Analysis of Shylock’s Character in The Merchant of Venice

 

Sun Jing

 

 

Abstract: The Merchant of Venice is one of the greatest comedies written by Willliam Shakespeare. Shylock has become one of the immortal characters in English literature. The successful characterization and annalysis of many characters has aroused much interest and controversy for many readers and scholars.Among them, the character of Shylock is a most controversial one. Many people despise Shylock to be a man who is selfish, impious, stubborn, bloodthirsty. However, after examing the view of Jews during Shakespeare's time, his another personality comes to the surface. This papers talks briefly about The Merchant of Venice and its religious background, then analyses Shylock’s complex personalities from three different perspectives as a Jew who was enslaved to anti-semitism, as a usurer who are greedy for money and as a victim of Christian and and individual having independent spirit.

Key words：The Merchant of Venice; Shylock; ususer; anti-Semitism

 

The Merchant of Venice is an appealing and famous play written by Shakespeare in 1596, which is the masterpiece of the second period of his work. In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the bond at a pound of Antonio's flesh. When a bankrupt Antonio defaults on the loan, Shylock demands the pound of flesh, as revenge for Antonio having previously insulted and spat on him. Meanwhile, his daughter, Jessica, elopes with Antonio's friend Lorenzo and becomes a Christian, further fueling Shylock's rage. Many people think that Shylock is a greedy and mercenary man, whose actions lead to severe consequences for him. They would say he deserved everything that happened to him. But this is not the whole story in my view. 

 Moreover, discussion concerning Jewish Shylock has been a hot issue over many centuries. For hundreds of years, a lot of scholars have made various research and published many articles, which have caused great controversy. As for the character of Shylock John Wilson once said: "Shylock has the most confusing character in addition to Shakespeare's Hamlet."^① Its main difficulties is to determine his typical character. I think that Shylock character whom Shakespeare elaborately depicts has the rich emotional world and is the combination of various human nature and emotions. Some scholars also suggest that Shylock is repeatedly shown to have human qualities and that he becomes a sympathetic character, particularly when he is told about Jessica's betrayal and the loss of his deceased wife's ring.

This paper will analyze systematically causes on which the writer of based to creat the character of Shylock in religion, social factors and life experience, etc. I used contrast analysis method to make conclusion that the appearance of shylock’s character is not only the vivid description of English people at the bottom of society but also the very example of “personality decides one’s fate.” On the Basis of the maternal and analysis occupied it show the reasons for the formation of shylock’s character in a deeper and more stereo way in order to provide more reference for the study to Shakespeare’s works.

 

I．Brief introduction

 

 1.1 Introduction to Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is one of the most remarkable playwrights and poets the world has ever known. With his 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long poems, he has established his giant position in world literature. He has also been given the highest praises by various scholars and critics the world over. In the past four hundred years, books and essays on Shakespeare and his works have kept coming out in large quantities. Ben Jonson once wrote a person once wrote a poem eulogizing Shakespeare as being “not of an age, but for all time”.

Shakespeare’s greatness as a playwright and the success of his plays on the stage from Elizabethan England up to the present-day world chiefly depend upon his penetrating exposition of human nature, his lively paintings of human life and his truthful reflections of human reality. His works provide us with a vivid and authentic panorama of his age. All this, for Shakespeare, has been achieved through his unremitting endeavor in bringing about his lofty ideal of humanism and his painstaking efforts in mastering various techniques. He is not only a master of English language but also a genius of character portrayal and plot construction.

