Devon Pollock
Merchant of Venice
In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses precise yet conflicting words in his interactions between Shylock and Antonio in order to portray society's perception of Judaism as inferior to Christianity. In response to Shylock using Holy Scripture to back up his belief that the use of interest in money lending is not sinful, Antonio warns Bassanio that, “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose” (1.3.93). This remark compares Shylock and the Jewish people to the devil. Antonio is trying to point out that charging interest is evil and he believes that Shylock trying to defend sin with scripture doesn't stop him from being unholy. Antonio's view of Jews as "devil[ish] shows the disrespect he and other Christians have for the Jewish faith. This is contrasted to how Antonio treats and refers to Shylock after he agrees to lend “ducats” without interest. Antonio calls Shylock a “ gentle Jew” (1.3.173). Shakespeare’s specific word choice of “gentle” is a play on words. Antonio is calling him gentle as in the kind, good-hearted meaning of the word because Shylock is being friendly about the business deal. This way of describing Shylock strictly contradicts being seen as the devil. But, also, the word gentile that is very closely related, means a non-Jewish person. This wordplay represents how being gentle, and good is directly related with being non-Jewish and more precisely being Christian like lending money without interest. This contradiction depicts the strict hierarchy of religion that makes Jews inferior and "justifying" the poor treatment of Jews in Venice. The conflicting nature of those words conveys the conflicting perceptions of favorable Christianity vs. negative view of Judaism.
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ReplyDeleteI really like the way you integrate your quotations, it flows really nicely. I also think your 2-step analysis is very strong. I especially like your analysis of specific word choice, for example the use of "devil" and "gentle, and how those descriptions of Jews relate back to your claim. I agree with your idea of contrast when it comes to how Shakespeare portrays Jews, at times he describes them as sympathetic and degraded, but at others, he introduces them in the way that they were typically viewed at them time. In Act 2, scene 8, Solarino and Solanio describe how Shylock cried "O my ducats! O my daughter!...Of double ducats, stol'n from me by my daughter!" (2.8.15-19), implying that Shylock care more about his money than his daughter. In this scene, Shakespeare clearly portrays Jews as greedy, "villain[s]," even though Jews are described as good, honest people in other scenes. Overall, I really like your paragraph, you have a great analysis. Keep up the good work:)
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