Why does Shylock hate Antonio?

Premium

Why does Shylock hate Antonio Shylock and Antonio are two of the main characters in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare - Antonio is a Christian merchant in Venice Shylock is a Jewish moneylender There is deep hatred between them Shylock especially hates Antonio for many reasons Different Religions Shylock is a Jew and Antonio is a Christian In Venice Christians and Jews do not get along Shylock says about Antonio I hate him for he is a Christian Besides Christians treat Jews badly and look down on them Antonio speaks rudely to Shylock many times Shylock remembers the insults and feels hurt Business Competition Both men work with money in Venice Antonio lends money without taking any interest This ruins Shylock's business of charging interest Shylock loses customers and earns less money He blames Antonio for spoiling his profit Because of this business concern Shylock hates Antonio Personal

Insults Antonio publicly insults Shylock He calls Shylock with different bad names and spits on him Shylock says You call me misbeliever cut-throat dog And spit upon my Jewish gabardine Antonio does not regret his rude actions So Shylock never forgets this and hates Antonio He also wants revenge Desire for Revenge All these things make Shylock angry He wants to punish Antonio for his pain Shylock gets his chance when Antonio needs a loan He gives a strange condition that if Antonio cannot repay the loan in time he will cut a pound of flesh from his body Antonio agrees to the bond agreement This creates a major conflict in the play In conclusion Shylock hates Antonio for many reasons He feels hurt by religion business and insults So a desire for revenge grows in Shylock's heart This hate leads to a big conflict and makes the play interesting

The Merchant of Venice

Contents

Why does Shylock hate Antonio?

Continue Reading

From this writer

William Shakespeare

More Notes