How To Read The Merchant Of Venice

In the author’s notes of the graphic novel of The Merchant of Venice, Gareth Hinds begins his sentiments by stating “The Merchant of Venice is a controversial play” (Hinds, 2008, p. 69). My thoughts upon reading this first sentence, and I read it before reading the play, was simply ‘why?’. As I continued reading Hinds’ introduction paragraph of his notes, the most influential word that jumped off the page was anti-Semitism. Being a Jewish individual myself, this word struck home immediately, and made me weary of reading the play at all. Knowing that there was no way to avoid reading The Merchant of Venice, I decided to prepare myself. Before opening the play to even the first line, I researched why Shakespeare was using anti-Semitic dialog

When Shylock is first introduced, his first words are “Three thousand ducats; well” (1.3.326). First impressions are everything, and the first impression the audience receives of Shylock is that he is money driven. The Elizabethan audience would have recognized Shylock as a Jew immediately because of the red hat that was required to be worn by all Jews. As Shylock’s introductory scene continues, we learn that he has been called names for his religious beliefs and been spat upon by Antonio because he is Jewish (1.3.438-39). Antonio responds to these accusations by admitting to them, and even acknowledging that he will likely do those things again because of Shylock’s religion (1.3.456-57). By the end of Shylock’s opening scene, the audience can see that Shakespeare has embraced anti-Semitism and even used it to describe Shylock’s social and cultural standing. The audience is then led to believe that Shylock, and Jews in general, are inhumane and irrational, because if Antonio does not pay the money owed, he is to give Shylock a pound of his flesh (1.3.476-79). By creating the money driven, cold-hearted, and greedy persona of Shylock, Shakespeare easily connects to his audience and sets Shylock up to have a comedic