In The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, there appears Shylock. He is a Jew, that much we are told in the cast list. But, as the play unfolds Shylock is seen to be the villain
. He is portrayed
as being cold, unbending, and evil. But is he? Is Shylock really the antagonist in this play or can he also be viewed as persecuted individual who resorts to revenge only after he has been pushed too far.

To fully understand the character of Shylock we must first look at Elizabeathen attitudes towards Jews. In the sixteenth century Jews were rarely if ever seen in England. In the Middle Ages Jews had fled to England to escape persecution in France under the Normans. They were granted charter in England by Henry I in return for a percentage of their profits from trade and moneylending. It is here that the stereotype of Jews lending money was started. Because of the tariffs placed on them by the crown Jews took to charging high interest rates to secure profits for themselves.......

Join Now to view the rest of this term paper!
Members: Login to view this research paper.

Title: The Merchant Of Venice
Approximate Word Count: 959
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

With the Term Papers Lab Membership Pass, you get instant access to every essay on this site, including this essay on The Merchant Of Venice, for as long as you remain a member.

Other essays sites charge almost $100 for a single term paper. At Term Papers Lab, you can get instant access to over 100,000 research papers for as little as $29.95!