 

1.2 Brief introduction to The Merchant of Venice

Long time ago, a man called Antonio lived in Venice. He was a merchant, owning many s traded hips which with distant countries. And he was a good man as well as a rich one. His best friend Bassanio, who fell in love with a beautiful and rich lady called Portia, was not a wealthy man. So he didn’t ask Portia to marry him. At last, he asked Antonio to lend him some money, so that he could visit Portia at Belmont. It happened that time all Antonio’s shops were at sea, and he wouldn’t have money to lend Bassanio until the ships returned. So they decided to go to a money-lender.
       Now, an old Jew named Shylock lived in Venice. The Jews in those days were the money-lenders of Venice. Shylock was one of the greediest Jews in Venice. And Antonio hated him for his wicked ways. Shylock also hated Antonio for the reason that Antonio often insulted Jews and Shylock himself was anxious to revenge the results. He was delighted when he heard that Antonio had promised to pay back the loan, so he made a wicked plan. He asked Antonio to sign a bond promising that he might cut off a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body if the money was not paid. Bassanio didn’t like it, but Antonio said, “You need have no fear. My ships will come back a month before the day.” So Bassanio unwillingly took the money, and sailed away to Belmont.
       In fact, Portia loved Bassanio too. So they arranged to get married. However, their happiness was soon disturbed by a bad news: Antonio’s six ships, full of riches, had all been wrecked at sea, which also meant Antonio lost all his money. Shylock was extremely happy after he heard the news and he went to cut off a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. When he began sharpening the long knife he had brought with him, a lawyer entered. Portia was the lawyer, but none of others knew recognized her. Finally, Portia was so clever that she saved Antonio’s life.

 

II.The Tragic Character of Shylock

 

2.1 The Image of Shylock

Shylock---the Jewish moneylender, is one of the most interesting and one of the most Controversial of Shakespeare ’characters. The discussion of The Merchant of Venice generally centers on Shylock. Shylock is not onstage most of the time, and does not appear at all in the final act. Why then do we feel that he is the center of the play? Shylock is given the most passionate, most memorable speeches and actions in the play, and his character is etched in bold strokes across its entire surface, leaving an indelible human being as well as an outrageous villain and comic butt, and has become all things to all men. Some readers view Shylock as a proud and a passionate man who has long stored up in his heart the humiliation suffered at the hands of the hostile Christian world and are now ready for revenge. Shylock is the villain of the piece; there is no doubt about that. He hates Antonio for hindering his business and for treating him with terrible contempt in public, and we must not doubt that from the very beginning Shylock had hoped to get his revenge on Antonio by arranging the flesh-bond.

Jessica’s elopement and theft of his money and jewels increase Shylock’s resentment against the Christian world, so that, although he might have had second thoughts about executing his revenge, they no longer trouble him after Jessica’s elopement. Having found him victimized by Antonio, Shylock wants as well as he gets. Symbolizing the stern justice of Old Testament law, Shylock is a passionate man thirsting for revenge and the ridiculous figure of stereotyped Jewish obstinacy, hatred. And literalness. Usually comic, he is at times grotesque, and at times even touching “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew lands...” (Shakespeare 795). He is a villain of perseverance and restless energy, who is, nevertheless, foiled by good Christians in the end.

 

2.2  Shylock’s Realistic Life and His Spiritual World 

We all know that the Jews in Bible were God 's chosen people, but in the end they betrayed theGod, So the Jews obeyed The Old Testament, but the Christians obeyed The New Testament, because of which their beliefs were much different from each other. During the entire Middle Age, the Jewish people were alternately protected and persecuted by the temporal powers of what ever land they inhabited. It had been established by the church long before that Christians were not to lend the money at interests, for to do so world be a violation of The New Testament concept of charity. So more and more Jews became tradesman and financiers. Although they were generally abused because of their religious differences, Jews were also frequently tolerated and invited into a country to stabilize its shaky financial structure. Often the bing became the heir of every Jew and took overhis estate upon death. Consequently, moneylenders were forced to charge high interestrates, which increased as theKings' demands grew. Thus the Jews became the buffer for the Kings' extortion and the symbols of the hatred usurer. Religious persecution was often added to the economic pressures on the Jews in England. The Christians often treated the Jews with terrible contempt in public for religious reason, which brought aboutmuch hatred of the later.

