The Merchant of
Summary
·
As
the scene opens, it is discovered through a conversation between Solanio and Solerio that
Antonio’s ships have been lost at sea thereby increasing the tension felt
amongst the audience.
·
Shylock
enters accusing Solanio and Solerio
of having knowledge of Jessica’s disappearance.
·
Shylock’s
joy is evident as he is informed of news regarding Antonio’s lost ships and he
embarks upon his famous speech, ‘Hath not a Jew eyes?’.
This speech serves to humanise Shylock indicating
that he is the same as any other man and making the audience aware of his
sufferings. However, this is undermined by the final sentence, ‘The villainy
you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the intrusion’,
in which he vows revenge against Antonio for the wrongdoings of Christians
therefore eradicating any sympathy that may have been felt by the audience
towards Shylock.
·
The
entrance of Tubal brings news of Jessica’s frivolous
spending, sending Shylock into a rage as his despair due to losing his daughter
and, perhaps most importantly, his ducats is evident.
His wish that his daughter was ‘dead at [his] foot’ causes him to be perceived
as vicious and to a degree insane by the audience.
Motifs and Connotations
Sea – linked to ideas of fate, destiny and changeability:
·
Within
the scene we learn of Antonio’s misfortunes due to the fact that he lost a ship
at sea. When Shylock hears of this, he refers to Antonio as ‘a beggar that used
to come so smug upon the mart’ thereby indicating that Antonio used to be
self-righteous when he did business. This example illustrates the way in which
the sea can be linked to the idea of changeability as due to his lost ship, the
manner in which Antonia conducts business will be altered. Furthermore, it
indicates a change in the amount of power that he possessed in his relationship
with Shylock. Prior to the loss of his ships, Antonio seemed to hold a great
deal of power due to the fact that he was confident that he could repay the
loan; however as a result of his misfortune he has lost power as he is now
indebted to Shylock and ‘he cannot choose but break’ (in other words he is
forced to become bankrupt). In addition, Shylock refers to Antonio’s loss as
‘ill luck’ raising issues of fate and destiny.
Money and Business:
·
Throughout
the scene the motif of money and business is explored. Within the scene Shylock
repeats phrases such as ‘Let him look to his bond!’ indicating the importance
he places upon money and painting him as money hungry. Shylock’s references to
money serve to further vilify him due to the fact that he seemingly places
greater importance on his money than his daughter. He express his wish that his
daughter ‘were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear; would she were hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin’. He
states, ‘A diamond gone cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfort – the curse
never fell upon our nation till now… two thousand ducats in that and other
precious, precious jewels’. The fact that he refers to his jewels as ‘precious’
in contrast to his daughter who he refers to as a ‘thief’ indicates that he
values material objects in the form of his jewels and money more than his
daughter, who should be in the eyes of the audience more valuable. However,
Shylock may be redeemed to a certain extent as the audience witnesses that he
views the ring that his dead wife gave him as invaluable when he states, ‘I
would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys’. This enables the
audiences to witness an emotional dimension to Shylock and therefore possibly sympathise with him as they are aware that he places value
on items that they would consider valuable. On the other hand, the impression
given of Antonio with regard to business and money is one of sympathy and
Antonio is placed on a pedestal by Salerio and Solanio.
The restrictive nature of papers/letters/documents:
·
Shylock
constantly repeats the phrase, ‘Let him look to his bond!’ indicating the
restrictive nature of papers such as the bond which has connotations of control
and confinement. Shylock also states that he ‘will have the heart of [Antonio]
if [Antonio] forfeit’ suggesting that despite Antonio’s inability to pay the
bond it will not be broken thereby emphasising the
confining and restricting nature of the bond.
Revenge vs. justice/mercy:
·
Furthermore,
this scene is a key scene for the motif of revenge in comparison to justice or
mercy. Within Shylock’s soliloquy he states, ‘If a Jew wrong a Christian, what
is his humility? Revenge! If a Christian wrong a Jew,
what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge! The villainy
you teach me I will execute, and it should go hard but I will better the
instruction’. This indicates the double standards that society held for Jews and
Christians at the time, as Christians were able to seek revenge yet still
expect mercy from the Jews, yet the Jews were still expected to honour the Christian values of mercy. Within the scene a
conflict between revenge and mercy emerges as it is apparent that Shylock is
intent on seeking revenge despite the fact that mercy is seen as the acceptable
path by the audience as well as the other characters.
