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.
(394)

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

Here we have a story about the unfortunate death of Santiago Nasar, a wealthy, well-respected townsman. However, it is not his death that is most interesting in this story, it is what lies beneath his death that is really the intriguing part. Underlying the vicious death is a town of beggars, of workers, of the wealthy, and of the poor. It is a conglomeration of economically varied people who happen to share the same values. This town is not your ordinary town though. Suspicious behavior has clouded its courtyards and its grassy knolls—behavior that would be seen as irrational, gruesome, and irresponsible in our culture but is acceptable and even expected in this particular place, demonstrating that what is praised and honored in one culture can be criticized or condemned in another. We see women as having a choice to be abstinent until marriage whereas those from some Latin American countries, like the characters in the novel, believe that a woman should remain pure until she becomes a wife. In a culture that accepts the promiscuities of men and values the purity of women, a murder such as Santiago Nasar’s was bound to happen eventually. Also playing a crucial role in the cause of this murder was the pressure to uphold one’s family reputation and honor. With these two factors and with the help of a seemingly apathetic town, Santiago Nasar was stabbed to death by the two Vicario brothers, Pablo and Pedro.

Could the town have stopped these two men from killing Santiago Nasar or did they even want to stop this murder? The motives of the individuals in the town are questionable. We readers are aware of many possible instances when a member of the town could have spoken up or tried to physically stop the brothers, but many of these times, they do nothing but think to themselves is this murder really going to happen. It is clear that some witnesses genuinely did not think Pablo and Pedro would really go through with the murder since they have always been nice boys and have done nothing to contradict that fact. Another variable was that wedding celebrations for Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman have been going on for the past few days and therefore when the men declared their plans people saw it as a drunken thought that would go anyway the next morning once they sobered up. Because of the brothers reputation and the wedding circumstances, many of the townspeople simply did not think twice about an actual murder taking place in their town and brushed the silly boys off when they came around with sharpened knives in their hands. However, there were some other characters whose motives for not doing anything when informed about the possible murder were not as simple. Victoria Guzman and her daughter Divina Flor are a prime example. Ms. Guzman, the Nasar family cook, had a past with Santiago’s father. She said she was seduced by Ibrahim Nasar and when she noticed that his son, Santiago, was doing the same thing to her daughter she was appalled. In the event of Santiago’s death, the two women secretly disclosed all information, which if they had informed Santiago of early that morning, it might have changed the outcome of the day. Colonel Lazaro Aponte, Clothilde Armenta, Maria Cervantes, and the man in the knife shop are all also responsible for Santiago's death. They could have taken more forceful actions to prevent his death, but instead, chose to rely on other to do so. Therefore, the whole town, some inadvertently, played a major role in the death of Santiago Nasar.

By emphasizing the actions of all witnesses, not only the ones of the crime but also of the two brothers declaring their plan to kill, Marquez successfully shows that the motives of people other than the murderers are just as important as those of the murderers themselves. He also demonstrates that what lies on the surface is not always what is important but rather what we are not able to see at first glance.
(680)

Ibo Culture Once Again

In what ways does Okonkwo embody the values and principles of Ibo culture? What are the strengths of his character?

In Ibo culture strength and hard work are extremely important. Without these characteristics, according to the Ibo people, one cannot succeed in life or live a respectable life. It is crucial to rise to a certain level of power in order to be a person of high reverence.

One way of demonstrating ones courage and vitality is through wrestling. Okonkwo proves this needed tenacity when he beats Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling match. This competition represents one’s willingness to stand up for his people and to bring honor to his tribe. Not only does Okonkwo succeed in taking out the long-time champion, he demonstrates the importance of displays of power in Ibo culture. There is no doubt that Okonkwo is a fierce tribesman, but sometimes his desire to always appear to be strong to those around him leads him to act rashly and in the end causes him to crack. The pressure to be seen at the strong one all the time was too much for him to handle and it ultimately lead to his tragic suicide.

Okonkwo does not only embody the value of strength in Ibo culture but also the value of hard work. Okonkwo was not born into a prestigious family and as Achebe points out, “with a father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had. He neither inherited a barn nor a title, nor even a young wife” (18). Okonkwo’s father was a lazy man who rather play the flute than do the typical labor in the fields. Doing something other than fieldwork was not normally acceptable for men in Ibo culture and because his father was more interested in his flute and languages than doing “real” work, he was looked down upon in the village. Okonkwo, unlike his father, did do the acceptable work despite the fact that it was not easy or even rewarding at first. He had nothing to begin with so he borrowed yams from other laborers to get his harvest going. After much persistent hard work, Okonkwo was able to pay back those who had helped him, even giving them more than they had given him in the beginning. Okonkwo even built his own hut or obi. He worked hard every day and it paid off in the end. He was able to achieve his goals of living a life with respect to the principles of Ibo culture and of being a respectable man unlike his father, who died a shameful death and left many of his debts unpaid.

