Shylock the Jew and Shakespeare the Anti-Semite

It is a well-known fact that anti-semitism was highly prevalent throughout England during the Elizabethan era; however, it is unclear whether or not Shakespeare supports that same anti-Semitism through his presentation of Shylock, the main character of The Merchant of Venice. People have argued against and for the idea that Shakespeare presented Shylock in an anti-Semitic light, but no one will ever be able to prove who is actually correct on the issue. The only thing one can do is use evidence from the text and or from history itself to create a justifiable argument.

Of these arguments, there are two extremes, one ultimately claiming that Shakespeare is an anti-Semite, the other calling him a devout and praiseworthy humanist. In a textual analysis of Shylock’s many speeches both of these conclusions can be made. It is how one interprets Shylock’s words that will force one to see the validity in one conclusion over the other. H.B. Charleton, author of Shakespeare’s Jew, vehemently suggests that the text compels us to believe that The Merchant of Venice endorses anti-Semitism. According to Charleton, Shylock’s insatiable desire to take a pound of Antonio’s Christian flesh represents the inhumanity of the Jew (Professor Grant Stirling). He therefore concluded that Shakespeare’s presentation of Shylock was an exploitation of the Jews, which in turn exposes Shakespeare as an anti-Semite.

Others have agreed with Charleton by saying that because Shakespeare created Shylock as the stereotypical Jew of Elizabethan anti-Semitism, Shakespeare himself possessed these anti-Semitic beliefs. The Christians living in Venice viewed the Jews as murderous, greedy, and unmerciful. Shakespeare presents Shylock in such a way that he possesses all of these stereotypical characteristics. Shylock is a usurer meaning he lends money with escalating interest. In the eyes of the Venetians, lending money at interest makes him greedy. Also, Shylock’s own words strengthen the customary image of the murderous Jew. After Shylock hears about Antonio’s financial problems he proclaims, “I’m very glad of it. I’ll plague him, I’ll torture him, I am glad of it” (III, I, 116-17). A few lines later he reinforces the anti-Semitic stereotype of the Jew when he says, “I will have the heart of him if he forfeit, for were he out of Venice I can make what merchandise I will” (III, I, 127-299). Both murderous and greedy, Shylock is exactly a Venetian Christian’s image of the Jew. For this very reason, many people have argued that Shakespeare was an anti-Semite.

An examination of the history of the Jews in England is important in giving validity to the claim that Shakespeare was an anti-Semite. The most important historical event to remember is the Jews being expelled from England. This happened three and a half centuries before Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice (Professor Grant Stirling). Therefore, Shakespeare’s image of the Jew was most likely taken from passed down stories and literary sources which sketched the Jew as a greedy, hateful, and demonic person. Shakespeare probably had a distorted and unfavorable image of the Jews but that does not mean he was anti-Semitic, it only helps us understand why his character, Shylock, may have possessed some stereotypical characteristics.

Some people become sympathetic for Shylock and therefore fail to see how Shakespeare could possibly be endorsing the Elizabethan anti-Semitism. The instance many readers begin to feel for Shylock is when he exclaims, “I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? . . . . If a Jew wrongs a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction” (III, i, 49-61). After this speech, we feel for Shylock. He allows us to understand why he is so passionate about seeking revenge. All of the pain, embarrassment, and unfairness he has experienced throughout his life make his revenge justifiable. In this presentation of Shylock, Shakespeare allows people to believe that Shylock is just a man. He gets angry, he hurts, and he makes mistakes just like every other human being. He is not presenting Shylock as “the Jew” but rather as a man and therefore is in no way endorsing anti-Semitism. However, this speech is only thirteen lines. Shylock’s many other speeches continue with him adamantly condemning Antonio and Christians in general showing a harsh and villainy side to Shylock. For me, the many other vicious speeches Shylock gives, especially the one when he talks about his daughter, wishing she “were dead at my foot and the Jewels in her ear” (III, i, 88-89) are evidence enough that Shakespeare is not trying to humanize Shylock but rather playing on the Elizabethan image of the Jew. I don’t necessarily believe that Shakespeare himself was anti-Semitic but I do believe that he used the historical backdrop of anti-Semitism in Venice during the Elizabethan era to create a play with historical validation that neither endorses nor subverts Elizabethan anti-Semitism. (879)

