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AST.PROF. VOLKAN KILIÇ
10 APRIL 2020
The Cruel Character and The Anti- Semitic One: Shylock and Antonio
The Merchant of Venice is a play written by British playwright William Shakespeare. I want to
Show how Shakespeare teaches many of life lessons including morality and loyalty in this play as much as in other his plays. In this study, we will look at religious discrimiation and the events that change accordingly. One of the main themes of this work is religious discrimination. Then, we will have knowledge about anti – semitism, how Shakespeare handles it here. Also knowledge about the two main characters of this play : Antonio and Shylock. Shylock is a Jewish and Antonio is a Christian. The Merchant of Venice sets out the conflict between Jews and Christians of that time.
While I research on my topic , I find that some scholars claim the play is racist or anti- semitic. When we look at some parts of the book , we can easily understand that characters discriminate aganist each other,besides misogny throughout the play. At first, anti- semitism is the differentation aganist Jews. It is true that this play can be seen as anti-semitic just becauseof the language used by characters. Antonio shows this discrimination towards Shylock when he dismisses him, calls him dog and spurns him. Antonio says “ I am as like to call thee so again, to spit on thee again ,to spurn thee too. “ Similiarly, Shylock requests a pound of flesh from Antonio unless Antonio comply with the aggrement. Shylock shows openly his throughts by saying “ I hate him for he is a Christian.” These are examples of how Christian stereotypes Jews. Shakespeare wrote the play as a reflection of his time. At the time renaissance , there were many prejudices aganist Jews. According to Christians,
Jews were associated with devil, they were a threat also they were disliked by Christians. At that time, Christians were the majority of the city. Furthermore, they ruled everone according to their
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laws. Jews must be practiced their religion secrectly in 16 th^ century. In addition , many of them were forced to convert to Christianity. Shakespeare may have also been responding the current events of his time. Obviously , Shakespeare never visited Venice and he never met a Jew. Thus, ıt is imposibbe to know the purpose of Shakespeare while he is writing this play. It is predicted that Shakespeare turning this dsperate events his audiences in order to look at and question their own fears and prejudices.
The Merchant of Venice published in 1596 dealth with the story of shylock who is a Jew. He lends Money to Antonio, provided that Antonio gives a pound of flesh from his body if he is failure to pay it. When Antonio failure, Shylock begins to Show his villain personality. The conflict between Shylock and Antonio resolve thanks to Portia who is disguıse as a man , and she ensures equality in court. At the end of the trial, Shylock’s only way is to convert himself Christianity. In other words , Merchant of Venice is a revenge tragedy of one character. Shylock is a Jewish Money lender and he lives in Venice. He has been suffering for many years because of Venetian Christians mistreated him, especially by the Merchant Antonio. These bad behaviours towards him lead to shape the religions and racial identity of Shylock. From the beginning of the play , he reveals his greed, jeolousy and vengeance. Shylock cares about money. In fact, he is known for placing too much interest on loans. We can easily understand his tragic character from his monologues. In act I of the play, he suggest his true thoughts about his enemy, Antonio.” 'How like a fawning publican he looks!I hate him for he is a Christian […] Cursed be my tribe,If I forgive him!'”. Here in monologue of Shylock , we can see the true thoughts of Shylock. First, he says he hates Antonio because of his religious beliefs or just because he is not a Jew.In Shakespeare's time, Shylock and Jews in general were portrayed as funny
for what happened to him in the past. Also, in my opinion he brings his downfall because of his bad personality, and his only option is to become a Christian.
Then , I shortly mention the character found in “ Jew of Malta” written by Christopher Marlowe, and the similarity with the “Jew of Shakespeare, Shylock.
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These two are the most notorious villains of the Elizabethan stage. Barabas, a vengeful businessman in Christopher Marlowe ‘s work. In the other, once again Shakespeare’s Jewish moneylender Shylock. This work is a source of inspiration for Shakespeare.
