Merchant Of Venice
Does Shakespeare present anti-Semitism in the At the time when Shakespeare wrote the play, The Merchant Of Venice, people's feelings and views towards other races and societies would have been very different to the views in the world we live in today. People would not have been politically correct and they would not have been ashamed of the fact that they were prejudice. A good example of this is when the Moroccan prince talks to Portia for the first time and with the very first thing he says, "Mislike me not for my complexion", he is trying to excuse the fact that he is black and apologising for it. This shows us how people felt about people who were different from themselves. The hatred between Jews and Christians had been there for hundreds of years and as he was writing for his audience he probably chose a Jewish character because English people hated the Jews. "I hate him for he is a Christian", this outlines perfectly the feelings between Jews and Christians at the time. Shylock and Jessica are the only two Jewish characters in the play but they are both very important characters and are an integral part of the play. Anti-Semitism is not the most important theme of the play and it i
The fact that he is a Jew seems to be the main reason why people hate him when the play is first looked at for throughout derogatory comments are made about his religion and the Jewish rites and customs that he upholds. Later on in the play there is also another incident where Launcelot and Lorenzo tease Jessica about her Jewish nationality. Most sweet Jew", he says the word pagan as if her or her religion are ungodly and once again we see the use of the word Jew and he is saying that she is beautiful and sweet, for a Jew, this could be taken as an insult. There is also some anti-semitism shown towards Jessica although it is very subtle and it is not of malicious intent like some of the things that are said to Shylock. Because of this the play mainly consists of Christians, Shylock (along with Jessica) is the only Jew in the play, and as I have just discussed the views in those times and the friction between Jews and Christians there is a very explosive situation here where there is going to be a lot said and done. For example, throughout he is referred to simply as, "the Jew", by almost all the characters and is even named this way by Jessica, "my father Jew". The play is set in Venice, in Italy, which is a Christian country. By calling him Jew they show that they do not look pass this Jewish person to see what he is like they simply take it for granted that he is not a nice person simply because he is a Jew which is a clear definition of prejudice and proves that prejudice is present in the play. He does this by talking about how Jews are people too and that he has been abused for years because he is a Jew. They also use the word Jew as if it is an insult in itself, almost as if he is sub-human and that he doesn't warrant enough humanity to be called by his name. She does also not think much of her and her father's religion, as she wants to become a Christian, "I shall end this strife, Become a Christian". You would think that there would be a lot of prejudice shown towards Shylock, and there is. Shakespeare does give Shylock a chance to justify his actions and the way he behaves in Act 3 Scene 1 when he gives his sympathetic plea to the audience, "hath a Jew not eyes?", the purpose of this speech, however, is only to justify himself and his reasons for wanting to kill Antonio. It could also be said that Shylock was more bothered about his money when he found out his daughter had run away, "A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats", which says a lot about his personality and his meanness.
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