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Shylock and Barabas: Comment on Racial Intolerance during the Elizabethan Age
Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice (1596), both writers rely on stereotypical
of Jewishness is abhorrent to many 21st century readers of both plays because these
representations have led some to conclude that the plays are anti-Semitic. These
conclusions have been primarily drawn from the depictions of the characters Barabas,
who is focus of Marlowe’s play; and Shylock, the main character of Shakespeare’s. While
delineations in a historic context if one is to better grasp the implications of both plays
and characters. Societal climate impacts the mores of a community; likewise, cultural
expressions reflect the tide of the social environment. As Munson and Starks write in “So
New historicism not only asserts that cultural forms, including literature,
historical periods, but also holds that these cultural forms, in turn, mold
and shape the very material forces that have produced them. (380)
It seems impossible to separate the work of Marlowe and Shakespeare from their
historical period. The requirement to read these works as part of a larger culture that
exhibited a general atmosphere of xenophobia will help to better understand the forces at
Jewishness, both representations speak to complex issues and social forces at work in
Elizabethan England. The intersection of English racial intolerance, the threat of 16th
volatile setting for the staging of both Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s plays. While the
depiction of Barabas and Shylock at first glance appear to be limited and stereotypical, on
complex human beings faced with the onslaught of anti-alien sentiments by a society and
culture that saw itself under attack. In both plays the contradictions of religion and the
hypocrisy of Elizabethan England are brought to light through the ironic characters of
It is important that the problematic question of anti- Semitism and race are
addressed in terms of how scholars have traditionally looked at both plays. Historically,
society. In his work, Shakespeare and the Jews (1996), James Shapiro provides an
writes:
the "structure of concepts in the play is theological and not racial." What
Hunter fails to consider is that in late 16th century England theology is not
juxtaposed with racial thinking; in fact, it helps produce and define it. (84)
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Shapiro sees Hunter’s reluctance as part of a larger problem within the academic
Hunter's own efforts to protect Shakespeare, and the Elizabethans from the
from the "unfortunate effect" of those who have "had the modern Jewish
Semitism" into a "past" where they do not apply. . .Reading Hunter [thirty]
years after his articles were first published, watching him struggle with
categories of race and otherness (denying that Jews were a racial construct
in one sentence while in the next ascribing Jews and Blacks as "remote
For those in the academic community who are personally invested in the rich literary
persecution can be traced throughout Europe and Elizabethan England and has many
tragic episodes in that history. While Hunter and other scholars may wish to turn away
from this history to avoid the taint of anti-Semitic actions by 16th century England, the
Briefly tracing the history of Jewish persecution in England are the following
significant events:
Germany and the "holy Roman empire") was launched in 1189 and when
it ended in 1194 the Ordinances of the Jews was written. In the ordinance
cause by war. Jews were taxed at a higher rate than other citizens with the
Norwich and that same year Edward I issued the Jewish Affairs Bill,
which forbade Jews living in England to lend money with interest. They
laws upon the Jewish population was an inevitable descent into poverty
Overt discrimination of the Jews continued for centuries: they were denied the
right to own land or inherit money; and they suffered financial repression as all of
their possessions were considered the property of the crown. Moreover, they
were publicly persecuted – forced to wear the “Mark of the Jew” which was a
badge attached to clothing, and they were victims of violence, unwarranted arrest,
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hanging and eventually expulsion in 1290 (Hessayon 8-9). There was mass fear
3. Between 1388 and 1520 more than ninety German-speaking towns and cities
and circulate them to larger audiences than ever before. Among the most fanatical
of these pamphleteers were Ulrich Zasius, a professor of civil law, and the
children and advised Christian princes to expel Jews from their territories
(Hessayon 11).
The mass expulsion of Jews spread throughout Europe, many of them fleeing to Northern
Africa and surrounding regions. People of Jewish birth or origin were sometimes
and occasionally brought financial reward for those who remained. These “new
Christians” were watched closely as the citizenry sought to ensure that the converts did
It was not long after these events that the two most recognized caricatures of Jews
Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta portrays the wretched usurer, Barabas; this
work is said to have influenced Shakespeare’s 1596 play, The Merchant of Venice, which
features Shylock; also a ruthless moneylender. Besides the professions assigned to these
This historical evidence must be ignored to conclude, as Hunter does, that the
Hunter and like-minded scholars attempt to extricate Elizabethan literature from its anti-
Semitic history, Shapiro points to the problematic approach taken by cultural materialist
problems that the cultural left has had in reconciling itself to Zionism and
Israeli policy.... the fact that in their view Jew no longer constitute a racial
racial analysis was devoted, are no longer part of the "discourse of race."
