Shakespeare and Anti-Semitism in the Merchant of Venice

Anti-Semitism and the desecration of the Jewish population have been in existence for nearly five thousand years. In the Elizabethan era, a question of anti-Semitism invariably arises. In William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice, we find that one of the characters is the embodiment and expression of anti-Semitic attitude that is pervasive in Elizabethan society. Anti-Semitism was an intricate part in Shakespeares years. Jews were considered vile and scorned upon. Shakespeare presents Judaism as an unchangeable trait (Bloom 37). Shakespeares age based their anti-Semitism on religious grounds because the Elizabethans inherited the fiction, fabricated by the early Church, that the Jews murdered Christ and were therefore in†¦show more content†¦In act two, scene two, lines twenty-four through twenty-eight, Launcelot Gobbo identifies Shylock as a kind of devil, the devil himself, and the very devil incarnation. Shylocks daughter, Jessica, identifies Shylocks house as h ell. Solanio identifies Shylock as the devil . . . in the likeness of a Jew (III,i,19-21) and Bassanio echoes this sentiment by identifying Shylock as a cruel devil (IV,i,217). Antonio further cements the association between Shylock and the devil by noting how Shylocks arguments remind him how The devil can cite scripture for his purpose (I,iii,97-100). This explicit demeaning of Shylock cannot but be significant in light of the historical outline that has been observed through the desecration of Jews for many years. The images of Jews as blood-thirsty murderers of Jesus who snatch innocent Christian children for slaughter in bizarre Passover rituals seems to provide a potent back-drop for the demonic appellations that are heaped upon Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (Fiedler 63). The progressive abuse of Shylock as a usurer, which leads to the reduction of his humanity to a demonic form, should fully prepares us for the revelation in The Merchant of Venice that Shylocks motive for the entire bond with Antonio is murder. By murdering Antonio, Shylock will be rid of a bothersome business of rival. The play appears to suggest that Bassanio was right to caution Antonio to suspect fair termsShow MoreRelated Is The Merchant of Venice an Anti-Semitic Play? Essay1491 Words   |  6 PagesIs The Merchant of Venice an Anti-Semitic Play?      Ã‚   The Merchant of Venice features a Jewish character that is abused and slandered by nearly every character in the play. Throughout the play the behavior of these characters seems justified. In this way, The Merchant of Venice appears to be an anti-Semitic play. However, The Merchant of Venice contains several key instances, which can be portrayed in a way that criticizes anti-Semitism. 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