‘Compare the Presentation of Shylock in the play and Michael Radford’s Film adaptation’

In the Merchant of Venice Shylock has two distinct personalities’ which shine through in the film and the Play. The idea that he could be either a Villain or a Victim is the main concept many people try to grasp however he shows signs in both the play and Michael Radford’s film interpretation.

In the play Shakespeare wrote shylock in such a way that he could be viewed as a heartless villain as for his vengeful thinking. An example of this is when Salarino asked shylock what good Antonio’s flesh would be to him and Shylock replied ‘if it will feed nothing else; it will feed my revenge. He hath Discarded me and hindered me half a million laughed at my losses, mocked my gains, and scorned my nation’. This clearly portrays Shylock as a stereotypical villain as you expect the villain to seek revenge and that is what Shylock is clinging onto because of all the wrongs Antonio put upon him: ‘laughed at my losses, mocked my gains’, and his drive to see that Antonio’s pound of flesh is rightfully given to him, which will most likely kill him, can be a close conception to shylock being compared to Devil like in his choice of actions. Additionally this idea of Shylock acting like the devil closely incorporates to the idea on the way Shylock Treats Jessica. She seems to be held up by her fathers wishes as she answers in a servant like manner ‘what is your will’ and the way that Jessica is clearly speaking in prose shows her inequality in the house hold and her acceptance that she is of lower status. Though she strongly states to Lancelot ‘Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil’ Going back to the point that Shylock is the Devil, the devil is the ruler of hell and Shylock is the ruler of the house hold and this quote shows how Jessica feels like Shylock is ruling her life in that house and that her desperate attempt to try and escape from his grasp only shows how much she despises his need for control and power which once again has all the characteristics a villain would have. In the film adaptation by Michael Radford you can see the emotion pent up on Shylocks face which gives us a better perspective of what shylock is feeling at any moment in time. When he found out that Jessica had left he fell to the floor and started to cry as if he was in pain and we couldn’t tell shylock was in this kind of emotional state reading the text; but watching the movie you can see his true colours and the connotation shows that Shylock is in heartache merely looking at his body Language because he dropped to the ground which could signify that Jessica made him strong and willing but her absence makes him week ,and the denotation is when he grasped onto the curtain for support as if it was the only stable thing in his life and he hid behind it like he was ashamed of his actions. They use a tracking shot to follow Shylock calling and looking for Jessica in the rain revealing how desperate he is to find her and the weather can be a physical representation of his emotions. In this scene Shylock is seen as very fragile, this leads you to believe he is a victim as he may be driven to the actions he makes which in turn offers a new perspective on the comments believed to be from a vengeful nature. In Act one Scene 3 he boldly states ‘I hate him for he is a Christian’ this was thought to be a rude, inconsiderate thing to say, however thinking about how Jews where treated back in Shakespearean Times you can understand Shylocks Underlying hate for Antonio and you start to despise the way he treated Shylock ‘You spat on me Wednesday Last ……. You called me a dog’ this unacceptable treatment can make the reader feel like shylocks the victim because of his mistreatment in society as well as him not acknowledging his actions in the home which lead Jessica’s leave.

Although you have this undertone of sympathy for Shylock you can still see him as a Villain because he has blinded himself with seeking revenge he has lost sight of everything else and you can tell his pure fixation on Antonio in the play and the Film. Shylock states that ‘ if I can catch him on the hip I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him’ This statement represents everything Shylock is appealing for and the loss of his daughter could

of made him fixate on getting it. He sates ‘I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him ‘which shows he has had a long relationship with Antonio and that relationship was built on abuse so it seems as if he gets his revenge then he and Antonio will be equal, though that kind of obsession lead to Shylock being viewed as a Villain because of his relentless Actions. In the film version the use of Mise en Scéne in Shylocks scenes are very effective as the use of sound and lighting is often bleak, dull and ominous reflecting Shylocks actions which links to when Jessica comments ‘ I am a daughter to his blood , I am not to his manners’ and this shows how even Jessica realizes how her fathers is sly and that his actions where often made out of unflinching cruelty and that’s what pushed her away

In Conclusion appearance vs. reality can be the difference in seeing Shylock as Villain or a Victim because if you read about shylock in the play he is seemed to be a cold hearted man, however seeing 1st hand his emotions with all kinds of close up shots and low angle shots it enables us to see Shylocks underlying emotions by his facial expressions and body Language and this makes people feel he is a Victim because of how we can openly see how Shylock is really feeling. Shylock is presented as a Victim to me because of the way he is treated he is lead to act as a villain and that physiological implement changes the whole idea of how he is intentionally being a villain in my eyes.