Victim or villain? How is Shylock presented in 'The Merchant of Venice'?

The merchant in The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, t present appears Shylock. As the play unfolds Shylock is seen to be the villain. He is portrayed as being cold, unbending, and evil. But is he? Is Shylock really the verso in this play or can he in like manner be viewed as a persecuted individual who resorts to revenge single if after he has been pushed too far. To fully understand the distinguish of Shylock we must first look at Elizabethan attitudes towards Jews. The earliest documented presences of Jews were recorded in Oxford, during the year 1075. At that time, Jews and Christians were living in harmonious without strong resentment or hatred towards each other. Despite this, there were certain rules that Jews had to weary such as they were banned from certain trades and professions as they were non considered citizens. In the sixteenth century Jews were rarely if ever seen in England. In the Middle Ages Jews had fled to England to escape persecution in France under the Normans. They were given require in England by Henry I in getting even for a percentage of their profits from trade and specie lending. It is here that the stereotype of Jews lending money was started which spurred on to the mental mental representation of Jews as a greedy community.

A few long time in the first built in bed The Merchant of Venice was written, an accusation was make towards Queen Elizabeths physician of attempting to poison her. His public execution and the circumstance that he was of Jewish earth led to an outbreak of anti Semitism in the country. Similarly in todays worl d, after the incident that took place on Sep! tember eleventh 2001, many have been ready towards the Middle Eastern races for fears for repercussions. many other plays were written during Shakespearian time concerning Jews to which... If you want to shoot a full essay, monastic order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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