Shylock: Victim or villain? - UK Essays.
The Character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Victim or villain. These two words are the total opposites of each other. A victim is someone that 'we' in general should, or may, feel sorry for and attempt to sympathise or empathise with.The Character of Shylock in Merchant of Venice Few characters created by Shakespeare embodies pure evil like the character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is a usurer and a malevolent, blood-thirsty old man consumed with plotting the downfall of his enemies. He is a malignant, vengeful.Shylock is the antagonist and a tragic character in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. A Jewish merchant living in a Christian city, he comes across as greedy, jealous and vengeful.
Shylock, with Antonio is the major character in the play, at times referred to as a villain and sometimes a victim. The dictionary defines a villain as “a cruelly malicious person” and a victim as “a person who is deceived or cheated”. However the question still remains: Shylock victim or villain?Although critics tend to agree that Shylock is The Merchant of Venice’ s most noteworthy figure, no consensus has been reached on whether to read him as a bloodthirsty bogeyman, a clownish Jewish stereotype, or a tragic figure whose sense of decency has been fractured by the persecution he endures. Certainly, Shylock is the play’s.
Character Shylock in The Merchant of Venice Essay Sample. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice centres around the conflict of a Christian merchant; Antonio, and a Jewish money-lender; Shylock. Their relationship is fuelled by a passionate hatred, and concludes with the ultimate sacrifice. The character Shylock, is treated extremely badly.
