Character

Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

Role: Jewish moneylender and antagonist; a man of principle driven to cruelty by years of contempt Family: father of Jessica First appearance: Act 1, Scene 3 Last appearance: Act 4, Scene 1 Approx. lines: 81

Shylock is a Jewish moneylender in Venice, a man of business acumen and careful principle who has endured years of public contempt from the Christian merchant Antonio. When Antonio comes to him seeking a loan to fund Bassanio’s courtship of Portia, Shylock agrees—but on terms that seem designed less as business and more as trap. The bond demands a pound of Antonio’s flesh if the debt goes unpaid. Shylock presents this as a “merry sport,” yet his aside reveals the truth: he harbors a deep and calculated grudge against Antonio, who has spat upon him, mocked his faith, and undercut his lending by offering money without interest. Shylock’s willingness to take the bond is rooted not in greed for gold but in an opportunity to exact revenge through law itself.

When Antonio’s ships are reported lost at sea and he cannot pay, Shylock’s determination to collect the forfeit becomes absolute. He refuses all offers of money—six thousand ducats, triple the original sum—and insists on his legal right. In the courtroom, he stands firm against the Duke’s appeals, against the pleas of merchants and nobles, and even against Portia’s famous speech on mercy. His refusal is not mindless cruelty but a logical response to a lifetime of being treated as less than human. He demands justice precisely because he has been denied mercy; he cites the law because the law is the only thing that might elevate him to equality. Yet his victory is illusory. Portia, disguised as a male lawyer, destroys him using the exact same literal reading of the bond that he relied upon: the contract specifies flesh but not blood, so any blood spilled forfeits his claim entirely. Stripped of his wealth, forced to convert to Christianity, and compelled to bequeath his remaining estate to the daughter who betrayed him, Shylock exits the play a broken man. His final line—“I am not well”—carries the weight of absolute defeat, not physical sickness but the collapse of everything he fought for through the machinery of law and forced religious transformation.

Key quotes

Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?

Doesn't a Jew have eyes? doesn't a Jew have hands, organs, senses, feelings, passions?

Shylock · Act 3, Scene 1

Shylock delivers this speech after learning his daughter has eloped and his money is gone, turning the conversation from commerce to existential equality. The line matters because it is one of Shakespeare's most powerful arguments for shared humanity across religious and cultural boundaries. It forces the audience to see Shylock not as a villain but as a man defending his right to feel and act as any Christian would.

I will have my bond; speak not against my bond:

I want my bond; don't argue about my bond:

Shylock · Act 3, Scene 3

Shylock refuses Antonio's pleas and the Gaoler's intervention, fixating on the letter of the contract rather than mercy or negotiation. The line matters because it shows Shylock has moved from mercenary logic to pure revenge—the bond has become the only thing that matters to him. It is the moment when the play stops being about commerce and becomes about the human desire for vengeance regardless of cost.

To bait fish withal: if it will feed nothing else, it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what’s his reason? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? 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 villany you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

To use it as bait for fish: if it doesn’t serve any other purpose, it will serve my revenge. He has disgraced me, and cost me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my people, ruined my deals, cooled my friends, heated my enemies; and why? Because I’m a Jew. Doesn’t a Jew have eyes? doesn’t a Jew have hands, organs, senses, feelings, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, affected by the same diseases, healed by the same remedies, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, just like a Christian? 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 seek revenge? If we are like you in other ways, we will be like you in that too. If a Jew wrongs a Christian, what does he do? He seeks revenge. If a Christian wrongs a Jew, what is he expected to do, according to Christian rules? Revenge. The evil you teach me, I will carry out, and it won’t be hard for me to do it even better than you taught me.

Shylock · Act 3, Scene 1

Shylock explains that Antonio's flesh will serve as bait or, failing that, feed his desire for revenge, then pivots to one of literature's most powerful speeches about shared humanity. The passage endures because Shylock makes an irrefutable argument—if Jews are human, they will seek revenge just as Christians do—then uses that logic to justify the very cruelty he's accused of. He teaches the Christians their own lesson about equal treatment by demanding equal right to vengeance.

I am content.

I am satisfied.

Shylock · Act 4, Scene 1

Shylock's final word in the trial, spoken after he has been stripped of his wealth, forced to convert to Christianity, and seen his bond destroyed. The line matters not for what it says but for what it refuses to say—no anger, no eloquence, no final statement of principle. It is the sound of a man completely defeated, a moment that shifts audience sympathy back to Shylock and away from the Christian victors.

Relationships

Shylock & Antonio

sworn enemy; creditor holding his bond

Shylock & Jessica

estranged daughter who eloped with a Christian

Shylock & Portia

opponent in the trial; undone by her literal reading of the law

Shylock & Tubal

fellow Jew and business associate

Where Shylock appears

In the app

Hear Shylock, narrated.

Synced read-along narration: every line, Shylock's voice and the others, words highlighting as they're spoken.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play