The Merchant Of Venice

Cian Hogan English Notes

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Shylock’s Character! 3
Points to consider about Shylock! 5

“The Merchant of Venice” - A Dramatic Scene! 8

Two Characters in Conflict! 9

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Shylock’s Character

S h ake s pe ar e ' s "Merch an t of Ven ice" is a f ascin atin g play th at con tain s m any
i n t er e st i n g an d c o mpe llin g c h a r a c ter s. Although he only appear s i n five scene s of
th e pl ay, i t h as to be said th at S hylock h olds th e in terest of th e au dien ce f r o m
beginning to end.

T he mo st i mpo r t a n t aspe c t of Shylock's char acter is the fact that he i s a
Je w l i v i n g i n a c it y c o n t ro lle d by Chr i stians. Ever ythi ng that Shyl ock values an d
h o l d s d e a r i s d e s p i s e d by t h e s e C h r i s t i a n s . T h e y h a t e t h e f a c t t h a t h e ' s a
m o n e y l e n de r, an d are deeply mistr u stf u l of h is religion . Probably th e most f am o u s
m o n o l o gu e of th e play is wh ere S hylock defen ds h imself . H e is treated badly by
e ve r y C h r i stia n c h a r a c t e r in t h e p lay. T hey cal l hi m a ‘n o n - b e l i ev e r, [ a ] c u t t h ro a t
d og a n d s p i t u p o n [ h i s ] J ew i s h g a b a rd i n e’. However, Shakespeare does not present
S hy l o c k a s m e r e ly b e i n g a v i c t i m . I n f a c t S hy l o c k ’s d e fe n c e o f h i s p l i g h t i s o n e o f
the most moving and thought provoking speeches in liter ature:

I a m a J ew.

H a t h n o t a J ew e ye s ? H a t h n o t a J ew h a n d s , o r g a n s ,

d i m e n s i o n s , s e n s e s , a f fe c t i o n s , p a s s i o n s ; fe d w i t h

the same food, hur t with the same weapons , subject

to the same diseases , heal'd by the same means ,

wa r m ' d a n d c o o l ' d by t h e s a m e w i n t e r a n d s u m m e r,

as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?

Ye t, fo r al l h is passion ate h u man is m, h e can be a deeply u n pleasan t ch ar acter. H i s

ow n dau gh ter resen ts h im, h e exploits th e econ omic dif ficu lties of oth er s, an d h e
m i st r ea t s h i s s e r v a n t , La n c e lo t . When hi s daughter r uns aw ay, taki ng money an d
j e we l s w i th h er, h e con cer n s h imself with th e lost mon ey wish in g th at sh e we r e
“w e re d e a d a t [ h i s ] fo o t , a n d t h e j ew e l s i n h e r e a r."

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W ha t ma kes S hy l o c k s o f a scinating is that it is ver y difficult to know how t o
r e ac t to h i m. Wh en on e examin e s th e play caref u lly, on e fin ds th at S hylock h as
m any s tr o n g motives for beh avin g as h e does. Alth ou gh h e treats An to n i o
despicably, he is not as we have seen without cause . The latter has by his own
admission " sp at on " hi m, "s p urned " h i m , a n d "called [him] dog ." Fur ther more ,
A n to n i o i s en tirely dismissive of S hylock' s complain ts. In f act, h e even goes do f ar
as to promise to do the same again:

I am as like to call thee so again, to


spit on thee again, to spurn thee too.

What makes Shylock's char acter so interesting is the fact that he embr aces an all-
c on su m i n g h a t re d f u e lle d by a de si r e to achieve vengeance at any cost:

If I can catch him once upon the


hip, I will feed fat the ancient


grudge I bear him.

A s a r e su l t, h e de v is e s a re pr ehensible pl ot to destr oy Antoni o. However,

S h a ke s p e a r e o n c e m o r e u n s e t t l e s t h e r e a d e r w h e n S hy l o c k ' s p l a n s a r e u n c ove r e d
an d h e i s brou gh t to ju stice . Mu ch of th e play cen tres on th e n otion of ju s ti c e
and " the quality of merc y ." Yet, wh en S hylock th rows h imself at th e mercy of th e
c ou r t , C h r i st ia n ju s t ic e is e x po s e d for w hat it is:

Be assured, thou shall have justice


more than thou desir ist.

