10th August 2007
Merchant of Venice & Jewish Persecution
Character Analysis
After viewing several versions of The Merchant of Venice, you can see that how characters are presented determines our interpretation of Shakespeare’s intended “meaning.” Use a Character Scale to map out your understanding.
Also look for a series of clips from the Michael Radford production and the documentary The Yellow Star.
Links on The Holocaust
- Why the Jews?
- Chronology of Jewish Persecution - 1932 - 1945, from the Jewish Virtual Library
- Holocaust Timeline - from History Place
- Brief timeline of Jewish Persecution - from the Holocaust Museum
- 11 Million Perished
- The Holocaust - from Wikpedia
- Online Testimony Viewer - from Survivors of the Shoah
- Photos from the Warsaw Ghetto
- Lódz Ghetto - photo gallery
- Holocaust Resources - Extensive Filamentality Hotlist
You can also join a Community on this topic in OPLE
This entry was posted on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 7:29 am and is filed under Activities, Hotlists.
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Why does everyone think Portia is bad? I don’t understand it. I think she’s alright because she saved Antonio’s life for Bassanio
Shylock is definitely the victim in this play and Bassanio is eviiillll. Does anyone else think that when Portia is dressed up as a man she looks like Deuce Bigalow?
shylock is often considered the evil character in this play. what do you think ? based on individual actions do you think the retaliation was justified ? could previous actions justify it ?
do you think antonio is just as much a villain as shylock?
Is the Merchant of Venice more about Shylock and Judaism than Antonio, the actual merchant of Venice?
Why did Shakespeare choose to have a Jewish moneylender, rather than a Christian one?
Should Shylock have been able to leave when he found out that he would not be able to cut the pound of flesh out of Antonio? Should he have been able to take the money as well?
Do you think that anyone in the Merchant of Venice is a good guy? It seems to me that they all represent varying degrees of evil, with Portia perhaps the most evil (how vindictive can you get?) and The Duke of Venice perhaps the least (because he’s just, but still racist).
What do you think?
I found the talk from Mrs. McDonald very interesting and the fact she could not decide on whether ‘The Merchant Of Venice’ was antisemitic or not. What are your thoughts on this?
Portia: evil or elegant?
What do you think?
The character of Portia is interpreted differently. What is your point of view on the way she is presented in the Al Pacino film compared to the original BBC version?
I think Sylock looked like he was praying in the Al Pacino version because he was taking revenge in a symbolic way, like he was taking back his “Flesh and blood” from the Christians who had stolen his daughter, his own “Flesh and blood.” He was praying because he knew what he was doing was wrong, bu he wanted revenge. You saw those other Jews shaking their heads at him. So… what do you think?
hey fran, yes I think that Shylock’s actions can be justified because everyone else in the play is so anti-semitic, they drive him to revenge on Antonio. Shylock is a good guy but everyone makes him look bad, especially at the end when they take away all his money etc just because he is jewish and force him to convert to Christianity.
The way an actor interprets Shylock as a character can have a dramatic effect on the ‘Merchant Of Venice’. In these ways, the audience is placed in a position to be influenced by this interpretation. Do you think that Shakespeare himself composed the play to have Shylock performed as a victim or villain?
Why did Shylock not just kill Antonio? He could have taken Antonio down with him. What do you think?
I find Portia to be quite a tease and a ‘villain’ in some respects, you better agree with me or I’ll release Shylock on you!
Shyock is my favourite character in The Merchant Of Venice, because i can empathise with him. if i was put in that position, i would definitely act differently. When the christians forced their faith upon me, and took all my wares and money, i would go RAMBO and stab antonio and portia to death. Shylock is a walking dead man anyway, so why not go out in style. What would you do in his position?
Yes ed she was quite a tease dressed as a guy.
Shakespeare: anti- semitic? I just do not know.
Hehe John! Maybe he didn’t want to die a slow and painful death.
the talk with mrs macdonald yesterday was extremly interesting for me, it taught me a lot of thing about the religion that i didnt know and things that also changed my point of view of the certain religion. Actually a lot of people, even if you dont believe/ follow in a religion (like me) actually do certain traditions and ways of the jews, wether its a celebration or thought or way of life. Mrs Macdonald explained to us in depth about the jewish way but i found that she didnt mention the play or even shylock in any way. when she was asked about it she would iether change the subject or say we have no time. what do you think???
I agree with you Tara, they’re all evil! It’s that sort of play… Do you think that Shakespeare was anti-semitic? That Slave speech and Has not a Jew Eyes speech,as well as the predominately evil Christian characters make me think he isn’t. What do you think?
i found the talk that Mrs Madcdonald presented to our year ten class yesterday was very interesting.Although I thought she was going to talk a bit more about the holocaust and about her family struggles in that time period.But what she did talk about was how the Jewish people lived and how her family and herself lived in America and how they still struggled to fit in with their community.Also how Mrs Macdonald herself couldnt decide whether or not she found merchant of venice anti-semitic. What did you like?? peace out a bit of cake .. rikkonator
shylock said he might aswell be dead with everything taken away from him… if he really meant this, would he had just taken Antonios life anyway?
Shylock is unquestionably one of the most complex characters that Shakespeare has ever written. What do you think? He is viewed by many as a victim but is treated like a villain. Is his inflicted treatment fair or unjust?
Jessica is really confusing me. Is she evil or is she just another victim in this play? And if she is a victim, does that make Shylock evil?
Al Pacino is a legend and the way he protrayed Shylock was very nice!!! I liked his expressions, especially in the court scene. In a way, you pity Shylock
I don’t know, Claire. I think he quite likely was anti-semitic (he was a brilliant playwright, but that doesn’t immediately make him a human rights activist). Those speeches do seem to be pro-Jew, but Shakespeare certainly doesn’t waste any time grinding Shylock into the dirt in the court scene.
Jessica is just a bystander who made her dad’s day really crappy. She just stands on the side line occasionally contributing something.
Is Shakespeare anit-semitic or not? Considering the contents of this play and the times in which he is there’s a huge possibility that he was. So why didn’t he simply make Shylock the bad guy? Why is Shylock considered one of Shakespeare’s more human characters, if he was meant to be the bad guy? Shouldn’t he just be a two dimentional character and have malicious intent all the way through the play? And if Shakespeare was anti-semitic, why does some of Shylock’s speeches seem so sympathetic to the plight of the Jew?