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What credible sources are there to prove that shylock from The Merchant of Venice is the victim not the villain?
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∙ 14y ago
He was kicked, spat at and called nasty names because he was a Jew. Also he charged interest which the Christians did not, which made them very angry. The Jews suffered very badly.
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∙ 14y ago
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IS SHYLOCK IS A VILLAIN OR A TRAGIC FIGURE IN THE PLAY?
Shylock is written in a sufficiently ambiguous way that he can be played not only as villain and as a victim, but also as a buffoon. It is believed that Shylock was first played as a comic character in the same way as Malvolio in Twelfth Night--an extreme character who is forced to take his lumps. In the 18th century, the great Shakespearean actor Charles Macklin started to play Shylock as a villain, so that the audience would be satisfied with his punishment, and the justice of the court and of Portia. Toward the end of the 19th century, another great Shakespearean actor, Henry Irving, chose to play Shylock as a sympathetic figure, highlighting the moving "hath not a Jew eyes" speech as a plea for his being treated as a human being, rather than simply as a cynical justification for revenge. Irving's reading, which has been standard (except in Nazi Germany) ever since, calls into question the justice of the court and of Portia, as well as the overtly anti-Semitic behaviour of Graziano and other members of the Christian community. Portia's speech on the quality of mercy seems somewhat hollow in the face of the merciless treatment of Shylock and other Jews. All of this is proof that The Merchant of Venice is a great play and Shylock is a great character, because he is an ambiguous character, and because the play raises issues which are not easily resolved.
Why is shylock seen as a villain in The Merchant of Venice?
Firstly, Shylock isn't actually the merchant, Antonio is. Antonio has a fleet of trade boats out at sea, trading around the world for the better part of the play. Does this answer your question? Hope this helps.
Is Shylock a villain or a victim?
Both. Shylock was treated badly by many Venetians because he was Jewish. We see Antonio, Salerno, and Gratiano treat him abominably. But although they treat him badly, they do not try to kill him or steal all his money (although they happily condone the theft of his money by his daughter and her lover Lorenzo, and think it's funny that he is upset about being robbed). Shylock, however, sets things up so that he can (or thinks he can) kill Antonio without it being against the law. This is way out of proportion to any offence Antonio has done to him, but Shylock is making him the scapegoat for all of the wrongs that have been done to him, especially being robbed by Jessica and Lorenzo. This is unfair to Antonio. So, Shylock is the victim of anti-Semitism but his overreaction makes him a villain. The sentence of the court upon him, however, is so harsh that by the end of the play he looks like a victim again. It is fair to note that one part of the judgment which nowadays seems very harsh, the judgment that Shylock must change religion or die, would not have seemed harsh at all in Shakespeare's day, when people were forced to change their religion all the time, usually from one brand of Christianity to another.
Who is Shylock in The Merchant of Venice?
As a greedy money lender. Shylock, the Jew, the antagonist in Merchant of Venice is portrayed as a money lender, who asks the title character Antonio for a 'pound of his flesh,' in case the latter could not repay his loan. One can say that he is more famous than any other character of that Shakespearean comedy.
How does shakespeare discourage anti semitism?
Shakespeare was not really aware of anti-Semitism as a specific phenomenon. There were very few Jews in the England of his day, and those who were there did not practice their religion openly. He did have a Jewish character in his play The Merchant of Venice, and that play also has anti-Semitic characters in it, but he was basically exploring the psychology of prejudice generally.The play has been used to discourage anti-Semitism by portraying Shylock, the Jewish character, in a sympathetic light and the anti-Semitic Venetians unfavourably. It has also been used to encourage anti-Semitism by portraying Shylock as a villain and the anti-Semites like Graziano as heroes.
Who is the villain in The Merchant of Venice?
Shylock, the jew.
What is the origin of the name Jessica?
The name Jessica is believed to have been created by William Shakespeare for his play The Merchant of Venice. In the play Jessica was a Jewish girl who fell in love with a Christian boy and elopes with him. Her father was Shylock, the villain of the story.
