Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Justice in Merchant of Venice

Good Essays
972 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Justice in Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare’s Perspective on Justice

To understand Shakespeare’s perspective on justice in The Merchant of Venice it must be clear that they were in the reign of Elizabeth I. During this particular time Jewish people were hated and the Christians believed that they were superior. Shakespeare considered there to be a difference between law and justice, he shows that if the law is blindly applied without the Christian idea of mercy and fairness, the pursuer will fall.

Portia, the mouthpiece of Shakespeare, gives a moving speech on the ‘divine quality of mercy’ in which she tells us all about mercy blessing the giver and the receiver. She also tells us that without the application of mercy and the law together there cannot be justice or fairness. This is the exact thing she tries to get Shylock to understand. “Therefore, Jew, though justice be thy plea, consider this – that in the course of justice none of us should see salvation. We do pray for mercy, and that some prayer doth teach us all to render to deeds of mercy.” She appeals to Shylock that he should spare Antonio’s life saying that we all pray for mercy and are saved by God being merciful toward us, we should also be merciful towards each other. Portia vocalizes that mercy is a quality of God himself and those that temper harsh justice with this noble and celestial attribute become like God himself. It’s also a power that is “enthroned” in the heart of a mighty emperor.

Shylock cannot seem to fathom this concept of giving mercy, being a Jew plays a major part in the reasons behind this. The Christians of this time were anti-Semitism, meaning they hated people of Jewish faith. They were living in a life where they were lesser than most other people and never would anyone think to show a little mercy toward them. Portia seems to be one of the very few in the play that can see past the vengeful exterior that Shakespeare stereotypically placed on Shylock and she tries to make him feel guilt and to forget about the pound of flesh he would receive if that bond were to break. As the audience, we can clearly see why Shylock will not give up his opportunity to seek revenge on Antonio, he is a Jew and is always treated badly and this is his one chance to finally be the superior one and have people beg him for mercy, but within a second the tables turn. Shylock brings forward a touching speech that gives another perspective as to why he wanted to bring down Antonio, “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?” For what he is seeking justice goes a lot deeper than the ducats he has lost, he wants to make the Christians pay for what he’s gone through his entire life.

The compelling argument between Shylock and Portia during the court scene is one of the more important parts of The Merchant of Venice. It shows us, the audience that although the law is on Shylocks side everyone just expects him to show mercy, have a little compassion but he will not have it, he wants his pound of flesh. Nothing more. Nothing less. This scene is where the use of the double-edged sword comes into place. He, theoretically speaking, stabbed Antonio viciously with this sword only for it to be pushed into him with the same force. He gave Antonio justice without any thought of applying mercy, so that’s exactly what he shall get in return. When he hears that the bond states, “Doth give here thee no jot of blood” he is dumfounded and simply asks, “Is that the law?” even when the tables have turned all he wants is for the law to be applied. Once finding out this, the coward of a man backs down and accepts Portia’s proposal of taking three thousand ducats and letting Antonio go, Portia wants him to have his justice. “For as thou urgest justice, be assured thou shall have justice more than thou dearest.” Shylock will be getting more than he bargained for whilst receiving his justice.

During Act IV, scene i, Portia finds a loophole in Shylocks bond and the roles are reversed. He was so eager to blindly apply the law without a care in the world about mercy, but now when he is sitting in front of the court for his own actions, that is all he wants, mercy. Portia will not let him leave or even show him any mercy, which is very hypocritical in relation to her touching speech made earlier but it is not as though he is a deserving contender. “He shall have merely justice and his bond.” He is made to suffer, though not through physical pain, but through humiliation and self-deflation. These making an appearance when Antonio receives his own justice when the Duke agrees to compensate Shylocks penalty by turning him into a Christian and giving his possessions to Lorenzo and Jessica, his daughter. All shylock can do is accept that he is not being killed so he asks to leave after agreeing. “I am content.”

In order to understand the complexity of Shakespeare’s perspective on justice during this era context must be put into place that religion was one of the main contributing factors and the Christians were on top of the hierarchy whilst the Jewish people were on the bottom. In conclusion, a blind application of the law is not the best way to seek revenge or justice. This needs to be dealt with consideration of others; meaning mercy is needed for this to be efficient.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Shakespeare 's The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jew who struggles to adjust to a Christian society that belittles him. Antonio is a devout Christian. Shylock’s relationship with Antonio reveals that he is biased against Christians, and in this way both Shylock and Antonio exhibit similarities in how each perceive "the other."…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare illustrates his feelings towards Jews in 17th century England through the use of a commonly known stereotype during the time, the racial tension between Jews and Christians. Shylock is the focal point of the play, and acts as the traditional stereotype of the Jew in Elizabethan times. The merchant of venice is often seen as an anti-semitic work due to the stereotypical portrayal of the jewish character shylock. Some would argue that the most inevitable interpretation of shylock as a miserly wretch who care for nothing but his money is shakespeare expressing now – unfashionable anti-jewish views. However , one must remember that this view was seen as entirley normal and acceptable at the time, and most of the jews of elizabethan england had stoicly accepted such treatment.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    First of all, a character who demonstrates hypocrisy in the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is the Duke during the trial scene. The Duke asks Shylock to show mercy towards Antonio, but then later, when Shylock is going to lose everything, he does not ask Antonio to give Shylock any mercy. The Duke says to Shylock:…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Discrimination and hatred across religions can be often become a normal part of everyday life, and can be difficult to eradicate and extinguish. In William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, the idea of the “normality” of everyday prejudices comes across in interactions and the portrayal of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender in Venice. Through Shylock’s character, Shakespeare provides a commentary on how his society has viewed Judaism in a dehumanizing way for many generations, but also expresses how difficult and not in a playwright’s place to change these societal prejudices.…

