the money from the Jewish Shylock and is driven in a rented limousine. They fall in love and they live together happily their after.
Portia finds it hard to accept blindly her fathers demands concerning controversial issues like the choice of a suitor. She, therefore, decides her own way of ensuring that she guides her desired suitor to choose the right casket without necessarily appearing to be defiant to her father.
She succeeds to get the suitor she wants. The writer also uses clever disguise to bring out the comical aspects of the play. Portia disguises herself as a male doctor of law and manages to trick the Jewish Shylock to submission through her influence on the ruling Duke of Venice.
The author has also employed the use of puns which are significant characteristic of comedies (Brantley 1-2). Wordplay has been used in a witty way that leaves the audience with laughter. Portia, for instance, says, “If he have the condition of a saint, and a complexion of the devil, I would rather he should shrive me than wive me (Shakespear 5).”
This statement though comical indicates that she is a racist. Another comic feature reveals when Antonio addresses Bassanio concerning his commitment to assist him. For instance, he says, “I am married to a wifewhich is as dear to me as life itself; But life itself, my wife, and all the world Are not with me esteemed above thy life, I would lose all, ay sacrifice them all Here to this devil, to deliver you” (Shakespear 281-286).
The writer has also used stock characters which is a basis for certain stereotypes. These characters always turn out to be comical characters. The Jewish Shylock has, for instance, been portrayed as a comical character. He forms the basis for all the prejudice against the Jewish population. For example, he says to Jessica:
Look up my doors, and when you hear the drum
And the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife,
Clamber not you up the casements the…
But stop my house’s ears- I mean my casements:
Let not the sound of shallow fopp’ry enter
My Sober house (Shakespear 28-36).
This statement portrays Shylock as a naïve and comical character, hence creating a comical effect in the play. The author has, therefore, used all these dimensions of comedy which include the aspects of a happy ending, the use of puns, use of stock characters and dramatic twists that are resolved at the end of the play. He manages to present the play in an interesting and comical manner. All these features form the basis for the classification of the play as a comedy.
Works Cited
Brantley, Ben. Railing at a Money-Mad World. The New York, Priv.,2010. Print.
Lablanc, Michael. Shakespearean criticism. Michigan: Gale Research Co, 2003. Print.
Shakespear, William. The Merchant of Venice. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1616. Print.
Merchant of Venice was written during one of the high points of English supremacy and prosperity (1594 – 1597). In this context, it is evident that William Shakespeare would narrate the story from the context of the riches. The central characters are all wealthy personalities and this depicts the overall psychological aspects of the state. This state psyche indicates a trend of religious polarization that was come full circle during the mid 20th century with the rise of Nazi Germany. However, Shakespeare, being the absolute genius of an artist was able to conceptualize the basic norms of this sentiment and presented his villain of this play as a monster, for the jingoistic mass, and a victimized individual, for the more humane part of the society (Dos, p. 338).
Main body
Though Shylock is indeed the villain of the story it has been made quite obvious though being an oppressor it is seen that he is also the oppressed at the same time. This was made obvious when it was seen him commenting the most poetic and sensitive parts of the play by saying “Hath not a Jew’s eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs/ dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with / the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject/ to the same diseases, healed by the same means,/ warm and cooled by the same winter and summer/ as a Christian is?” (Shakespeare, Act III, scene I) This part shows the genius of the writer while he sketches the villain with enough sympathy and in different shades. Even if the entire play is spitting hate against the Jew a single act of this dialogue changes the whole perspective of religion and culture in the same context and ultimately becomes humane documentation rather than becoming a religious scroll.
However, religion was going through a hard time due to the effects of occasional plagues on one hand and prosperity on the other. This was a vital problem, and England was undergoing a socio-political change then. There was a basic change in the area of the feudal system and religious piety. With the rise of the middle class, there was the environment of a freethinking society where it was noticed that the wealth was accumulated under certain limited hands of the nobles and the church. With the chance of the church falling apart, Shakespeare presents an environment that represents the principles of Christianity that defies the existing rigidity of the previous church and takes the stand of the common mass (Border, pp. 67-9).
