Hath not a Jew Mercy?         Many of William Shakespeare's plays have sparked controversy. Probably the one that has sparked the most controversy is The Merchant of Venice, which many intellectuals have dubbed an anti-Semitic play. The character that this discussion centers around is Shylock, the rich moneylender Jew. The problem with most of these anti-Semitic arguments is that they lack the perspective of the sixteenth century audience. Throughout Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (M of …showed first 75 words of 1334 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1334 total…sympathies of the audience were definitely in full swing in this play, going back and forth between a little bit of pity to a lot of hatred. Probably the most underlying quality of Shylock that the audience hated most was his religion. Shylock was the embodiment of all that was bad about Jews, how they killed Christ and the like. But still, there had to have been some pity at some level from the audience.