I Am A Jew
...approaches but none so much as Shylock. The way in which this character is handled can affect not only the mood and tone of a production but also the out come. If the actor playing Shylock creates too much sympathy for his character the story goes awry and the heroes: Bassanio, Portia and Antonio almost become the villains. Some productions have eliminated the fifth act of the merchant of Venice entirely to solve this problem and make the story primarily Shylock’s. In this case one could argue that the Merchant in the title is actually Shylock and not Antonio. Unfortunately, this does not stay true to Shakespeare’s original vision for his play. It is important that the audience feel some sympathy for the character in order to connect to him; however he must remain the villain. Since The Merchant of Venice show first opened to the present day, this has been the problem for the men undertaking the role of the mighty Shylock. How can one strike the delicate balance between being a sympathetic man and a feared creature?
Given the way Shakespeare’s contemporaries felt about the Jews it is easy to understand the manner in which Shylock was portrayed when the play first opened. Although not much is known about these early productions, scholars suggest that the first Shylock portrayed on stage was nothing more than a caricature of a Jewish monster. These versions of Shylock were probably played by Richard Burbage and Will Kempe, two actors of the 16th Century who were part of Shakespeare’s company of actors. Their portrayals, it is said, included red-beards and false hooked noses. At the time this is how Jews were most often represented on stage. (Stirling)
In 1741, Charles Macklin was the first to portray Shylock as a significant dramatic character instead of a bumbling villain. Macklin still made his Shylock significantly evil but his creation of the...
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