Day Late! Review of The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare

Hi. I am late but only by a day so shall we begin.


Book: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Grade: A-

Another book that while very good just did not wow me like some of Shakespeare's other plays. Actually this play is not what it seems to be in my opinion. It is labeled as a comedy but if we look at it from Shylock's perspective it is a tragedy. The story has many things going on it but I wish to focus in on the store of Shylock the Jewish money lender. From the moment he appears in the play it is apparent he is not suppose to be the hero. In fact I believe Shakespeare intended for him to be the villain merely for being a Jew. Being Jewish myself it shocks me to see such Anti-Semitic attitudes in this play. Shylock story stars by being approached by two other characters to lend them money. It is a good sum of money, 2,000 ducats, the currency of the time, and for a fair amount of time, three months. Shylock accepts but makes a nasty deal with the characters that if they do not pay him in time he will take a pound of flesh from one of them. They agree to this and Shakespeare appears to be setting us up for the climax here. As the play goes on we see a man who works for him leave him because he is a Jew and his daughter elope to escape him. Again Shakespeare plays the Anti-Semite card and gives him a stereotypical attitude. As the play comes to a close we see that the merchants ships did not do well and he must get a pound taken from him by Shylock. However a loop hole is found and Shylock can take the pound but it must be exact and no blood must be shed. Knowing this is impossible Shylock wants to take the other mans offer of triple the sum and be done with it. Instead he looses all his money and must convert. The end of the play is the characters celebrating this fact but is it to be celebrated? This man has his daughter run away and steal some of his money and now he is loosing the rest of it and his freedom. While this is just one part of the play it is the part that most struck a cord with me and while their is comedy in other scenes, a character having to see who chooses correctly in a riddle to marry her, most of the play is vile towards Shylock only because of his religon. This is not my favorite play by Shakespeare I have read but deffinetly worth reading.

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