Shylock hero of William Shakespeare's Comedy "merchant of Venice" (1596-1597). The plot of the play lend money to the merchant Antonio under the pledge of the pound of flesh from his own chest and stubbornly sought a court ruling to execute the prisoner between them the contract. According to some researchers, the prototype of the could serve as the merchant of Venice - the Jew Alonso núñez de Hereira captured by the Duke of Essex during the March on cádiz in 1596, Once in London, he lived there for four years and left England in 1600 A clear impact on the design Shakespeare had the trial court physician Rodrigo Lopez, a Portuguese Jew, charged with attempt to poison Queen Elizabeth I in collusion with the heir to the Spanish throne and executed in 1594 the facts show that the nature of Shakespearean cannot be understood without considering the real situation of the Jews at that time in England, and especially the fact that the Jews were expelled from the country by decree of Edward II in the end. and came back only in the time of Cromwell.

Thus, in modern Shakespeare London the indigenous population of the country belonged only to baptized Jews. Plays about the Jews was very popular with the British public of the late XVI early and Shakespeare, bringing in as the main character of his Comedy of the Jew, followed the existing stage tradition. As shown by special studies, most of the playwrights of the time portrayed Jews with religious hatred. The Jew was a stranger, a warlock, a Slayer of Christians, assistant trait, etc. This kind of context, and dictated to them by the nature of spectator perception could not fail to affect the way Shakespeare as conceived By Shakespeare W. - the comic villain. Here existed in Britain for over a century and a half tradition of performing the role of comedic actors who played him in a bright red wig with stage antics of a clown. "He was with a red beard, face looks like a witch, it is Jewish wear, suitable for any weather, chin he had a hookup, and a nose hook downwards, and the ends they met," - wrote about Shylock, the actor Thomas.

Jordan in 1664, however, the main conflict of the play between Antonio and Shylock is not only based on religious and national hostility. Shakespeare is a moneylender, and Antonio hates him primarily for this craft. In turn, can't forgive Antonio that "he lends money without interest and the growth rate decreases in Venice". Just as Barabbas K. Marlowe, sh is one of the most characteristic images of hoarding in English Renaissance drama. According to A. Anikst, its appearance and behavior resembles S. Bourgeois - Puritan XVI-XVII centuries: he is stingy, greedy, enemy of fun. Wealth is a means of self-affirmation and pressure on others. In contrast to Moliere's Harpagon, entirely enslaved by the utilitarian purpose of hoarding, sh character in the Renaissance rich and multifaceted as indicated: "Shylock is stingy, shrewd, vengeful, loving, witty". One of the dominants of his character the love for his daughter Jessica, who betrays him.

Thus, the entire course of the story presents us with a humiliated and abandoned by the man who taken everything but his revenge. Humanity Venetian laws do not apply to sh, because he is a Jew. To understand the image of the sh and its role in the development of the plot is crucial the monologue of the third act: "I am a Jew. Yes, hath not a Jew eyes! Hath not a Jew hands, organs, members, senses, affections, passions?" This monologue is differently interpreted by researchers of creativity of Shakespeare. So, Smirnov believed that it proved the identity of nature of all people regardless of their religion and ethnicity.

According to other researchers, the word is absurd and ridiculous, from the point of view of Shakespeare's audience. Shylock is not accepted by the public "Globe" as a real, living person. Marked the tradition interpretation of the image of the stayed on the scene until when an actor H McLean was the first who translated the image of a in a dramatic register. As tragic hero, "volcanically gorgeous in their national bigotry and rabid the power of passion" played a romantic tragedian W. C. Keene. In the future this trend in the interpretation of the image of the sh. continued by G. Irwin and L. Olivier.