Shylock (Shakespeare)
Shylock is a character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. He is Jewish, a central part of the plot, and Shakespeare's use of this character has raised questions over anti-semitism.
A moneylender during a time (the late 16th century) in which Jews were despised as "usurers" in Christian communities for charging interest on loans and relegated to ghettos, Shylock has a (perhaps understandable) grudge against all Christians, particularly a rival merchant, Antonio. When Antonio comes to him for a loan to finance his friend Bassanio's wedding, Shylock proposes as his bond a pound of flesh cut from Antonio's body should he default. Antonio agrees, thinking it a joke. When the ships carrying Antonio's investments sink, however, Shylock is adamant he should receive the flesh as agreed, even though it would kill Antonio. Further embittered by his daughter Jessica's elopement with Lorenzo, a Christian and friend of Antonio's, Shylock becomes obsessed with receiving his bond. Called before the royal court, Shylock ignores all pleas for mercy and is about to cut Antonio when the judge (actually Bassanio's fiancée Portia in disguise) stops him, saying that if he sheds one drop of Antonio's blood, which was not explicitly stated as owed in the bond, he will lose all his property and his life. Suddenly pleading for mercy, he agrees to give up his wealth—one half to the state, the other to Portia and Bassanio—and become a Christian.
Elements of the Character
While Shakespeare almost certainly intended Shylock to be an anti-semitic caricature, there are elements of humanity in the character, most notably in his legendary "Hath not a Jew eyes" soliloquy, in which he pleads his right to dignity and to revenge himself on the Christians who wrong him. In modern performances of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is treated as a tragic figure, while Antonio is cast as more of a villain.
Not mentioned in the play (but well known to his first audiences) is that during Shakespeare's day, moneylending was virtually the only occupation left open to Jews, and, for all their bigotry, Christians made deals with them daily, as the Bible condemns interest charges on loans (usury is also forbidden by Jewish law, except in loans to non-Jews). The apparent hypocrisy of Christians is partially explained by the fact that there are no biblical injunctions against paying loan interest, just receiving it. In the 16th Century, Christians (such as Shakespeare) regarded usury as a vastly greater sin than does the modern world; for Shakespeare's audience, usurious interest would have been seen as sinful in itself.
Notable Actors
Notable actors who have portrayed Shylock include Laurence Olivier in a 1973 TV movie and Al Pacino in a 2004 feature film version.
"Shylocking"
The character's name has entered the language as a synonym for loan shark, and as a verb: to shylock is to lend money at exorbitant rates. "Pound of flesh" has also entered the lexicon as slang for particularly brutal revenge.