The Merchant of Venice - Literature review Example

“If you prick us, do we not bleed….…….The villainy you teach me, I will execute”.These lines arouse in us a feeling of terror. Thus Shakespeare exposes the revengeful attitude and his dislike towards the society. This expression evokes Aristotle’s pity and terror.As Aristotle says ‘the tragic hero must be humbled or humiliated’. Shylock practiced both these. He felt the same when Portia used the same arguments and comments against him. In the end, he never escapes from the sufferings of his action.

We feel pity for the character when we see him ready to lay down his life for personal dignity. Towards the end, we feel that he is not a villain but a tragic character. As a tragic character, he feels the disappointment and ineffectiveness that pride can tempt in his own life.