Nevertheless, the result is that the essence of religion remains a statement in form of the religious, almost communal, sentiments of the Merchant of Venice. Shakespeare presented a profile of religion that could be regarded as a tool that may be an instrument of financial opportunistic activity and economic dominance. The different perspective of the writer depicts the era they are creating the work.
This era saw a society where the mass viewed the Jewish with skepticism and alleged them for being sharks for riches. People like Launcelot openly convey this hate against this community and any individual vendetta is regarded as a communal issue. Launcelot speaks this in the open market of Venice, “To be brief, the very truth is that the Jew, having done/ me wrong” (Shakespeare, Act II). Again, the protagonist Antonio, who is otherwise calm and just is seen conveying Shylock by his faith even in a normal conversation. “Content, in faith; I’ll seal to such a bond,/ And say there is much kindness in the Jew.”( Shakespeare, Act I, Scene III) It is clear that this conversation holds no bias in general but the mass psyche against a Jew is present and it becomes a norm in the play to identify Shylock by his religion even when the merit of the words are apprehensive for him. This is a constant reminder of Shylock’s alienated existence in the predominant Christian mass.
Shylock feels this pressure of being pointed out, the uneasiness of being alienated in the society. He speaks out his mind to Antonio when the feeling of victimization became unbearable. “Signior Antonio, many a time and oft/ In the Rialto you have rated me/ About my money and my usances;/ Still have I borne it with a patient shrug,/ For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe;/You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,/ And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,/ And all for use of that which is mine own.” (Shakespeare, Act I, Scene III) These words speak for themselves. It reveals the inner soul of a man who has been ramified by social alienation and victimization in the greater context of society. Had it been just an individual issue Shylock could have been overlooked. Nevertheless, he speaks as an individual of a specifically targeted community based on faith. This becomes the real issue of the play and we find shylock being victimized on numerous occasions.
Thus, for there to be a true multiracial and multicultural society, social barriers must not impede any individual at the same time, there should be enough channels for them in society to take responsibility for their lives without sacrificing their heritage or culture. When there is a loss of history and heritage, the tragedy is that people lose the opportunity to build a society that does not only recognize but also celebrates differences. Peoples’ distrust or reservation of other races or cultures is to be expected: it is very natural to fear the unfamiliar. That is why there is a need for conscious and collective actions to change society. This need is constantly revealed in the play as Shylock is seen to be victimized based on his faith from a social and individual point of view. It is a depressing and distressing notion being in Shylock’s position and he has been carrying this within himself even after his loss of his daughter who married a Christian and abandoned him (Berkowitz, p. 276).
Conclusion
Shakespeare paints his villain in such a manner that the pathos is more obvious than the logic and thought process of the protagonists. He is seen as the central figure of religious victimization and prompts him to utter the words that can be treated as the manifesto of every oppressed individual, “If you prick us, do we not bleed? / If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,/ do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” (Shakespeare, Act III, scene I) The words of this victimized villain become very relevant, particularly in today’s unipolar yet fragmented world. The leaders of the world need to read this play once more, from the point of view of Shylock, the villain and the victim.
References
Shakespeare, William; The merchant of Venice Berkowitz, Leo; Man and Literature; Vol. II New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 2006
Border, Steve. Fire of the Mind; Wellington: National Book Trust; 2006
Dos, Mark. Future of Thought Process. Canberra: Alliance Publications. 2005
Religion in The Merchant of Venice is the main aspect that gives a node to the vices of ultimately estrangement, persecution, and discrimination that is depicted in the play. Religion in itself is not portrayed in the book as a cause for spiritual paradigm or a spiritual belief system. Religion in the book is observed to be almost like a club, where the club members are illogically included or excluded and due to religion some characters in the book are simply doomed to be out of this “religious club”. Interestingly enough Mr. Shylock, the Jewish man in the book is an outcast and more prone to giving references to the bible to justify or disapprove of anything that he does. He does this simply because he thinks that his religion is superior and that he must do everything possible to justify his Jewish religion. Christianity seemed to have dominated the place and Christians enjoyed the status quo that existed because of the way Christianity had been rooted. Due to this the Christians in the book needed not to defend or uphold their Christianity stances. In the play, religion takes to be used as a powerful weapon as depicted from the way Shylock’s daughter Jessica takes to disapproves of his father’s beliefs and wishes when she decides to marry Lorenzo. The most powerful potency of religion as depicted in the play was not to build “Berlin walls” or bridges for people but to enhance and reinforce hatred among the people (Weis, Theodore pp127).
