Shylock Victim Or Villain Flashcards
What is the context?
During Shakespearean times, Jews were greatly hated throughout England. Most of them were of Spanish decent and were forced to practice their faith in secret. Many of shakespeares plays showed an anti semantic view on life as Shakespeare was from the Church of England. Jews were banned from living here and were socially ridiculed. Looking at this now it made Jews then seem like victims as they weren’t accepted as equal members of society. The central role of this play is Shylock and secondly Antonio.
First villain father(hell)
The first way Shylock is presented by Shakespeare as a villain is in act 2 scene 3 when Jessica describes what it’s like living with Shylock as she says, “Our house is hell”. This proves Jessica is unhappy living with him. It hints that Shylock treats her badly as that would happen if you were actually in hell. Proving he was a villainous father.
Second villain father(not)
Shylock is also represented by Shakespeare as a villainous father when he is ordering and controlling what Jessica does. He is being overprotective and controlling when he says, “clamber not” “nor” “let not” all these quotes are him demanding her not to do things and being very negative.This is controlling and villainous.
First victim father(wife)
The first way Shylock is presented as a victim by Shakespeare is when he is losing his daughter without even knowing. As Jessica says, “I shall end this strife, Become a Christian and thy loving wife.” this shows Jessica is planning on leaving and not telling Shylock. This means he is the victim as he is abruptly losing his beloved daughter.
Second victim father(lost)
Shylock is also presented as a victim in this scene by Shakespeare as he is losing his daughter with no notice whatsoever, “I have a father, you a daughter lost” he is a victim as he is unknowingly losing his daughter and won’t know until she’s gone.
Third villain father (possessive)
Shylock is viewed as a villainous father by Shakespeare as he is very possessive of ‘his possessions’ , he continuously refers to his house as his , as if Jessica doesn’t live there too. Makes him appear as a forgetful father who forgets that it’s Jessica’s home too and disregards her opinions. “My doors” “my houses” “my casements” “my sober house” Shylock repeatedly uses my not ours to show how possessions matter more than people to him.
First victim businessman (dog)
Shylock is also shown as the victim when Antonio calls him names which is active discrimination just because he is a Jew, “you call me misbeliever, cut throat dog” this is Antonio criticising shylocks religious beliefs. Antonio is being disrespectful and prejudicial towards Shylock by comparing him to a literal dog, meaning Shakespeare wants him to be the villain.
Second victim businessman(spit)
Shylock is also shown as the victim towards Antonio when Shakespeare says Antonio physically assaults him because of a difference in belief. “And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine” Antonio spat on Shylock and thought it was fair, this proves Shylock to be the victim and constantly mistreated.
Third victim businessman(bullied sufferance)
Another way Shylock is presented as a victim businessman by Shakespeare was when he was bullied and tormented by Antonio for years as he says, “sufferance is the badge of all our tribe” Shylock is basically saying ,for years Jews had to put up with it. This shows he was discriminated against for years revealing him to be a victim.
First villain businessman(hate him)
The first way Shakespeare presents Shylock as a villainous businessman from this scene was when he showed a prejudice and judgemental attitude towards Antonio just because he is a different religion, “I hate him for he is a Christian” this shows him to be a villain as he thinks biasedly and is religiously judgmental.
Second villain businessman(forgive)
Shylock could also be a villainous businessman as he won’t be kind and forgive Antonio, “Cursed be my tribe, if I forgive him!” Shylocks is saying he will never forgive Antonio because of his religious pride and commitment. He is too proud to be a Jew to ever forgive a Christian.
Third villain businessman (ruthless punishment)
Shakespeare depicts shylock as a villainous businessman in this scene when he sets a ruthless punishment for Antonio if he doesn’t pay back the money in time, “Be nominated for an equal pound Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken In what part of your body pleaseth me.” this shows Shylock to be heartless and ruthless. Not to care about Antonio at all like a villain.
Audience views
When The Merchant of Venice was first performed, audiences likely saw it as an entertaining comedy, with Shylock as the villain, in line with the anti-Semitic views of the time. His downfall was probably met with laughter rather than sympathy. Today, reactions are much more complex—many find the play troubling for its portrayal of Jewish identity, while others see Shylock as a tragic figure, highlighting themes of discrimination and justice.
First staging / dramatic method(aside)
The first method Shakespeare made effective use of is the [aside] in shylocks soliloquy. “[Aside] How like a fawning publican he looks!” this is dramatic irony as the audience knows that Shylock is speaking about how much he hates Jews but other characters don’t know.
Second staging/dramatic method(foreshadowing)
The next dramatic method I noticed Shakespeare used was the foreshadowing. Shylock was delaying telling Antonio his answer about the ducats, “For three months; well” this delaying foreshadows the ships themselves being delayed later in the play. It also shows how Shakespeare presented Shylock to be playing with their emotions.
Third staging/dramatic method(dramatic irony)
Shakespeare also used the dramatic method of dramatic irony in this scene when we already knew Jessica’s plan to run away but we were in a position of knowledge above Shylock who didn’t know. “ My own flesh and blood to rebel! “ this shows Shylock was unaware of his daughters plan.
Fourth staging/dramatic method(contrast)
Another dramatic method Shakespeare made use of is contrast,there is juxtapositional contrast between the loving nature of Jessica and salanio and the hatred Shylock has between them. Shylock said , “To gaze on Christian fools with varnish’d faces,” showing how he hates any relationship between them when they are clearly in love.
Extra staging / dramatic method(setting)
Another staging method Shakespeare used was atmosphere and setting. It was a very short scene showing an urgent atmosphere.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Shakespeare has depicted Shylock as a victim and villain in many different ways but I have decided that overall I think he is a victim as the only reason he has done horrible and villainous things was because he was treated like dirt , discriminated and made fun of by Christians so I believe that in his heart he is the victim. I think Shakespeare heavily showed how he was the villain as he didn’t want everyone to think he was a Jew but at the same time he felt sorry for Jews and wanted to discretely express this in shylocks character.
