Abstract
This paper examines how Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" contains elements of anti-Semitism when depicting Shylock as a stereotypical Jew. Because he is a Jewish usurer, Shylock appears tight-fisted and materialistic. It looks at how Antonio and other characters hold grudges against him because of his trade, leading the audience to shun him as well. Shylock is also degraded because of his faith, as characters consider him dog like and devilish. It also shows how casting an even darker shadow onto Shylock are the Christians, whom Shakespeare constructs as characters of righteousness and courage.

From the Paper
"In Merchant of Venice, Christians are shown in a light of goodness as they defend Antonio's life, while Shylock is seen as a bloodthirsty murderer. In the midst of Shylock's excitement over Antonio's death sentence, the Christians beg for Shylock to spare Antonio's life. While Shylock is shown here as the murderous villain, the Christians are seen in more of a heroic light. Instinctively, the audience equates Shylock, the murderer, as the "bad guy" and the Christians, who act in a heroic manner, as the "good guys." Because he is a usurer, it is automatically assumed that Shylock intended to murder Antonio to rid himself of future money discrepancies. "

Tags:discrimination, prejudice, racism, stereotype

Abstract
In this paper the author discusses whether the "Merchant of Venice" is a fairy tale, as exemplified by the romantic comedy genre, or a problem play. The author looks at the three themes he suggests run through the play: Prejudice, Loyalty and Love. He looks closely at the character of Shylock and how he has been depicted over time, from villain to someone who should be pitied and at the hypocrisy shown by the Christian characters; he examines the relationships between Antonio, Bassanio, Portia, Gratiano, Nerissa, Lorenzo, and Jessica and the resulting marriages and love is examined with respect to the platonic loyalty between friends and in the romantic exchanges between suitors and spouses.

From the paper:

"The theme of loyalty in the play comes out through the interactions of several sets of characters. First, there is Bassanio, who is close friends with Antonio --" friendship which survives many stressful situations in the play. The loyalty between Bassanio and Antonio becomes evident I the first act of the play when Antonio loans Bassanio a large sum of money and takes him on his word that he will repay it."

Tags:marlowe, jew, malta, barabas, shylock, play, anti-semitic, genre, comedy, themes, antonio, lorenzo, christianity, gratiano, jessica, bassanio, portia, pound, of, flesh, racism, prejudice, love, loyalty

Abstract
This is an argumentative paper about the characterization of Shylock in the "Merchant of Venice" and whether Shakespeare should be viewed as a racist for his portrayal of Shylock. The author argues that Shakespeare is not an anti-Semite and merely reflects popular prejudice in his characterization of Shylock.

From the Paper
'Shakespeare is not an anti-Semite. He does not portray Jews with intentional slander but instead utilizes contemporary bias and prejudice to create controversy and commentary delivering social medicine to the public through the very same conduit of their prejudice. Shylock, in the Merchant of Venice, is a target and conduit for popular prejudice. By first laughing at the realization of social beliefs the audience is then stunned when Shylock forces the realization of his equality. Regarding The Merchant of Venice, and Shylock, there are two schools of thought. While many call Shakespeare a racist, anti-Semite, bigot and worse, for his many portrayals of minority groups, the portrayal of Shylock has a unique aspect, which necessarily separates it from any other instance of racism within Shakespeare s work."

Tags:caskets, culture, derogatory, gold, jew, jewish, merchant, prejudice, racism, shakespeare, shylock, slander, stereotypes, three, venice, william

Abstract
This paper examines how both the characters of Portia and Katherine in William Shakespeare's plays, "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Taming the Shrew" are intelligent women who each goes through a character metamorphosis. It looks at how just as Portia transformed from submissiveness to a role of command, Katherine's transformation took the opposite turn. She submitted her independence and thus found her true self. It shows how both women were miserable in the beginning of the plays, Portia from obeying and Katherine from disobeying and how by swinging the pendulum, each woman found a balance and triumphed in their feminine roles.

From the Paper
"Katherine in "Taming of the Shrew" is perhaps Shakespeare most famous female character. She and Portia are opposite in initial character. Katherine is ill-tempered and scoffs at obedience. She is prone to tantrums and physical attacks on the victims of her rage. Just as Portia is miserable from obedience despite her charm, Katherine too is unhappy, despite her foul disposition. Katherine's unpleasant nature may stem from fear of her own feminine desires and feelings of inadequacy. She may also be anxious that she will never marry, thus sealing her fate and her role in society as the maiden daughter. Katherine is intelligent and her spirit surely recoils at the thought of such a fate. In fact Katherine's spirit seems out of place amid an era when women were considered nothing more than property."