    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Justice is the pursuit of righteousness and moral good standing within an individual or a group. Shakespeare, however, gives new perspective to this idea of justice in his work, The Tempest. Shakespeare critiques justice and portrays it in way in which justice is defined as the rule of the majority, and governed by the person with most power. Through the actions of the main character, Prospero; this new viewpoint of both justice and mercy emerges.…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    All communities run successfully with qualities of fairness and equality. The well-being of the citizens depends on the support and guidance they receive from those with power and influence in their society. When the people become corrupt and start having intentions that do not contribute back to the community, the society will fall apart and be unable to maintain balance and stability. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the reader sees examples of injustice inflicted on the victims within the plays through the people with power within the community. The Christians in The Merchant of Venice mock Shylock the Jew countless times while the high court in The Crucible believe citizens are practicing witchcraft without a proper testimony. In both situations, the Christians and the court see themselves doing the right thing and believe they are contributing to the society when in reality, they break apart the community by persecuting those that are different. The victims in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible suffer from injustice as power being placed in the wrong hands leads to the formation of biased decision, the limited free will of citizens and severe punishments.…

    • 1684 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all, Shylock is portrayed as the victim in the play; he is not mean. He has never done anything to hurt Antonio who is in fact the bad guy. Shylock is being persecuted by Antonio and his friends, because he is a Jew. Antonio had spit on Shylock, called him a misbeliever, a dog, had disgraced him, thwarted his bargains and more. While Shylock did nothing but take it without responding, in hope that one day he could have is revenge. I mean what would you do if you were in his shoes? The same thing. You would want revenge since you haven’t done anything to deserve it. So why can’t he. The one who deserves something bad is not Shylock but Antonio. Second of all, the bond. Antonio is the one who asked money to Shylock even thought he had done horrible things to him. Antonio was aware of the consequences of the bond and agreed to it. He knew that not bringing the money in time would cause him to die, so it is his problem if was not able to pay Shylock on time. He has to be a big boy and take responsibilities for his actions. In all of…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The character Shylock was a stereotypical Jew of his time, and as Jews were generally ostracized from normal society, the audience would have been familiar and understanding with Shakespeare’s characterisation, actually finding Shylock a comedic figure whereas today he is seen as tragic. In Shakespeare’s time, Jews were not treated well at all. This was because they were a minority group, as they had been previously banned from the country by Edward I unless they were willing to convert to Christianity. But, in large European cities, like Venice there was a large Jewish population. As these cities relied on trade, the authorities encouraged Jews to become moneylenders. This was because the Christian law, which…

    • 4069 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Shylock the Jew, one of William Shakespeare's profoundly ambivalent villains, is strangely isolated" (Bloom 24). He is portrayed as a usurer: A leader of money on interest rather than a receiver of stolen goods. This concept will prove to the audience that the Jews are in fact "cheap" and have a frugal sense for possessions. It is an intriguing idea to think that even in Shakespeare's time, stereotyping was a mundane part of their lives. Shakespeare's anti-Semitism seems harsh, but shows that not all Jews are vile like most people believed in his time. Shylock is shown to be hard working (Goddard 5). Believe it or not, there is some…

    • 1483 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Discrimination proves that injustice is shown in both plays. In The Merchant Of Venice, Jews are often mistreated by Christians and this results in Shylock’s mistreatment throughout the play. Shylock is treated like an animal by Antonio. He calls Shylock a throat dog and people never call him by his real name, instead they refer to him as the Jew. Shylock also…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Justice (Othello)

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Discuss and evaluate the view of the concept of Justice in relation to Othello and two supplementary texts.…

    • 1388 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Research Paper

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Although both are essential to human civilization, I will make the point in this essay that mercy must take precedence over justice if we wish to prosper. Shakespeare, as befits his reputation, gives us a grand canvass where all decisions of justice and mercy are inflated in their importance and visibility. King Lear must wield power to make his kingdom work, thus he dispense justice, but do so justly. Mercy…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The characterisation of Portia, through her actions and overall identity, is perhaps the best illustration of Shakespeare’s defiance of these female stereotypes in the play. At first, Portia appears to conform as an obedient, submissive character, but is later revealed to possess great strength and intelligence when challenging her male counterparts, a very controversial notion of her time. This defiance is exemplified when Portia disguises herself as a male judge to save her husband's best friend, manipulating Shylock, the evil Jew, with such conviction that she forces him to lose everything and Antonio’s life to be kept. The quote spoken by Portia during the court trial, ‘if thou dost shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are confiscate unto the state’(Act 4, Scene 1, 309-311) ultimately proves Portia’s intelligence as she solves the plot through…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    senses, affections, passions? – fed with the same food, hurt with the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is?” (pg. 49 lines 55-67). In this quote Shylock expresses that just because he is of the Jewish race, he is no different from a Christian. Shylock knows that he should be getting the same rights as Antonio, but because he is Jewish he has a disadvantage. This is shown in the trial. Shylock had every right to be angry with Antonio, for Antonio constantly insulted him and did not pay him back. But in the end the Jewish man had to…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Are Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Jonson’s Volpone devoted to ‘the performance of justice’?…

    • 2592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays