We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
The Value of Grappling with the Experience of Revenge among Youth
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 July 2021
The Merchant of Venice is a morally ambiguous and disquieting play, and the monologues by Shylock and Portia—among the most memorable and stirring in Shakespeare’s oeuvre—often leave audiences unnerved and uncertain about their allegiances. The play aptly lets us in on the many abuses and injustices that befall Shylock, and the various reasons for his distress—the widespread societal aversion for his culture, and his more personal and deeply wounding woes. Shylock was scorned, taunted, spat upon, mocked, and humiliated by Antonio and his coreligionists because he was a Jew. He was also betrayed by his own daughter Jessica, who stole his money along with a ring he had kept in remembrance of his deceased wife, and bestowed it all on her fortune-hunting Christian suitor, a friend of Antonio’s. So when Shylock delivers the rousing “Hath Not a Jew Eyes?” monologue, he commands more than our pity—we understand him: like us, when injured or wronged he feels pain and itches to strike back; he yearns for justice, aches to reclaim a sense of his own value. We may not like Shylock, but we also do not quite blame him for craving revenge.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
