The True Villain of The Merchant of Venice In many pieces of literature, the villain plays just as an important part as the hero. The Merchant of Venice is a play written by William Shakespeare that takes place in Venice during the time of anti-Semitism. The play revolves around a Christian character named Antonio and a Jewish moneylender named Shylock. At the beginning of the play, Antonio asks Shylock to loan him money. Although reluctant at first, Shylock agrees to make a bond with him but not without a condition if Antonio can’t pay him back within the next three months. Throughout the entirety of the play, Shylock shows himself to be a cruel and merciless character with hateful motives making him the obvious villain. One of Shylock’s
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People might think this because Shylock delivers a speech to Antonio’s Christian friends saying, “Hath not a Jews eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions” (3.1.57-59)? To those who think Shylock is the villain, this speech of his sounds like he is trying to create peace between Jews and Christians by arguing that Jews are humans just like Christians are making it unreasonable for there to be animosity towards each other. However, Shylock is actually saying something quite different. It is true that Shylock is saying that both Jews and Christians are humans, but he is not fighting for peace. Instead, he explains why it is okay for him to want to hurt Antonio by arguing that like Christians, Jews will exact revenge when they have been insulted. Shylock has been insulted by Antonio, so he is going to retaliate like any person would. Therefore, this disproves the idea that Shylock is a hero for arguing for peace because he in fact does the exact opposite. This is shown again in the play when Bassanio invites Shylock to come eat dinner with him and Shylock responds by saying, “I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you” (1.3.36-38). Because Bassanio is a Christian and he is a Jew, Shylock keeps the separation and …show more content…
These points are shown when Shylock refuses to give Antonio mercy, when Shylock says he would rather have his money and jewels than his daughter, and when Shylocks denies dinner with Bassanio. Although Shylock is the villain, he plays an important part of the play. This may be because his character teaches an important lesson. People often hurt others because they too have been hurt. In this case, this person is Shylock. He is a Jew surrounded by Christians who chastise him for being who he is. This is probably why he is so villainous; he is hurt inside and getting revenge is his way of healing his pain. It is possible that Shakespeare is trying to teach his readers that hatred simply leads to more hatred and so, the world would be a better place without
People might think this because Shylock delivers a speech to Antonio’s Christian friends saying, “Hath not a Jews eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions” (3.1.57-59)? To those who think Shylock is the villain, this speech of his sounds like he is trying to create peace between Jews and Christians by arguing that Jews are humans just like Christians are making it unreasonable for there to be animosity towards each other. However, Shylock is actually saying something quite different. It is true that Shylock is saying that both Jews and Christians are humans, but he is not fighting for peace. Instead, he explains why it is okay for him to want to hurt Antonio by arguing that like Christians, Jews will exact revenge when they have been insulted. Shylock has been insulted by Antonio, so he is going to retaliate like any person would. Therefore, this disproves the idea that Shylock is a hero for arguing for peace because he in fact does the exact opposite. This is shown again in the play when Bassanio invites Shylock to come eat dinner with him and Shylock responds by saying, “I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you” (1.3.36-38). Because Bassanio is a Christian and he is a Jew, Shylock keeps the separation and …show more content…
These points are shown when Shylock refuses to give Antonio mercy, when Shylock says he would rather have his money and jewels than his daughter, and when Shylocks denies dinner with Bassanio. Although Shylock is the villain, he plays an important part of the play. This may be because his character teaches an important lesson. People often hurt others because they too have been hurt. In this case, this person is Shylock. He is a Jew surrounded by Christians who chastise him for being who he is. This is probably why he is so villainous; he is hurt inside and getting revenge is his way of healing his pain. It is possible that Shakespeare is trying to teach his readers that hatred simply leads to more hatred and so, the world would be a better place without