Character of Shylock in Merchant of Venice Few characters created by Shakespeare embodies pure evil like the character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is a usurer and a malevolent‚ blood-thirsty old man consumed with plotting the downfall of his enemies. He is a malignant‚ vengeful character‚ consumed with venomous malice1; a picture of callous‚ unmitigated villainy‚ deaf to every appeal of humanity2. Shylock is the antagonist opposite the naive‚ essentially good Antonio‚ the protagonist;
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Shylock is a monster of cruelty‚ miser‚ greedy‚ suspicious ‚cunning ‚ bloodthirsty ‚revengeful‚ mean ‚a bad father and a bad master. But it is the circumstances that made him like this. Shylock is a tragic figure‚ trapped by prejudice and driven to revenge by the treatment he receives He is not cruel by nature. He is human in inner-self as the Christians are. He is therefore the most injured man‚ insulted‚ abused and disgraced by the Christians and even by his own daughter‚ His cruelty is made
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Shylock: Villain or Victim It is without doubt that William Shakespeare’s suspenseful play of The Merchant of Venice evokes complex feelings within a reader. Throughout the play‚ Shylock is portrayed as the antagonist‚ a miserable‚ cruel and prosaic figure menacing enough to endanger the happiness of Venetian citizens. At the same time‚ one feels a curious compassion for this character. In the 2004 film of The Merchant of Venice adaptation starring Al Pacino‚ Shylock is portrayed as a justifiably
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the world ’s most famous playwright. He is considered a genius for his skill with words‚ his understanding of people and of human nature‚ and his sense of what really pleases an audience. In Shakespeare ’s play‚ The Merchant of Venice‚ Shakespeare uses his great skill in writing to make a character appear as if he is both a villain and a victim. A victim can be defined as an unfortunate person who suffers from a destructive action or through the dishonesty of others. Although Shylock is viewed by
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We agree that Shylock is more a villain than a victim. Shylock is a villain because he has evil intentions towards Antonio. In an aside‚ shylock displayed his hatred for Antonio when he said “If I catch him once upon the hip‚ I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.” This means that shylock’s hatred for Antonio has reached such a point that he desires to harm Antonio in some way. The phrase “feed fat” suggests that if he can find some way to get the upper hand of Antonio‚ He will use it to
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interpretation of Shylock oscillates throughout the play. We must also recognize that Shylock has most likely become a villain as a result of being unfairly victimized for having Jewish heritage. During the sixteenth century‚ when the play was written‚ mistreatment towards Jews was common; especially in Venice as it was an anti-sematic city. Jewish people were stereotyped as greedy‚ deceitful individuals who were seen as outcasts in society. The Christian community therefore mistreated Shylock‚ for being
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The Merchant and the Jew: Examining the bond between Shylock and Antonio in The Merchant of Venice In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice‚ the use of oaths and exchange often help to forge personal bonds. For instance‚ Bassanio’s marriage to Portia is based off of both characters’ oaths to honor the instructions of Portia’s dead father; the exchange of wedding rings further seals their bond. Similarly‚ the bond between Shylock and Antonio is first formed when both characters pledge to recognize
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Revenge is a harmful action against a person or a group. It is characterized as a form of justice‚ seeking or taking vengeance for oneself or another person by retaliating in response to a grievance. Within the short declaration "Of Revenge" by Francis Bacon he describes the self-destructive nature and the injustices that revenge brings about while detailing the benefits of forgiveness. While "He Becomes Deeply and Famously Drunk" by Brady Udall ’s story explores the concept of revenge as Archie
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the storyline. In Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice‚ Shylock is presented as the most developed character. Shakespeare purposely creates both an antagonist and protagonist in Shylock‚ by creating a change in view for the reader throughout the play. He can be viewed as a hated Jew that is often referred to as a villain‚ a devil‚ and a money obsessed freak‚ but a sudden change of personality tends to always occur. We first see Shylock as a person who chooses everything over money‚ but later we
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Is Shylock Tragic or Merely Evil? This essay will discuss whether Shylock is seen as the victim or the perpetrator. Whether he is characterized as a feeble man who loses everything or just a sinister old loon. I am ambivalent. I believe that Shylock is all of these things. I think‚ in one sense‚ he is able to evoke the audience’s sympathy through a variety of instances yet he causes us to loathe him through his brutal need for revenge and therefore his character. Shylock loathed Antonio‚ and
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