We can see a distinct division between the Christians and the Jews. The Jews with an example of Shylock who is the most outstanding character in the book, always finds himself mentioning biblical references which he must justify or defend given that his religion requires that he has to justify what he says. This is in contrast to the Christians who do not necessarily have to justify their religion. The Christians are said to be enjoying the way the status is at that time as they are not held to justify their stands in their religion. It is therefore clear that religion has been used as a weapon to attack others. If we take Shylock’s daughter Jessica as an example, she gets married to a Christian irrespective of her being brought up by a strict Jew. With this, she is using the religion to attack her father who is a very staunch Jew. This act by Jessica therefore forces her father Shylock to turn to Christianity not because he wants it or because of revelation, but because he is receiving punishment from Jessica who has gotten married to a Christian thus he is forced to shed off his Judaism and turn to Christianity.
Apart from the role of religion being a weapon to a source of attack to other people in this play, it has also been used as a source of collision. As we can see in the book when Shylock to his disbelief, tables turn on his face and he has snatched his faith and is forced to become a Christian. He therefore does not join Christianity out of his will but because of being punished for his bad deeds and his unjust economic principles.
Shakespeare in his book “merchant of Venice” depicts Jews to be evil through the roles and actions of the book’s characters especially Shylock and Antonio who are the main characters in the play (Weis, Theodore pp127). In his writing he was attempting to condemn the Christians who he considered to be errant as compared to the Jews, in terms of their ethical values and moral issues. Religion in this book is not portrayed as a matter of faith, spiritual or belief but it’s seen to be a point where discrimination is based on terms of whether one should be part of one religion or not. It happens that religion is the core thing that is discussed in the book as it is used as an opening towards practicing discrimination or even persecution. We can see a distinct division that exists between the Christians and the Jews. The Jewish way of life is depicted through the roles played by Shylock the most outstanding character in the book, who always finds himself mentioning biblical references which he must justify or defend given that his religion requires that he has to justify what he says. This is in contrast to the Christians who do not necessarily have to justify their religion. The Christians are said to be enjoying the way everything goes on and they are not held to justify their stands in their religion. The religion we, therefore, find has been used as a weapon to attack others given that Shylock’s daughter Jessica gets married to a Christian irrespective of her being brought up by a strict Jew. With this, she is using religion to attack her father who is a very staunch Jew. This act by Jessica therefore forces her father Shylock to turn to Christianity not because he really wants it or because even because of revelation, but because he is receiving punishment from Jessica who has gets married to a Christian. Shylock is therefore forced to shed his Judaism and turn to Christianity.
Apart from the role of religion being a weapon to a source of the attack on other people in this play, it has also been used as a source of collision. As we can see in the play Shylock who is the Jewish moneylender is hated by a society that is very anti-Semitic (Tacitus, Publius p321). He has been stereotyped in a bad way, and he is described by people as an individual with red hair which is used to refer to the devil in the ages of the seventieth century, he is said to have very little compassion for other people, he dresses in very dirty clothes and also more to that he has a big nose (Tacitus, Publius p321-322). This kind of description presents a person who is unwanted or looks abnormal according to the society that he lives in. It’s a manner that is not well accepted in society as such kind of a person is not compatible with others as he always looked strange even in the company of other people. Thus apart from his controversial way of describing him, Shylock is caught in another controversy when his daughter gets married to a Christian. The daughter moves into marriage with Lorenzo taking away with her a considerable sum of money that belonged to his father Mr. Shylock. With this turn of events, Shylock is caught in a dilemma as the daughter is in an away trying to punish him. It makes Shylock be very desperate and undecided.
