Student ID: 20183700

Rationale
In the play “The Merchant of Venice”, Shylock is conveyed as a greedy and heartless
moneylender who insists on getting a pound of flesh from Antonio as per their agreed bond.
Nevertheless, it can be argued that Shylock’s defensive and unpleasant attitude are a natural
reaction to the oppression that he has faced from the Christians of Venice. He suffered
numerously due to his religion: he is alienated in his own city, and limited to very few
occupations.
The aim of this written assignment is to write a soliloquy of Shylock after the end of
Antonio’s trial, to convey his feelings of helplessness and despair after he lost everything:
his dignity, fortune and religion. The tone of the soliloquy is melancholic and bitter. I tried
to paraphrase some of his own sayings to make the speech feel more genuine. In addition,
the intended audience of this speech is Shylock alone. I chose this task because I felt that
Shylock had the most tragic ending, yet his point of view hasn’t been entirely conveyed in
the story.

Word Count: 176

Written Assignment
Oh, my broken heart, what a lost upon lost!
I came here, to this court of justice, but what for? To be humiliated in front of my enemy,
be stripped of all my fortune, denied from my own religion, and made the laughing stock
of the whole of Venice?
The reason? I am a Jew.
They call me the Jew, but have I no name, no identity, no character? My name is not the
misbeliever, the cutthroat dog, the stony adversary, the inhuman wretch, but Shylock.
My name is Shylock.
That book of theirs says that if an ‘alien’ attempts to end the life of a Christian Venetian,
his life is under the mercy of the Duke alone.
And that sadist Antonio; he has shamed me, indebted me half a million, slandered my name
amongst my enemies, and made my friends hostile towards me.
He committed his crimes with malice. He rejoiced at my miseries.
But what does their book say about those years of contempt, cruelty and abuse? Is there no
such law in their book against such vicious attitudes?
They speak of love and lust after money. They demand mercy and show none.
I am usurer not out of passion, but out of need. They call me greedy, and sabotage my
livelihood, but is a Jewish man not like a Christian man, for we both not work to provide
for ourselves and our families?
Oh, my broken heart, what a lost upon lost!
For what family, what salvation, have I got left in this world, when that godless daughter
of mine has stabbed my heart twice?
First when she sold that turquoise; that fine, fine turquoise, my dear Leah have given me
as a bachelor before she parted to heaven.
And what for, you may ask? For a useless, worthless, filthy monkey.
And she stabbed my heart a second time, that daughter of mine, when she stole all mine
own fortune. Imagine, three thousand ducats! And have not even left me a shred of the
other precious jewels.
And for what reason this time, you may ask again? For a reason even more ridiculous; for
a boy, a Christian boy that is.
Jessica, my girl, left me, her father, who loved her from the bottom of my heart and trusted
her with all my monies, to become the loving wife of a Christian boy.
How bitter is the irony; she sold the affection of her father - her own flesh and blood - to
buy the affection of some boy.
And when I came to this court of Venice, expecting no more than impartiality, craving no
other than justice, I leave with nothing left of my dignity, and a throbbing heart too heavy
for my wearied frame to handle.
That pound of flesh that I came here to extract, has been instead carved out of my wounded
soul. I think perhaps that my soul is so scarred that it cannot bear life anymore.
I wonder if death is more peaceful and tranquil than the mere existence in such a cruel
reality?
I wonder if this life is worth living anymore?

Word Count: 522

 Bibliography

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Stilwell, Kansas: (Longman,

Digireads.com Publishing: 2005)