In t h e h ea r t bre a k in g t r ia l s c e n e we w i tness a pr ofound abuse of judici al power.

H e r e , S hy l o ck is forced to ren ou n ce h is religion an d su r ren der h alf h is mon e y to
A n t on i o, w hile t h e o t h e r h a lf is pr omi sed to the daughter w ho betr ayed h i m .
D e s p i t e h i s c r i m e s , t h e s i g h t o f a b r o ke n a n d v i r t u a l ly d e s t i t u t e S hy l o c k i s d i f fi c u l t
to bear.

I fo und Shy l o c k t o b e a fa scinating char acter because he inspires s o m a ny
m i xed e m o t i o n s in me . I fe lt re v ul si on at his attempted mur der of Antoni o, an d

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anger and pity over the tr ial scene . Although this play is called "The Merchant of
Ve n i c e " i t i s i n f ac t, m o r e th an any th i n g e l s e a pl ay abo u t S hy l o c k, th e J e w i s h
m o n ey l en d e r.

Points to consider about Shylock

S hy l o c k i s t h e n e g a t i ve a n d s t e r e o t y p e p i c t u r e o f t h e u s u r e r t h a t m o s t
o f t h e E liza be t h a n s h a d-one that w as seen as a ‘gr eedy dog’, ‘a l eech’.

T h e in ter pretation of S hylock’s ch ar acter is dif ficu lt an d also to s o m e

e x t e n t a m b i g u o u s . H e h a s b e e n p o r t r aye d v a r i o u s ly a s a c o m i c
c h ar a c t e r a ma le vo le n t villai n and a victim.

Wh ile h e can be played as bein g comic , wh en h e is th e tr agi c

pr otagon ist h e ‘u su r ps th e cen tre of th e stage .’ S hylock “represen ts th e
killjoy against whom the pleasure-loving char acter s unite .”

S hy l o c k e x i s t s a s a v i s i bl e c o m p l i c a t i o n t o t h e s m o o t h r u n n i n g o f
Bassanio’s fr iendship with Antonio and his cour tship of Por tia. One can
almost say that is the char acter that makes the plot possible .

A s Jo h n Pa lme r h a s s a id, Shyl ock is “An i magi native r eal i zati on of w hat i t
m e a n s t o we a r t h e St a r of David.”

S hylock is a Jew in a G en tile S ociety, an alien wh o is n ever accepted. H e

i s prou d of h is r ace , h is religion bu t h e is u p again st a Ven etian soc i e ty
that is insuffer able to the outsider.

E ve n h i s d a u g h t e r a t t a c k s a l l t h a t h e h o l d s d e a r. S h e m a r r i e s a C h r i s t i a n
and takes away his money- his family pr ide , the only “props” in his life .
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H e is h u miliated an d scor n ed at by th e Ch r istian s. O n e feels sympathy
fo r s u c h a m an , w h o i s m o r e s i n n e d agai n s t th an s i n n i n g.

D u r i n g t h e t r i a l s c e n e i t i s e ve n l e s s e a s y t o m a ke a m o r a l d e c i s i o n , a
c o mfor table discr imin ation between th e gen tle Ch r istian an d r apac i o u s
J e w.

T h e reader’s an d th e au dien ce’s sympath ies are directed tow ar ds

S hy l o c k w h o e a r l i e r h a d p l e a d e d h i s h u m a n i t y : “ H a t h n o t a J e w e ye s ?
H a t h n o t a J e w h a n d s , o r g a n s , d i m e n s i o n s , s e n s e s , a f fe c t i o n s , p a s s i o n s ? ”

O u r compassion is du e to S hylock’s pligh t bu t also becau se of th e

u n ease th at we exper ien ce at th e beh aviou r of th e Ch r istian s : “ A
Daniel…! Mar k Jew!”

H e r e t h e C h r i s t i a n c r u e l t y i s o n p a r w i t h t h a t o f t h e J e w. H owe ve r i n
th e 20th C we are more sen sitive an d con sciou s abou t poli ti c al
c o r re c t n e s s .

