Publisher's Synopsis
Shakespeare's precise wordplay presents a flesh and bone figure in Shylock, a flawed human being, a man who has been mocked and persecuted by his Christian antagonists and who seeks disproportionate revenge out of hurt pride and blind rage. He is not wicked by nature; the Jew has a motive to retaliate, either with or without the weight of morality on his side, and that is precisely what makes him such a believable character.