Okonkwo’s hard work was definitely one of his strongest characteristics and it is a characteristic that plays an important role in Ibo culture, but it is the social traditions that are an even larger aspect of Ibo culture. In Ibo culture it is important to always come bearing gifts particularly when the person has come to ask or request something and before the request can be made, the group must openly share the gifts and enjoy them. Okonkwo does this when he went to see Nwakibie, a wealthy man with a surplus of pretty much everything, to ask for seed-yams to start his own farm. Rather than just asking him for the seed-yams right away, Okonkwo takes out the palm wine, the kola nut, and the alligator pepper he brought with him to share with Nwakibie. He also gives him a rooster in exchange for the seeds. With these items at hand Okonkwo says to the clansman, “As our people say, a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness” (19). In this proverb, Okonkwo expresses the simple Ibo value of respecting those who help others and that if you do respect these great men you are essentially creating your own greatness. Okonkwo does a great job embodying many of the Ibo’s values and principles and the characteristics he has that follow the essence of these values are in fact his strongest characteristics.
(687)

Ibo Culture as Seen in "Things Fall Apart"

In Ibo Culture, a sense of tradition was highly significant. The Ibo people would carry out the various traditions that had been passed down from their ancestors centuries ago in their everyday lives. These traditions or customs that came in the form of funeral ceremonies, one’s manners, rites of passage, and more were the backbone of the Ibo culture. They brought the tribe closer by allowing the people to come together and take part in activities as a group.

One of the most notable Ibo traditions is the rite of passage for young girls and boys maturing into adulthood. This rite of passage is not a sudden acceptance into adulthood but rather a series of rites they must go through over time before they become a true adult. Only eight days after birth, a child goes through the rite of circumcision. Every boy and girl must be circumcised in order to be part of the Ibo culture. Boys and girls must also complete the rite of wearing cloths. This entails going from wearing nothing to being completely covered in clothes, signifying social status as well as individual improvement or transformation. The next rite of passage is Iru-mgede (fattening a girl before marriage). This custom is done to promote healthy offspring as well as a healthy marriage. Itu Anya is the fourth rite of passage, lasting for eight days, where one becomes a Diviner. During this time, the child has time to think, reflect, and even communicate with spirits in order to gain the power, knowledge, and courage that is needed to become a Diviner. The last rite of passage for a child in Ibo culture is Igba-Mgba or wrestling. In this activity one shows his true strength and courage and with success he becomes a real warrior and in turn, a man.

The Week of Peace is a sacred time for the Ido people. Before any one is allowed to plant their crops they must live in peace with their neighbors for a week to honor Ani, the great goddess of the earth. It is ordained that if this peace is broken than they will not receive a blessing from Ani and their crops will not grow. Achebe demonstrates how important this week is to the Ibos through Okonkwo’s beating of his wife, Ojiugo. “The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan,” says the priest of the earth goddess, Ezeani (Achebe 30). It was a shocking moment for Ibo people when they heard of Okonkwo’s actions because “it was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace (31).
Another similar tradition in honoring the gods is the New Yam Festival. At this time of the year, before the harvest began, the Ibo people celebrated the joy of a new harvest year. At night they would throw away the yams of the old year and all of the cooking pots and pans were thoroughly washed. This was also a time to honor the earth goddess again and the ancestral spirits of the clan.

Aside from ceremonial traditions the traditions of telling stories was one of great importance in Ibo culture. It was not only fun but also educational because through these folk tales, myths, riddles, and proverbs the young Ibo children could learn about their ancestors and allow them to understand the importance of various customs. Nwoye could still remember the stories his mother used to tell him. He felt as ease when he reminisced about the many stories she told (53). They are a huge part of his life and serve an integral part in Ibo culture.
(605)

Websites:

http://members.tripod.com/ih8_tuxedos/index1.html

http://www.monge.net/thingsfallapart/Igbo%20Background.html

http://nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/muir/africa_project/p7/WomensRights/Tribal%20roles.htm

http://www.kwenu.com/igbo/igbowebpages/Igbo.dir/Culture/culture_and_socialization.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_people