T h e i s s u e o f r a c i s m h a s f u r t h e r c o m p l i c a t e d S hy l o c k ’s c h a r a c t e r.
S hy l o c k ’s r o l e a t t r a c t s g r e a t e r s y m p a t hy.

O n e feels th at th e Ven etian Ch r istian s h ave den ied S hylock’s h u man i ty

and we are all the time reminded of the Anti-Semitism of the Nazi’s and
o f t h e Ge n o c ide t h a t t o ok pl ace dur i ng the hol ocaust.

T h e s e m o d e r n a t t i t u d e s t h e n i n t h e wo r d s o f E d w i n B o o t h , t e n d “ t o l i f t
( S hylock) ou t of th e dar kn ess of h is n ative elemen t of reven ge f u l
s e lfish n ess in to th e ligh t of th e ven er able H ebrew, th e Mar tyr, th e
Ave n g e r.”

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S hy l o c k c a n b e s e e n a s a p r o d u c t o f c e n t u r i e s o f r a c i a l p e r s e c u t i o n .
T h u s S hylock ‘s ch ar acter oscillates between th e malign an t car icatu r e
and the dignified tr agic hero.

I s S hylock a represen tation of th e Jewish h atred for Ch r istian s or i s h e

m otivated du e to h is per son al h atred for An ton io? Wh en S hylock say s , “ I
h ate h im for h e is a Ch r istian : Bu t more for…H e len ds ou t mo n e y
gr atis…” one realises that his hatred is based on money and he is not
the religious mar tyr that he por tr ays himself to be .

H e t a ke s a g a m bl e w h e n h e l e n d s t h e m o n e y a n d m a ke s A n t o n i o s i g n
th e “mer r y” bon d. H e h as n o way of kn owin g th at all of An to n i o ’s
fo r tu n e w i l l s i n k an d th at h e w i l l be abl e to take th e fo r fe i t. H i s h atr e d
fo r A n to n i o an d th e r e s t i s appar e n t th r o u gh o u t.

I t c o u ld be t h a t h e is a villai n w ho is allowed to expr ess the sor t of

tr eatmen t th at h as made h im wh at h e is an d h e ju stifies h is rou te to
villainy.

H owever th e h u man ity of S hylock as seen h ere is an u n con sciou s by

pr odu ct of th e S h akespeare’s dr amatic gen iu s. It is an example of th e
i n t e r play be t we e n t e c hnical cr aft and cr eati ve i magi nation. I t is an
e x ample of a ch ar acter so dyn amic th at it takes over f rom th e w r i te r
and assumes dimensions of an independent entity. He evokes an interest
th at is beyon d th e scope of th e play. S hylock for u s is n ot ju st a Jew ; h e
s tan ds for all th e people th at are discr imin ated again st, people w h o
su f fe r in ju s t ic e du e t o t heir col our, r el i gion and even caste .

A n d t h is is t h e u n ive r s al i ty of Shakespear e; he cr eated a char acter n ot

fo r h is time bu t for all times. Bu t S h akespeare also set a dr am ati c
pr oblem wh en h e establish ed ‘th e villain as h ero’ as S hylock does ‘s te al
the show’ and over shadows the for mal hero. And it is tr ue that, as E.W.
G o d w i n s a i d , “ a t S hy l o c k ’s e x i t t h e p l ay i s v i r t u a l ly ove r.”

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 S hy l o c k e vo ke s mu l t i p l e r e a c t i o n s i n t h e r e a d e r a n d t h e a u d i e n c e . W h e n
we view th e Ch r istian smu gn ess an d hypocr isy we see a moder n par al l e l
to th e treatmen t of th e any u n derclass. Bu t on e is also repu lsed by h i s
treatment of his daughter and his mercenar y attitude .