(85)
This shift away from consideration of Jewishness in the context of race does not
eliminate the usefulness of analyzing the politics of race in Elizabethan England. Citing
from Jennifer Patai's book, The Myth of the Jewish Race, Shapiro states that her work
racial distinctions between Aryans and Jews, even Jewish scholars are
exploring what racial thinking about Jews has to tell us about early
longer concern the Jews, there is less political or intellectual passion (or,
more to the point, urgency), that might motivate this kind of historical
research. (87)
While the issue of race may have moved in a different direction, away from Jewishness
as a concern within the category of race, there remains the issue of racism and anti-
Semitism within Elizabethan society. What we can learn from Shakespeare’s England in
this regard not only has implications for Jewish studies, but tells us much about the
development of European culture and projects devoted to the creation of race. One cannot
ignore the historical facts of Jewish oppression, nor can we ignore the abundant evidence
of anti-Semitism and stereotyping that existed in both Christopher Marlowe's play The
as they expose readers to the anti-Semitism within Elizabethan England through the
literature produced during the era. Rather than ignore those problems, one must grapple
with what those illustrations do, and what the affect has been on the meaning and
extremely troublesome, and a cause of anxiety for many scholars as in the case of Hunter,
we are nonetheless faced with a serious set of concerns around race and anti-Semitism in
both plays. I intend to discuss these issues; as well as consider what other issues are at
work in the plays by Marlowe and Shakespeare. In both plays there is much to be
analyzed; while both plays use stereotypes and negative representations of Jews, they
Additionally, they say a great deal about the arbitrary exercise of power among the elites
of the era.
At the time when Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta was staged in 1592, English
culture was one in which the fear of outsiders was commonplace. In The Jew of Malta
and the Diabolic Power of Theatrics in the 1580’s from Studies in English Literature,
This is the period when the nation was facing the crisis of Spanish
with the arrival of two Jesuit missionaries, Edmund Campion and Robert
The general fear of aliens and apprehension about non-Protestants was a source of
anxiety for English men and women. Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta reflects this
atmosphere of social paranoia while subtly questioning the ethics of English culture.
The irony of having Barabas serve to reflect the failures of Malta’s Christians is
one of the more critical aspects of Marlowe’s play. Through the voice and actions of
as practiced in Malta, and the social elites that govern Malta. In the first act of The Jew of
Malta we see how the unchecked power of the state is directed at Jews, we also learn
something about the underlying hypocrisy of Malta’s elite. The governing power of
Malta was The Order of Knights of Saint John, an association dedicated to the “…ideals
of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and one might well add hospitality.” (23) These
governing ideals; however, are not to what we as readers and spectators are exposed;
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rather it is the overarching concern for the preservation of wealth and the xenophobic
A Christian.'
he has. (Act I)
Ideals that were to govern Malta appear to be of little importance as the Governor,
Ferneze, administers Malta’s law. Far from the value of voluntary impoverishment or
extending hospitality to the Jews they are “like infidels” and subjected to punishing
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taxation. Marlowe’s Christians are no better than the Jews they are attacking. According
to Arthur Humphreys, author of The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice: Two
Readings of Life, the Christians in Marlowe’s text engage in double dealing and duplicity,
similar to their Jewish counterparts. Marlowe uses his play to demonstrate this
hypocrisy. (3)
This cynicism may have resulted in part from Marlowe’s personal experiences as
an operative of the English government. Marlowe was not only a playwright and poet; he
also served as a worker for the state. In his article, Time for Marlowe, Graham Hammill
writes:
(291)
As stated earlier, cultural expressions: literature, visual arts, performing arts and other
outlets of societal elucidation, “…are produced by the economic, political, and social
arbitrary exercise of power reflects his firsthand experience with the Elizabethan state.
On closer analysis of The Jew of Malta we find a complex work that is not simply anti-
Semitic but most likely a personally reflective critique on the exercise of political power.
The power of the state was directed against Jews across Europe because of their
role in the market economy. Jewish participation in the financial system of 16th century
England was the result of a number of significant historical events that occurred across
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Europe, resulting in Jews and the Jewish religion being wrongly blamed for widespread
economic hardship. This was primarily attributed to the practice of usury, a profession
Christians, Jews demonstrated that they regarded the English not as brethren but as
"strangers." This, of course, a rather ironic twist in that Christians across Europe had
made Jews the target of persecution and perceived Jews as a threat to the concept of
English identity.
Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta Howard S. Babb writes that “The Jew of Malta explores a
pervasive lust for wealth.” (86) For Babb the question of Jewish identity does not come
into question in his analysis of Marlowe’s play. Babb’s critical reading of the corrosive
effects of power and greed is important and informative. His reading of the play provides
useful insight into understanding the contours of power at work in Elizabethan England.
