The Merchant of Venice

I have recently read Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” and have been asked to comment on whether Shylock gets what he deserved in play. The play opens with Antonio, a rich Christian merchant, in a depressed state. He seems to have a premonition of disaster, and all his friends try to cheer him up. His best friend, Bassanio approaches him and asks for a loan to woo Portia “a lady richly left” living in …

…all a show to get Antonio exactly where he wanted him. His daughter provided the perfect excuse for Shylock to have even more reason to hate Antonio, when she eloped with Lorenzo. All Shylock cared about was getting rid of Antonio once and for all. He attempted to murder someone, and should really have been put to death himself. However, in Shylock’s case, a fate worse than death was that of becoming a Christian.