Now, let’s watch part of the play again. In Act 1 Scene 3, when Antonio asks Shylock whether or not he will lend the money to him, Shylock says that Antonio has long ill-treated him in public,

 

“In the Rialto, you have rated me about my money and my usance... you called me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gabardine, and all for use of that which is mine own”. “What should I say to you? Should I not say, Hath a dog money? Is it possible a cur can lend three thousand ducats? ”(Lippman 6)

 

Shylock said. We can not deny that a person being so badly treated does deserve our sympathy. In public, Antonio has humiliated him for no reason, but his personal belief. Shylock has suppressed all his grievances all the time until this opportunity of life has come. He pours out all the injustice he has encountered and is determined to revenge with most vicious plot.

Launcelot Gobbo, the servant of Shylock, is planning to run away from Shylock to Bassanio, in Act 2 Scene 3, because he thinks that Shylock is a devil, which makes Shylock sad later. Before Gobbo leaves, Jessica, the only daughter of Shylock says to him

“Our house is hell and thou a merry devil”

and agrees with his plan to escape. Later Launcelot leaves and Jessica left alone , wanders what “heinous sin” it is. She is ashamed to be his father’s daughter and is ready to elope with Lorenzo to be far away from Shylock with a lot of her father’s jewels. Thinking that she is the only daughter of Shylock by blood, we can see how heartbroken he should be! There is nothing more sympathetic than losing the love of his only relative and the faith of his servant of many years. The repudiation to her father or his master is really because Jseeica or Gobbo don’t understand the poor old man. Everyone in Venice hates Shylock, named him villain in his essence because he is a Jew and he is a greedy moneylender. But Jessica and Launcelot don’t realize this point and they think he is a villain in his essence. So when the juncture comes, they all go away. Therefore we can easily realize that Shylock is a victim of historical period when we stand by him.

In Act 4 Scene 1, after Shylock’s cruel plot has failed, the Duke heartily approves Antonio’s proposal that he must convert to Christianity and he must make Lorenzo his legal heir. To the other people in court, Shylock seems to be treated with Christian mercy, which shows their charity, but to a greedy moneylender, he was taken away not only half of his money but also his own national religion. It has the same result as taking away his life and depriving him of his belief. What a cruel punishment it is! Perhaps nothing is more cruelly than forcing one to be far away from his own national religion to his enemies. Now Shylock has nothing, no his daughter, no his servant, no his money, no his religion as he said

“ … and no satisfaction, no revenge! Nor no ill luck stirring but what lights o’my shoulders, no signs but o’my breathing, no tears but o’my shedding.” (Wilson 45)

It is more sympathetic to be ended in that way. Shylock is not only deprived of his fortune but also his right to have his own belief. What a heavy blow it is to a man of that age! Material possessions are something that a man can have or have not, but spiritual belief is almost inseparable, especially in those days.

In Act 3 Scene 1, in a long and passionate speech, Shylock declares that the will use the flesh “to bait fish withal” if nothing else. It will feed his revenge, for Antonio has disgraced him, hindered his business, laughed his losses, mocked at his gains, scorned his nation, thwarted his bargains, cooled his friends, and heated his enemies.

 

“And what’s his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands organs , dimensions, senses, affections, passions? …Fed with the same food, hurt with the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? And if you wrong me, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. ”(Wilson 72)

 

This is one of the most interesting speeches in the play and one of the most problematical. Some of the modern historical critics support the view that the Jew is essentially no different from anyone else. Many Elizabethans believed as Launcelot and salarino do, that the Jew was the devil incarnate. Everything that Shylock says in his famous explanation of his motives elicited the scorn of the Renaissance Christian, who believed that hatred and revenge were inherent Jewish traits. In the flesh, Jew and Christian may be very much alike. In the spirit, in their way and manners, they are entirely different. This is the very point that Shylock misses.

