Is Shylock Victim Or Villain in William Shakespeares The...

Is Shylock Victim Or Villain in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare wrote the Merchant of Venice in the Elizabethan period. The play is about Shylock, a Jewish money lender ¡: trying to make a living and survive in a community that despises him and marginalias him. Before the plot even starts, Shylock is condemned for being a Jew, and a moneylender. Jews were forbidden to be successful businessmen in Venice, so the only occupation open to him was money lending which they exploited to the full, this gave Shakespeare an opportunity to capture sympathy and understanding from the reader towards Shylock. One of Shylocks first phrases in the play is Three thousand†¦show more content†¦Shylock is trying to say that we are all the same as one another, but just have different religions. Antonio has gone bankrupt, as all his wealth was invested in his ships, which have been sunk out at sea. Shylocks bond has now been activated and he demands his rightful pound of flesh under Venetian law. Shylock is represented as a villain, in the court scene in Act Four, Scene One. He walks in and places the scales of justice, on the table taking off his Jewish gabardine. The court scene is Shylocks only chance for some justice, if not in the bond then as a way of revenge for how he has been treated all his life. The court is very one sided from the minute Shylock is ordered in by the judge. Go on, and call the Jew into the court This shows the judge as being biased against Jews and Shylock, even before they start. He is blatantly influencing the court, with his own prejudiced views; thus Shylock is having an unfair trail. He is being judged in a Christian court, not a court of law. Shylock wants his form of justice in his bond he made with Antonio, who is known as the merchant of Venice, which is where the title of the play comes from. Shylock lent Bassanio three thousand ducats on behalf of Antonio .The bond was that a pound of flesh nearest to his heart could be taken ifShow MoreRelatedShylock in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice Essay1128 Words   |  5 PagesShylock in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice I am a Jew a famous saying from Shylock in Merchant of Venice that clarifies the merchant brotherhood of a wealthy city. Merchant of Venice contains rascals and heroes. The audiences will soon realise that Shylock, the Jewish money lender, is shown as a villain within the wealthy city. Is this really what Shakespeare had intended? This testimony given proposes that Shylock is more of a deceitful character Read MoreShylock in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice1694 Words   |  7 PagesShylock in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice Introduction One of the most interesting and dramatic characters in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ is the rich, despised money-lending Jew Shylock. 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