George Washington University

Shylock's Humanity
Author(s): John R. Cooper
Source: Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Spring, 1970), pp. 117-124
Published by: Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University
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 Shylock's
Humanity
JOHN R. COOPER

HE familiarcontroversyoverShylock'smoralcharacter has in
recentyearsachieveda partialresolution.The Romanticcon-
ceptionof Shylockas victim-hero of the play has been satis-
demolished.
factorily At the same time, Stoll's red-haired,
bottle-nosed
ShylockthatShakespeareallegedly"must"have
intendedfor"historical"reasonshas, I think,been shownto
be irrelevantto Shakespeare'splay.' We are not obligedby any historicalevi-
dence to thinkthatShakespeareintendedto depicta Jewas a grotesquechar-
acteror thatsuch a stupidcaricaturewas presentedto the play's Elizabethan
audience.We are to respondto ShylockneitherwiththecruelderisionofStoll's
Elizabethansnor with the tearfulsympathyof the lovelynineteenth-century
woman whom Heine heard exclaim,"The poor man is wronged."2But while
recentcriticshave achievedthismuch of a consensus,theydisagreeover the
depthand the consistency of Shylock'svillainyand over the relationshipbe-
tweenhis wickednessand his being a Jew.One view of Shylockis thathe is
the resultof opposedbut unresolvedconceptionsof him in his creator'smind.
It is suggestedthat Shakespeareintendedonly a comic villain reflecting his
ElizabethanprejudiceagainstJews,but he respondedat the same time to his
genius for creatingrich and significantcharacters.Accordingto this view,
Shakespeare'simaginationcouldnotbutgive flesh,blood,and, aboveall, motive
and sympathy to what was originallyintendedto be a stockfigure.This is the
generalimportof H. B. Charlton'slecture. Granville-Barker arguessomewhat
similarlythatShylockis greatenoughfora tragicrole,and thatShakespeare
had deliberately to cut him down to size to fitthis comedy.4More recently,
BernardGrebanierand WarrenD. Smithhave arguedthatShylockis entirely
consistent in his greedand vengefulness,and thatcriticshave introducedincon-
sistencyonlyby mistakenly seeinghim as the victimof religiousbigotry.Both
arguethatShylock'sbeinga Jewis notimportant, eitherto theothercharacters
in the play, who abuse him forhis usuryratherthan for his religion,or to
Shylockhimself,who uses his religionas a falseissue to draw attentionaway
fromhisvillainy.5
Perhaps the chiefpiece of evidencefor the sympathetic interpretation of
Shylockis the familiarspeech,or ratherthefamiliarfragment of a speech,that
Shylockmakesto Salanio and Salarinoin Act III, scenei:
I am a Jew.Hathnota Jeweyes?hathnota Jewhands,organs,dimensions,
1 AlfredHarbage,As TheyLiked It (New York,i947), pp. 23-24.
2 BernardGrebanier,The TruthAboutShylock(New York,1962), p. 158.
3 H. B. Charlton,
ShakespeareanComedy(London,1938), pp. 123-360.
4 H. Granville-Barker,
Prefacesto Shakespeare(2nd ser.) (London, 3939), p. 98.
5 Grebanier,pp. 175-180 and 187-189. WarrenD. Smith,"Shakespeare'sShylock",SQ, XV
(Summeri964), 198-199.

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ii8 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY

