The Epic Of The "Other"-A Post-Colonial Reading Of The Merchant Of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is one of the most reputational comedies of William Shakespeare. Different from Shakespeare's other comedies, The Merchant of Venice is a "problem play" in the eyes of many people. It has relatively complicated plots, the main plot about the romance between a young gentleman and a pretty lady, the subplot about the traditional revenge story of Elizabethan times.In the story of "a pound of flesh", Shylock, the Jewish usurer is so fascinating that he goes beyond the traditional image of a villain.In the Elizabethan times, there was an anti-Semitism ethos rampant in the Christian dominant England from the court to the commons. Jews, due to their identity of the "other", suffered from unprecedented persecutions. Elite of the Elizabethan times, Shakespeare was inevitably influenced by the anti-Semitic trends, observing Jewish people through tainted glasses. The image of Shylock he created is the outcome of demonizing Jews.At the same time, Shakespeare reveals great sympathy for Shylock, taking him as a victim of "otherness". Through Shylock's monologue, Shakespeare rehabilitates the Jewish money lender, i.e. Shylock is a man, and Jews are men but not devils.Sympathy and compassion Shakespeare shows for the Jewish people excellences him from his contemporary wirers, transcends him beyond his time and makes him a writer of "all time".This dissertation is divided into six chapters, and the main content of each chapter is as follows:Introduction:There is a brief introduction of Shakespeare the playwright, The Merchant of Venice the play and its critical history.Chapter One:Theoretic Basis. The concept of "other" is a very significant one in the Post-Colonial literary criticism, who are a group of people different from the main values of the society and thus deserves discrimination and persecution against them. In this sense, anti-Semitism is one of the "other" cultures, which is the social hatred, discrimination and persecution against Jews just because they are Jews.Chapter Two:the Jewish Other in Christian Dominant England. In this chapter the social background and historical root of Shakespeare's anti-Semitic ideology are discussed. The Elizabethan England was anti-Semitic, when Jews were subject to brutal bloody persecutions. They were labeled the "other" in every aspect of life, from career to social life, from religion to culture.Chapter Three and Chapter Four focus on the text of The Merchant of Venice.Chapter Three:Shylock the Jew, a demonized "other". The Jewish money lender Shylock is depicted as a devil in the shape of human, who is a greedy usurer, a merciless murderer, a patriarchal father and a mean master. The villainy image of Shylock is the concentrated embodiment of Shakespeare's anti-Semitic thoughts.Chapter Four:Shylock the Jew, a victimized "other". Shylock is the victim of the rampant surge of anti-Semitic thoughts. As an ignored "man", he ends in the loss of everything he owns:his wealth, his daughter and his religion. Shakespeare expresses his compassion and sympathy for Jews by imposing a tragic conclusion on Shylock.Conclusion.