Characters in Relation to Themes in the Merchant of Venice
"Not a poor boy, sir, but the rich Jew’s man that would, sir, as my father shall specify—"
(II.ii.91-92)
"The Merchant of Venice" is a play by Shakespeare that discusses themes related to prejudice, racism and much more. After reading through all of Act 1 and half of Act 2, we've already been introduced to a handful of characters that play a part in the story's multiple plots.
I'll be discussing the character Lancelot, also known as the Clown and how his actions relate to a few of the themes introduced in the story, namely prejudice between religions and races.
He makes his first appearance in Act 2, Scene 2, with a long soliloquy that talks about his relationship with his master, Shylock (also known as the Jew). He talks about how he wants to stop working for him, proven in the line, "And in my conscience, my conscience is but a kind of hard conscience, to offer to counsel me to stay with the Jew." (II.ii.24-27). He also reveals that he thinks of Shylock as a devil in the line: "the Jew I should be ruled by the fiend, who, saving your reverence, is the devil himself." (II.ii.22-23). From the line said previously, we can somewhat say that Lancelot calling Shylock "the devil himself" can be linked towards the prejudice towards Jews during this time period.
There is also another line on the sixth page of Act 2, Scene 2 where Lancelot and his father, Gobbo, are asking Bassanio if he could work for him. After asking to work for Bassanio, Lancelot adds a reason for why he wanted to work for Bassanio instead of Shylock by saying: "The old proverb is very well parted between my master Shylock and you, sir—you have “the grace of God,” sir, and he hath “enough.”" (II.ii.114-116). In here, he explains how he wants to work for Bassanio because Bassanio was a Christian - one who shared the same faith as he did. He praises Bassanio and makes him sound superior to Shylock from a religious perspective, saying that Bassanio has the 'grace of God' and Shylock has 'enough'. We can once again link this to the prejudice between religions in this era.
There is also a short dialogue that Lancelot says in Act 2, Scene 3 to Jessica, who is Shylock's daughter. He says: "Most beautiful pagan, most sweet Jew! If a Christian do not play the knave and get thee, I am much deceived." (II.iii.11-13). Lancelot is viewed as one of the dumber characters in the play, hence being called "the Clown". As a dumber character, he isn't aware of the rude comment he says towards Jessica, telling her that she, as a beautiful Jew, would have a Christian trying to trick her into marrying her. This shows that even though Lancelot has a very clear liking towards Jessica, prejudice still exists between the two and thus, one of the main themes from the play are displayed once more in Lancelot's dialogue.
In conclusion, Lancelot's opinions towards people such as Jessica and Shylock (no matter how he feels about the person personally) are based on religious perspectives where he is convinced into thinking in a way where "if he/she isn't similar to me, then I shouldn't like them". He looks to Jews (and judging by his actions, to other people of different faiths other than his too) as if their religion is a downside, shown in his quote to Jessica, and overall his actions connect heavily to prejudice and racism - a few of the play's main themes.
(II.ii.91-92)
"The Merchant of Venice" is a play by Shakespeare that discusses themes related to prejudice, racism and much more. After reading through all of Act 1 and half of Act 2, we've already been introduced to a handful of characters that play a part in the story's multiple plots.
I'll be discussing the character Lancelot, also known as the Clown and how his actions relate to a few of the themes introduced in the story, namely prejudice between religions and races.
He makes his first appearance in Act 2, Scene 2, with a long soliloquy that talks about his relationship with his master, Shylock (also known as the Jew). He talks about how he wants to stop working for him, proven in the line, "And in my conscience, my conscience is but a kind of hard conscience, to offer to counsel me to stay with the Jew." (II.ii.24-27). He also reveals that he thinks of Shylock as a devil in the line: "the Jew I should be ruled by the fiend, who, saving your reverence, is the devil himself." (II.ii.22-23). From the line said previously, we can somewhat say that Lancelot calling Shylock "the devil himself" can be linked towards the prejudice towards Jews during this time period.
There is also another line on the sixth page of Act 2, Scene 2 where Lancelot and his father, Gobbo, are asking Bassanio if he could work for him. After asking to work for Bassanio, Lancelot adds a reason for why he wanted to work for Bassanio instead of Shylock by saying: "The old proverb is very well parted between my master Shylock and you, sir—you have “the grace of God,” sir, and he hath “enough.”" (II.ii.114-116). In here, he explains how he wants to work for Bassanio because Bassanio was a Christian - one who shared the same faith as he did. He praises Bassanio and makes him sound superior to Shylock from a religious perspective, saying that Bassanio has the 'grace of God' and Shylock has 'enough'. We can once again link this to the prejudice between religions in this era.
There is also a short dialogue that Lancelot says in Act 2, Scene 3 to Jessica, who is Shylock's daughter. He says: "Most beautiful pagan, most sweet Jew! If a Christian do not play the knave and get thee, I am much deceived." (II.iii.11-13). Lancelot is viewed as one of the dumber characters in the play, hence being called "the Clown". As a dumber character, he isn't aware of the rude comment he says towards Jessica, telling her that she, as a beautiful Jew, would have a Christian trying to trick her into marrying her. This shows that even though Lancelot has a very clear liking towards Jessica, prejudice still exists between the two and thus, one of the main themes from the play are displayed once more in Lancelot's dialogue.
In conclusion, Lancelot's opinions towards people such as Jessica and Shylock (no matter how he feels about the person personally) are based on religious perspectives where he is convinced into thinking in a way where "if he/she isn't similar to me, then I shouldn't like them". He looks to Jews (and judging by his actions, to other people of different faiths other than his too) as if their religion is a downside, shown in his quote to Jessica, and overall his actions connect heavily to prejudice and racism - a few of the play's main themes.
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