 

III. Shylock’s complex personality

 

     Shylock was a complicated personality, as a Jew, a merchant, a man, a father, Then, He had a multidimensional characters: hateful but woeful, maneating but helpness, rich but selfish. So he was paradoxical. He was keen to be respected by people, but won’t respect others. He wish to change Jew’s social status, but loose religious power. He dramed of having a happy family, but loose his family. He look forward to bright future, but loose the light. He was twisted by struggle from different religions. He was persecuted by the basis of race and religions.

 

3.1 Shylock as a Jew

 

3.1.1 Shylock is the epitome of the Jew

Shylock in The Merchant of Venice was the epitome of the Jew, so we can recognize the Jew by shylock, and we have known what about the Jew’s life, characters and destiny. From The Merchant of Venice, we can see that Shakespeare knew the plight of the Jewish people and therefore created accurate background for Shylock.

Through examination of the cultural period in which Shakespeare lived, the way that the Christians treat Shylock and the presence of a feeling of victimization, I will explain how Shakespeare's intent was not Anti-Semitic. The time in which he existed did not permit him to have a Jewish character as a hero, so Shakespeare challenges the Jewish stereotype through blurring the line between villain and victim with his creation of Shylock.

 

3.1.2 Two views towards anti-semitism

There are two opposite positions concerning the relationship between anti-Semitic and Shakespeare’s intention of depicting Shylock, namely, Romantic view and Historical view. According to the research of J.L.Cardozo in The Contemporary Jew in Elizabethan Drama, Shakespeare did not know any Jews personally and he was not actively engaged in anti-Semitic crusade. He was simply following a centuries-old stereotype of the Jewish people as in Marlow’sThe Jew of Malta.

Taken the Jew’s being persecuted as a background, Shylock is definitely one of them. From Act I Scene iii, Shylock appealingly reveals to us how he, as a Jew, has been wronged.“ You (Antonio) call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, and spit upon my Jewish gabardine.”(I,iii,) After his pitiful complaint about his social status, he presents us his seemingly plausible logic:“Have not a Jew eyes? Have not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?……If a Christian wrongs a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villain you teach me I will execute; and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”(III,i,) Shylock suffers a lot from unbearable racial discrimination. In this sense, he seems to be partly justified. However, according to psychology, everyone tends to overstate one’s miseries and tries to find sound excuse for one’s own behavior. From this, we can infer that Shylock, in order to justify his revenge, movingly reveals his misfortunes and to some extent, exaggerates his being ill-treated as a Jew so that he may seem to be a noble member of a down-trodden race out crying the miseries of the race instead of his own. However, the case is that not all his ill fate is derived from his identity as a Jew. His tragic life is, in fact, due to many factors.

So in short, to the Jewish people as a whole for which Shylock serves as a mirror, we do show considerable sympathy and deploration. It is a persevering nation, including Shylock, and his revenge is justified, however, only partly justified, for only after the discussion all the three identities, can we explicitly interpret Shylock. For instance, in one of Shakespeare’s most famous monologues, Shylock argues that Jews are humans and calls his quest for vengeance the product of lessons taught to him by the cruelty of Venetian citizens. We can prove it from the following scene.

Bassanio's quest to borrow money from Shylock opens the door for Shylock to have the upper hand on Antonio, as he would be in debt to Shylock if he does indeed lend the money to Bassanio. Antonio's fortune is invested in his ships, which are at sea, which is why he cannot lend the money to Bassanio himself. Shylock sees both profit and the opportunity to hold power over Antonio in this situation. Shylock takes the opportunity and agrees to lend Bassanio money in Antonio's name. The deal stipulates that if Antonio does not pay the money back on time, Shylock is entitled to a pound of flesh from Antonio. This again dehumanizes shylock as it shows.

 

3.2 Shylock as a usurer and a villian

 

3.2.1 Usury as Jew’s only occupation 

    Usury—the lending of money at exorbitant rates of interest, was legalized in England in 1571. Resricted as Jews from owning real properties and keeping serfs which were essential to the agrarian economy of the Middle Ages, more and more Jews became usurers, which was the only occupation the Christian world has left open to them. Meanwhile, the Church has established that Christians were not allowed to lend money at interest, which was a violation of the NewTestament concept of charity. So at that time, usurers were mostly contempt Jews, and Jews were mostly contempt usurers.