Themes
The portrayal of Shylock as a victim:
·
Despite
the fact that Shylock is generally perceived to be a villain throughout the
text, within this scene he is portrayed as a victim. Initially, the loss of his
daughter, Jessica, in conjunction with taunting from Salerio
and Solanio such as ‘I, for my part, knew and the
tailor that made the wings she flew withal’ stimulate sympathy within the
audience as they may feel for Shylock due to his loss. Although many
traditional audiences may still deem Jessica’s abandonment of Shylock as simply
a just punishment for the way in which he treated her; modern audiences may
feel more sympathy towards Shylock as a result of this event. Shylock’s famous
soliloquy, ‘To bait fish withal…’, portrays him as a
tragic character and highlights that society is bound by a vicious circle. This
is due to the fact that society’s treatment of Jews at the time thus created
villains such as Shylock. Throughout the soliloquy, Shylock vilifies Antonio
identifying the disgraceful manner in which he has been treated thereby giving
justification for his hatred towards Antonio as Antonio has effectively
undermined his humanity. Through the vilification of Antonio, Shylock, himself,
is able to raise his own status and evoke sympathy from the audience. Shylock’s
speech serves to humanise Jews emphasising
the fact that Jews are the same as any other human being through phrases such
as, ‘Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands,
organs, dimensions, senses affections passions? fed with the same food, hurt
with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means,
warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick
us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? if
you poison us, do we not die?’. Furthermore, his passion and constant use of
rhetorical questions and triads may evoke pathos amongst the audience. In
addition, Shylock’s speech serves as a justification for the phrase, ‘And if
you wrong us, shall we not revenge?’. The fact that
this phrase comes after this list of ill-treatment indicates that his want for
revenge is due purely to the way in which he was treated. Consequently he
should not be vilified for this as a Christian would have readily sought
revenge upon him. Therefore, he could be considered to be a tragic victim and a
product of society evoking sympathy from a modern audience.
The portrayal of Shylock as a villain;
·
Throughout
the play as well as this scene, Shakespeare portrays Shylock in a negative
light further vilifying him and fueling the anti-Semitic views held by many
traditional audiences. Shylock’s entrance further reinforces his role as a
villain within the play and his opening lines, ‘You knew,
none so well, none so well as you, of my daughter’s flight’, are seen to be
accusatory and vicious. Salerio and Solanio’s taunts would be well received by Shakespeare’s
audience as they were of the opinion that Shylock deserved to be abandoned by
Jessica. Furthermore, Shylock’s repetition of the phrase ‘let him look to his
bond’ indicates the importance of money to Shylock and may result in him being
perceived as money obsessed. Shylock’s language within this scene has changed
and the repetition of such phrases could illustrate that he has become more
obsessed and unhinged. Additionally, in line 19, Shylock is referred to as ‘the
devil’ thereby increasing the audience’s hatred and contempt towards him.
Despite the fact that Shylock’s soliloquy within this scene is often recognised as his most humanising
speech, it could also enhance his profile as a villain. His passion within the
speech could be viewed, especially by traditional audiences, as rage.
Furthermore, as most traditional audiences were Christian, vow for revenge
could be seen as against the Christian virtue of forgiveness and therefore
cause Shylock to be portrayed in a negative light. Shylock’s vows for revenge
and glee as a result of Antonio’s misfortune may further increase tension as
the audience may be concerned for Antonio.
·
Any
prior feelings of sympathy held by the audience would be destroyed by the
subsequent part of the scene in which he reverted back to a crazy and vicious
individual. Furthermore, Shylock is portrayed as being more concerned about his
ducats and jewels than his daughter and is infuriated when he discovers that
she has spent a great deal of money and traded his jewels for a monkey. His
wish that his daughter was ‘dead at [his] foot’ causes him to be perceived as
vicious and to a degree insane by the audience. Shylock’s symbolic killing of
his daughter who he holds at a lesser value than his money causes him to be
further vilified. Additionally, Shylocks repetition of short phrases such as
‘What, what what? ill luck,
ill luck?’, ‘I thank God, I thank God! Is it true, is it true?” cause him to
seem evil and malicious and possibly disorientated.
