Shylock yup pain and revenge

Sarah Adler

10/26/14

Portfolio B Option 3

            Shakespeare uses Shylock’s defensiveness in his monologue to convey his internal pain from his abundance of misfortunes, driving him to seek revenge on Antonio. When the Duke pressures Shylock to have mercy on Antonio, he retorts, “You’ll ask me why I rather choose to have/ A weight of carrion flesh than to receive/ Three thousand ducats. I’ll not answer that, / But say it is my humour”(4.1, 39-42).  Shylock is wary in his answer because he’s eager to enact his revenge on Antonio and obtain his pound of flesh. He says, “it is my humour”, attempting to blame his brutality on one of the four bodily humours believed to control people’s personalities. This uncharacteristic violence is due to Shylock’s despair towards recent events such as losing his daughter and money. Shylock alludes to his vulnerable state when he comments, “…but of force, / Must yield to such inevitable shame/ As to offend, himself being offended;” (4.1, 55-57). Shylock is explaining that when a person does an inexplicable act, such as his burning desire for revenge, they feel ashamed for being looked down upon. Shakespeare conveys the hurt Shylock is wrestling with, which is disguised as desire for harsh punishment for Antonio. Shylock states his contempt for Antonio with conviction, exclaiming, “So can I give no reason, nor I will not, / More than a lodged hate and certain loathing/ I bear Antonio” (4.1,58-60). Shylock refuses to elaborate on his insatiable craving for revenge, but describes his hatred for Antonio. This deep-rooted hatred stems from Antonio’s mistreatment of Shylock, although he did nothing to irk or disrespect Antonio. His disgust of Shylock was solely because Shylock is Jewish, which caused Shylock pain. Shylock exacts his revenge on Antonio because now he has the law on his side. Shylock uses the hurt he’s been feeling and transforms it to anger towards Antonio, which is why he refuses to alleviate the cruelty of Antonio’s punishment for not paying him back; shown through his guarded monologue.

Shylock Getting Some Revenge on My Boy Antonio

Bryce Huerta
10/25/14
Portfolio B - Option 3: Shylock's Monologue

William Shakespeare uses clever imagery and subtle similes throughout Shylock's soliloquy to convey Shylock's pure hatred of Antonio.  When asked by the Duke whether Antonio's punishment is needed, Shylock responds with a well executed speech.  His first actual response to the Duke's questioning is, "I'll not answer that, / But say it is my houmour?" (Act IV. Scene 1. Lines 41-42).  Shylock right away indicates that he will not, in fact, be giving, a logical answer for this desire, but instead replies that his state of mind, his "houmour," is encouraged to do so.  Shylock then provides a key image to aid in this explanation, saying; "What if my house be troubled with a rat / And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats / to have it baned? / What, are you not answered yet?" (Act IV. Scene 1. Lines 43-45).  Here, Shylock begins his animal comparisons, comparing Antonio to "a rat" that he has a certain obsession with destroying.  He then questions the Duke, "have I not answered you," to provide a rhetorical segue into his next set of images, proceeding to say, "Some men there are love not a gaping pig, / Some men are mad if they behold a cat, / And others when the bagpipe sings i'th'nose / Cannot contain their urine" (Act IV. Scene 1. Lines 46-49).  Shylock introduces these petty distastes for various objects to set a less intense image of hate, even almost being funny with the "bagpipe" joke.  Each object is in its own way random, as some men hate these object simply because they dislike them.  Shylock dehumanizes Antonio by comparing his disdain for him to the unprovoked anger some have for rats, pigs, cats, or bagpipes.  Only the pig seems connect to Shylock, as he cannot eat pork due to his religion.  Later, Shylock concludes, "Now, for your answer: / As there is no firm reason to be rendered..." (Act IV. Scene 1. Lines 52-55).  Shylock in this section reiterates his previously established "petty hate" and its lack of a logical motive to ultimately state his final point, when he tells "So can I give no reason, nor will I not, / More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing / I bear Antonio...Are you answered?" (Act IV. Scene 1. Lines 58-61).  Shylock finally reveals his true motive; he wants to see Antonio suffer.  Shylock before this soliloquy has indicated some reasons for hating Antonio, such as having been spit on by Antonio or facing general anti-Semitism from this merchant, but during this speech, he only cites an arbitrary hatred of Antonio as his reason for wanting the pound of flesh.  Shylock then caps this speech by emphatically asking "are you answered" to reinforce what he has spoken.  Through this very precise and targeted rant from Shylock, Shakespeare reveals Shylock's horrifyingly deep level of disgust for Antonio and his unstoppable motivation to destroy him.