“The Merchant of Venice” - A Dramatic Scene

T he pl ay t ha t I have st udie d i s the me r chant of Venice by Wi l l i a m
S h a ke s p e a r e . I n t h e p l ay, a n o bl e bu t i m p ove r i s h e d Ve n e t i a n a s k s h i s f r i e n d
A n to n i o fo r a loan to impress an h eiress. H is f r ien d agrees bu t is force d to
bor row a sum of money from a cynical, Jewish moneylender. In order to obtain
the loan, shylock forces Antonio to sign a chilling contr act to honour the debt
w i th a po u n d of h is own f lesh . I n my opin ion th e most dr amatic scen e in th i s
c om pl ex a n d c o n t rove r s ia l c o me dy is the tr i al scene w hi ch takes place in Ac t I V,
s ce n e i .

I n t his sc ene , A nt o ni o ha s be en br ought be for e the Vene tian co u r t a s a
r e s u l t o f h i s f ailu re to h on ou r th e ter ms of h is agreemen t with S hylock. In my
o pi n i o n , th i s scen e is h igh ly dr amatic for a nu mber of reason s. S hylock en ter s th e
s c e n e we l l past th e poin t of recon ciliation . H e wan ts An ton io dead an d is deaf to
the pleas of mercy from all those present. The ar r ival of Bellar io of Padoa (Por tia
i n di s gu i s e ) does mu ch to h eigh ten both th e ten sion an d dr amatic irony of th e
s c e n e . Po r ti a agrees with shylock th at th e law mu st be u ph eld. By in sistin g on th e
s t r i c t obser v a t io n o f t h e law, Por ti a for ces the scene to i ts i nevi tabl e an d
dr am ati c c o n clu sion . At th is poin t th e au dien ce is resign ed to An ton io' s death . A s
s hy l oc k pr e pa re s t o t a ke h is po und of fl esh Por ti a stops hi m. I n a momen t of
gr e at dr am a, sh e tells h im th at h e may n ot spill on e drop of th e merch an t' s
blood. Fu r th er more , sh e remin ds h im th at sh ou ld h e do so ‘’ h is la n d s a n d go o d s
[w i l l ] by t h e law s of Venice be confiscate d”.
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T he e ffe c t on s hyl o c k is devastating and the audi ence r el i sh es i n h i s
u n d o i n g . T h e h e i g h t e n e d t e n s i o n o f t h e p r e v i o u s m o m e n t s i s r e p l a c e d by a n
ove r w h e l m i n g sen se of relief as we come to realise th at An ton io’s life wil l be
s p a r ed. S hyl oc k a t t e mpt s t o le ave w i th the or i ginal 3000 ducats. However, Po r ti a
re m i n d s h i m t h a t h e h a s a lre a dy refused such a sum ‘’ i n o pen co ur t ’ ’ at th e s am e
time she makes one fur ther dr amatic proclamation. She reminds the cour t and of
c ou r se shyl oc k t h a t if a ny fo re ig n er shoul d ‘’ by d irect o r in d irect a ttem p ts seek th e
l i fe of a ci t i zen’ ’, th en h e mu st forfeit h alf h is goods to th e citizen an d th e o th e r
h al f to th e state . In a dr amatic twist of f aith ,S hylock is forced to tu r n to th e du ke
fo r m e r c y.

Two Characters in Conflict

T h e pl ay I h ave stu died is th e “Merch an t of Ven ice” by William S h akespeare . T h e

two char acter s in conflict are Antonio, the Chr istian merchant of Venice , and
S hy l o c k, a J ewish mon eylen der. T h e bitter con f lict is fin ally resolved in th e tr i al
s ce n e , i n a c t IV s c e n e 1.

T h e r e ar e a nu mber of reason s for th e con f lict between shylock an d An ton io. T h e

fi r s t o f t h e s e r e a s o n s i s s i m p ly S hy l o c k ’s h a t r e d o f C h r i s t i a n s . T h i s i s o bv i o u s i n
the way he talks about Antonio; ‘’ h ow l i ke a fa w n i n g p u b l i c a n h e l o o k s , I h a t e h i m
for he is Chr istian ’ ’. T h e secon d reason is S hylock’s deep resen tmen t of An ton i o ’s
anti-Semitism. Shylock r ails against the injustice of how he has been treated and
re m i n d s u s t h a t h e is e ve r y bit wor thy of r espect as hi s fellow Chr isti ans:

