The Merchant of Venice is often considered Shylock's play, for the reading of his character generally influences the interpretation of the drama as a whole. lf Shylock is perceived as a comic villain, with all the stock characteristics associated with such a role, then he receives his due in the trial scene and the work is truly a comedy. However, if Shylock is seen as the hero of the drama, then his humiliation indicates that the work is a tragedy. Both views can be argued based on the content of the play. Numerous commentators have discussed the extent to which Shakespeare was influenced by the anti-Semitic sentiment of his day. While it is true that the playwright began writing his play with the stereotypical Elizabethan conception of a Jewish usurer in mind, he created in Shylock an   ambiguous, yet memorable figure who defies those conventional...