IS SHYLOCK IS A VILLAIN OR A TRAGIC FIGURE IN THE PLAY?
Shylock is written in a sufficiently ambiguous way that he can be played not only as villain and as a victim, but also as a buffoon. It is believed that Shylock was first played as a comic character in the same way as Malvolio in Twelfth Night--an extreme character who is forced to take his lumps. In the 18th century, the great Shakespearean actor Charles Macklin started to play Shylock as a villain, so that the audience would be satisfied with his punishment, and the justice of the court and of Portia. Toward the end of the 19th century, another great Shakespearean actor, Henry Irving, chose to play Shylock as a sympathetic figure, highlighting the moving "hath not a Jew eyes" speech as a plea for his being treated as a human being, rather than simply as a cynical justification for revenge. Irving's reading, which has been standard (except in Nazi Germany) ever since, calls into question the justice of the court and of Portia, as well as the overtly anti-Semitic behaviour of Graziano and other members of the Christian community. Portia's speech on the quality of mercy seems somewhat hollow in the face of the merciless treatment of Shylock and other Jews. All of this is proof that The Merchant of Venice is a great play and Shylock is a great character, because he is an ambiguous character, and because the play raises issues which are not easily resolved.
Which were the most successful performances of The Merchant of Venice?
Early productions of the play focused on the relationship between Bassanio and Portia, and the character of Shylock was a kind of comic relief. Later, however, the character of Shylock proved to be the most interesting in the play and attracted the star actors. In 1741 Charles Macklin played Shylock as an out-and-out villain. Edmund Kean in 1814 had a more sympathetic but still villainous reading. Sir Henry Irving began a tradition of playing Shylock as a sympathetic character in a famous production in 1879 with Ellen Terry as Portia. Sir Laurence Olivier played Shylock as a Victorian businessman in 1970 in a National Theatre production directed by Jonathan Miller, and which was later televised. David Suchet and Dustin Hoffman have both famously played Shylock, and Patrick Stewart played him as a smarmy, ingratiating character. More recently a feature film was released in 2004 directed by Michael Radford and starring Al Pacino as Shylock.
Why does Shakespeare mention Jews at all?
The Shylock subplot of Merchant of Venice turns on a contract for the lending and repayment of money. The Jews were a group of people notoriously involved in this business (banking). It thus made sense to have the moneylender be a Jew. In addition, Jews were treated contemptuously by European society, which fact is referred to in the play and provides Shylock with a motivation and allows his humiliation and destruction at the end. Merchant of Venice is the only one of Shakespeare's plays to have Jewish characters in it, and they are there for a reason. Contrast this with Christopher Marlowe's play The Jew of Malta, in which the Jewish villain is just villainous without any subtext or explaination.
Why did Heminge and Condell place The MERCHANT OF VENICE in the category of Comedies?
The Merchant of Venice has all the hallmarks of a comedy. It is about love interests and at the end of the play, the main characters are all married and happy. The main characters are, of course, Bassanio and Gratiano, Portia and Nerissa. But hey! you say, isn't Shylock the main character? No, that is not how the play was originally conceived. Shylock was originally conceived of as someone like Malvolio in Twelfth Night, a character in the subplot who, because he has an unpleasant character trait (in Malvolio's case, pride, and in Shylock's, vengefulness), we can laugh at when he gets his comeuppance. This is how he was first played, as a comic butt. But after a couple of centuries, people started to look at what Shylock was trying to accomplish, (viz. kill Antonio), and thought that it was too serious for a comic character and so made Shylock a nasty villain. After another hundred years, actors (especially H. Irving) started to probe Shylock's character, and came to the conclusion that he was treated more cruelly than he deserved, and that he was a sympathetic character, a kind of tragic hero. He's been played that way for over a hundred years now. But all this focus on Shylock has turned our attention away from the essentially comic structure of the play, which is why it was called a comedy in the first place.
