Religion and Theology

Since the dawn of civilization, the Jews have encountered persecution and just like them, the people of England are not an exception. During the Elizabethan Era, it can be noticed that the English have an anti-Semitic action towards the Jews and this negative bias was clearly illustrated in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice. Shylock, the main character of the story is a Jewish antagonist that has been portrayed prejudicially as a villain and he is labelled as such because of his Jewish affiliation. This misconception about the Jews has been carried over until the 20th century genocide perpetrated by Hitlers army. This inhumane tragedy marked the point that caused the people to notice the suffering of Jews. Therefore, in the eyes of a reader, the characterization of Shylock as a villain was refuted.

Englands negative feelings towards the Jews has an interesting history. It was ardently displayed under the rule of King Edward IV in 1290 when he staged a mass deportation of the Jews to England. Kind Edward ordered all the Jews in his territory to flee France. For the next couple of hundred years the population of the Jews drastically decreased to a few hundreds until they were reinstated to England and was allowed to establish their own communities in 1656 by Cromwells Commonwealth. During the medieval times, the national treasure of a country was held by the King. Way back then, the money lending with interest was orchestrated by the Jews. This system targeted the monarchs and the first one to go was King Charles I in 1649. he was responsible for permitting Jews to return to England to extend financial aid to Cromwell. It is noteworthy to mention the great uncle of Oliver Cromwell was Thomas Cromwell, the one responsible for Henry VIII divorce and separation from Rome. He was the one who trained for money-lending and usurer in the city of Venice. As part of the settlement, the second part of the deal was allowing the Jews to return to England. In 1693, the revenue of the country was less than the estimate expenses and it was the bankers and the Amsterdam Jews that financed the invasion of William Orange. After this event, Amsterdam and Venice both permitted the Jews to live in their territory ( The National Debt and the Bank of England ).

Aside from the deportation and return of the Jews, there was a highly publicized trial before Shakespeare finished writing The Merchant of Venice. In the year 1593, a Jew convert named Dr. Lopez who was Queen Elizabeths doctor was condemned to death for conspiracy against the life of the Queen. He died claiming his innocence and there were evidence that Elizabeth believed him but the trial sensationalized all accusations against the Jews. Dr. Lopez knew Earl of Essex who was a dear friend of Henry Wriothesley to whom Shakespeare dedicated his two works. This chain of connection may prove that Shakespeare was aware of the poor doctors fate (Best).

The Merchant of Venice is a satirical comedy written by William Shakespeare during the time when Jews were greatly prejudiced by the society. The story is about a Jewish money-lender named Shylock and the Christian merchant who is a generous as Shylock is. There are different types of prejudice displayed by various characters like Portias discrimination against ethnicities and Shylock, the main character whose life is filled with plenty of obstacles. Through the discrimination of Portia towards the royalties of different countries and against the people who have Jewish roots, it is not hard to recognize the prejudice that Shakespeare centers on. A critical analysis about this Shakespearian masterpiece is a challenge because no one will truly know what he meant. He may or may not be an anti-Semitic but The Merchant of Venice clearly have traces of anti-Semitic tones. The life of Shylock falls during the time of disturbance for the Jews. He was robbed of his dignity and justice (Shakespeare).

Critics of today feel that this is a troublesome play because of the sensitivities involved. During the Medieval times, the church was extremely strict about usury and doing it was against the doctrines of Christianity. Making money by lending with interest was frown upon for many reasons. It was against the Old Testament for the Jews to engage in such a commercial trade and the Christian churches have adopted this principles since the ancient times. At this point in time, both the Jews and the Christians were viewed fundamentally separate but there is an undeniable symbiosis between them. The Jews were not allowed to loan money with interest to their fellow Jews and the Christians were likewise forbidden by their Church engage in usury with anyone. As such, there was nothing that prevented the Jews from lending money to the Christians. As a result, the Jewish people began to play a huge role in the capitalistic economy of Europe. While the Christians are forbidden to loan money with interest, they lack in motivation to engage in other business risks without any guarantee of return of investment. Therefore, the Jews were despised yet needed at the same time ( The Merchant of Venice ).

It is set in the cosmopolitan center of trade. In this English play, the relationship of the people towards the Jews are filled with tension during this period and because they were banished from England, it is possible that Shakespeare never met or seen any Jewish person and if he had, he probably was unaware of it. This is the extent of his familiarity with a race that he so freely vilifies. It is therefore worth taking into consideration that he gets his understanding of the Jewish people not from his personal experience but from the literature in circulation during his time. Sensitive readers are sure to notice that the villain Shylocks evil nature was not shown to originate from his Judaism and there are other Jews that were depicted in a different way. It is also hard to ignore the fact that Shakespeare is sensitive to the ironical cultural presuppositions that the truth that these moneylenders are needed greatly by the Christians who condemn them because of their being Jewish. In the story, the character Antonio was described as a nice guy but he often abuses Shylock and treats him in a way that seems to be inconsistent with his respectable behavior. This is particularly cited as one of the reasons why Shylock was very eager to have his revenge (Shakespeare).

The Merchant of Venice tells a story about love, finances and hatred and if there is anything that is connecting these stories, it is the aspect of value. All characters continues to give a reason why they value things. Bassanio claims that he is in love with Portia because she is rich, fair and virtues. On the other hand, Shylock hates the religious beliefs of Antonio and he mourned when his daughter eloped with Christian because she has betrayed him and one of the things that he values was the ring that was stolen by his daughter not because of its cost but purely because of sentimental reasons. The world is governed by many risks and this play teaches the readers to learn how to choose between love and hate, between the world as they know it or a terrible one of their own making and they must give all they have in order to achieve something.