In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare’s identity as a usurer is never in doubt because in Act Secene ii, his first line defines himself,“three ducats, it is a good round sum. Three months from twelve then let me see the rate.” To Shylock, his business is just “use of thatwhich is mine own”(I,iii,) and “thrift is blessing if men steal it not.”(I,iii,) So far his occupation, though indecent and corrupt in Christians’eyes, is not for us to criticize, for that is all he can do in the world. What I want to comment is on his disagreement with Antonio. The underlying reason accounting for Shylock’s hatred lies largely in the usury affairs rather than religious affairs. He says“(Antonio) lends our money graits, and he(Antonio) disagreed me and brings down the rate of usance here with us in Venice,”(I,iii,) and (Antonio) hinder me of half a million; laugh at my losses, mock at my gains.”(III,i,)

 

3.2.2 Shylock greedy desire for money

    As the play begins, we are immediately thrust into stereotype as Shylock is introduced as userer in Act I. Bissanio, a Christian, seeks out Shylock in order to borrow the money he needs. He comes to Shylock in Antonio's name, another Christian whom Shylock bears a grudge against, "I hate him because he is ChristianI will feed the fat the ancient grudge I bear him" (Act I, Sc iii). This grudge that we learn about early in the play foreshadows the revenge that Shylock later tries the exact unto Antonio. Antonio specifically refers to Shylock as a "dog" several times as if to dehumanize him. This grudge also represents Shylock's greater hatred for all Christians, who have tormented and ridiculed him as a Jew. Shakespeare makes sure the audience is aware of the religious persecution Shylock has suffered on behalf of the Christians.

It is natural for our human beings to compete with others in order to survive and to be angry with the one who disdains our occupation. So, Shylock’s hatred towards Antonio is understandable, however, he overleaps too much and takes his hatred as a good excuse to execute inexorable action. In the trial scene, he is just like a maniac driven by the nervous frenzy of accumulated hatred. As a usurer, he is supposed to lay his interest on money, but at last, we come to realize that his real intention is on Antonio’s life—a rival’s life. In brief, he does justify his hatred. However, he can by no means justifies his relentless revenge. The only explanation would be that Shylock is so passionate that he always takes extreme actions, which is to be analyzed in section III.

   While the main plot evolves, Shakespeare also uses subplots to engage the audience into Shylock's mean character. His clown Launcelot, who resides in Venice, flees from Shylock's services and joins Bassanio. This of course further demonstrates the damnation of Shylock by the Christians. If this was not enough, Shylock's daughter Jessica runs away from home and elopes with Lorenzo, another Christian. Jessica and Lorenzo also take a great deal of money and jewellery from Shylock. When this occurs, Shylock appears more concerned about his money and that it was stolen by a Christian than he does care about his daughter being gone. To a Christian, it would seem absurd to value money more than family, but this was a common stereotype of Jews. This tremendous treachery marks the culmination of Shylock's patience toward Christians.

The three-month lending period has finally arrived and Antonio's ships have not turned profit in time. Shylock furiously demands Antonio to pay him for the three thousand ducats he had lent to Bassanio. This brings us to the climax of the play, the famous trial scene. The contract is presented and Shylock stresses that the law demands a signed contract to be carried out. Antonio can offer no defence, as the letter of the law clearly stipulates that Antonio is bound by contract to give Shylock a pound of his flesh. Just as the judge is about to side with Shylock, Portia arrives disguised as a doctor of law and proceeds to convince Shylock to have mercy on Antonio. Mercy is a quality that any Christian would be expected to exact in a situation like this. Shylock denies any mercy and demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. We can see it from three sides:

