Moment 4 - Act 3 Scene 1

“Lest the devil cross my prayer, for here he comes in the likeness of a Jew” “if the devil may be her judge”

“Lest the devil cross my prayer, for here he comes in the likeness of a Jew” “if the devil may be her judge”

Shylock is constantly compared to the devil, at least twice in this scene. However words like ‘devil’ were considered derogatory and highly offensive in an overall very religious society, which shows how little care and respect Christians such as Solanio have for him or his feelings and how extremely negatively they view Shylock just because of his faith.

Repetition (structure)

Shylock repeats “let him look to his bond” three times, because the bond is the only thing Shylock has left, so he is relishing in the power it gives him.

“Laughed at my losses, mocked my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains”

These are very hostile, aggressive verbs which Shylock uses to portray Antonio as a horrible petty person, to evoke sympathy for himself and somewhat justify his revenge. Also, the repetition of the personal pronoun ‘my’ makes Antonio’s mistreatment of Shylock seem personal and repetitive, portraying him as a bully.

Prose (structure)

Shylock’s monologue is written in prose, even though it is in a public place, which shows how these are Shylock’s deepest, most honest emotions as he is not putting on pretences anymore.

“I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?”

Shakespeare uses this monologue to get people to confront their own prejudices. The listing and complex sentences used before and after the simple blunt statement “I am a Jew” contrasts with it so as to draw attention to it. The blunt simplicity of the line reinforces how Antonio and society’s hatred of him is baseless and pointless, as him being Jewish is the only reason for their hatred, and the lack of embellishment on this statement further reinforces this. Also, Shylock opens by mentioning physical features which are in arguable facts before moving on to emotions and senses. He rejects the stereotypes of Jewish people being uncaring cruel people, and shows how they are really no different to anyone else, humanising them. The listing further emphasises the vast amount of similarities Shylock has with the Christians.

“If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

Shylock uses emotive language and lots of rhetorical questions to get the audience and characters to stop and reflect on their prejudices. He describes normal situations in life to show how Jews are no different to anyone else, and bleeding, laughing and dying are all natural responses and processes which make sense, further humanising him. However, revenge is also a natural response, so it gives reason and justification for his revenge.

“The villainy you teach me I shall execute, and it shall go hard, but I will better the instruction”

This statement summarises the reason for Shylock’s revenge and foreshadows what will happen next. Shylock promises to be as cruel as the Christians have been to him, using the Christians’ power and authority against them to justify his own actions as he did with the bible story in Act 1 Scene 3, as he says they have taught him to be a villain through their actions, so although it will be difficult and will have consequences, he will be worse.

Shylock uses lots of short, incoherent, repetitive, exclamatory sentences (structure)

This undermines the previous dignity of his speech and implies he believes no one has every suffered as much as him. He is exaggerating the role of victim and being melodramatic.

“I would have my daughter dead at my foot… and the ducats in her coffin”

Shylock wishes his daughter and the money were both dead - shows how all he cares about now is justice and revenge.

“I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor. I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys.”

This implies that the ring is the most precious thing that Shylock owned, a memory of his late wife who he loved and lost. The material value did not matter to him, just the sentimental value, but Jessica just cruelly gave it away for a monkey. This evokes sympathy for Shylock.

“Other men have ill luck too”

Tubal does not back Shylock up even though he is Jewish and has helped Shylock in the past, which shows how Shylock really has nothing left and no one supporting him.