Shylock's Slavery Argument

Abstract

Ask Shakespeare critics what is Shylock’s most indispensable monologue in The Merchant of Venice, and we should not be surprised if the answer is, more frequently than not, the “Hath Not a Jew” speech in which Shylock denounces Antonio for mistreating him despite the fact that all men share the same essential characteristics (3.1.50-69).¹ The reasons that this particular speech have fascinated readers and critics need hardly take up much space in the main text of this article. Suffice it to note that the speech
has been called, in its appeal for Shylock’s humanity, “the only moment of genuine nobility and dignity” for the character, and an opportunity for Shakespeare to expose “the irrationality and evil of prejudice.”² And yet, despite the attention paid to “Hath Not a Jew,” I will argue that the most interesting and significant speech given by Shylock in the play is his less appreciated speech on slavery in the trial scene, a speech I will refer to as “Many A Purchased Slave.”³ Where “Hath Not A Jew” shocks by its stark evocation of hatred, its vitriolic confrontation of the ideology of difference, and its chilling promise of “hard” vengeance, “Many A Purchased Slave” challenges us to wrestle with a more complex and nuanced production of Shylock’s rhetoric and to do so in a more suggestive social and historical context.