Anti-Semitism in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice - Book Report/Review Example

Anti-Semitism in The Merchant of Venice The character of Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (c.1597) has always raised questions about the anti-Semitic content of Shakespeare's play. In order to examine this, comparisons need to be made between the context in which Shakespeare was writing and the present day. Although Shylock is presented as an aggressively ruthless character, like all of Shakespeare's protagonists, he is not clear-cut, straightforward or one-dimensional. Shakespeare rarely painted his characters as absolute gods or devils but depicted them as complex with contradictory and conflicting qualities. However, the very mention and repetition of references to Shylock as a Jew suggests that Shakespeare intended to draw on anti-Jewish sentiments predominant in England at that time. Also referred to as The Jew of Venice, Shakespeare's play has similarities with Marlowe's The Jew of Malta (c.1590) in which Marlowe depicts a Jew called Barrabas being boiled in a cauldron by Christians. Although Marlowe's play has been accused of anti-Semitism, like Shylock, Barrabas is not a straightforward character but reveals humanity as well as ruthlessness. The character of Shylock also bears close resemblance to Roderigo Lopez, the personal physician to Queen Elizabeth and a Jew by faith. He was hugely unpopular at the time, being accused of poisoning the Queen. Lopez' execution and Marlowe's play helped fuel anti-Semitism in late 16th-century England. Since the reign of Richard I, Jews were regarded as pagans and greedy usurers and they were banished from England during the time of Edward I and only allowed to return under Cromwell's rule during the seventeenth century. Thus, very few Jews lived in England during Shakespeare's time and those who did were condemned to wear red hats or wigs, and yellow strips of cloth, to distinguish them from the Christians who would not associate with them socially. The Jews had to live in areas guarded by Christians, they were taxed heavily, and often forced to convert to Christianity. Through the character of Shylock, Shakespeare does not simply condemn the Jews but portrays both sides of the story. Through Shylock's very powerful speech, Shakespeare could be interpreted as condemning their persecution by Christians: 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, heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd 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 us, do we not die And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. (III.i.50-62) This speech consists of rhetorical questions which, by their nature, contain and confirm their answers. The repetitive quality of the writing gives it an urgent rhythm and pace, giving additional strength and potency to Shylock's argument. Above all, it is a potent expression of Shylock's humanity as well as an attack on Christian hypocrisy. In this speech, Shylock positions himself as both victim and villain but maintains that his villainy is one taught to him by Christians. Although Shylock's words may not reflect the playwright's personal beliefs, Shakespeare allows his audience to see things from the Jew's perspective so that the other side of the argument is heard. While the relationship between Jews and Christians is an ever-present theme throughout the play, Shakespeare also explores other kinds of relationships. In Act II, scene viii, Solanio fuses two of these relationships to create comic effect: the bond between parent and child, and the connection between creditor and debtor. Shylock's conflicting interests are parodied by Solanio who depicts him as a clown. Distraught by his daughter's elopement with a Christian, Lorenzo, Shylock is equally dismayed at the loss of money this has caused him as his daughter stole from him in order to escape. His contrasting emotions are captured in the following line: "My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!" (II, viii, 15). Nevertheless, and this is emphasised by Solanio's mockery, Shylock is also the victim of society. He is rarely referred to by name but by insults such as the devil, dog, cur, carrion, and alien. For example, Gratiano sustains the same abusive and animalistic imagery throughout saying, "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!" (IV, i, 128) whose "currish spirit govern'd a wolf" (IV, i, 133-134) and whose "desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (IV, i, 137-138). Even the Duke calls him as "a stony adversary, an inhuman wretch, Uncapable of pity" (IV. i. 4-5). Antonio, a respected member of Venetian society, kicks and spits at Shylock publicly, and treats him with the worst contempt. Antonio shows no regrets when Shylock says to him, "You call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog, And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine" (I.iii.107-108). Antonio also helps debtors by lending money free of interest and thus puts Shylock's money-lending business at risk. All of these insults derive from the anti-Semitic and racist views of the characters concerned but the fact that Shylock expresses a different opinion means that Shakespeare's play cannot be regarded as a simple example of anti-Semitism. Throughout the play, for example, Shylock uses Christian doctrines to justify his own morality and, by doing so, emphasises their hypocrisy. Thus, the audience, both now and in Shakespeare's time, is forced to question their own beliefs and prejudices. Any straightforward accusation of anti-Semitism is also difficult because of the circumstances surrounding Shylock's eventual conversion to Christianity. For an Elizabethan audience, Christianity was the only means of salvation and this in itself involves ambivalence towards the Jews. As Halio observes: Christian theology emphasised the conversion of the Jews as necessary for the Second Coming of Christ. If Jews were were shunned as a pariah race, they were also required for