GCSE-ready- Home
- Lessons
- GCSE & IGCSE English Literature
- The Merchant of Venice: the characters
The Merchant of Venice: the characters
🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.
Is Shylock a villain or a victim? Shakespeare lets him be both, which is why the play is so debated.
Shylock
He has been insulted for years: "You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, / And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine."
In an aside he says "I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him."
He defends his humanity: "Hath not a Jew eyes?... If you prick us, do we not bleed?" but uses the speech to justify revenge.
In an aside he says "I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him."
He defends his humanity: "Hath not a Jew eyes?... If you prick us, do we not bleed?" but uses the speech to justify revenge.
Antonio and Bassanio
Antonio is generous to his friend but openly abuses Shylock. He opens the play sad: "In sooth, I know not why I am so sad."
Bassanio is charming but in debt. He chooses lead, the casket that warns: "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath."
Bassanio is charming but in debt. He chooses lead, the casket that warns: "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath."
Portia and Jessica
Portia is clever and witty, but bound by her father's will. In disguise she outwits the men of Venice and pleads: "The quality of mercy is not strain'd."
Jessica escapes her father's house; Shylock's reported cry "My daughter! O my ducats!" mixes grief and greed.
Jessica escapes her father's house; Shylock's reported cry "My daughter! O my ducats!" mixes grief and greed.
How does the "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech make the audience see Shylock?
- He lists shared human experiences: bleeding, laughing, dying.
- This makes the audience recognise his humanity.
- But he ends by justifying revenge, so he is both victim and threat.
Answer: As a human being wronged by prejudice, who has turned his suffering into a wish for revenge.
Shylock: wronged, vengeful, human. Antonio: generous friend but prejudiced. Bassanio: charming debtor. Portia: clever, constrained by her father, wins the trial. Jessica: escapes her father.
Check you have got it
Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.