How Antonio is a good man?
Which Antonio do you refer to? There are five of them in Shakespeare's plays, not even counting Mark Antony, after whom all the others are named. Antonio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona is Proteus's father. He is neither a villain nor a victim. Antonio in The Tempest is Prospero's brother and is a villain. Antonio in The Merchant of Venice is the victim selected by Shylock to be the scapegoat for all the wrongs Christians have done to him. But he is also villainous; it is he that insists on Shylock's apostasy so as to destroy his soul as well as take away the use of his property, and it is also he that insists that Bassiano break his vow to his wife over the wedding ring. Antonio is Twelfth Night is Sebastian's friend and a victim in that he suffers arrest for Sebastian's sake. It would appear that Orsino's hatred of him is unjustified. Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing is Leonato's brother, a kindly old buffer who is neither victim or villain. And to round things out, Antony is a villain in Julius Caesar but a victim in Antony and Cleopatra. So, out of six Antonios, one is a victim, one is a villain, two are both and two are neither.
Why is shylock seen as a villain in The Merchant of Venice?
Firstly, Shylock isn't actually the merchant, Antonio is. Antonio has a fleet of trade boats out at sea, trading around the world for the better part of the play. Does this answer your question? Hope this helps.
Is Shylock a villain or a victim?
Both. Shylock was treated badly by many Venetians because he was Jewish. We see Antonio, Salerno, and Gratiano treat him abominably. But although they treat him badly, they do not try to kill him or steal all his money (although they happily condone the theft of his money by his daughter and her lover Lorenzo, and think it's funny that he is upset about being robbed). Shylock, however, sets things up so that he can (or thinks he can) kill Antonio without it being against the law. This is way out of proportion to any offence Antonio has done to him, but Shylock is making him the scapegoat for all of the wrongs that have been done to him, especially being robbed by Jessica and Lorenzo. This is unfair to Antonio. So, Shylock is the victim of anti-Semitism but his overreaction makes him a villain. The sentence of the court upon him, however, is so harsh that by the end of the play he looks like a victim again. It is fair to note that one part of the judgment which nowadays seems very harsh, the judgment that Shylock must change religion or die, would not have seemed harsh at all in Shakespeare's day, when people were forced to change their religion all the time, usually from one brand of Christianity to another.
Who is Shylock in The Merchant of Venice?
As a greedy money lender. Shylock, the Jew, the antagonist in Merchant of Venice is portrayed as a money lender, who asks the title character Antonio for a 'pound of his flesh,' in case the latter could not repay his loan. One can say that he is more famous than any other character of that Shakespearean comedy.
How does shakespeare discourage anti semitism?
Shakespeare was not really aware of anti-Semitism as a specific phenomenon. There were very few Jews in the England of his day, and those who were there did not practice their religion openly. He did have a Jewish character in his play The Merchant of Venice, and that play also has anti-Semitic characters in it, but he was basically exploring the psychology of prejudice generally.The play has been used to discourage anti-Semitism by portraying Shylock, the Jewish character, in a sympathetic light and the anti-Semitic Venetians unfavourably. It has also been used to encourage anti-Semitism by portraying Shylock as a villain and the anti-Semites like Graziano as heroes.
Why was Shylock in the career of the money lender?
Shylock is one of the most important characters in 'merchant of venice' he is the rich moneylender, to whom antonio asks for help (since antonio's ships were at sea and thus he could not help his friend bassanio with money) since shylock was a jew, and antonio a christian, they held many grudges against each other. in order to avenge, shylock agrees to help antonio on the condition that he should return his money within the time span stated in the legal bond, or else he shall have the right to cut off a pound of flesh from antonio's body (and this shall kill antonio) antonio was unable to pay back the money borrowed. thus, shylock demands for the pound of flesh, but his wishes remain unfulfilled for antonio is saved at the last moment by portia, (bassanio's wife who disguised herself as a lawyer) shylock is also the father of jessica, who hates him as much as others do.
