Shylock, being the only main “Jewish” character in the play, was created by Shakespeare for the same reason The Jew of Malta was created. During Shakespearean times, the main audience the theatre had was the Elizabethan audience, one which despised Jews to the core. Shylock is characterised with many traits which Christians who lived during those times would have spat upon, such as his Jewish heritage and usurious job as a money-lender. We can see that the appearance of this character would incur the wrath of the audience. As such, he is also portrayed as a sad, tragic figure segregated because of his religion. Shakespeare probably included Shylock to attract and to appeal to his audience.
Shylock plays a very important role in the plot itself, and he borrows the power of the law to enforce upon his forfeiture, which is a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The Venetian law states that all citizens should be treated as equals, and that in a bond, the forfeiture should always hold in favour of the money-lender. He argues “I have possess’d your Grace//of what I purpose,//And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn//To have the due and forfeit of my bond.//If you deny it, let the danger light//Upon your charter and your city’s freedom”.
Also, Shylock is portrayed as a tragic individual with a strong sense of humanity. He is depicted as a person who is trying hard to protect his own rights, only to fail because of tricky word play by Portia. This strong sense of humanity is transformed into anger and hatred, which is revealed through his speech in the trail scene, “Some men there are love not a gaping pig//Some, that are mad if they behold a cat//And others, when the bagpipe sings I’ the nose//cannot contain their urine: for affection//Mistress of passion, sways it to the mood//Of what it likes or loathes//Now, for your answer://As there is no firm reason to be render’d//Why he cannot abide a gaping pig//Why he, a harmless necessary cat//Why he, a woollen bagpipe; but of force//Must yield to such inevitable shame//As to offend, himself being offended//So can I give no reason, nor I will not//More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing//I bear Antonio, that I follow thus//A losing suit againse him. Are you answer’d?”Shylock denies that the reason for his hunger for Antonio’s flesh is not because of Antonio’s Anti-Semitism acts, but rather because he had broken their bond.
Lastly, Shakespeare mentioned through Shylock the prejudice and ill-treatment the Jews felt under the Christians. This would be contrary to his main purpose for Shylock and would anger the Elizabethan audience. The insults which have been hurled at Shylock in the past are founding blocks for Shylock’s anger and famous speech about the humanity of Jews and his quest for revenge against the Christians, giving the possibility that Shylock did not have the intention of harming Chrostians in the first place, but rather, had been forced into a corner where he could no longer bear it, fueling his thirst for revenge.
In a nutshell, the main reason that Shakespeare created Shylock was to appeal to the Elizabethan audience, while the inclusion of Anti-Semitic elements would complement the selling point of this play, the downfall of Jews. Also, it possess the Jewish point of view of the plot, revealing more than the typical Elizabethan play.
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