Analyzing Ferneze’s unfair and unbalanced dealings with Barabas, Babb writes:
This focus on the Machiavellian philosophy of governance and the arbitrary exercise of
power ignores the role that race plays in the characterization of Barabas. Named after the
New Testament thief and murder whom the Jews saved from crucifixion instead of Jesus
(Matthew 27:16–26, Mark 15:7–15), the nature of Barabas, a representation of all Jews,
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is typified as a direct contradiction to Job (the biblical character to who Barabas was
The words of Barabas himself are used to define him as a racial other. Shapiro
cites examples of English writers that suggested that Jews had a hereditary stench, a so
called “foetor judicus.” Among those who propitiated this belief was Marlowe, Shapiro
writes:
Christopher Marlowe …. played upon the same belief when his character
explaining that “‘tis a custom held with us,/That when we speak with
murderer who is motivated by greed and retribution. In the play, after protesting the
unfair tax levied against him by the government, Barabas loses his property and wealth.
Barabas vows to get revenge upon the powers that causes his downturn. It is through his
unremitting need for retribution and his underhanded plan to recover his wealth that
Barabas’s venomous language aimed towards Christians sustains the stereotypes that
were pervasive in the culture in which the text was written. He shows distain for the non-
Jew, flaunting his superiority to which he is entitled through his lineage; he reveals his
devious ways and shows no remorse for his deceptions, and he insulates that he would
revel in causing injury to his oppressor. In all of this, a reader might forget that Barabas
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was a victim of racism and focus on his evil manner. His reprehensible character
climaxes at his death where he continues to speak with malice. In a fiery caldron,
Barabas shouts:
Conversely, it is not only the actions and manners of Barabas that illustrate the perceived
nature of the Jews; the non-Jewish characters also shine light into Jewish stereotypes.
“Jew,” a label; instead of referring to him by name. When questioned about the fairness
of the levy, he tells Barabas, “No, Jew, like infidels/For through our sufferance of your
hateful lives/Who stand accursed in the sight of heaven/These taxes and afflictions are
befall'n/And therefore thus we are determined ….” (Act I) Shapiro situates Marlowe’s
text within the discourse that it is a work rooted in racialization and based on anti-Semitic
beliefs. While Babb’s critical reading of Marlowe makes important interventions on the
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question of power and its arbitrary use, his reading also ignores the racist construction of
A great deal of medieval English literature uses the socially (and now historically)
accepted racial and religious relationship between the Jew and Christian to produce the
Shylock and Barabas, and it is in these parallels that many of the troubling aspects of
Marlowe’s text are reproduced in Shakespeare’s work. The association of Jews with the
practice of usury and all the attendant stereotypes and scapegoating that the image
this historical motif (the governmental oppression of the Jews, the societal distaste
toward the Jews, and the villianization of the Jews by Christians) is carried over from
Marlowe’s work into The Merchant. This theme is not without consequence to the
Jennifer Rich comments on the author’s depiction of Jews in her article The
representations of Jews that contributed to the widespread sentiment that Jews were a
threat to the English. This was a belief that had been constant throughout the Middle
this time. Apart from the consistency with which the Jew is figured in the
English preoccupation with the Jews is its continuity, given that there was
no visible Jewish presence in England during this time. While the Jewish
question for other countries was a "living" issue in the sense of there being
What Shakespeare does with The Merchant of Venice is maintain a view of Jewishness
that froze Jews in time and greatly contributed to their continued social isolation. Rich
suggest that the English were unique in their anxiety about Jews and their societal
Thus, the English imagery around the Jewish question was obscure and
immaturity, a vision that depended upon the oft-recited tales about Jews
them; causing them to become a bizarre feature of the society. As John Russell
Brown notes in his introduction to the Merchant of Venice, "In England at this
time, the Jews were not a people to fear, but were rather a fabulous and monstrous
bogey belonging to remote times and places." (11) At a time when Jewish people
with usury as a livelihood; and greed and maliciousness as behavioural traits. The
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influence of Shakespeare’s play on the culture of English society was not simply
that it brought to the stage an ongoing conflict, but it reinforced those anti-Semitic
Jews were widely targeted by the English with outlandish accusations and
violence. Shakespeare was surely aware of the cultural context into which his play would
enter. In Elizabethan England, one could consider the play to be very similar to television
today, in that it was a popular medium that was widely consumed by the public.
