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Shylock is a character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. He is a Jew, a central part of the plot, and Shakespeare's use of this character has raised questions over anti-semitism. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a Wikimedia Foundation project intended to be a free wiki dictionary (hence: Wiktionary) (including thesaurus and lexicon) in every language. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

A moneylender during a time (the late 16th century) in which Jews, despised as "usurers" in Christian communities for charging interest on loans, were relegated to ghettos, Shylock has a grudge against all Christians, particularly a rival merchant, Antonio. When Antonio comes to him for a loan to finance his friend Bassanio's trip to Belmont, Shylock offers to lend the money at no rate of interest, and 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. Moneylending is a trade in which money is lent to individuals and corporations. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Usury (pronounced // or //, from the Latin usuria, demanding in return for a loan a greater amount than was borrowed) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... In finance, interest has three general definitions. ... It has been suggested that Lenders be merged into this article or section. ... A Ghetto is an area where people from a specific racial or ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ... In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the issuer owes the holders a debt and is obliged to repay the principal and interest (the coupon). ... Investment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption. ... To elope, most literally, merely means to run away. ...

Called before the royal court, Shylock ignores all pleas for mercy and is about to cut Antonio when a young Lawyer (actually Bassanio's wife 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 not only blood, but all his property and his life. Shylock realizes this is impossible and says he will now accept the money but Portia intercedes and says that he is guilty of threatening the life of a Christian and therefore must be punished. The judge then decrees that Shylock forfeit his money to Antonio, who in turn says that it should be given to Jessica and Lorenzo. Shylock is also forced to renounce his Judaism and convert to Christianity. A lawyer is a person qualified to give legal advice who advises clients in legal matters and represents them in courts of law and in other forms of dispute resolution. ... // Use of the term The concept of property or ownership has no single or universally accepted definition. ...

Elements of the Character

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. This soliloquy is also often thought to be a breakdown of the division between Jews and Christians, both will seek revenge. 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 one of the few careers open to Jews, and Christians made deals with them daily, as the New Testament condemns interest charges on loans (usury is also forbidden by Jewish law, except in loans to non-Jews where it is discouraged). In the 16th century, Christians (such as Shakespeare) regarded usury as a sin; for Shakespeare's audience, usurious interest would have been seen as sinful in itself. However, it is important to take notice that Antonio has no real qualms about borrowing money from Shylock when he is in need. Shylock's profession as a moneylender is frequently used to support claims of anti-Semitism in the play.

Some critics have come to Shakespeare's defence on charges of anti-semitism levelled at his portrayal of Shylock. Reasons for this vary and include the breakdown of any division between the Christians and the Jews - verbalized by Shylock's "Hath not a Jew eyes..." speech in which he asserts that he is no different than a Christian and deserves revenge as much as they would have it. Also the lack of mercy shown by the Christians at the end of the play points to hypocrisy on their part. Some scholars also suggest that Shylock is repeatedly shown to have human qualities and that he becomes a sympathetic character, particularly when he is told about Jessica's betrayal and the loss of his (deceased) wife's ring. Some have also claimed that the forced conversion is an attempt by Shakespeare to create a "happy ending", Shylock's soul is saved and in turn the Christians have served God.

Notable Portrayals

Notable actors who have portrayed Shylock include Richard Burbage and Will Kempe in the 16th century, Charles Macklin in 1741, Edmund Kean in 1814, William Charles Macready in 1840, Edwin Booth in 1861, Henry Irving in 1880, Laurence Olivier in a 1973 TV movie and Al Pacino in a 2004 feature film version. Categories: Actor stubs | 1567 births | 1619 deaths ... William Kempe (also spelled Kemp) (fl. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Charles Macklin (1697?‑1797) was an actor and dramatist born in the north of Ireland, and one of the most distinguished actors of his day, shining equally in tragedy and comedy. ... // Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius... Edmund Kean (March 17, 1787 – May 15, 1833) was an English actor, regarded in his time as the greatest ever. ... 1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... William Charles Macready (March 3, 1793 - April 27, 1873), English actor, was born in London, and educated at Rugby. ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edwin Booth as Hamlet. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Henry Irving, as Hamlet, in a 1893 illustration from The Idler magazine John Henry Brodribb Irving (February 6, 1838 – October 13, 1905),(whose original name was John Brodribb), became better known as Sir Henry Irving. ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907–11 July 1989) was an Oscar winning English actor and director, regarded by many critics as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ... Pacino (right) with Robert Duvall in The Godfather. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

"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. It is very often used for humorous exaggeration; people will say, sarcastically, "Here's your pound of flesh!" even when paying a rather small debt or bet. Look up Synonym in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Synonyms (in ancient Greek syn συν = plus and onoma όνομα = name) are different words with similar or identical meanings and are interchangable. ... A loan shark is a person or body that offers illegal unsecured loans at high interest rates to individuals, often backed by blackmail or threats of violence. ... A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (bring, read), occurrence (decompose, glitter), or a state of being (exist, stand). Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. ... Moneylending is a trade in which money is lent to individuals and corporations. ... An interest rate is the price a borrower pays for the use of money he does not own, and the return a lender receives for deferring his consumption, by lending to the borrower. ... A lexicon is usually a list of words together with additional word-specific information, i. ... Slang is the non-standard or non-dialectal use of words in a language of a particular social group, and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. ...

External links

• Edward Einhorn's absurdist comedy A Shylock, appearing in his book of plays entitled The Golem, Methuselah, and Shylock, gives another perspective on Shylock. In it, a modern day professor visits Venice, looking for Shylock. Everywhere he goes he gets another description of the famous Jew, each description matching one of the many interpretations the Merchant of Venice has received, ranging from anti-semitic to Freudian to Marxist.