Merchant of Venice- Shylock

A detailed Summary of Merchant of Venice- Shylock

In the play The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, the character Shylock is a usurious Jew moneylender. Though Shylock is both a villain and a victim, the strongest evidence suggests that he is a villain. Bassanio, Antonio, Jessica, and Lancelot all see this.

In some ways, Shylock is presented as a victim of the anti-Semitic residents of Venice. In Scene 1 of Act III, Shylock is in court demanding that the penalty of his loan to Antonio be paid. He pleads:

hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses,

mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my

bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine

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 weapons, subject

to the same diseases, healed by 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? If you poison

Here, Shylock is referring to the injustices that the Jewish residents of Venice have

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

On the other hand, Shylock is very much a villain in the play. He treats his help badly by starving them and dressing them in ragged clothes. He treats his daughter harshly by over-protecting her. He loans money to Christians at high interest rates. For this reason, he is despised among the Christians of Venice, who see this as sinful. Also, Shylock has loaned Antonio's friend Bassanio money on Antonio's credit. It is obvious that Shylock plans to harm Antonio from the start. The penalty for not repaying this loan in time is a pound of Antonio's flesh. Because Antonio's money is tied up in ships at sea at the time of repayment, he is unable to repay the loan, and Shylock demands his pound of flesh. When Bassanio offers twice the principle in repayment to spare Antonio's life, he replies harshly:

Some common words found in the essay are:
Christians Venice, Jews Jews, Hath Jew, III Shylock, William Shakespeare, Jews Venice, Lancelot Shylock, Venice Scene, shylock villain, , hath jew, antonio's flesh, residents venice, money christians, pound flesh,

Approximate Word count = 785
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Merchant of Venice- Shylock

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