·
However,
hypocrisy is evident with regard to the manner by which Shakespeare attempts to
vilify Shylock. This is due to the fact that Shylock is portrayed as a villain
and overbearing as he confines and effectively entraps Jessica, whereas
Portia’s confinement by her father is depicted as caring. In addition, this
hypocrisy is evident within the parallel between Antonio and Shylock. Although
Shylock is seen to be a villain as a result of his desire to extract Antonio’s
flesh; Antonio is still seen as a hero despite having knowledge of Lorenzo’s
elopement with Jessica in which he effectively takes away Shylock’s flesh and
blood.
·
This
is a key moment for this motif as it undermines and eradicates any sympathy
that would have been felt by audiences towards Shylock and ensures that he
perceived as a villain.
Women are commodities to be won, traded and owned:
·
Within
the extract women are treated as commodities that are won, traded and owned.
When referring to Jessica Shylock states, ‘My own flesh and blood’ and later
repeats, ‘I say my daughter is my flesh and my blood’. The repetition of ‘my’
has connotations of possession indicating how women are simply thought of as
commodities and can therefore be owned. Furthermore, Shylock’s symbolic killing
of his daughter in return for his ducats indicates that women may have been
perceived as meaningless within society.
Imagery
Bird or nature imagery:
Shylock: You knew,
none so well, none so well as you of my
daughter’s flight.
Salerio: That’s certain; I, for my part,
knew the tailor that
made the
wings she flew withal.
Solanio: Any Shylock for his own part, knew
the bird was
fledged, and then it is the complexion of
them all to
leave the dam.
This bird or nature imagery has connotations of freedom referring
to Jessica’s break away from Shylock. Furthermore, these ideas serve to
contrast ideas of freedom and entrapment. Traditional audiences may interpret
Shylock as overbearing and domineering; however modern audiences may interpret
Shylock’s actions as caring and his unwillingness to let go of Jessica as
attachment. This imagery functions as a comedic interlude between the upsetting
news of Antonio’s lost ships, which increased the tension felt by many
audiences, as the smug attitude of Salerio allows
traditional audiences especially to bask in Shylock’s unease and anger.
Blood:
Salerio: There is more difference between
thy flesh and hers
than
between jet and ivory, more between your
bloods than
there is between red wine and Rhenish.
It is evident that the contrasts between the images are very
harsh thereby making a clear distinction between Shylock and Jessica. This
effectively strips Jessica of her religions as she is associated with the
Christians therefore further angering Shylock.
Feeding:
Shylock: To bait fish
withal; - if it will feed nothing else; it
will feed
my revenge…
The repetition of the word ‘feed’ has connotations of a
vampire therefore associating Shylock with being bloodthirsty and inhumane.
This serves to further vilify Shylock and intensifies the anti-Semitic feelings
or views of a traditional audience.
Shylock’s soliloquy:
Shylock: …Hath
not
a Jew
eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimen-
sions, senses affections passions? fed with the same
food, hurt with the same weapons,
subject to the
same diseases, healed by the same means,
warmed
and cooled by the same winter and
summer as a
Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you
tickle us do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we
not die?’…
The employment of these images and rhetorical questions
serves to directly attack and address the audience, playing on their emotions
and possibly evoking pathos within modern audiences especially. Furthermore,
since many of these images are familiar and therefore applicable to the
audience, they are more likely to have an impact on them.
Murder:
Shylock: …I would my
daughter were
dead at my foot, and the jewels in her
ear; would she
were hearsed
at my foot, and the ducats in her
coffin…
Shylock’s symbolic killing of is daughter emphasises his
materialistic nature and serves to further vilify him eradicating any pathos
previously felt towards Shylock by the audience. The fact that he values money
above his daughter indicates the insignificance of women within society at the
time.