ultimate Christian fulfilment, which led to further ambivalence towards them. (49) For a contemporary audience aware of the horrors of World War II, the response would inevitably be different. Shylock has lost everything to Christianity: his daughter, his wealth and now his religion. His conversion might be seen as the result of force and nothing else. Although Shylock only appears in five scenes, his presence and the darkness of his situation dominates the play. Despite moments of lightness and comic relief, his force is overwhelming. As Traversi notes, "...the disturbing presence of Shylock threatens to load the comedy with a sombre sense of reality that leaves it, by contrast and in his absence, curiously deprived of conviction." In conclusion, while aspects of The Merchant of Venice might indicate anti-Semitism, the complexity of Shylock's character suggests that Shakespeare's attitude towards the Jews was not rooted in a simple love-hate relationship. References Halio, Jay L., Understanding the Merchant of Venice: A Student Caesebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents (Westport, Conneticut: Greenwood Press, 2000). 'Free Merchant of Venice Essays: Anti-Semitism', 123.HelpMe.com Traversi, Derek, 'Shakespeare: the young dramatist and the poet, in The New Pelican Guide to English Literature, Vol. 2, The Age of Shakespeare, ed. Boris Ford. Shakespeare, William, The Merchant of Venice, ed. A.C. Ward (London: Longmans, 1961) However, Shakespeare also presented the other side of the picture equally well. One of Shakespeare's best speeches are delivered by this "villain": "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, heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd 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 us, do we not die And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction." (III.i.50-62) Shylock degenerates into a clown when he runs across the streets shouting, "My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!" (II, viii, 15)- at other times his words are loaded with power. Shylock is the victim of society. He is hardly referred to by name, but mocked as the devil, dog, cur, carrion, alien. "O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog!" (IV. i.128) whose "currish spirit govern'd a wolf" (IV. i. 133-134) and whose "desires are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (IV. i. 137- 138) - Gratiano abuses Shylock. Even the Duke calls him as "a stony adversary, an inhuman wretch, Uncapable of pity" (IV. i. 4-5). Antonio, on the other hand is a respected member of Venetian society. . He spits at and kicks Shylock publicly, and treats him with the worst contempt. When Shylock tells Antonio "You call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog, And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine" (I.iii.107-108), Antonio does not show any regrets. Antonio also helps creditors, lends money free of interest, and thus, puts at risk Shylock's profession of money-lending. As such, Shylock tries to get rid of Antonio with a legal bond. After all, Christians had taken away the only souls who are with him - servant Launcelot and daughter Jessica. She not only turned Christian but robbed him of all his hard-earned wealth). Both Launcelot and Jessica repent leaving his side. Both Launcelot and Jessica later repent leaving his side. Shylock's character can be explained away to an extent by the general quality of the age. If Christians could boil a Jew in a cauldron and gloat over the act; it is not too far- fetched to have a Jew asking for a pound of flesh of his Christian enemy. Shylock's human qualities surface when he mourns the betrayal by his daughter; as also for the loss of the ring which he treasured as a memento of love from Leah. David Daiches aptly notes, "In The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare sets himself the almost impossible task of combining the fairy tale plot of the caskets, in which Bassanio figures as the lucky adventurer who wins the girl by a sort of predestinate good fortune, with a story of male friendship in true renaissance vein (Bassanio and Antonio) and more significantly, with the story of Shylock and the pound of flesh, a theme of larger dimensions and greater dramatic possibilities than the other strands in the play." Shylock dominates the play. Derek Traversi says, "...the disturbing presence of Shylock threatens to load the comedy with a sombre sense of reality that leaves it, by contrast and in his absence, curiously deprived of conviction." By the first half of the 19th century, Shylock began to be regarded more as a victim than the villain. Modern democratic and secular views go against discrimination simply on the grounds of faith or profession; hence modern interpretations have often depicted Shylock as more a victim than a villain.. One feels that Shylock's bitterness is understandable. If not anything else, then at least the great punishment which he gets at the end of the trial, being deprived of his living and above all, his faith; creates sympathy for him among modern audiences. By the end of the play, Shylock loses everything he has- daughter, wealth, religion. He seems human, with faults and failings proportionate to his life experiences. He is, in effect, more a victim than villain, to modern audiences. References: 1. Daiches, David. A Critical History of English Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. The Ronald Press Company, 1969.4 vols 2. "Free Merchant of Venice Essays: Anti-Semitism." 123HelpMe.com. 04 Dec 2009 3. "Merchant of Venice: Character Profiles." Novelguide.com.04 Dec 2009 4. SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on The Merchant of Venice." 5. The Merchant of Venice the play by William Shakespeare. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/shakespeare-play-merchant-of-venice.htm. 04 dec 2009 6. Traversi, Derek, "Shakespeare: The young dramatist And The poet". The New Pelican Guide to English Literature, Vol. 2, The Age of Shakespeare, ed. Boris Ford Read More