Shylock On The Virtues Of Mercy example essay topic

In this exciting scene at the court, Antonio came to the trial in preparation for his punishment. The Duke made a long speech in which he urged Shylock on the virtues of mercy. However Shylock was unmoved and was determined than ever to get his bond. Portia amongst all the others at the trial knew that justice was on Shylock's side. But she made a powerful addition to the divine quality of mercy, which brought the play to its climax.

Portia was first presented as a young woman still under the command of her dead father. Like most women of the Elizabethan era, she would not be able to control her own life as long as she is a woman. She described herself as "uneducated, unschooled and unpracticed in front of Bassano, which displayed her as a vulnerable woman. However when she appeared in the court dressed as Balthasar, she showed her intelligence and strength.

Her strong personality took full control of the play and the other characters became overshadowed. Mercy was never mentioned by Shylock, showing his strong resistance towards Christianity. A sixteenth-century audience would not have expected Shylock to show any mercy. It was considered a Christian value. Therefore, it was up to the Christians to do so.

However, once Portia had turned the law against Shylock, she did not take the opportunity to give mercy of which she so strongly insisted on. Instead, she took away Shylock's bond, estate and dignity, forcing him to kneel and beg for mercy. The contrast between mercy and revenge in the trial scene reveals the Venetian society as very hypocritical and vengeful. Prior to Portia's famous speech, she asked "Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?" On an Elizabethan stage, the costumes of the two characters would have been very distinguishable. The confusion between the characters showed that despite all the praises of a Christian and dislikes of a Jew, Christians and Jews are in a way alike.

And sometimes a Christian can be just as bad as a Jew. In Portia's forceful speech of the great virtue, she emphasizes upon the mighty power of mercy by saying that it is above the rule of kings and a power of God. It is to make Shylock recognize the superiority of the Christian values. The delusion of power tempts Shylock into believing that he can share this power by being merciful. "It is twice blest, it bless eth him that gives and him that takes". Overall, the quality of mercy speech is very important in the play because it sets Shylock up for his later misfortunes.

And shows the differences between Christian and Jewish values. The audience of the sixteenth century would have greatly enjoyed this scene for the villain is punished and the interesting transformation of Portia from a woman to a man. Portia's understanding of mercy is based on the New Testament. She suggests Shylock to show mercy because it is what's preached in the Bible. We can see this from the quote "We do pray for mercy and that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.

However, Shylock's faith in the Old Testament holds a very different view. While the New Testament, emphasizes forgiveness and salvation, the Old Testament depicts strict adherence to rules and performing harsh punishments on those who did wrong. Therefore, when Portia asks Shylock to be merciful, she is also asking him to accept Christianity by accepting the teachings of the New Testament.