In Shakespeare's
Merchant of Venice the antagonist of the
play is
Shylock. Shylock is a wealthy Jewish
moneylender.
Shylock is
probably the most memorable character in the play
because of
Shakespeare's excellent characterization of him.
Shylock is the
antagonist in the play because he stands in
the way of love,
but this does not necessarily make him the
villain of the
play. Shylock can be seen as both the
villain of the
play and as a man who is very human.
The villain that we see in Shylock is the
greedy
moneylender. Shylock charges high interest rates and when
he is not repaid
he insists on revenge. In the play
Shylock
loans Antonio
money, and out of jest he suggests that should
the loan not be
repaid in time Shylock may cut off one pound
of flesh from
Antonio's body. Soon after Shylock's
daughter
runs away from
home with Lorenzo, a Christian, and takes her
father's ducats
with her. When Antonio's ships do not
come
in and he is not
able to repay the loan Shylock is no longer
interested in
getting his money back. Shylock want
revenge
for the loss of
his daughter through the fulfillment of the
bond. In court Shylock is defeated because of his
selfishness.
Shakespeare also shows the human qualities
of Shylock
throughout the
play. Shakespeare brings out these human
qualities by
causing us to feel sympathy for him.
After the
loss of his
daughter Shylock ran through the streets crying
"My
daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!" as children
followed him,
mocking him. This causes us to feel
sympathy
for Shylock, even
though we may feel him to be a villain.
Besides the loss
of his daughter and his ducats, after the
trial Shylock
also looses his property and his religion.
The loss of his
property was certainly a blow to Shylock but
it can hardly
compare to his loss of his religion. His
forced conversion
to Christianity brings out more sympathy
for him.
Shakespeare's manipulation of our feelings
for Shylock
show
Shakespeare's gift as a writer. He gave
Shylock the
ability to make
us hate him at times, and sympathize with
him at
others. This makes Shylock one of the
most vivid
characters of the
play.
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