Is Shylock A Villain In The Merchant Of Venice

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In The Merchant of Venice, a play by William Shakespeare, money-lender Shylock is proven to have a villainous demeanor. Shylock holds a hatred towards a Christian merchant, and there is not a strong explanation to support the intense hatred. Also, instead of charging penalties, he fancies human flesh as a penalty to the debtor. Finally, he will not accept immense sums of money instead of the agreed upon bond. In the text, Shylock is continually proved as a murderous villain with insufficient reasoning for his unruly behavior.
Shylock is shown to be a villain because of the way he acts towards Antonio in Act 1, Scene 3 of the play. Shylock is making a contract for a loan with Bassanio so that he can woo Portia with “his” money, which is really Shylock’s. Bassanio tells him that the loan will be paid for with Antonio’s credit, and Shylock scoffs at the mention of Antonio’s name. Shylock insults Antonio and blames him for lost customers in his money-lending business stating, “I hate him for he is a Christian; / But more for that in low simplicity / He lends out money gratis and brings down the rate of usance here with us in Venice,” (Shakespeare 1.3.38-41). Simplified, this quote means “I hate Antonio because he is a Christian, but also because he lends out money for free which brings down the interest rates in Venice.” Because Shylock is Jewish, he is allowed to lend money with interest, a forbidden sin in the Christian religion, what Antonio follows. Shylock rudely jumps to

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