Advocating Shakespeare : shylock is a villain but not a victim

الملخص EN

Involving a Jewish protagonist, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice was written in a period of anti-Semitic ideology in Europe.

It is one of the most controversial plays of English drama.

This controversy arises not to decide whether or not the Jewish moneylender, Shylock, is ill-natured but to give an answer concerning whether he is depicted vicious for he is really bad or for the reason that he is plainly a Jew who and other Jews are subject to racial segregation and are viciously dealt with.

Being a Jew, Arnold Wesker, one of the principal figures of what is called the new wave of English drama appeared in the 1950s, remonstrates against Shakespeare's play claiming that it is an anti-Semitic one in which Shakespeare has introduced Shylock as a stereotype for doing actions which are not part of his real personality.

Shylock, according to Wesker, is employed to reflect the idea of anti-Semitism in front of the audience.

The aim of this research is to defend the greatest playwright all over the world, Shakespeare, and to prove that Shylock is a villain who does not hesitate to use malice to reach his goal.

Followed by the end notes and a bibliography, a conclusion occurs at the end of the study to confirm that the play is an entreaty for toleration rather than being an anti-Semitic text.