Shakespeare, a Gifted Writer

The Merchant of Venice features a Jewish character that is abused and slandered by nearly every character in the play. Throughout the play the behavior of these characters seems justified. In this way, The Merchant of Venice appears to be an anti-Semitic play. However, The Merchant of Venice contains several key instances, which can be portrayed in a way that criticizes anti-Semitism. The first instance occurs in Act 1, scene 3 when the audience realizes that Shylock has every right to be extremely angry with Antonio. The second instance occurs when Shylock breaks out of his one-dimensional character form in Act 3, scene 1 in an extremely powerful speech that attacks the very foundations of anti-Semitism and shows his sorrow that Jessica ran off with Lorenzo. The third instance encompasses all of Act 4, scene 1. Although anti-Semitism is quite prevalent throughout the scene, it is clear that the characters persecuting Shylock are being extremely hypocritical by returning Shylock's malicious wishes with more malice of their own.

Shylock is characterized nearly throughout the play as an evil, murderous man. This image of him is supported by the excessive bloodlust that Shylock exhibits. The audience is made to hate Shylock early on. In Act 1, scene 3, Shylock tells the audience that he hates Antonio "for he is a Christian." (1, 3, 42) For an audience composed nearly completely of Christians, this was a line simply meant to provoke the audience to hate Shylock. Jessica relates how "when I was with him I have heard him swear / To Tubal and to Chus, his countrymen, / That he would rather have Antonio's flesh / Than twenty times the value of the sum / That he did owe him." (3, 2, 296-300) Once Jessica elopes with Lorenzo, stealing Shylock's ducats, Shylock tells Tubal that he wishes his daughter "were dead at my foot and the jewels in her ear; would she were hearsed at my foot and the ducats in her coffin!" (3, 1, 87-90) When Shylock discovers that Antonio's ship will not come in, his cruelty is revealed. He declares, "I'm very glad of it. I'll plague him, I'll torture him, I am glad of it." (3, 1, 115-116) At the end of Act 3, scene 1, Shylock's true motive is revealed. Shylock says, "I will have the heart of him if he forfeit, for were he out of Venice I can make what merchandise I will." (3, 1, 125-127) All these comments clearly attempt to paint Shylock as a money-worshipping murderer and not as a person.

In every confrontation with Shylock, the other characters attack him with insults that make him appear even viler than his cruel demeanor portrays. There is a common trend throughout the play of demonizing Shylock. In Act 1, scene 2, Antonio counters a legitimate argument that Shylock makes to support his usurping by stating that "the devil can cite scripture for his purpose!" (1, 3, 107) In Act 2, scene 2, Lancelet Gobbo identifies Shylock as "a kind of devil", "the devil himself", and "the very devil incarnation." (2, 2, 24-28) Solanio identifies Shylock as "the devil . . . in the likeness of a Jew" (3, 1, 20-22) and Bassanio identifies Shylock the same way, as "cruel devil." (4, 1, 225) This repeated characterization is certainly driven hard into the minds of the audience nearly to the point where they would mindlessly chant, "Shylock equals devil," whenever he appeared on stage. However, this characterization is emphasized so much that the audience may also realize its absurdity.

There are, however, three examples from The Merchant of Venice that do not fall along the line of the anti-Semitism that prevails in other parts of the play. The first example is in Act 1, scene 3 where the audience meets Shylock for the first time. Although the audience is almost immediately greeted with the Shylock's announcement that he hates Antonio because he is Christian, the audience is also confronted with unsettling information about the so-called good Christian, Antonio. Shylock reminds Antonio that oftentimes Antonio abused and insulted Shylock on the street, and Shylock merely turned his cheek. Shylock says, "suff'rance is the badge of all our tribe." (1, 3, 120) This comment does not fit into the stereotype of Shylock as evil and conniving, and the audience should be very disturbed when Shylock makes a just argument, asking why he should help Antonio at all when he had kicked him, called him a dog, and even spat on him.

Act 3, scene 1 contains probably the most powerful example of Shylock breaking out of his stereotype. Shylock has just suffered the worst experience of his life so far. His only daughter, Jessica, has run off with a Christian and stole thousands of ducats when she left. No justice shall be carried out concerning this because he is a Jew. Shylock responds, almost breaking out of character