In the merchant of Venice, two characters have been the center of attraction in religious issues of the play. These two are Antonio and Shylock; they have been portrayed in their views of both religion and moneylending rules. They are two people who seem to contrast in all aspects given that Antonio was a staunch Christian whereas Shylock was a staunch Judaism believer and each one of them believed that his own religion was much more superior to the religion of the other. Antonio was a business person and he owned valuable goods and ships, he was also a very generous person, and when compared to Shylock who was a very greedy man for he used the bible as his source of income given that he could make references to the bible to satisfy his own personal interests of collecting and lending money to borrowers. Thus we can say that Antonio and Shylock are two people that are each the opposite of the other. Antonio is a good man but just because he is a Christian, Shylock hates him. This is because of his belief that all Christians hate Jews which is not the case for Antonio. This makes Shylock have a very negative attitude towards Antonio just because of his religion. Therefore we can say that in this aspect religion has been used as a tool of spreading hatred among the people as we can see from the words of Shylock, “I (Shylock) hate (Antonio) for he is a Christian…. (Antonio) hates our sacred nation” this just shows the beliefs that both the Jews and the Christian had towards one another in the play (Victor Hugo, p224).
Antonio too is not an exception in this case given that he too thinks that all Jews are not kind. This is because of what he is seeing from Shylock who was once his friend and one day turned to be an evil man. When he now finds that Shylock is becoming generous given that he was always selfish, he believes that no Jew can be generous so he thinks that Christianity is much more superior to Judaism. This he illustrates by saying that, “the Hebrew (Shylock) will turn Christian; he grows kind” (William Shakespeare pp15). Another depiction of the enjoyment of dominance that Christianity owned at that time in the play, is when Shylock is made to join Christianity not because of the fact that he had experienced a revelation, but because of the turn of events that worked against his wish that made the initiation to Christianity to be the only remaining thing to do after he received a punishment. The daughter had in some way punished him by getting married to a Christian thus making Shylock conform to Christianity. When Antonio found out this he then believes that his religion of Christianity is much more superior to that of Judaism.
Although Shylock is a greedy man, he too is a wise businessman this can be seen when he said this, “Mark what Jacob did… and in the doing of the deed of kind [Laban] struck them up before the fulsome ewes, who then conceiving did in earning time full particolored lambs, and those were Jacob’s. This was a way to thrive, and he was blest; And thrift is blessing if men steal it not” (William Shakespeare, pp12). He had given Antonio a loan which he was waiting for Antonio to repay with interest. When he had given Antonio the loan he had charged him interest by justifying it using the story in the bible of Jacob and Laban. Shylock loved using the bible to justify the references as a way of doing his business and collecting cash repayment from his debtors. Therefore in this case he is comparing Antonio to Laban as he puts himself in the shoes of Jacob, who was a righteous man as he says that both of them must be givers of interest. This thus portrays the personality of Shylock as being that of a greedy character. From this we can say that in a way Shylock and Antonio are similar and also very opposite kinds of people as they both believe that their own religion is much superior to the others and different in the sense that Antonio is a generous person and is ready to pay the amount of interest that Shylock asked for which is three times the loan amount that was given to him by Shylock, whereas the greedy characteristics of Shylock and his “wisdom” is seen in using the bible to justify his asking for interest that is three times the loan that he gave out to Antonio. It thus shows that though people may look good from the outside their inside may contain very negative traits.
Although in this book the Jews were ever considered to be very cruel people, Shakespeare has contradicted the view of the audience with the trend to the Jews given that at some point he has portrayed them as seeking empathy. This is seen when Shylock is maligned by Antonio with some of his Christian doctrines, this is seen when he says that, “hath not a Jew’s eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions… if you prick us do we not bleed…?” (William Shakespeare, pp36).
