Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare is about a Jew called Shylock who tries to kill Antonio, a Christian, by lending him money, but if he fails to pay it back on time, Shylock gets a pound of his flesh. Antonio is portrayed as a ‘higher’ soul basically because he is a Christian. A higher soul is someone who is poetic, likes music, or in the Medieval speech a Christian. Shylock is presented as a ‘lower’ soul, a lower soul is not poetic, does not have a good taste for music, or again in medieval context, a Jew. Throughout history Jews have always been persecuted, it dates all the way back to the Ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians used the Jews as a scapegoat for the country’s problems, so it was a case of follow the leader for the rest of history. The Christians have been in charge throughout this persecution. This persecution continued throughout the medieval age, Jews were regarded as the killer of Christ, as it was said in the bible. Th...