One must wonder if Shylock the Jew ever received his day at court at the Merchant of Venice. Some said yes, others no. In short, Shylock was going to collect bail from him. He lent Bassanio three thousand ducats to marry Portia. Antonia, the Merchant of Venice, was the guarantor. However, when she was due on the bond, Antonio failed to pay as prescribed in the bond. The bail had to be paid in three months and now he does not expire. Shylock legitimately had a claim under the law. He is Jewish, raised Jewish, lived in a Jewish slum, and believed that his bail should be paid under Old Testament Law.
Shylock ran into trouble in court when he tried to collect his bail. He was antagonized by Gratiano, who should have been banned from the courtroom due to his actions towards Shylock. The figurehead duke, who acted as judge, refused to suppress the actions of Gratiano and other antagonists at court. The duke made a statement as follows: “With my power, I may dismiss this court / Unless Bellario, a learned physician / Whom I have sent to determine this case / Come here today.” Obviously, the duke’s decision had already been made before the case against Shylock the Jew began, not to allow him to get his pound of Antony’s meat, the bail. Obviously, Shylock was up against a kangaroo court.
Interestingly, when Portia (married to Bassanio) appeared disguised as Bellario, the learned judge, things took a turn for the worse for Shylock. He had the law on his side and Antonio owed him; however, Bellario made a plea for mercy based on New Testament Law. He knew that Shylock would reject the plea and ask that his bail be paid in accordance with the law. He believed in the Old Testament Law. This would give him the leverage he wanted to crush Shylock.
Bellario (Portia, who is married to Bassanio), the learned judge, made some arguments in Shylock’s favor early in the case to assert the fact that Antonio owed him and that he had the law on his side. Subsequently, she turned the table against her. She indignantly referred to him as a Jew, showed him no mercy when she in turn asked for mercy, and classified him as a foreigner and not a citizen of Venice. She even refused to complete her bond and also confiscated his property as a court sanction. The actions of the supposedly learned judge caused others in the court to turn against Shylock. It could be said that his actions and decisions were overreached.
In the end Shylock lost his case. He was stripped of his property. The members of the court laughed. The court even converted him to Christianity. Others certainly had their day in court, but certainly not Shylock, who tried to collect his three thousand ducat bond, which he was due, and simply lost.
