Merchant of Venice
What does this bit of Shylock's speech mean "If a christian wrong as a jew, what should his sufferance be by christian example? why, revenge
shylock's speech
shylock's speech
Shylock, feeling stigmatized by his Jewishness, tries to use Christianity and its philosophical underpinnings to say that the Christian would, in fact, seek revenge if he were wronged. Thus, if the Christian wrongs a Jew, the Jew should seek revenge. However, this would be a more Old Testament concept (an eye for an eye) than it would be a Christian concept (turn the other cheek is Jesus' advice.)