In this book we find that the Christian characters like Antonio and Bassasio do consider worthiness of a person in terms of what that person has in monetary terms (Rowe, Nicholas, pp24). As they believe that money is what constitutes a man or a woman. These are the same Christians that force Shylock into the money lending business and in making him believe that revenge is the only way out in the field of business that is the reason why Shylock is seen as a character that has a lust for revenge and greed in money.
In the play, it is quite evident that Christians have created a very hostile world for the Jews; this is the reason why Shylock believes that the only way to survive in a hostile Christian place is to use the bible to conduct the hi business of money lending. Another reason is that Christians are not regarding Shylock as a human being as they are using very bad terms to refer to him. They do not call him by his real name, but they fabricate names such as; the devil, the villain Jew, infidel and so many others (Weis, Theodore, pp127). Thus we see that there is a magnitude of reasons as to why Shylock should have a passion for money and accumulate wealth. “He tells Antonio that, I breed money as rams and ewes breed lambs”. He also informs his daughter called Jessica of his love for money. He tells Jessica that, “I always dream of money bags”. It therefore happens that when Jessica stole the money bags and runs away with Lorenzo who is a Christian, Shylocks couldn’t believe this event and it is clearly depicted from how he acts after the actions of her daughter as he shouts, “My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice! The law! my ducats and my daughter!” (William Shakespeare, pp31). Through this utterance, we learn that Shylock is much more worried about his money than he is even worried about his daughter. Shylock is angered that despite his daughter Jessica stealing his ducats, she even goes with it to join Lorenzo in marriage yet Lorenzo was a Christian. Shylock considered Christians to be his religious enemies. This just increased the amount of anger he had towards the Christians and this broke his heart a great deal.
In his writing Shakespeare was attempting to condemn the Christians who he considered to be errant as compared to the Jews, in terms of their ethical values and moral issues. Religion in this book is not portrayed as a matter of faith, spirituality, or belief but rather it’s seen to be a point where discrimination is based in terms of whether one should be part of one religion or not. It happens that religion is the core thing that is discussed in the book as it is used as an opening towards practicing discrimination or even persecution.
Works Cited
Hugo, Victor. Analysis of William Shakespeare’s works. Translated by Melville B. Anderson. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
Rowe, Nicholas. Quoted in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1939.
Tacitus, Publius Cornelius. History: Classics of Roman Literature. Wedeck, Harry E., ed. Trans. Anonymous. Paterson, N.J.: Littlefield, 1964.
Weis, Theodore. The Breath of Clowns and Kings. New York: Atheneum, 1971.
William Shakespeare. Merchant of Venice. Leipzig Bernh, Tauchnitz, 1843.
The scene serves to highlight the dual nature of Lancelot Gobbo, the play’s clown. Lancelot opens the scene by declaring his mischievous nature: “the fiend gives me more friendly counsel [than my conscience]” (Shakespeare 24). Having resolved to leave Shylock, he then encounters his father, whom he proceeds to tease after realizing Old Gobbo does not recognize him. Relentless in his desire to make fun of people, Lancelot keeps pressing his own father, ultimately telling the old man that “the young gentleman […] is indeed deceased” (Shakespeare 25). However, Gobbo still does not recognize or disbelieve him, lamenting that Lancelot was his sole support. At this point, Lancelot shows his more positive side, deciding to drop the act and reveal himself to his father. While he feels no remorse for his actions, he knows when to stop and shows genuine respect and love, taking a knee to receive Old Gobbo’s blessing. Through this demonstration of familial loyalty, Shakespeare makes Lancelot more likable and helps the audience sympathize with his later misadventures.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Edited by A. R. Braunmuller, Penguin Publishing Group, 2017.
The Merchant of Venice is a play that involves romance intertwined in a tragedy. The tragedy incorporates most of the plays. The tragedy is seen in Shylock’s strong desire for revenge that he will use an opportunity he gets to fulfill. In fact, it is a play of the hunter becoming the hunted. The play talks about all human weaknesses and strengths.