First, Shylock runs after wealth unremittingly. In the Merchant of Venice, he is equally a Jew usurer and the most vivid image. With the development of the plot and the thorough description of contradiction, his true features gradually appear before us: Being a miser, he makes his living by practicing usury and regards money as his life. He is rapt in money and in order to collect more, he even sits watching his servant suffer starvation. What’s worse, he abandons his servant and calls him “lazy wasp”, eventually his servant turns a new host for help. Simultaneously, it is also a naked relationship concerning about money between Shylock and his daughter. He locks his daughter at home and makes her guard wealth for him and does not allow her to go out. As a result, his daughter regards her home as the hell and decides to run away with his lover in a dark night.
    In the Merchant of Venice, Shylock not only runs after wealth, but also execrates the emerging capitalist class represented by Antonio, so he rather choose to have a weight of carrion-flesh than to receive three thousand ducats. At this point, the ugly image of Shylock is clearly reflected in Shakespeare’s writing. He refuses all terms and only wants to kill Antonio, even though he can be offered more ducats if he gives up the plan and spares Antonio’s life.
   Certainly, Shylock is the play’s antagonist. On one hand, he is menacing enough to seriously imperil the happiness of Venice’s businessmen, such as Antonio, Bassanio, and so on. On the other hand, Shylock is also a creation of circumstance, even in his single-minded pursuit of a pound of flesh, his frequent mentions of the cruelty he has endured at Christian hands make it hard for us to label him a natural born monster.

Secondly, Shylock repeatedly attempts to revenge the wrongs done to him by murdering his persecutor, Antonio, his coldness prevents us from regarding him in a primarily positive light. In addition, there are lots of unmistakably human moments in the play, and we can not help considering Shylock as a miserly, cruel, and prosaic figure.
    By contrast, Portia is a quick-witted, wealthy and beautiful woman. At the beginning of the play, we may be not aware of Portia’s real characters: She is so wise and has the potential for initiative and resourcefulness. What’s more, she appears almost a prisoner, as she has to follow her father’s dying wishes. However, we can understand Portia more deeply and picture a clearer image of her in mind because of this open appearance. She is a free spirit who abides rigidly by rules. She prefers to watch a steam of suitors pass her by, happy to see these particular suitors go, but sad that she has no choice in the matter rather than ignore the stipulations of her father’s will. When Bassanio arrives, however, Portia proves herself to be highly resourceful, begging the man she loves to stay a while before picking a chest, and finding loopholes in the will’s provision that we never thought possible. d Also, in her efeat of Shylock Portia prevails by applying a more rigid standard than Shylock himself, agreeing that his contract very much entitles him to his pound of flesh, but adding that it does not allow for any loss of blood. Anybody can break the rules, but Portia’s effectiveness comes from her ability to make the law work for her. Portia rejects the stuffiness that rigid adherence to the law might otherwise suggest. In her courtroom appearance, she vigorously applies the law, but still flouts convention by appearing disguised as a man. After depriving Bassanio of his ring, she stops the prank before it goes too far, but still takes it far enough to berate Bassanio and Graziano for their callousness, and she even insinuates that she has been unfaithful.
    Thirdly, the function of Shylock in the play is obstacle. He is a man who stands in the way of the love stories and a traditional figure in romantic comedies. In the play, it is Shylock and the many and various ways that he is linked to the three sets of lovers. The fact that he is a Jew is, in a sense, accidental. Shakespeare wants to contrast liberality against selfishness—in terms of money and in terms of love. There was such a figure available from the literature of the time, one man who could fulfill both functions: this man would be a usurer, or moneylender, with a beautiful daughter that he held onto as tightly as he did his ducats. Usury was forbidden to Christians by the church of the Middle Ages, and consequently, money lending is controlled by the Jews; as a rule, it is usually the only occupation which the law allows to them. As a result, a great deal of medieval literature produces the conventional figure of the Jewish moneylender, usually as a minor character, but also too, as a major character. Shakespeare never seriously defines or condemns a group through the presentation of an individual; he only does this for the purposes of comedy by creating caricatures in miniature for our amusement. Shylock is drawn in bold strokes; he is meant to be a "villain" in terms of the romantic comedy, but owning to the multi-dimensionality which Shakespeare gives him, we are likely to sympathize with him, loathe him at others. Shakespeare's manipulation of our emotions regarding Shylock is a testament to his genius as a creator of character.
    When Shylock leaves the courtroom at last, he is stripped of what he has. He is a man who is defeated eventually. Maybe we will feel a little sympathy for him, but not too much. Shakespeare's intention is to make Shylock a tragic figure. But at last, Shylock is meant to be as a selfish man vividly. And he must be defeated in this romantic comedy. In a sense, it is Shakespeare's own brilliance that leads him to create Shylock as almost too human. Shylock is powerfully drawn, perhaps too powerfully for this comedy, but his superb dignity is admirable, despite the fact that we must finally condemn him. Perhaps the poet W. H. Auden has given us our best clue as to how we could deal with Shylock: "Those to whom evil is done," he says, "do evil in return." This explains in a few words much of the moneylender's complexity and our complex reactions toward him.