passions?fed withthe same food,hurtwiththe same

senses,affections,
weapons,subjectto thesamediseases,healedbythesamemeans,warmed
and cooledbythesamewinterand summer, is? If youprick
as a Christian
us,do we notbleed?ifyoutickleus,do we notlaugh?ifyoupoisonus,do
we not die? and if you wrongus, shallwe not revenge?If we are like
youin therest,we will resembleyouin that.If a Jewwronga Christian,
whatis his humility?Revenge.If a Christian wronga Jew,whatshould
be by Christianexample?Why,revenge.The villainyyou
his sufferance
teachme, I will execute,and it shall go hard but I will betterthe in-
struction.6
Hardin Craig says of this speech (p. 517n.), "The appeal cannotbut attract
sympathy to Shylock",and so it has done withmanycritics.There is no need
to rehearsethereactionsto thisspeechby criticswho have foundShylockto be
a sympathetic character,but it is worthnoticingthateven criticswho insiston
Shylock'svillainyalso find it a powerfulappeal to the audience'ssympathy
and senseof justice.Thus Grebaniersees it as demonstrating thatShakespeare
was incapable of racial bigotry,and he characterizesthe speech as "noble,
manly,superblyconvincing". He adds (p. 204), however,thatShylock'spurpose
in utteringthis speech is "self-justification for villainyintended".Curiously,
thoughStoll had pointedout thatthe speechfromwhichtheselines are taken
beginsand endswithrevenge,'onlyveryrecently has itbeennoticed,byWarren
Smith,that the speechsays verylittleto justifyor defendShylock.Shylock
has baldly assertedin the previouslines thathis motivein seekingAntonio's
fleshis mererevengeand thatAntoniohas persecutedhim onlybecausehe is
a Jew.He thenutterstheselines aboutcertainthingsthatJewsand Christians
have in common,not so much to show that Christiansshould not persecute
Jewsbut rather,as Stoll said, to warn the Christiansthattheymay expectlike
treatment fromJews.Shylock's"defense"amountsto littlemore,as Smithsays
(p. i99), thana statement thatevilmenarehuman.
If we are to considerthe speechmerelyto be a transparently hypocritical
attemptof a wicked man to justifyhimself,then we must accuse,not only
Shylock,but Shakespearetoo,of havingdraggeda red herringacrossthe trail
and thusof havingsentpacks of criticsoffin the wrongdirection.It sounds
like an importantspeech and seems to raise crucial issues. It constitutesan
importantdevelopmentof the plot; in it, forthe firsttime,Shylockshows his
teethto his enemies.Smith,however,appealsto thatsupremeauthority forthe
correctresponse to Shakespeare's plays,the Elizabethan audience, and says that
theirreaction to thisspeech of Shylock's must have been laughter at his flagrant
hypocrisy. Withoutin anyway mitigating Shylock'svillainy,one can arguethat
the speechraisesissues central to The Merchant of Venice and thatthe Eliza-
bethan audience,accustomed to a theaterin which moral issues were acted
or
out simplyengrossed in an exciting story,would have paid close attention
to what Shylocksaid.
We can see thisif we considerthedramaticoccasionof the speech.Shylock
has appearedpreviously in onlytwo scenes.In Act I, sceneiii, wherehe agrees
to lend the threethousandducats to Bassanio and to acceptAntonio'sbond,
6 Quotationsfrom Shakespeareare from The CompleteWorks of Shakespeare,ed. Hardin
Craig(Chicago,1961).
7 ElmerEdgar Stoll,"Shakespeare'sJew",University VIII (1938-9), 1z47.
of TorontoQuarterly,

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 SHYLOCK'S HUMANITY 119

Shylockis an ambiguousfigure.While he shows a bitteranger againstChris-

tians,in partat leastforthehumiliationhe has suffered, and whilehe makesa
defenseof usurythatidentifiedhim as a villainto the Elizabethans,he lends
the moneyin an apparentact of kindness.Antoniois deceived,"The Hebrew
will turn Christian:he grows kind." But Bassanio providesthe propernote
of foreboding, "I like not fairtermsand a villain'smind." Shylockis to this
point,however,morea menacingfigurethana villainousone. Similarly,when
he nextappearsin II. v, in the briefscenewithLauncelot and Jessica,though
he again uttershis hatredforChristians, of his malice is stillnot
the intensity
displayed.
In thefollowingthreescenes,all theplot linesare advanced.The Princeof
Arragonchoosesthe wrong casket,and Bassanio sets sail for Belmont.Two
othereventsmoreimportant forthisspeechoccur:Jessica'sflightwithLorenzo
and the news of Antonio'ssupposedlossesat sea. These developments, which
providethe occasionforShylock'sspeechon the humanityof Jews,also whet
the audience'scuriosityabout how Shylockwill react.But Shakespeareleads
the audienceto expecta different Shylockfromthe one who actuallyappears
in thisscene.In Act II, scene viii,Salarino and Salanio describehow Shylock
reactedtohis daughter'selopementand thelossofhismoney:
Salan: I neverhearda passionso confused,
So strange,
outrageous,and so variable,
As thedogJewdid utterin thestreets:
'Mydaughter! 0 myducats!0 mydaughter!
0 myChristian
Fled witha Christian! ducats!
thelaw!myducats,andmydaughter!
Justice!
A sealedbag,twosealedbagsofducats,
Of doubleducats,stolenfrommebymydaughter!
Andjewels,twostones, tworichand precious stones,
Stolenbymydaughter! findthegirl:
Justice!
Shehaththestonesuponher,andtheducats.'
Salar: Why,all theboysin Venicefollowhim,
Crying, hisdaughter,
hisstones, and hisducats.

