Many factors need to be contemplated when determining if Shylock is to be considered a victim or a villain. It is difficult to class Shylock as simply a victim or villain as he is a complex character who can be interpreted in different ways. Anti Semitism was normal in Shakespeare’s era; therefore a Shakespearian audience would have regarded Shylock as a villain. In this period usury was condemned by the Christian religion. this meant …showed first 75 words of 1106 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1106 total…deceased wife. If mercy is enstowed in the heart of beings, if it is an attribute to God himself then forcing Shylock to change his religion, was just as cruel as the pursuit of Shylock’s bond. Everyone should have the freedom of belief There is no way of knowing how Shakespeare intended Shylock to be portrayed. I feel he intended him to be a victim, created to confront the pre-conceptions of the Elizabethan era.