Why would a Shakespearean audience relate to Shylock differently than a modern audience would?

reidalot Teacher College - Freshman eNotes Editor A Shakespearean audience would tend to be much more provincial in their attitude towards Shylock than a modern audience. Remember, in the Elizabethan Age, news traveled slowly and cultures were slower to change than today in our information, technology driven age. Deep rooted, stereotypical prejudices existed towards the Jews, so we have Shylock as the typical usurer (moneylender). Unfortunately, we still have prejudice in today's world; however, many scholars and audiences would argue that Shylock is not all bad. In fact, a large question that looms over this play is whether or not Shylock truly deserved his punishment. Is Portia's trickery justified? We live in an age after World War II and the Holocaust, so that should, most definitely affect our judgement on Shylock's character and the historical persecution of the Jews. Sources: http://www.enotes.com/merchantofvenice Rate answer: $('#aScore-37921').istars(setAnswerRating); Flag ...  more