In every play there is an antagonist or the villain. The villain’s role in the play is to give the story action and a plot, so that the reader can root for the good guy. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the character of the Jewish man Shylock comes off as the villain. However, looking at the play on a more realistic level, Shylock can also be seen as a victim of …showed first 75 words of 491 total…

…showed last 75 words of 491 total…take the means whereby I live.”(Shakespeare, pg. 122.) However, Shylock was definitely the villain too. By refusing to back down and accept double the money he was owed, he was ready and more than willing to take Antonio’s life. He knew exactly what he was doing to “catch him on the hip”. Shylock hated Antonio for who he was and what he stood for. It almost seemed that Shylock also wanted revenge on Antonio. “