This sounds like Stoll's comic Shylock,but it is significant

that this funny
characterneverappearson stage.He is reportedto us by thosetwo indistin-
guishablemen-about-Venice, Salarinoand Salanio. There is no reasonto take
theirviewofShylock,or ofanyoneelse,as correct. They findShylockridiculous,
but theyalso findAntonio'smelancholyamusing,and theyare even able to
discussAntonio'slosses lightly.Moreover,Salanio and Salarino,like Rosen-
crantzand Guildensternor Tweedledumand Tweedledee,are slightlyabsurd
becausetherearetwoofthemand theycannotbe toldapart.
Salanio and Salarinoare on stageagain at the beginningof Act III, when
Shylockfinallyreappears.Again theyfindShylockamusingand the occasion
fortheirwittyderisionas he complainsofhislosses:
Shyl: You knew,none so well,none so well as you,of my daughter's
flight.
Salar: That'scertain:I, formypart,knewthetailorthatmade thewings
sheflewwithal.

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 120 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY

Salan: And Shylock,forhisownpart,knewthebirdwasfledged;and then

itis thecomplexion
ofthemall toleavethedam.

Shyl: Myownfleshand bloodto rebel!

rebelsitat theseyears?
Salan: Out uponit,old carrion!
But Shylockis not to be takenso lightly,as Salarino and the audience learn
simultaneously. When Salarinosayswithcharacteristic confidencethatShylock
will certainlynot demand the bond, "Why I am sure,if he forfeit, thou wilt
not take his flesh:what's thatgood for?",Skylock'sreplycomes as a shock,
"To baitfishwithal:if it will feednothingelse it will feedmy revenge."Then
therefollowsthespeechthatis the concernof thispaper.Though Salanio and
Salarinoare perhapsmorallysuperiorto Shylock,Shylockshows himselfhere
to be dramaticallya largerfigure,tooquick-witted, tooself-aware,toopassionate,
and too dangerousto be thebuttof theirsimple-hearted ridiculeand contempt.
They are, as Granville-Barker says (p. 98), a littlesoberedby thisencounter
withShylock.The audienceis also shockedinto attention, the more so if they
have been deceivedby the descriptionof the absurd Shylockwho amused
the urchinsof Venice. It must,I think,be assumedthatShakespeareprepared
thisdramaticmomentand thathe had Shylockrevealhimselfto theseslight
figuresin orderto emphasizethat Shylockis not merelycomic. For in this
speech,we are givennot onlyan insightintothe degreeof his malicebut also
a glimpseintoShylock'sall-too-human mind.We see his motivesarisefroma
naturelike ours,one that looks for vengeancewhen wronged.This glimpse
of Shylock'spassionseffectively removeshim fromthe categoryof the ridicu-
lous, whose essenceit is, as Bergsonlong ago pointedout, to be mechanistic
ratherthan conscious.Shylockknowsthe reasonsforhis behavior,as a comic
figuregenerallydoes not.
To saythatthisspeechgivesdignityto Shylockis notto saythatit amounts
to a genuinedefenseor providesa real excuseforhim.It is a matterof interest,
however,thatsomecriticshavethoughtthatitdid or was intendedto.
For us, the heirsof the Enlightenment, the Romanticmovement,and the
centuryof the Common Man, acts oftenseem justifiedmerelyby being rec-
ognizable as the consequenceof emotionswe have feltourselves."Tout com-
prendre,c'esttoutpardonner"is a recognizablymodernidea. It was, of course,
far otherwisefor Shakespeare'saudience and presumablyfor Shakespeare
himself.For themthe human naturethatShylockdescribesand correctly says
is sharedby Jewand Christianwas fallen,bothin its biologicalweaknessand
in its unrulypassionsand, far fromexcusinghis behavior,it was ratherthe
fundamentalreason why men sinned and so needed forgiveness, grace, and
redemption. The speechprovides a brief summary of the stateof fallenman,
who feels"The penaltyof Adam,/The seasons' difference." He is subjectto
pain, injury,and disease. Most important,his passions are unrulyand not
controlledby reason.When he is wronged,he wants revenge.Shylock,in
seekingrevengeagainstAntonio,is not justified.He is merelyactingas fallen
humanbeingstendto act.Therefore, in thisspeech,he does notso muchjustify
himself,thoughhe believeshe does,as implicateothers.8Moreover,thatChris-
Fujimura'sarticle,"Mode
beforethe publicationof Professor
8 Most of thisarticlewas written
and Structurein The Merchantof Venice",PMLA, LXXXI.7 (December,i966), 499-5II. Pro-