   3.3 Shylock as a victim and independent individual

Through examining the view of Jews during Shakespeare's time, it is clear that there was no other way of characterizing a Jew other than a villain. I argue that although Shylock is a villain, he is also a victim. Throughout the play we are consistently reminded of the torture that Shylock has suffered at the hands of the Christians. He is constantly being dehumanized and abused by all of the Christians in the play. Although this demonstrates his villainy, it also justifies his extreme hatred and lust for revenge toward Antonio. In this sense, Shylock's villainy is a result of others and not as a result of his fixed personality as a Jew. In fact, it is Antonio who has no true justification for his hate toward Shylock. This reveals the hollowness and unwarranted bias that forms the prejudice and hate behind the Christian's hate toward the Jews.

Moreover, I would like to analyze Shylock from the standpoint of his individual personality, apart from his religious beliefs and occupation. Shylock is a Jew, but he is still a human being who has blood and flesh just as every Christian has. He is strong-minded and respected by his own people; he is persistent in his belief. He loves his daughter though he loved money more. But he lives is aworld where his Jewish belief can no be tolerated and his people is regarded as a lower people, where he is contempted and abused often because of his Jewish religion, where he can neither own the land nor earn money freely because of his religious difference.

When reading The Merchant of Venice, our view of Shylock constantly moves beyond simple racist discrimination and our attention is drawn at the individual. Shylock is on the first view, a somewhat comic figure: an alien with peculiar ways of speaking (e.g. repetition) and behaving. With such a comic appearance, what is on earth Shylock’s personality? Here are three points drawn to show another aspect of his complex personalites.

Firstly, Shylock is hypocritical and independent . From the very beginning, he nourishes murderous motivation, but in order to make it work, he slyly masks his intention. He deceptively says to Antonio,“I would be friendswith you……”(I,iii,) And when Bassanio doubts his intention, he claims that“to buy his (Antonio’s) favor I extend this friendship.”(I,iii,) By these misleading remarks, Shylock succeeds to trap Antonio with his well-knit net. Therefore, Shylock is at his most sinister when he is pretending to be kind.

Secondly, Shylock is self-centered one the surface. Although he partly justifies his desire for revenge by pointing out that Antonio dislikes Jews, he seems incapable of realizingthe prejudices that Jews have suffered over centuries, until his money is stolen and his daughter is“stolen”. In ActI Sceneiii, he says,“a diamond gone, lostme twothousand ducats inFrankfort! The curse neverfell upon ournation till now, I never felt it till now.”So we can justifiably say that only his personal loss can make him think he is one of a downtrodden race.

Thirdly, Shylock is stubborn and literal to some extent. He speaks like a hard businessman, with no touches of warmth, even to his own daughter. InAct II Scenev, when he is informed of masques, he insists that in his absence, his house be properly secured and“let not the sound of shallow foppery enter my sober house”. He always literally sticks to rules and forms, especially in the trial scene.

