Shylock, the Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s comedy The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is a grasping but proud and somewhat tragic figure, and his role and Shakespeare’s intentions continue to be the source of much discussion.
In addition to his baser traits, Shylock is proud and has deep religious instincts. Although clearly portrayed as a vengeful villain for insisting on his rightful payment of Antonio’s debt to him, it is clear that Shylock’s acts at least in part because of the way he himself has been mistreated by Christians. One of them causes his daughter to elope and steal his money and jewels. When it is clear that Shylock has been bested, he delivers an impassioned plea for understanding that still resonates four centuries after it was written: “I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? . . . ” (III:i).