(Shylock…)
To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced
me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned
my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies – and what’s
his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same
weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and
cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is?
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? If we are like you in the rest, we
will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a
Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why,
revenge! The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better
the instruction.
Object 1: Shylock’s monologue Act 3 Scene 1
Source - StageMilk (https://www.stagemilk.com/)
Research Question: Is it acceptable for someone to seek revenge after being abused?
Does that make them the bad guy or a victim? Does it make their abuser the victim or
the bad guy?
IA Prompt: How might the context in which the knowledge is presented influence
whether it is accepted or rejected?
Shylock was the villain from the start as he disrupted storylines of sub-characters. The main
character Antonio’s friend ended up needing shylock’s help but he was not able to return it. He
asked Antonio’s help. Antonio made a bargain with Shylock on expense of a pound of his own
flesh. I thought how cruel it was for Shylock to name such a bargain. I thought it’s Antonio that
should be seeking revenge due to the abuse he suffered. I despised Shylock as he solely hated
Antonio for being christian, as i relate to getting hate for having different beliefs it made my
anger heighten. I reread the book and came across this monologue.This time I was able to look
past the biased storyline and realized that it was Shylock who suffered most at Antonio's hands.
Shylock elicits sympathy because of the violence he endures because of his Jewishness. This
made me understand his hatred for christians as they are the ones causing his suffering.
Knowledge and context go hand in hand. Context helps us decide what means what. The
context in which knowledge is presented influences how it’s perceived. If we were given
different perspectives, from shylock's side and given context, readers would be more
sympathetic towards shylock. Perspective can shape the way we perceive text. If Antonio and
his friends too were given a different social perspective they might have made better relations
with shylock. being in the same social group they had same perspectives they all looked at the
situation the same way and despised shylock for being jew. Therefore the object links to the
prompt. It is clear how knowledge can be perceived, rejected or accepted depending on the
context and perspective provided.
REFERENCES:
Team, S. (2021). The Merchant of Venice: Shylock Monologue (Act 3 Scene 1) | Monologues Unpacked.
StageMilk. Retrieved 4 May 2022, from
https://www.stagemilk.com/the-merchant-of-venice-shylock-monologue-act-3-scene-1/.
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