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 SHYLOCK'S HUMANITY I21

tians desirerevengeas much as Jewsdo when theyare wrongedis both true

and acutelyironical.As Christiansare vengeful,so are theyunfaithful to their
baptism,to thatwhich,forElizabethanChristians,distinguished the old and
thenew covenants, theruleof mercy,whichreplacedtheold Law of atonement.
It is a criticalcommonplacethatThe Merchantof Veniceis concernedwith
the familiarthemeof the conflictof law or, less precisely,
justicewith mercy.
In the trialscene,the Christianscontinuallyurge Shylockto be mercifulonly
tobe rebuffed byhis appealstojusticeand theletterofthelaw.
Bassan: This is no answer,thouunfeeling
man,
To excusethecurrent ofthycruelty.
Shyl: I am notboundtopleasetheewithmyanswers.
["Bound"hasherethesenseof"required bylaw".]

Duke: How shaltthouhopeformercy, none?

rendering
Shyl: Whatjudgement shallI dread,doingno wrong?
The Duke's questionechoesthe Lord's Prayer("Forgive us our trespassesas
we forgivethosewho trespassagainstus") and the parableof the unmerciful
servant(Matthewxviii.21-35). Shylock'sanswershowsa moralassurancebased
on the law, the letterof which seems to justifyhis demands.Shakespeareis
seldomso explicitin naminghisthemesin thecomedies.
It is thusveryimportantthatShylockis a Jew.It is not thathe has those
traitsof characterwhich bigotryhas ascribedto Jews.The importantpointis
the theologicalone. With hardnessof hearthe rejectsthe new law of mercy,
and withtheprideof thePhariseeshe is confident thathe is justifiedby obedi--
ence to the letterof the law. His is the ironicalsituationin whichSt. Paul, in
the epistleto the Romans,sees the Jewswho have made the great rejection.
They are condemnedbytheveryLaw in whichtheyplace theirtrust.So Portia
triesto make Shylocksee the real implicationsof his statementthatJewsand'
Christiansare alikemenand aresimilarly vengeful:
Thoughjusticebe thyplea,considerthis,
That,in thecourseofjustice,noneofus
Shouldseesalvation:
we do prayformercy;
And thatsameprayer dothteachus all torender
The deedsofmercy.
Though his forcedconversionto Christianityseemsto us to be cruel and in-
sulting,we are meant,I thinkand as manycriticshave said,to see thisas the
altogetherkindlyconversionof Shylockto the new rule of mercyand thushis
liberation
fromthedilemmaoftheold Law.

fessorFujimuraanticipatedto some extent,my readingof thisspeech (p. 506). As he pointsout,

"Shylockdefineshimselfin termsof theanimallevel,thesub-rational function,thatwas designated
by Aristotleas beingcommonto man and beasts."This view,of course,had long been assimilated
into Christiandoctrine;the chiefconsequenceof the Fall for man was preciselythat his lower
faculties,his appetitesand passions,were now capableof controlling
his reason.Unlike Fujimura,
I chooseto emphasizethe Christianimplications of thisspeech,ratherthanthemerelyphilosophic,
because it seemsto me thatin a play whichturnson the questionof justiceand mercyand in a
speech which talks about the similarityof Christiansand Jews,the Christianimplications
are far
more cogent.In his article,Fujimurajoins the ranks of thosewho find Shylock'sbeing a Jew
unimportant.

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 122 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY

While thedistinction of theLaw and Christianmercyis made emphatically

by the play,the distinction betweenJew and Christianis blurredby the be-
haviorof the actual Christians.We may believe,as Smith and Grebanierdo,
thatAntonio'svoidinghis rheumon Shylockis onlyShylock'sfabrication, but
Salarinoand Salanio as well as Shakespeare'sChristianaudienceoughtto have
been disturbedby Shylock'ssaying,"If a Jewwronga Christian,what is his
humility:Revenge."This is too true an observationof actual behaviorto be
dismissedas Shylock'sdeceitfulrhetoric. The pointis not simplythe difference
betweenChristianprofessionand Christianbehavior.Rather,it is that Chris-
tians fail on preciselythatpointwhich is supposedto providethe superiority
of Christianethicto the old Law. It is acutelyironicalthata Jewmakes this
trueaccusationof Christians, and it suggeststhatShakespeareis concernedwith
largerand morehonorableissuesthanJew-baiting.
Without in any way exculpatinghimself,Shylockis able to use the tu
quoque argumentveryeffectively once again in the play.In replyto the Duke
ofVenice,who arguesformercy,Shylocksays:
You have amongyou manya purchasedslave,
Which,likeyourassesandyourdogsandmules,
You usein abjectandin slavishparts,
Becauseyouboughtthem:shallI saytoyou,
Let thembe free,marrythemto yourheirs?
Whysweattheyunderburthens? let theirbeds
Be madeas softas yoursandlettheirpalates
Be season'dwithsuchviands?You willanswer
'The slavesareours:'so do I answeryou:
The poundofflesh, whichI demandofhim,
Is dearlybought;'tismineand I willhaveit.
Ifyoudenyme,fieuponyourlaw!
Thereis no forcein thedecreesofVenice.
I standforjudgement: answer;shallI haveit?
Shylockis not the onlyone in Venice to assertthe rightsof ownershipat the
costof theclaimsofhumanity. Nor, I think,can one saythatitis onlyto a mod-
ern humanitarian spiritthatthisaccusationseemstelling.It occursin theTrial
Scene when the actionconsistsof argumentand counterargument, and Shake-
speareallows it,unlikeShylock'sdefensesof usury,to go unanswered.
Moreover,Shylock'sconcludingquestionin thispassagechallengestheDuke
and placeshim in a dilemma.This dilemmahad earlierbeenstatedbyAntonio:
The dukecannotdenythecourseoflaw:
For thecommodity thatstrangers
have
Withus in Venice,ifitbe denied,
Willmuchimpeachthejusticeofhisstate;
Sincethatthetradeandprofitofthecity
ofall nations.
Consisteth
Venice, a tradingcity,mustkeep sacredthe law of contracts, even at the cost
of human life,or sufferfinancialloss. Shakespearenowhereelse evokes a
particular,realisticsettingso vividlyas he does theVenice of thisplay,withits
sense of bustleand gossip,its concernwith "What news on the Rialto". Not
only is the settingthatof a commercialcity,but the plot turnson this fact.
Antoniomust"trywhat [his] creditcan in Venice do" in orderto helpBassanio

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 SHYLOCK'S HUMANITY I23

and thereby trapshimself in thebondwithShylock;and Shylock's motivefor

demanding thepoundoffleshis causedpartly, andperhapsprincipally,
bythe
waythatAntoniokeepstheinterest ratedownin Venicewithhisownprivate
"loose-money" policy.So thesituation of theJewin Veniceis notthatof an
isolatedrepresentative
ofcapitalism butofa businessmanin a busycommercial
city.In theTrialScene,justas Shylock is boundbyoathstodemandthepound
offlesh:
Anoath,anoath,I haveanoathinheaven:
ShallI layperjuryuponmysoul?
No,notforVenice.
so,equally,
istheDuke trapped
bythelaw:
... there
isnopower inVenice
Canaltera decreeestablished:
'Twillberecorded fora precedent,
Andmanyanerror bythesameexample
Willrushintothestate:. . .
This doesnot,of course,establish themoralor dramatic identity of Shylock
andtheDuke.The Duke is a sympathetic character, oneofthoseurging Shylock
to be merciful. But he is equally,thoughunwillingly, subjectto thelaw and
thusprevented fromperforming themerciful act of releasing Antoniofrom
his bond.ThoughShylockaloneis committed in mind,conscience, and will
tothebusiness valuesofthrift and legalism, thefundamental opposition in the
playis notbetween Jewand Christian butbetweentwosetsof values.On the
one hand,thereis theuncalculating generosity and forgiveness, thesenseof
one'sownunworthiness andtheinfinite of
value others, theattitude referred to
by Portiaas "mercy". On theotherhand,thereis thehard-headed attitude of
thosewho have a highestimation of theirown value and rights, and who
demandjustpayment forthemselves, whether intheformofmoney, orrevenge,
or a wife.This attitude is representedin theplaynotonlybyShylock butalso
bythePrinceofMoroccoandthePrinceofArragon, bothofwhomfailto win
Portiabecauseof theirproudbeliefthattheydeserveher.And thoughShy-
lock'scrueltyand legalismare contrasted withthe generosity of the good
Christian characters,thecentral moralcontrast of theplayis expressed bythe
opposition of Veniceand Belmont.Veniceis a commercial citywhoselaws
areatoddswithmercy. Belmont, in contrast,is a half-magical placewhoserule,
thewillofPortia'sfather, seemsat firstconstricting butfinally is revealed tobe
miraculously prescient in ensuringthattheman who will have Portiaand
ruleBelmontis theone who is wiseenoughnotto acceptthevaluesof the
worldexpressed insilverandgold.
If thisreadingof Shylock's "I am a Jew"speechis correct, and if Shake-
spearedoesraisein it moralissuesimportant to theplay,thereare significant
implications forthecharacterization of Shylockand his function in theplay.
The first has alreadybeenstated, namelythatShylockis notmerelya comic
villain,buta character to be takenseriously and listened to by theaudience,
especially in thisspeech.The properreaction to thespeechis nottheridicule
withwhichSmithtellsus theElizabethanaudiencegreetedit. The second
is thatShakespeare is notsimplyexpressing thehostility of his society to the
unassimilated, as Chaucer's Prioress
doesin hertaleaboutwickedJewsand as

