Ignorance and Hate in "The Merchant of Venice"

Ignorant men often hate without reason. Shakespeare however, was certainly not ignorant; even though at first glance his play, The Merchant of Venice, might seem to endorse many anti-Semitic sentiments, the truth is quite opposite. Shakespeare aptly balances satisfying his audience and delivering a subliminal message by giving the Christian characters the "victory" and leaving Shylock so destitute as to command sympathy. Through Shylock's character and his treatment in the court, Shakespeare subliminally denounces anti-Semitism.
In Shakespeare's time during the Elizabethan era, Jews were the scapegoats and were often portrayed as the classic villain. They were given no real depth in theatre in respect to character but Shylock deviates from the stereotype. Shylock is more complex than many of the Christian characters because though Shylock hates Antonio "for
In earlier plays that also portrayed Jews, they were often simple and only capable of villainy like Barabas in The Jew of Malta. He stole, murdered, and cheated and met an unfortunate and gruesome end in boiling oil. Shylock is the first portrait of a Jew wronged by Christians instead of the other way around as demonstrated by the way Barabas and the stereotypical Jew was thought to act. This character is most likely an analogy to Barabbas who was a criminal in the New Testament of the Christian bible. This analogy reflects accurately the sentiments of that time that the Jews were as good as criminals. By allowing Shylock to deviate from the mainstream, Shakespeare is also making a statement against anti-Semitism. Shylock experiences many tragedies like the loss of his daughter and the assumed loss of his ring in exchange for a monkey. He feels grief upon hearing the news of his daughter's extravagance. He feels joy when news of Antonio's ill luck reaches his ears. He eagerly questions "What, what, what? Ill luck, ill luck?" (p 43). These all demonstrate the human aspects of Shylock and are similar to the reactions that a Christian would have in the same situation. The similarity is used to scorn the proponents of anti-Semitism.
In the court scene, Shakespeare uses many subliminal messages to target anti-Semitism. Throughout the whole play, he gives Shylock nothing but grief; from the constant abuse from Antonio, his eloping daughter, and finally the technicality that bars him from obtaining justice. Portia exploits the literal interpretation of "a pound of flesh" and the fact that the bond fails to mention "blood" (p 72). Portia is relentless, not giving up even when Shylock opts to take the money. Even when Bassanio consents and offers "here is the money," Portia will not allow it. This is coupled with verbal abuse from Gratiano. Gratiano goes so far as to say "Beg that thou mayst have leave to hang thyself" (p 74). Shakespeare hopes that even the prejudiced Christian audience will feel that Gratiano's insults overstep what is acceptable and that the combined weight of all of Shylock's misfortunes will elicit some sort of reaction from the audience. Shakespeare also makes a more direct statement in Shylock when stating "These be Christian husbands" when Bassanio and Gratiano say that they would easily leave their wives. To top all of the misfortunes before it and in what seems to be the symbolic death of Shylock, Shakespeare has Shylock convert to Christianity which also has ties to the fluctuating official religion of England due to the shifts of power in the Elizabethan era. This conversion strips Shylock of all which had represented him before. He is no longer allowed to attend Synagogue and is ostracized by both the Christian and Jewish community. The Christian treatment of the Jew implants a feeling of guilt to those in the audience that participates and indulges in anti-Semitic beliefs.
Shakespeare utilizes two basic tactics in order to subliminally convey his message to his Christian audience. He uses the argument that Jews and Christians are alike and the overly harsh treatment of Shylock in the courtroom to garner sympathy. These two, along with many others, leave the audience with a lesson that they may have unconsciously learned.