Do we like them?

Do we like Shylock?

A character from The Merchant of Venice (c. 1596–1599)

Our score: 4 out of 10. We'd back his grievance but not his plan. He's wronged and sympathetic, yet he chooses a cruel revenge. We'd listen to him, but we wouldn't follow him.

Shylock is a Jewish moneylender in Venice. The city's Christians despise him, and the merchant Antonio has publicly insulted him and cut into his business. When Antonio's friend Bassanio needs money to court the wealthy Portia, Antonio asks Shylock for a loan.

Shylock agrees to lend the money without interest, but he adds a grim 'joke' of a condition: if the debt isn't repaid on time, he may take a pound of Antonio's flesh. The bond shows how bitter he has become after years of abuse. It also shows a taste for revenge that goes well past business.

He is one of Shakespeare's most debated figures. The 'Hath not a Jew eyes?' speech makes us feel his humiliation, while his unbending demand for the bond makes him hard to root for. The Christian characters are hypocrites about mercy, but that doesn't make cruelty right. That mix earns him a middling-low score: we pity him, but we wouldn't back his plan.

In the trial scene he is outmaneuvered by Portia, who uses the exact wording of his own bond against him. He loses his wealth and is forced to convert, which many modern readers and stagings treat as a deeply unjust and tragic punishment.