The Merchant of Venice

¶ … Shylock in the Merchant of Venice

One of William Shakespeare's most realistic characters is Shylock from the play, the Merchant of Venice. Shylock is a man that we come to despise because of his cruelty but what we do not like admitting is the fact that he is far too human. Shylock is intelligent but also very angry and bitter. These components operate together to produce a cunning individual that might just have an argument but loses it because he cannot control his emotions. In the passage right before Portia enters the court, Shylock is offered twice as much for the loan he gave but his hatred prevents him from taking the offer because he has appoint to make and Antonio is just the victim he needs to help him prove that point. Shylock's passage demonstrates the man's ability to reason, almost with perfection, his case. Here we see a man trying to plead his case, using elements from society as his grounds for cause. With Shylock, we see how intense passions can be and how dangerous they become when we allow them to cloud our judgment.

Shylock's passage is significant because of the many attitudes it presents. Shylock has no mercy and while this is something he truly feels, it is not the primary cause of his speech. His mission is to construct an argument to collect what is rightfully his.

When he declares that he is "doing nothing wrong" (Shakespeare IV.i.89), he is correct. While this speech might appear at first to be about slavery, it is not. Shylock is merely using the act of slavery to his own advantage. Because he does exist within a community that practices slavery, he knows he use the owning of an individual to make his case. He is surrounded by people that own other people and if he wants to own one, he certainly does have the right. He states that there in the court, stand "among you many a purchased slave" (IV.i.90). From this, they have no defense. He also states that slave-owners will proudly declare their slaves belong to them should someone attempt to take them away. In short, flesh is flesh. The comparison is interesting in that Shylock is not happy with just the comparison. He takes the comparison a step further when he begins to emphasize the degenerative aspects of slavery. His argument poses the notion of freeing slaves without mentioning any details of the process. He could have simply used the slavery argument as his own but he wanted to reinforce his argument with the image of doing away with slavery. This becomes brilliant as far as arguing techniques and this speech displays Shylock's ability to construct a decent argument.

Another interesting aspect of this passage is how the Jew is emulating the Christian. Shylock knows the law and he is determined to not only make it work for him but make his opponents squirm, if at all possible. Shylock wants more than anything to win with rationale. His first step in winning any debate or argument is to call into question Christian behaviors and attitudes that seem quite like his own. If he can use their own actions and beliefs against them, he has practically won the argument. This is the angle Shylock decides to take into the court. Shylock is not asking an ethical question but rather he is asking a question about property. He is correct in assuming that he will be answered with the statement that the slaves belong to them. He knows he can win this argument. This is how he means to win the argument that the pound of flesh is his. Shylock is smart in that he exposes the duplicity of individuals that claim to be merciful. Their mercy does not prevent them from owning slaves and keeping other people around as pieces of property. He states, "If you deny me, fie upon your law" (IV.i.101) if they choose not to keep their own law when it does work according to their preferences at the time. Shylock is making a statement here that property - whether or not it is human - is property. His implication is that the law is good for all and, mercy can indeed trump the law as long as that mercy does not infringe upon one's comfort.

This scene is also significant because it demonstrates the extent of Shylock's personality. As we have previously noted, Shylock is a man driven by hatred and anger. In addition, it must be noted that he is also walking into the court as a victim. He understands what it feels like to be ostracized for being different. He understands completely how a man feels when he is shunned for his beliefs. Shylock is a strong man because he does not bend or break when we might expect him to. We might even expect him to have some mercy when he is offered a generous amount of money but he illustrates his determination when he refuses the offer. Years of oppression and mistreatment have emerged in this moment, for Shylock believes he has finally won and gained the upper hand on his Christian contemporaries. Shylock is looking to avenge yeas of having people turn their back on him because he is a Jew. He is looking to make up for all that he has lost in the way of being ostracized. He wants nothing material or monetary - he wants something that only Antonio can give him. This desire becomes his downfall. Harold Bloom notes that Shylock is certainly endowed with powerful emotions but they "make him dreadfully vulnerable" (Bloom 183). Shylock's lesson is one that we should all take to heart.