The Merchant of Venice was a tragic comedy, written by William Shakespeare. It can be described as a great interpretation of the nature of racial and religious interactions, as it involves a Jewish character, Shylock, and the stereotypical view that he was portrayed in. Shylocks character is very ambiguous, as members of the audience are left confused to how Shakespeare presented him in the play. Many audience members interpret Shylock as a villainous character – a miserable Jewish moneylender who is greedy and materialistic. He directly links money and flesh as being equal, which any Christian would regard as taboo (most if not all members of the Renaissance audience were Christians). Shylocks evil ways and iniquity is presented through his actions as well as his powerful language.
             However, a different perspective portrays Shylock, as the victim – a Jewish moneylender trying to make a living and survive in a country that despises him and alienates him. He also loses his only child, and is determined to take revenge for this and also for being treated unequally by the Christian society. His naive and foolish actions earn him pity from the audience and this is shown through his language and characteristics.
             The Merchant of Venice was written shortly after Christopher Marlowe's, Jew of Malta, a play in which a Jew named Barabas plays an extremely exaggerated villain who must have been the model for Shylock. Although Barabas was only an overstated stereotype of a Jew, Jews endured a lot of suffering throughout history rooting from the biblical story of the crucifixion of Jesus – Judas, a Jew, was disloyal to Jesus Christ. Also, Jews suffered immensely during the Holocaust. Jews tight-knit communities became known for their intelligence, hard work and business wisdom, however; Jews still received a lot of racism during the Renaissance period, which is why Shylock endures grief from the Christian characters. ...