Post de Teste

Shakespeare presents the conflict between Jews and Christians through Shylock’s dialogue with Antonio during his first meeting with Antonio and Bessanio. Shylock says, “Yes, to smell pork, to eat of the habitation which now prophet the Nazarite conjured into the devil into.” Shylock refers to Jesus as “prophet” and “Nazarite” which sounds derogatory which have made the Christian audience at the time, feel incensed towards Shylock, mocking Jews seem antagonistic in their conflict with Christians.

Shakespeare talks about how long Jews and Christians have been in conflict for a long time and he uses a metaphor when Shylock says, “for sufferance is the badge of all our tribe”. By comparing the “sufferance” that the Jewish community endures to a “badge”, which has connotation of something won in order to show to others, Shakespeare conveys that the conflict between Jews and Christians has gone on for a substantial amount of time.

Antonio believes that he has power in the conflict between Shylock and him at this point the play, as the reader can see when he says, “I am as like to call thee so again”. The adverb “again” suggests something which will be repeated, which implies that Antonio will keep offending Shylock even after he lends his money. Their conflict may be seen as a microcosm which reflects the macrocosm of the conflict between Jews and Christians in the seventeenth century. Antonio may be seen by modern day audiences as being unnecessarily cruel towards Shylock, and so Shakespeare actually presents the wide conflict between Jews and Christians in an unbiased way for often playwrights at the time. For example, Marlowe’s presentation of this conflict is highly questionable, with the title character in the Jews of Malta being incredibly evil.

Shylock makes Antonio think that he is submitting to him by saying “This kindness will I show…Seal me there/your single bond.” The abstract noun “kindness” suggests that Shylock is extending friendship to Antonio. However, the use of the term “bond” implies that Shylock is in control as he will have legal power over Antonio. Shylock is duplicitous here, and both Antonio and Bessanio acknowledge this, yet Antonio signs the legal document which states if he cannot pay back the three thousand ducats in three months, he will forfeit one pound of flesh from “wheresoe'er” Shylock “pleaseth”.