Recognizing the impact of the stage in the creation of culture, and specifically the
representations that created and continued to give credence to, negative meanings of
human, is far overshadowed by the traits assigned to him by the author. The most explicit
While Antonio beseeches Shylock to hear his plea, Shylock shows no mercy; instead, he
asserts that he is seeking revenge for the mistreatment he suffered by the hands of the
Christians.
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Comments such as these about The Merchant of Venice reflect on what makes
Shakespeare’s theatrical representation of Jewish people influential and they are what
have led to charges of anti-Semitism against the play. The play, however, does open
questions that are productive and useful as tools for critical inquiry of Western
civilization and the values that underpin it. As Mark Lamos writes in The Staging of
terra infirma, forced to think about what we watch and judge our reactions
The unstable terrain that Shakespeare has us venture into is exemplified in the case of
self-sacrificing Christian, his loathing for Shylock is open and unrepentant. Antonio’s
bigotry makes us call into question the depth of his conviction to his professed Christian
values and, more broadly, Venice’s civil society on the whole. After all, if Antonio is
representative of Venice’s Christian civic best what are we to make of his hatred for the
and yet without hesitation requests a loan to aid his irresponsible friend, Bassanio, to
whom he extends himself uncritically. In act I, scene iii, Shylock, in his characteristically
As Lamos notes we are left on “terra infirma,” rather than having a clear hero. Antonio’s
own words and deeds make us doubt him. And rather than Shylock being reliably
not allow for clear cut, simple conclusions and instead requires a critical look at those
who oppress the scapegoat. This critical look allows us to see both the perceived
abhorrent character of the Jew as well as the plain duplicity of the Christian; thus
changing the anti-Semitic aspect and influence of the play to an overall assessment of
representation of a man aggrieved by those around him, and who is rightly and justifiably
angry and exasperated by his oppression. Shakespeare alludes to a wide range of racist
however, Shylock is not a simplistic character as he gives us a glimpse into the cultural
context that surrounds him and the reasons for his own subjectivity. We learn about the
various attitudes displayed by those in Elizabethan England who were not Jewish, we
learn about the way that Jews were not simply vindictive in their anger toward the
English, but rather that they were frustrated by the actions of their English oppressors.
fact, he represents them as behaving in very self righteous ways, as in the case of
One can only speculate on the intentions of Shakespeare, there is no way we will
have to consider his entire body work. Beyond this play there is no indication, or at least
Semitic in his representation of Jews. In fact, a close analysis of this particular play does
not indicate a consistent attitude of anti-Semitism. Rather, it is the troubling, and often
problematic aspects of this representation that creates many problems for readers in the
21st century. Modern world citizens have been educated about the history of the Jews and
acts of hate geared toward them; including the extensive measure of anti-Semitism that
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has manifested itself in the form of attempted genocide and ongoing persecution by
Christians, Muslims and other faiths. With the horrors of the 20th century holocaust that
is still fresh in the minds of most, readers of Merchant connect their position of pity for
the Jews, and the feelings of distress and guilt over the atrocities aimed at this group of
people, with that which is prevalent in this Shakespearean production – despite his
intentions. Still, it is not unfair to question Shakespeare in a similar way that we might a
While we may be tempted to say that Shakespeare's words reflect an overall anti-
Semitic attitude we must consider once again the complexity of this representation of not
only Shylock but also Shylock's daughter, Jessica. Her strong desire to convert to
Christianity and abandon Judaism seems to expose the Jewish ways as objectionable or
unattractive. Yet it was not her rejection of Shylock that causes the audience to have
distaste for her character, but the fact that she stole her father's ring. Her actions can be
see the complex interplay at work in a community that is facing economic crises, that has
a collective sense of entitlement, yet refuses to examine its own collective shortcomings.
The fact that Antonio and Bassanio both have financial dealings with Shylock; despite the
verity that Venetian and Christian law forbade the practice and participation in
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moneylending shows the disinclination to accept their individual faults. Even with
Antonio’s default on his loan from Shylock, readers question the humanism of the Jewish
man as their focus sways between the failures of the Venetian to pay the debt and
allows us to get a glimpse into the underpinning reasons behind the scapegoating and
failures of Christian values. The characters compromise religious beliefs and legal
practice in order to secure money, love and position. This comprise is shown through
Portia’s manipulation of the law in order to orchestrate her assumed union with Bassanio;
Jessica’s defamation of her father for the right to be called “Christian”; Bassanio’s
acquiring a loan to impress his love, Portia; as well as Antonio’s backing Bassanio’s loan
to prove his loyalty to his friend. Shakespeare’s thorough presentation of each character
allows the reader to develop both distain and sympathy for them all; including Shylock.