‘ h a t h n o t a J ew e ye s ?’ ’

F u r t h er m or e , Shy lo c k v ie ws A n t o ni o as being bad for business because he ‘’l e n d s

o u t m o n e y g ra t i s a n d b r i n g s d ow n t h e ra t e o f u s a n c e / i n Ve n i c e’ ’. If all this were not
e n o u g h , A n to n io h a s pu blic ly r i diculed and demeaned hi m in the past an d
c on se qu en t ly, h e wa n t s t o “catc h him once upon the hip,” i n or der to “feed fa t th e
a n c i e n t g r u d ge I b e a r h i m ’ ’. The conflict between the two is fur ther accentuated
by f u n damen tal dif feren ces in th eir per son alities. T h ey are at th e opposite en d of
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th e m o r al spectr u m. S hylock is ego-cen tred, acqu isitive an d mercen ar y. T h i s i s
s h ow n w h e n h is dau gh ter Jessica elopes with a Ch r istian , stealin g a su m o f h i s
m o n e y i n th e process. S hylock is more con cer n ed abou t th e loss of h is mo n e y
than the loss of his own child professing that he ‘’ w o u l d [ h i s ] d a u g h t e r w e re d e a d
a t [ h i s ] fo o t a n d t h e j ew e l s i n h e r e a r’ ’. On the other hand, Antonio is selfless,
c a r i n g a n d g oo d-n a t u re d:

‘ ‘A kinder m an threads no t the e ar th ’ ’.

T h e l o n g s t a n d i n g c o n f l i c t b e t we e n A n t o n i o a n d S hy l o c k i s u l t i m a t e ly r e s o l ve d i n
th e de n o u e men t of th e play, th e tr ial scen e . Wh en Bassan io asks An ton io fo r
fi n an c i al h e l p to impress an h eiress, An ton io agrees bu t is forced to bor row a s u m
o f m o n e y f r om S hylock. In order to obtain th e loan , S hylock forces An ton i o to
s i gn a c h i l l i n g con tr act to h on ou r th e debt with a pou n d of h is own f lesh . In th e
tr i al s c e n e An ton io h as been brou gh t before th e Ven etian cou r t as a resu lt o f h i s
f ai l u r e to h on ou r th e ter ms of h is bon d. S hylock en ter s th e cou r t well past th e
po i n t o f r e con ciliation , h e wan ts An ton io dead an d is deaf to th e pleas of m e r c y
f r o m al l th o se presen t. H e sh ar pen s h is kn ife ready to r ip ou t An ton io' s h ear t. A
di s gu i s e d Po r tia takes ch ar ge of proceedin gs, bu t shylock is u n moved by h er pl e as
fo r m e r c y. H e i n s i s ts th at th e te r m s o f th e bo n d mu s t be m e t:

‘ ‘ L e t h i m l o o k to h i s b o n d , h e wa s w o n t to ca l l m e u s u re r. L e t



h im look to his b o nd, h e was wo n t to lend mo ney for a



C h r i s t ia n co u r t e sy. Let h im lo o k to his b o nd.’ ’

A l th o u gh al l th e cards seem in h is f avou r, S hylock su f fer s a cr u sh in g rever sal. T h e

c o n f l i c t i s u ltimately resolved in An ton io’s f avou r wh en th e villain is u n don e by
h i s ow n tr e ach er y. Por tia poin ts ou t th at if h e takes a sin gle drop of An to n i o ’s
bl o o d h e w ill loose ever yth in g; becau se , th is is n ot par t of th e bon d. S hyloc k i s
‘’h o i s t by h i s ow n p e t a rd ’ ’. As a res u lt of h is con f lict with An ton io, h e loses h al f h i s
wealth and is forced to become Chr istian. He leaves the cour t a broken man.

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F or a v a r ie t y o f re a s o n s Shylock and Antoni o engage in a bi tter and l on g
r u n n i n g Co n f lict. In th e en d, S hylock is destroyed by th is con f lict an d th e au di e n c e
i s l ef t wo n d e r in g a bo u t t h e ju s t ic e of w hat happens to him.

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