Enter the Jew. In this way Shakespeare introduces the character of Shylock in his play The Merchant of Venice, and here begins the greatest controversy plaguing this play. The Elizabethan era, the time in which Shakespeare lived, was a time full of hostility towards Jews. Elizabeth's court doctor, a Portuguese Jew, was sentenced to death (unjustly, the story goes) after rumors spread that he might assassinate the queen. The playwright equal to Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, had already written The Jew of Malta, a work full of prejudices and stereotypes: the main character, Barabbas, named after the infamous serial killer of the Bible, is one of the bloodiest and most ruthless characters of the world. literature of that period and, not surprisingly, he is Jewish. The Merchant of Venice is also an apparently very anti-Semitic work. Shakespeare shows antisemitism in his play through the terrible things he writes for the Jew to say, what he makes other characters say about this Jew and vice versa about Christians, and in the very way he chooses to portray Jewish culture. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Shylock the Jew says many things that shock the audience. To what would probably have been (in Shakespeare's time) an almost entirely Christian audience, he says that he hates a certain merchant, "because he is a Christian..." (I.iii.42) Already in his first appearance Shylock has ensured that the public hated it. Throughout the play, he also fulfills the common stereotype of the time that Jews are greedy, stubborn, heartless, and bloodthirsty, but particularly so during Antony's trial and the events just preceding it. Shylock is a loan shark, one who lends money at high interest to make large profits at the expense of his customers. He repeats, to the imploring Antonio in the presence of a Jailer: "I will have my bail". (III.iii.13-17) The bond he desires is a pound of Antonio's flesh, and so Shylock exposes himself in a declaration as possessing three of these sinful qualities: he is stubborn in repeating his desire, ruthless in showing no mercy , and bloodthirsty in desire itself. During the trial, Shylock further displays the quality of heartlessness. Even in light of Portia's speech on the "quality of mercy" (IV.i.190-212), he refuses to show mercy to the Christian he hates so much: "I desire...punishment and the loss of my bond" ( IV. i.213-214) Shylock is made to seem like a terrible villain through his own words. However, there is another side to Shylock's words. In some cases, instead of losing face in the public eye, Shylock in fact pleads with the audience to see his point of view. He asks: "A Jew has no eyes? A Jew has no hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, wounded with the same weapons... as a Christian?" (III.i.57-60, 63) He asks to be recognized as similar to this opposite race of Christians. Certainly this seems to serve to confuse the question of whether or not this play is anti-Semitic, but in reality this is not the case. Since the vast majority of Shylock's words serve to condemn him in the eyes of the public, his words can be said to have an overall anti-Semitic effect. Shakespeare, in hindsight, perhaps saves his reputation for being cultured and open-minded when he includes this appeal of the Jews to his audience, despite being of his time in maintaining a generally anti-Semitic atmosphere to play on the prejudices of the audience of that day. Other characters contribute to painting a bad image of the Jew. Shylock's servant Lancelet has an entire soliloquy devoted to the question of whether"to run away or not from this Jew [his] master" (II.ii.1-2), and names Shylock a demon and a devil everywhere. Shylock's daughter, Jessica, laments: "what grievous sin is it in me/To be ashamed to be my daughter? 'father's son?'" (II.iii.16-17) Eventually runs away from her father, converts to Christianity and marries a Christian. All of this serves to instill in the audience the sense that this must be a terrible man, a villain (who, by definition, is getting what he deserves) so despicable that even his daughter will turn away from him, physically and changing religion. Shylock is also defined by Christians as "the most impenetrable cur that ever had dealings with men" (III.iii.19-20) and as "an inhuman wretch, /Incapable of mercy, empty and vacuous/ From every drama of mercy" (IV.i.3-6). These too only serve to reinforce the stereotypes in the public that the Jew is stubborn and heartless, and that he is a terrible man - so Christians say, and the public, being probably predominantly Christian, would side with these opinions. Other characters serve to idolize the Christians in the play as well, further evilizing the Jew. In fact, there are two separate plots in the play: one involving Antonio and Shylock's conflict, and the other involving Portia's marriage, eventually to Bassanio. One of these (Portia/Bassanio) serves exclusively to show the goodness of the Christians, while the other shows the wickedness of the Jew. Portia is called just, benevolent, "a blessing" (III.v.74), and possesses countless other excellent qualities. Bassanio, in making the right choice of caskets, seems like a wise Christian, unlike those other foolish suitors for whom no religion is specified. Shakespeare made sure to combine the qualities of “Christian” and “good” in every way. In the Antonio/Shylock plot, Christians are also praised. Antony, the tragic hero, had the tragic quality of being all too generous and benevolent: "good Antony, honest Antony - Oh, would [that were] a title good enough to keep his name company!" (III.i.13-15) He turns into a rather simple hero when in the trial it becomes clear that he will not die from his flaw, but he still remains a Good Christian. In every plot of the play Christians are praised and shown as generally good. Shakespeare's portrayal of Jewish culture misrepresents Jews to audiences of the time. For example, when Shylock first enters, he is almost certainly wearing "[his] Jewish gabardine" (I.iii.122), a traditional black suit worn by those of the Orthodox Jewish faith. Shakespeare's audience, however, would interpret the black clothes as a sign that this character is evil: this, of course, promotes anti-Semitism. Then, when Shylock's daughter has run away from him to convert to Christianity and get married, Shylock wishes that "[his] daughter had died at [his] feet... [he] would have her heard." (III.iii.87-89) The truth is that when a member of an Orthodox Jewish family converts to Christianity, the family actually holds a funeral for him; that person is essentially dead to the family. Shakespeare's audience, however, would almost certainly not know this and would interpret it as a rather harsh comment, further fuel for anti-Semitism. Thus, even Shakespeare's accurate portrayal of Jewish culture depicts the Jew to the audience as a terrible man. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay The Merchant of Venice as a whole demonstrates antisemitism. The Jewish race is shown to be vile by Shylock's words and those of other characters, as well as by the misleading portrayal of Shakespeare himself. Shylock, the.