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 I24 SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY

Bergsonsaysthatcomicdramatists do in general.He is,instead, dealingwith

a universal issue,onethatinvolves hisaudience morethanitinvolves Jews.
The sad storyof thetrialand execution of poorDr. Lopez has longbeen
thought relevant to Shakespeare's characterization ofShylock, and thehowling
mobat Lopez' execution has beenseenas providing a clue to Shakespeare's
ownattitude towardJews.Afterall,was notShakespeare an Elizabethan too,
likethemembers ofthatmob?The invalidity ofthissortofinference hasper-
haps been sufficiently pointedout by others.Moreover, one would suspect,
a priori,thatmodelsforShakespeare's own attitude mightmoresensibly be
foundamongthehumaneChristians of his age ratherthanfromthemobat
an execution. RichardHooker'sLaws of Ecclesiastical Politywas published
at aboutthesametimeas The Merchant ofVenicewas written. In it,Hooker
considers thesituation of theJews,underthenew dispensation givento the
Gentiles byJesusChrist:
Hath thenGod cleancast ofi his people?Not his peopleeternally
chosen. Be it farfrom us so to think. Butis there no hopethatthevery
nationitself shallrecover whatit nowhathlost?Have theystumbled to
theendtheymight fall?Godforbid. Nay,their fallhathoccasioned salva-
tiontoariseuntotheGentiles, andtheGentiles notunlikely tobe a mean
ofrestoring salvation untothemagain.Thatas nowtheyareloserstoour
gain,so in timeourgainmaybe theirabundance. And as we, being
sometimes unbelievers,haveat thelength obtained mercy; so theyat the
length mayfindmercy, although theybe nowunbelievers, andthusGod,
whoisall-merciful, become merciful towards all.9
Hooker'sattitude is neither blindhatredof Jewsnor,quite,a liberaland en-
lightened one.It is,instead, closertoPortia's, and,so faras onecanmakesuch
inferences fromThe Merchant of Venice,to Shakespeare's. If Jewsstumble
in thedarkness ofsin,itis onlybecausetheylacktheGraceofwhichChristians
haveequal need,beingequallyfallenmen.WhatPortiadoeswithShylockis
consistent withHooker.Sheforces himtorecognize whatwas,forthetheolog-
icallyinformed Elizabethan, thedilemmaof theLaw: according to it,we are
all condemned. This is the hiddenimplication of Shylock'sspeechon the
humanity ofJews,an implication ofwhichhe,ofcourse, is unawareuntilthe
trial.Havingforced himtorecognize thisdilemma, Portiathenconverts himto
theneworderof mercy. This conversion is,of course,shocking forShylock.
It is a signofShakespeare's sensitivity to thelimitsofhumanpsychology that
he doesnotlapsecrudely intoallegory and haveShylockgivethreeleapsfor
joy and singas Christian doesin Pilgrim's Progress whenhis burdenof sin
dropsfromhim.Moreover, theplayis not,as we haveseen,simplyconcerned
withthewrongheadedness oftheJewand Shylock's conversion, butalsowith
theconstricting legalism ofthetrading cityofVenice.Hencethecomicresolu-
tionoccurslater,in theescapefromVeniceto the"greenworld"of Belmont.
EvenwithShylock's conversion, all is notwellin Venice.We do notfindthe
Christian idealembodied there, butonlyin Belmont, whereevena Christian
bigotlikeGratianomustmindhis mannersand conform to theharmony of
theplace.
ReedCollege
9 RichardHooker,Works,arrangedbyJohnKeble (Oxford,i874), II, 588.

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