An analysis of both, The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice requires that
we take into account the economic, political, and social forces at work in Elizabethan
England. Both playwrights do not simply construct a reality but they are also affected by
the economic, political, and social reality that surrounds them. To give the work a
historical context we need to first examine the social and political situation facing Jews in
Elizabethan England. Recognizing the effect of historical events does not eliminate the
oppressive and injurious effect these representations have had on the Jewish people.
Given the history of anti-Semitism one can easily see how problematic the
representations of Shylock and Barabas are in a world where hatred of the Jews has been
a long-standing fact of history. However, the context in which both Marlowe’s and
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Shakespeare’s plays are first staged is critically important to recognizing the complexity
of the issues affecting the reception the attending controversy both plays.
underlying commentary on Elizabethan hypocrisy does not eliminate each play’s anti-
Semitic representations, and in fact, it is one of the reasons that we are forced to engage
the works in a more critical way because we must acknowledge what each play tells
about the culture from which they come. Scholarly responses to either play that would
dismiss the racializing aspect of the plays tell us much about the anxiety produced around
the question of race. And those who fail to critically engage the Jewish question as
The controversy around both pieces demonstrates the degree to which we are still
troubled by the problems that both Marlowe and Shakespeare illuminate. While we can
point to significant changes regarding the issue of anti-Semitism and racism (as to how
these feelings reveal themselves in modern western society), the desire to be done with
this difficult issue and move on to other issues and concerns does not bode well. If we
are to overcome the problematic issue of racism, homophobia and sexism, to name just a
few problems that continue to affect social justice, then we must address it in its various
cultural forms. Yet, as we look at the range of responses to both Marlowe and
Shakespeare those charged with this work of analysis in our culture have found this to be
an extremely challenging task. Far from being in a post-race era, American culture is
only now beginning to give serious critical attention to the construction of racial
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categories in our own, relatively speaking, recent history, when compared to early
modern English history. If scholars are vexed over the problematic representations from
16th century English culture, we can see that there is much work ahead on our side of
history. Beyond all that we can learn from both plays it is imperative that we learn to
remain critical and attentive to the details and nuanced ways that representational
practices can oppress the less powerful in the cultural context. While I find that both
plays contain reprehensible representations of Jewish people it is clear that there is more
at work in the plays. At best, these works serve as a timeless reflection of mankind that
should be used as an effigy of behaviors, beliefs and values to be avoided; and to which
Works Cited
Babb, Howard S. "Policy in Marlowe's the The Jew of Malta." ELH 24.2 (1957): 85-94.
Brown, Eric, C. "Shakespeare’s Anxious Epistemology: Love’s Labor’s Lost and Marlowe’s
Doctor Faustus." Texas Studies in Literature and Language, 45. Spring 1 (2003): 22.
Brown, John Russell. “Forward,” The Jew of Malta. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1964. 11.
Gaudet, Paul. "Lorenzo's "Infidel": The Staging of Difference in The Merchant of Venice."
Hoveden, Roger de. iii. 266, ed. Joseph Jacobs, The Jews of Angevin England: Documents and
Hessayon, Ariel. From Expulsion (1290) to Readmission (1656): Jews and England. London:
Humphreys, Arthur. "The The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice: Two Readings of Life."
Ide, Arata. "The The Jew of Malta and the Diabolic Power of Theatrics in the 1580s." Studies in
Marlowe, Christopher, and E. D. Pendry. Complete Plays and Poems. Completely rev. ed.,
Munson, Sara Deats and Starks, Lisa S. ""So Neatly Plotted and So Well Perform'd": Villain as
Playwright in Marlowe's The The Jew of Malta." Theatre Journal 44.3 (1992): 375-89.
Rich, Jennifer "The Merchant Formerly Known as Jew: Redefining the Rhetoric of Merchantry
3/richmerc.htm>>.
The Holy Bible. King James Version, jack Hayford. Gen. ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991,
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Ed. Paul Werstine Barbara Mowat. New York:
Shapiro, James S. Shakespeare and the Jews. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996.
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Additional Resources
Gager, John G. “The origins of Anti-Semitism: Attitudes Towards Judaism in Pagan and
Luxon, Thomas H. “A Second Daniel: The Jew and the ‘True Jew’ in The Merchant of Venice.”
Ben-Sasson, H H.. The History of the Jewish People. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1976.
Bloom, Harold. Ed. Shylock. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991
Cartwright, Kent. Theatre and Humanism: English Drama in the Sixteenth Century.
Charlton, H.B. Shakespeare’s Jew. Manchester: The Manchester University Press, 1934;
Cohen, Walker. Ed. Norton Shakespeare: Based on Oxford Edition. London: W.W. Norton and
Company, 1997