The Merchant of Venice: Shylock - An in-depth character analysis Often, The character Shylock, in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, is portrayed as a beastly monstrosity, with a lust for Antonio's life. Through a more careful examination it can be determined that Shylock was an upstanding member of his community, who endured abuse, forgave easily, and upheld the customs and law. Shylock endured much of Antonio's abuse, overt a long period of time. This can be seen by the sheer volume of disgraces he has bore. A good example is in Act 3 Scene 1, beginning with line 52: “He hath disgraced me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my ga