Lear Madness

King Lear is such an important figure in Shakespeare. After all Shakespeare did name an entire book after Lear. But it’s not his name on the cover of a book that is so interesting, it’s how his values and attitude towards life changes over the course of the book. King Lear is a tragic character, therefore he possesses basic tragic flaws, which lead him to his downfall. His flaw is simply that he is interested in appearances rather than reality. Because of this flaw, he loses track of his true feelings and of those around him. The biggest example of this is with Cordelia. Lear knows that she loves him; however, he is blinded by his own obsession with appearances. He makes his three daughters compete for a portion of the kingdom by expressing their love for him in front of a large crowd. Cordelia does not stoop to the level of her two sisters Goneril and Regan, who deceive their father into believing that they love him through their show of false affection. Cordelia stands strong, refusing to declare her love to Lear in front of the crowd. Rather than figuring out that this is Cordelia’s way of showing that she really does love him and that the other sisters are just faking it, Lear punishes Cordelia. He forces her to leave the kingdom and also does not give her any portion of the land. He thinks Cordelia is being disrespectful, when really she is only being truthful and honorable. After the incidences with Regan and Gonreil reveal their evil nature, Lear realizes his mistake. This drives him crazy. It is not until the storm though that he truly see the effects of his sheer blindness to the truth. During the storm he becomes like a lost puppy in the streets. Given a new perspective on life, he discovers his insignificance in the large scope of the world and its natural, unstoppable forces. The storm forced him to think about himself and his own values. After these traumatic but insightful events, Lear finds the one person he had hurt, Cordelia. When they finally meet, Lear cannot stress enough his guilt for being so blind. Although Lear’s story is not happy one with a satisfying ending, I see that it is a meaningful one. In my opinion, Lear matures over the course of the book and becomes a better person. He realized his mistakes and took full blame for them. Although he may not have totally recovered from his madness, he certainly calmed down and became a more humble individual that by the end of play earned some of my appreciation.

Some Lovely Poems for Lbo's Blog

Mirror
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful --
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

Sylvia Plath


Solitude
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow it's mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox


Mad Girl's Love Song
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)"

Sylvia Plath

Much Ado About Shakespeare

My relationship with Shakespeare has been a love hate one. Many times I find myself in total awe over his pure brilliance but other times his work leaves me completely perplexed. During these frustrating moments, while I am struggling to fathom the complex metaphors that Shakespeare frequently uses, I find it very difficult to appreciate the actual meaning behind his plays. But at the same time, I realized that his way of turning simple ideas into a maelstrom of complications and difficulties is part of the beauty of his work. Were his stories to have been simple and uncomplicated, they would be just like everyone else’s and therefore Shakespeare would not be the praised poet, dramatist, and writer that he is today and has been for many centuries.

I was first introduced to the amazing Shakespeare during middle school. Of course I had heard his work quoted and praised over the course of my life but I had yet to pick up one of his many plays and see for myself what all the fuss with Shakespeare was about. So when I learned that I had to read it for school I was excited and optimistic. Then there I was, sitting in class, attempting to read the first lines of A Midsummer Night Dream. After stumbling over the first few pages and with my frustration growing, I put the book down. My teacher had warned me that it would take a little while to get used to reading because of the different use of words and sentence structure, so I gave it one more try. Although reading it for the second time was easier, understanding it was a whole other process. I had to look at it word by word to grasp any sort of meaning. Once I got over the initial frustrations and was finally was able to understand what the characters were saying with the help of my teacher and fellow students, I started to like Shakespeare. He has a unique way of describing people and things, which makes them very interesting and beautiful.

So now, after having a fairly positive experience reading several plays of Shakespeare, I have decided to strengthen my relationship with this great writer by taking the Shakespeare class. Hopefully, by taking this class, I will be able to better understand his work and therefore, fully appreciate it for all that it is.
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