Tags:katherine, portia, feminism, independence

Abstract
This paper explains that the way Shakespeare constructed the themes of racism in "Othello" and "The Merchant of Venice" can be analyzed using social-psychological theory because the racism towards Othello and Shylock is based purely on racial and religious differences between Othello, Shylock, and the Venetians. The author points out that Othello, the Moor of Venice, is referred to by other Venetians as the Moor or another derogatory, bestial name, "the thick-lips", "an old black ram", "a Barbary horse", and "the lascivious Moor", much more often than by his name, which, while not necessarily indicating racism, separates Othello from those around him. The paper concludes that Shakespeare's ability to characterize human nature is perfectly illustrated in the characters of the Christian Venetians, Othello, and Shylock.

From the Paper
"Shylock is telling us that Antonio hates him because he is Jewish, however when considering Shylock's place in society and psychological theory, there is more to his hatred than just religion. Antonio also thinks Shylock is despicable because of his un-holy and sinful profession, even though Antonio and the other Venetians take advantage of his business. Shylock's job poses a threat to Christian values, but it is also slightly more significant that just that. The Christian Venetians feel threatened because they themselves are not being very Christian and ruining their society themselves; they are taking advantage of a money lender, and try to deny Shylock of the Christian virtue of mercy (IV.i.182-203)."

Tags:character, human, differences, venetians, shylock

Abstract
This eleven-page graduate paper discusses the character of Shylock in "Merchant of Venice" with reference to anti-Semitic crusade that was going on in England at the time Shakespeare wrote his play. The readers should study the character from all perspectives in order to gain a better understanding of Shakespeare's intentions.

Tags:merchant, venice, anti-semitism

Abstract
This paper looks at one of Shakespeare's celebrated works, The Merchant of Venice. The author discusses how Shakespeare portrays one of the main characters, the merchant Shylock as not only a villain but someone less than human with no mercy for others, both consequences of his religion, while continuing to remind the reader of the goodness of the Christian characters. The author makes frequent references and quotes key passages from the play.

From the Paper
"Written sometime between 1596 and 1598, The Merchant of Venice is classified as both an early Shakespearean comedy and as a problem play; it is a work in which good triumphs over evil, but serious themes are examined and some issues remain unresolved. Specifically, anti-Semitism is woven throughout the play through the interactions of Shylock and the Christians around him. Due to the wave of anti-Jewish sentiment in late sixteenth century England , Shakespeare's audiences were familiar with the staging of stereotypical evil Jews."

Tags:english, jew, england, flesh, pound

Abstract
This paper looks at the characters Shylock and Barabas from
Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" and Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta" and discusses how Shylock and Barabas are essentially the same character: Shakespeare used the template of the character Barabas in Marlowe's work to create Shylock. It addresses the question of, through character comparison and contrast between Barabas and Shylock, whether the authors' intentions were to spread racial stereotypes through the character, or to spread a more implicit and yet more redeeming message of basic humanity and equality.

From the Paper
"The basic plot of Marlowe's presentation of Barabas is similar to Shakespeare's in all but one key facet: in Marlowe, the societal pressures cause Barabas to go on a significantly successful killing spree, sealing his villainy. In Shakespeare with the Shylock character, everything is the same in terms of the setting, the obsessive love for
the daughter, and the rage that the character feels when the corrupt Christian government takes all of their lands and money just because they are Jewish. And in Shakespeare, as well as in Marlowe, this drives the character into being a villain, due to their rage at this situation. But in Shakespeare, the result is not a successful killing spree, but instead one failed attempt at violence, which, instead of sealing the character's villainy, makes the result more ambiguous and tragic."

Tags:racial, stereotypes, anti, semitism

From the Paper
"Shylock in the Merchant of Venice and Malvolio in Twelfth Night perform the dual role of villain and comic butt. A role is the impersonation of an imaginary character in a story of drama. In drama, the audience must deduce the attributes of these imaginary characters solely by their words and actions. Therefore, when an actor assumes a role, he has the responsibility of making a fictional character credible and vibrantly alive for the audience. Shylock and Malvolio are reprehensible, ridiculous and absurd in their obstinate refusal to harmonize with their social environment. For their failure to conform to the dictates of the world they inhabit, Shylock and Malvolio are punished. However, our alienation from these two characters is modified by the severe treatment they receive from the people around them. Consequently, the roles of Shylock and ... "

Abstract
Self-knowledge - the ability to understand rather than misunderstand an action, emotion, or situation - is one of the social values embedded in the works of William Shakespeare. This paper examines several examples of plays where the theme of self-knowledge was present, including "The Merchant of Venice", "Twelfth Night" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

From the Paper
"As to whether these reminders of "social values" are an integral part of the works, or not, is rather irrelevant for the purpose of this thesis. For our concerns the fact that they exist at all is sufficient. Throughout the plays various messages are presented dealing with ethics, love, honor, and ambition, among others. Often, more than one message may be presented in a single work through different levels of emphasis and various subplots?. One major idea expressed almost as a constant in the great majority of Shakespeare's works is the idea of "self-knowledge," or more accurately the often lack thereof."

Tags:Antonio, Shylock, Orsino, Demetrius