No one is born evil and there must be some reasons underlying it, that is, social evils. We cannot simply classify Shylock as a tragic hero or a comic villain, for it is amulti-dimensional issue. Shylock is wronged for being as a Jew and a usurer, however, he goes too far as to take deadly revenge on his rival. To him, we hold a mixed feeling of sympathy and detestation as a victim.

 

IV. Conclusion

 

Such is Shylock, the most vivid and memorable character in the Merchant of Venice. And we can understand Shylock’s personality revealed in the play more deeply only by digging into Shylock’s inner world and his environment. William Shakespeare's creation of Shylock was not with anti-Semitic pretences. England of Shakespeare's time did not allow for Jewish characters to appear in good light. He cleverly blurs the line between villain and victim with Shylock in order to challenge Jewish stereotypes while still remaining true to his audience. Since the use of Shylock does not cause the audience to feel hate or division from the Jew, the intention was not anti-Semitic. Rather, the effect was a feeling of compassion and pity for the way in which the Jew was treated.

Shylock, the focal point of the play, appears only in five scenes and has been one of the most controversial figures in the world literature.“ It is a measure of Shakespeare’s achievement that the play allows all interpretations.” Shylock becomes all things to all men. In my article, I interpret Shylock from three different, though interwoven dimensions. But, since Shakespeare intended to focus the audience’s attention on a particular Jew rather than Jews as a whole, I would like to draw a conclusion. Just like the saying goes,“personality decides one’s fate!” This is the case of hylock. Shakespeare presents us an evil figure, whose character is shaped by many social factors, among which racial discrimination may be the most decisive one and then reveals how the man’s ill-shaped personality leads him to a tragic life.

 

 

 

Bibliography:

Berek, Peter, (1988) "The Jew as Renaissance Man," Renaissance Quarterly. New York: New York, pp.142-162

Bulman,James,(1991).The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare in Performance,Manchester University Press, pp.124-125

Gill, Roma, (1997) The Merchant of Venice: Oxford School Shakespeare, Oxford University Press,

Jameson, (l961).Shakespeare’s Heroines, London：Longman，pp.67-68

Patel, Alisha, (2006) Shylock Is Shakespeare, University of Chicago Press, pp. 45-48

Shapiro, James, (1978). Shakespeare and the Jews. New York: Columbia University,

Speaight, Robert, (1977).Shakespeare: The Man and his Achievements. New York; Stein & Day,

Wilson, Dover, (1962). Shakespearean Comedies, Chicago：Northwest University Press

Wilders, John,.(1969).Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice, A Case Book. London: MacMillan Press,

William,Shakespeare. (1998), The Merchant of Venice, New York: Penguin, pp.56-57

Yaffe, Martin, (1997). Shylock and the Jewish Question, Johns Hopkins University Press, pp.97-99

Zhang Wenting. (1998). The Merchant of Venice. Beijing: The Commercial Press,  

 

 

 

中文摘要

 

摘要：《威尼斯商人》是英国戏剧家威廉.莎士比亚创作的喜剧巨作之一。夏洛克已成为英国文学中不朽的人物。典型人物的成功塑造和探讨引起了众多学者和读者的浓厚的兴趣，同时也引起了激烈的争论。关于夏洛克的性格是其中争议最大的。许多人藐视夏洛克是一个人很自私,不虔诚、固执、嗜血的。然而, 通过仔细分析莎士比亚时代犹太人的状况，他性格中的作为受害者的一面也浮现出来。文章简要分析了《威尼斯商人》和宗教背景, 然后从他作为一个犹太人和当时反犹太主义思想、作为一个高利贷者对金钱的贪婪和作为一个基督教的受害者和具有独立个性的人三个不同方面展现了性格复杂的夏洛克。

 

关键词： 《威尼斯商人》 夏洛克  高利贷者  反犹太主义