Examples Of Anti-Semitism In Shakespeare's Plays

In looking at Shakespeare plays as a whole, it is fair to say that religion has seemingly always been a point of controversy. With this being said, none of his plays have generated more religious controversy than The Merchant of Venice. While this play seemed to hold more moving and emotional passages than any of the others we have read so far, I found Shakespeare to be extremely blunt about the insertion of anti-semitism into the play. While some try to argue that Shakespeare is able to save himself through the later dialogue and speeches, making this play every bit as anti-Christian as it is anti-Semitic, this is not the case. In the words of critic Harold Bloom in his 1998 book Shakespeare and the Invention of the Human, "One would have

He is portrayed by Shakespeare as a stereotypical Jewish loan shark, and is extremely tight with his money. He is shown to be known, at least among the Christian community, to offer loans only for interest, and his reputation is such that even Antonio seems to be dreading the need to do business with him. Another example of this stereotyping can be seen in Shylock’s reaction when his daughter runs from home with her Christian husband, taking much of his money and jewels with her. It is his reaction to this when Shakespeare extends anti-Semitism, as he gives the reader the sense that Shylock is unsure which loss is greater to him, that of his jewels or his daughter, stating “I would my daughter/ were dead at my foot and the jewels in her ear!/ Would she were hearsed at my foot and the ducats/ in her coffin” (III.i.75-78). It also goes without saying that the thirst that Shylock has for revenge on Antonio when he cannot pay back the loan in time is extreme. By exaggerating and building up the story in such a way where Shakespeare can make it seem that Shylock is going to take a pound of flesh from Antonio with nothing stopping him, he is able to further build Shylock up to be a ruthless character, which adds to the anti-Semitic nature of the work. In the end however, it is not about whether the work is not anti-Semitic, but rather that the it is not nearly as anti-Christian, which can be seen