Monday, August 12, 2013

Was Shylock more wronged against than wronging.... was the harm done to him more than he did to others?The Merchant of Venice - Answer to be taken...

You must be careful with any work of literature, but
certainly with the script of a play, when you attempt to isolate a scene or event from
the rest of the action.  It all hangs together to create the whole, and it is nearly
impossible to do justice to the play or the character of Shylock in considering one
scene as if it existed as a mini-play all by itself.  How does this assist in
understanding the whole work, which surely must be your
aim?


That said, when looking for a definitive answer as to
whether a character in a play is wronged or, conversely, in the wrong, you should search
for an objective rather than subjective answer (there will always be numerous subjective
points of view on any subject).  The most objective criteria here is:  What is the
character's function in the plot, the structure of the
play?


In The Merchant of Venice,
Shylock is the comic villain.  This simply means that, structurally, his actions provide
the dilemma for the major characters in the play.  In this case the story of Antonio,
Bassanio and Portia is most affected by Shylock's actions.  Dramatically, he serves the
structure of this play just as Don John does Much Ado About Nothing
or Malvolio, Twelfth Night.


The
pertinent question to ask is not whether you feel sorry for the comic villain, but
rather what needs to happen in the play for him to fulfill his function dramatically. 
In this case, Shylock gets his just desserts.  He asks for his pound of flesh, and since
he has no way of being exactly sure that he will take only one pound (no more, no less),
he must forfeit his revenge.   His being "punished" in this way, while the major
characters of the play prevail, is completely on target for the structure of a Comedy.
It would also be appropriate, structurally, for Shylock to be reconciled to the social
order of which he is a part (Christian World) by joining them, hence the required
religious conversion.


For a true objective appraisal of the
events of Act IV, Scene i, you should look no further.  Now, if you'd like to debate
emotional, subjective reaction to these events, especially in the light of our 21st
century points of view on religious tolerance, I'm sure you could invite quite a lively
discussion.

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