"Shylock is the villain in the play. He deserves no mercy." Discuss with close reference to the Merchant of Venice. In the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Shylock is the villain. However, there are reasons as to why he does and why he does not deserve mercy. The reasons why he deserves mercy include: the fact that he is only considered the villain because he is a Jew; Antonio deserved mercy, so Shylock should be shown mercy as well; Shylock can't be blamed for being a villain after all the terrible things that have happened to...
he is only seen to be evil by the racist Christians, as he is Jewish; Antonio was shown mercy for not repaying his bond therefore Shylock deserves the same treatment; Shylock has experienced many injustices which are the cause for his villainy; and because the Christian characters baost about their "'good qualities" but are not Christian-like towards Shylock. The reasons why Shylock does not deserve mercy are: that he has an unchangeable villainous nature; that he did not willingly show mercy to Antonio therefore he should not receive mercy in return; and because his bond was against the law.