A MEMORABLE SPEECH
FROM A
SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY
There is a number of
great speeches in the plays of the English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
All of them are on significant themes.
Their relevance to human affairs is everlasting. The language in which
they are expressed is powerful. It catches the mind, appeals to the heart and
uplifts the soul.
The speech quoted below
is from Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 1.
The speaker is Shylock,
the Jew. The indirectly mentioned addressees are Christians. The theme is that all
men are subject to similar physical, mental and emotional reactions. Since there
is no difference between the feelings of a Jew and those of a Christian, both
should be respected equally.
Shylock asks:
“If you prick us, do we
not bleed: If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die
And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”
After referring to these
shared human experiences and vulnerabilities of both Jews and Christians, he claims:
“If we are like you in
the rest, we will resemble you in other wrongs done to us.
“If a Jew wrongs a
Christian, what is his humility? Revenge.”
In this short speech,
Shylock demands equality of rights on the basis of religion. And what he said about five hundred years ago
is true even today. Equality of rights is the basis of great religions.
********
G.R.Kanwal
26 April 2025
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