Is Shylock a comedic villain or a tragic character? Please use what you have learned about tragedy and comedy as well as evidence from the text to support your answer.
I believe that Shylock's character is a mixture between a comedic villain and a tragic character. He definitely portrays the stereotype of the Jewish at the time, as he is bloodthirsty and (in the court scene) seems to be incapable of being merciful; but, at the same time, is able to be sympathized with. Being that there were so many negative connotations with the Jewish at the time, he was really set apart and hated by others- this is where the tragic character element comes in. He describes the injustice and his frustration with the system of things by saying:
“If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,
do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.
If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility?
Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his
sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge.
The villainy you teach me, I will execute,
and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”
Shakespeare might not have made this character out to be sympathized with, and that little monologue could've been a way for the audience to laugh at his weakness or something. But, in a time so tolerant of different ethnicities and races as ours, we can't help but feel bad for his experience thus far. That is why I think he is a mixture of the two.
I agree with you that we can't help but sympathies with Shylock do to the times we live in. But this play wasn't written in our times so we must use Shakespeare's world as a basis for our decision on the role of Shylock. Using this I believe Shylock is a comedic villain, since he would have been hated both because he was a Jew and because he was so blood thirsty. Our views are different because of events that have happened since Shakespeare, i.e. The Holocaust, but that wasn't something that had happened when the play was written, so there would have been no sympathy for Shylock, therefore making him a comedic villain.
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