Shylock the Dog

Alexander Sfakianos
Portfolio B
In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare uses the motif of Jews as relentless and desperate dogs to further dehumanize Jews so that they seem less like men, and more like animals, allowing for them to be easy targets. Bassanio begins the attack on Jews by exaggerating Shylock's reasoning for wanting a pound of human flesh instead of 3000 ducats, "The Jew shall have my flesh, blood, bones, and all" (4.1.111). Bassanio states that Shylock wishes for "flesh, blood, bones, and all," implying that Shylock wants all of Antonio rather than a clean cut of meat. Shakespeare uses this imagery to produce a stray dog willing to take any scraps. By having Shylock eager to get the "scraps", the Jew's diet is compared to that of a starved dog. The "desperate diet" subverts Jews to dogs that can be spat at by Christian men. Shortly after, Graziano furthers the insult by saying that "Thy [Shylock's] currish spirit / Governed by a wolf who [was] hanged for human slaughter...for thy desires / Are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous" (4.1.133-137). Graziano says Shylock's soul is from another man who wished for bloodshed. He also pairs wolves with the adjectives "bloody, starved, and ravenous". By having Graziano use this language, Shakespeare compares an savage dog, a wolf,  to a wild Jew's lust for blood. The comparison leaves Shylock as an unwanted dog in this act, as well an throughout the entirety of the play. Though Shylock simply wishes to be equal to a Christian, he allows Jews to be ridiculed. Shylock's dog-like actions create an image of savage dogs lurking among the Christian men of Venice.