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Shylock

Shylock ( ; spelled Shylocke in the First Folio) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax of the story.

Key facts

Character.name: Shylock
Character.series: The Merchant of Venice
Character.image: Ernst von Possart as Shylock.jpg
Character.caption: Shylock portrayed by the actor Ernst von Possart,
Character.creator: William Shakespeare
Character.family: Jessica (daughter)
Character.based_on: Barabas, from The Jew of Malta
Character.first_major: The Merchant of Venice
Character.religion: Judaism
Character.spouse: Leah (deceased)
Character.occupation: Moneylender
Character.nationality: Venetian

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

17 sections

Contents

Name
In the play
Historical background
Portrayal
Shylock on stage and screen
Other representations
Notable portrayals
Shylock and antisemitism
Antisemitic reading
Sympathetic reading
Influence on antisemitism
Shylock as an allusion
See also
References
Bibliography
Further reading
External links

Shylock's characterisation is composed of stereotypes, for instance greediness and vengefulness, although there were no legally practising Jews who lived in England during Shakespeare's time. Jews were expelled from the country in 1290 by Edward I in the Edict of Expulsion; this was not reversed until the mid-17th century (the Cromwell Era).