The Heart:
Shylock: …I
will
have
the heart of him if he forfeit…
Shylock’s decision to take the
flesh nearest to Antonio’s heart reflects his desire to execute both physical
and emotional revenge. Physically, the removal of the heart will cause death;
however the heart is also the emotional centre of a person; thus the removal of
flesh near to the heart will allow emotional revenge on Antonio to be
accomplished.
Characters
Shylock:
·
Within the scene the character of Shylock is
developed significantly as he expresses the injustices he has faced, thus
allowing the audience to discover a new dimension to his character. During
Shylock’s famous soliloquy he is humanised thereby
evoking pathos within modern audiences. The reaction of traditional audiences
may have been very dissimilar as their anti-Semitic views may have hindered
their ability to feel sympathy towards Shylock. Instead, traditional audiences
may have perceived and interpreted Shylock’s passion as anger. However, although
the character of Shylock is humanised and sympathised with to a certain extent, this is undermined by
his vow of revenge against Antonio, who the audience feels sympathy towards.
Furthermore, his basking in Antonio’s defeat as well as his symbolic killing of
his daughter may result in him being portrayed in a negative light and as a
villain with the audience feeling a greater amount of animosity towards him.
The shift in his language to include more repetition could be interpreted as
him expressing signs of insanity and becoming disorientated.
Antonio:
·
Despite the fact that Antonio does not appear in
this scene, his character is further developed. His lack of appearance could
indicate his higher status and indicate that he is distant from the base everyday
life. The audience is enlightened as to the loss of his ship thereby arousing
more sympathy towards him. An increase in tension may also be felt within the
audience as they may fear for his safety as a result of Shylock’s vow for
revenge. Furthermore, comparisons made with Shylock, who is perceived as a
villain, as well as the comments made by Solanio and Salerio place him on a pedestal and reinforce his role as a
generous Christian.
Jessica
·
The character of Jessica also evolves as we learn of
her frivolous spending. Traditional audiences may react to these acts
positively as they further anger Shylock, therefore allowing the audience to
feel a greater amount of animosity towards him. However, modern audiences may
not feel as much sympathy towards Jessica as they may have felt that Shylock
was simply protecting her.
Tubal
·
In addition, the character of Tubal
is present. Despite being a Jew, Tubal may be
employed by Shylock to stir up anti-Semitic feeling within the audience through
his comments which are designed to portray Shylock in a negative and villainous
light.
Setting
This scene is set in
Narrative Style /
Structure
Within this scene Shakespeare
employs base or course language and imagery aimed at the lower class audience
thereby involving them and playing on their crude sense of humour. Although,
Shylock’s soliloquy is one of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches, it is written
in prose possibly indicating the lower status of Jews within society at the
time. Within this speech Shylock directly addresses the audience through the
use of rhetorical questions therefore forcing them to think and feel emotion –
either sympathy or animosity – towards Shylock. During the scene Shylock’s
language changes, with the inclusion of more repetition, causing him to be
perceived as becoming unhinged and disorientated.
Relation of Part to
Whole
Ultimately, this scene is an integral part of the play, as
for the first time the audience is able to witness a new dimension to the
character of Shylock. The audience witnesses Shylock’s torment as a result of
the loss of his daughter and his ducats, in contrast to his elation due to news
of Antonio’s misfortune, thereby constructing a more three dimensional
character. Furthermore, the scene contains Shylock’s most human speech in which
the audience is able to understand to a degree Shylock’s motivation for revenge
and the torment that he has endured. This may lead to a greater degree of
sympathy and pathos being felt towards Shylock by modern audiences. However,
traditional audiences, due to the fact that anti-Semitic feelings were rife at
the time, may construe or interpret Shylock’s passion as anger. Any sympathy
felt by audiences is undermined and destroyed due to the juxtaposition of the
soliloquy with Shylock’s want of revenge and symbolic killing of Jessica,
thereby reverting him back to a vicious villain in the
eyes of the audience. The images used throughout the scene further vilify
Shylock. Through this the character of Antonio is placed on a pedestal. In
addition this scene is contrasted with the positive mood of the previous scene
as it increases tension as the audience fears for the safety of Antonio.