The Merchant of Venice by the infamous playwright William Shakespeare is one of the four comedies that he wrote. It tells the story of a young nobleman, Bassanio, as he borrows money from his friend, a wealthy merchant, Antonio, in order to have the opportunity to woo the beautiful and rich Portia. He allows Bassanio to borrow money under his name, and he does so from Shylock, the evil Jewish man. He offers no interest, but says he wants a pound of Antonio’s flesh if he fails to return the money. Although Antonio fails to do so, it was determined that Shylock was in the wrong, as if he wished to execute his wishes, he must draw no blood, which is obviously impossible.
At the beginning of the story, an unusual form of contract took place between Shylock and Antonio, which was fuelled by Antonio’s anti-semitism, which led to Shylock’s hatred. In most cases of borrowing money, the borrower is given a date to repay the money lender, and an amount of interest in addition to the sum. However, it was different in their case, as Shylock demanded a pound of flesh from Antonio if he failed to return the money. This is weird in many ways, as it doesn’t really benefit him financially or socially. This sort of logic confuses many people, until it is later shown that Shylock hates Antonio with passion, because of his antisemitic views. Although nothing can really exactly explain why Shylock used this as a way to avenge himself, we can see where his idea sprouted from. Being excluded and mistreated for a mere religion is never just, and as a human, Shylock must’ve gotten worn out from all the prejudice and exclusion he faced. The unusual form of contract was probably the result of a plot of revenge.
Mercy, otherwise known as a show of grace, happens in the story in two different forms: fake mercy and real mercy. Mercy is the act of sparing one another from a specific punishment or lessening it. In the story, Shylock is spared from having his entire fortune taken away for conspiring to kill a venetian citizen (the contract did not give him permission to draw blood, therefore it is impossible to get the pound of flesh), by only having half of it taken away and given to Antonio. The act of taking away only half of his money is real mercy, as he still has some of it left to use and work with: he is not left entirely penniless. However, forcing him to become a Christian is fake mercy as it is wrong on so many levels. By today’s standards, such acts is heavily criticized and it is widely known that forcibly converting one to another religion is a form of genocide. It is no mercy if he is forced to give up his traditions and upbringing as a punishment. Religion is often a big part of oneself, and it could have devastating effects if one is forced to give it up. Fake mercy and real mercy can be mistaken for one another, but after a thorough analysis, it is obvious what real mercy is.
Hatred and revenge fuels the entire plot of the story, as Shylock’s misery and intense hate for Antonio is what keeps the plot entertaining. One can feel hatred and an urge to avenge oneself for many reasons, most likely because they have been hurt. Shylock, the antagonist, is miserable and hates Antonio for a good reason. He tries to use the law and contracts in order to get back at him, but fails miserably. His revenge failed mostly because he cannot just kill someone just because they failed to return the money in time, since murder is a crime in most places. Also, his contract was not well formulated, making it very easy to be rejected in a court of law (it doesn’t give him permission to draw blood). Shylock tries to manipulate the law in his favor, but it doesn’t work as nobody thinks he makes very much sense. He is not well-liked as he is grumpy, evil, manipulative, and is mean to his own daughter. However, we must not forget that his will to avenge himself probably sprouted by society shunning him, so he did not become so dislikeable overnight. He must have faced many terrible things done by the society to become so miserable and nonsensical. Shylock’s hatred is somewhat justified, but his method for revenge was uncalled for.
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is a timeless classic. It is funny and kind of sad at the same time, as we see how deeply religion played a role in one’s inclusion into society. This play can be used to study one of the effects of shunning one for their religious beliefs in an exaggerated manner. We see Shylock as a man tired of society’s judgment, turned crude and unlikeable by all the trouble he has faced. It is also interesting to see anti-semitism during William Shakespeare’s era, because as we all know, centuries later, another horrifying case of it would emerge in Hitler’s nazi Germany.
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