Date of Award
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
College/School
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department/Program
English
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Adam Rzepka
Committee Member
Lee Behlman
Committee Member
Jeffrey Miller
Abstract
This thesis focuses on Anti-Semitism in Renaissance drama through the lens of attempting to weave an older literary idea into a newer one. By the Renaissance, the Vice figure, a literary tool to draw one-dimensional evil characters, began to raise questions about the rationale behind their villainy. Machiavellianism served to reclassify characters that were originally meant to be perceived by audiences as inherently evil, allowing them potentially to sympathize with them in the plight that led them to such deplorable acts.
Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare created Jewish characters who seek to remain in control of their families and wealth, often equating the two, usually to their own detriment. Marlowe’s Barabas, already clouded by his hatred for the Christian population for their own Anti-Semitic tendencies, aims to retaliate against his Christian antagonists. While his words and actions embody the Vice figure trope, his desire to control elements of his life for his own benefit exhibit a layer of justification for the choices that he makes. Shakespeare’s Shylock is adamant about receiving his pound of flesh from Antonio, a character who represents Christian characters who seek to dehumanize Shylock for being a Jew. Like Barabas, Shylock’s plans to undermine the Christian characters in the play ultimately lead to his downfall, again raising questions about how justified his actions are throughout the drama.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Schaechter, Allison, "Literary Machiavellianism, the Vice Figure, and the Jewish Character : Anti-Semitic Perceptions in The Jew of Malta and The Merchant Venice" (2022). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1039.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1039