It is also based on love and true friendship. The Merchant of Venice was written between the fiscal 1596 and 1598 and was set in Venice and Belmont in Italy. It is a play worth watching as it portrays that good always wins (Sokolova, 2009). The play was written and approved as the work of William Shakespeare.
In the play, Antonio is a Venetian merchant. Antonio wants to lend a colleague named Bassanio some cash to enable go and persuade Portia of Belmont. Portia appears as a gorgeous, brainy, and an opulent woman. However, Antonio does not have money at the moment since his money is on the business and will only have it when his ships return safely (Sokolova, 2009). Therefore, he decides to borrow money from Shylock, the Jew.
Shylock is a financier, but Antonio is always rude to him for the increased tariffs he charges on his loans. Shylock gives Antonio the loan with an agreement that he will pay for the money using a piece of his flesh if the agreed date of return passes. Portia has many wealthy suitors who have to marry her only after choosing the right casket made of lead, gold, or silver.
The correct casket has a picture, which was her father’s wish. All the suitors fall apart from Bassanio, who chooses the lead. Antonio gets reports that his boats are missing and cannot pay the financier the money he owes him. Shylock takes him to court to request for some amounts of his meat. Portia dresses as a man and goes to the law court to defend Antonio. Portia claims that no blood is to be spilled as Shylock claims his price and demands that the Jew should be remanded for wanting to harm a Venetian.
Shylock is forgiven but forced to give out his wealth to be shared between Antonio and the state. He is further forced to convert to Christianity. Antonio decides though to let Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, to have his wealth (Sokolova, 2009). Jessica has been disowned by her father for eloping with her Christian boyfriend named Lorenzo. In the end, a report is received that the vessels, which belonged to Antonio, were safe, and there were celebrations everywhere.
The play talks about how the Jews were treated in the Merchant. Shylock represents the Jews, and he believes that they are not treated as humans by Christians. At the beginning of the play, one will sympathize with this Jew, seeing him as a victim of injustice. The court portrays him as a man of no mercy as he is not willing to forgive. He is so full of revenge that he refuses to take the money Bassanio offers him even though it was more than what Antonio owed him. It is a fairy story with a happy ending.
The costumes in the play are very interesting and attractive. They have an original Italian style of the 17th Century. They were made just as they are described in the script (Sokolova, 2009). Portia’s costumes are very elegant and classy, just as a wealthy lady’s gown ought to be in any shop. The Prince of Morocco, one of Portia’s suitors, was a design on its own. It was very African and quite exotic. Thus, he proves to be truly from Africa.
The audience loved the play. Shylock gained sympathy from the audience. He knew how to act his part well and almost shed tears when he lost the case. He is the victim of all wrongdoings the Jews go through. He describes how badly Antonio has treated him founded on the fact that he is a Jew. The agony he felt when his daughter eloped with Lorenzo was quite evident.
However, according to the play, he is masterful. He was a quiet man who measures and ponders over everything. The audience did not like Portia gave her level of cunningness though she plays her part as a lawyer quite well.
The actors had a dramatic skill in them. The trial scene is evidence of this as the case moves from being against Antonio to being against Shylock. There is a mixture of emotions, from fear to hope.
Wisdom is also applied to show Portia’s part as she dressed as a man and finds a way of convincing the court that Shylock is guilty. Gratiano proves to have wisdom through his speech on love. All the actors took their time to give their speeches. Lancelot brings comedy into the play (Sokolova, 2009). He is constantly making people laugh, as he knows how to bring joy even in a difficult situation.
In conclusion, the production of the play makes one glued to their seats. One will watch over two hours play to the end without even realizing that time has passed. It leaves you craving for more plays like it. The tragedy ends when Antonio wins the case, and the two women, namely Portia and Nerissa, get their rings from their husbands.
Reference
Sokolova, B. (2009). William Shakespeare: The merchant of Venice. New York, NY: Humanities-E-books.