Another character we are talking about is Antonio. Antonio is the lead character of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. A strong and rich nobleman, a man, and a trader who depends on his financial interests when the play starts. He is always in meloncholy mood. He is an honest and loyal friend and proves by his devotion to Bassanio. Antonio's story goes through difficult and tragic turns to the end of the play. He is a generous and loyal friend,but blunt and agressive when it comes to his enemies. we can see his generosity in his relationship with his friend bassonio.When bassanio comes and asks Antonio to give loan, he gives all his money as if it were bassonio's.This proves Antonio's dedication and thought of a younger brother, Bassanio. During the play, two friends are very valuable for each other. Their love, loyalty, and trust in each other is evident at every stage of the play. For example, we can see his love for Bassanio in the treaty signed by Antonio in exchange for a pound of flesh from his body if he can not pay off his credit to shylock. For the sake of his friend, he accepted the offer of the Jews and could change his attitude towards the Jews in the future. If we talk about another topic, this is antonio's infatuation for Bassanio.There are some hypothesis that Antonio is gay and Bassanio is a bisexual. Both Antonio and bassanio seem to love each other in romantic way, but Bassanio also love a female character, Portia.In the play, we witness there are many expressions which Antonio says to Bassanio; for example, he loves the world for Bassanio, and he explains his admiration for Bassonio.
This can be more than friendship. Inded, Shakespeare idealized and created the friendship of Antonio and Bassonio is one of the romantic elemnets in the play. They may be more than friends because of Antonio ‘s manner to risk his life for the sake of his friend. Although Antonio has won people's hearts with his fine qualities, generosity and helpfulness,he failed the Christians' intolerance towards the Jews. In fact, Antonio aims to insult shylock by going of his way.
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Shakespeare shows how the conflict between culture and religion affects society throughout the characters Shylock and Antonıo.
Also Shakespeare proves that Antonio is not weakened because he has some good qualities, such as loyalty, honesty and botherhood. According to him, these make a person strong. We can say that Antonio’s loyalthy and honesty override upon Jewish greed. He gains our sympathy with his readiness to take a risks and love, fearlessness. But , he seems anti- semitic towards the jew, Shylock. As a result, the truth and loyalty of Antonio makes him the favorite of the audience. However, the tragic play achieves a pleasant end. Shakespeare highlights the solution which lies in goodness of heart and humanity.
In conclusion part of my study, ı will explain the importance of this work and the conclusion we will reach. Shakespeare, as in all his works, reveals what belongs to human natüre, such as jealousy, friendship, ambition, honesty. The Merchant of Venice is a comic, tragic and revengeful play which is set in Venice and Belmont. In Shakespeare times, Jews were exposed to harsh behaviours by the Christians. They were banished from England by Kıng Edward in 1290. This exile was effective in Shakespeare's writing this play. In fact, when Shakespeare wrote this play, some academics still thought that some Jews lived in England. During Shakespeare's Jews were treated harshly by the Christians of Venice. Christians became anti-Jewish as a way of demonstrating their indifferent behavior. However, ,this does not indicate that the writers of the period are anti-Jewish. They are just
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WORK CITED
"The Merchant Of Venice By William Shakespeare." UKEssays.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2020.
Pratap, Abhijeet. "Antonio's Character Analysis in the Merchant of Venice." Notesmatic. N.p., 20 Sept. 2019. Web. 03 Apr. 2020.
Hood, Sherrie. "Is Shylock a Victim or a Villain Essay Example For Students - 943 Words." Artscolumbia. Artscolumbia, 27 Oct. 2017. Web. 03 Apr. 2020.
Frank, Steve. "'The Merchant of Venice' Perpetuates Vile Stereotypes of Jews. So Why Do We Still Produce It?" The Washington Post. WP Company, 28 July 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2020.
"Merchant of Venice Essay: The Relationship between Antonio and Bassanio Essay, The Merchant of Venice - on Study Boss." StudyBoss. N.p., 01 May 2019. Web. 03 Apr. 2020.
