The Influence of Medieval Mystery Cycles on The Merchant of Venice
Tesia Chciuk 2009
Throughout history, the Christian majority of Europe has portrayed Jews negatively, especially the medieval mystery cycles—plays that illustrated stories from the Bible. Because of the widespread popularity of these plays, they continued to influence European literature for hundreds of years. Out of the influence of medieval mystery cycles comes Shakespeare's character of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, who both reflects and deviates from the stereotypes established by the medieval mystery cycles.
During the middle ages, religious stories began to gain popularity as subject matter for plays. Beginning directly in the Church, mystery cycles illustrated the stories from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, while miracle plays described the lives of saints. Most of these plays were written and performed during the fifteenth century throughout Europe, but received most popularity in France, Germany, and England. (Bertrin1) The format of these plays was very simple, since they were acting out specific stories from the Bible such as Noah’s Ark, Adam and Eve, and the life and death of Jesus Christ. (Historical2), but would go on for days because of the sheer magnitude of certain parts of the material. The mystery plays soon moved out of the Church and were taken out into the streets where they were taken over by guilds and performed in the language of the people, as opposed to the miracle plays, which were performed in Latin.(Mystery1) These performances would sometimes be taken so seriously that entire towns would take part in them, considering such activities a great honor. (Bertrin1) Due to their popularity throughout Europe, the plays themselves, as well as the messages they represented, remained influential for years.
The importance of these plays to the public guaranteed grand performances. Usually, the plays would take place on large decorated carts called pageants, which moved around the city for different audiences to observe. The medieval mystery cycles were often performed for festival days like Corpus Christi.(Mystery1) The costumes were rich and colorful in order to further indulge the festival and celebration atmosphere.(Bertrin1) Due to their role in medieval festivals, the mystery cycles were popular with the common man as one of the few forms of entertainment permitted by the Church at that time. This would secure their lasting effect on European culture.
One of the most popular stories performed in medieval mystery cycles is the story of Jesus Christ. In fact, these plays were so popular that they are still performed today. (Bellinger132) The mystery cycle plays all centered around the story of the Passion in one way or another, either portraying the events immediately before or after the Crucifixion. (Campbell2) In these plays, the events related to the crucifixion were acted out as realistically as possible. For example, Jehande Missay, a French citizen playing Judas suffered heart failure from hanging from a tree for an extended period of time in an attempt to realistically portray Judas’ death. (Bertrin1) Because Christ’s story is a well-known and favored one, especially to the common man, the perceptions and stereotypes portrayed made lasting impressions on the public.
Within the Passion plays, the role of Jews in the death of Jesus Christ was always prevalent. Through both the mob of Jews and the character of Judas, the European public was exposed to anti-Semitic ideas that were heavily ingrained in the European culture, many of which survived into the twentieth century. Many blame the attitudes towards Jews in literature, such as Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, and later events such as the Holocaust on the ideas instilled by the popularity of the medieval mystery cycles, especially the Passion.
Through the character of Judas, the medieval public was exposed to many of the stereotypes that were incorporated into later literature. In the story of the Passion of Christ, Jesus Christ, who knows he is going to be betrayed by one of his disciples sits down for a final dinner with all of them and announces that he knows that someone has planned his demise. In fact, Judas, who was responsible for carrying the moneybox belonging to the twelve disciples, was bribed to expose Jesus with a kiss as the signal, in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. (Judas1) The idea of Judas betraying an important Christian figure over money led to the belief that Jews hold money higher than morals and faith. Though Judas later repents his sins and takes his own life, he is still vilified in performances of the story. Up until recently, Judas was often costumed in yellow, which signified cowardice. (Fletcher3) Christians came to perceive Judas as a coward because of his underhanded role in Jesus’ death and his own suicide, which was considered a cowardly escape from earthly consequences. As a result of the portrayal of Judas in the Passion plays, Jews gained a reputation as being weak and materialistic.
Another instance of anti-Semitic stereotypes established by performances of the Passion plays is the portrayal of the Jewish mob and their role in the death of Jesus Christ, creating another stereotype of cruelty and maliciousness. Throughout the Bible, upon which the Passion and other mystery plays were based, Jews in general are blamed for the death of Christ. (Anti-Semitism3) Their insistence in condemning Christ to death turned them into villains responsible for Christ's death, much more so than Pontius Pilate or the Romans. As Christ was brought before Pontius Pilate, he repeatedly offers to release him, but is prompted by the crowd to continue. "Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus .... said unto them the third time, 'Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chasten him, and let him go.' And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified…. And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: 'I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it.' Then cried all the people, and said, 'His blood be on us, and on our children.'" [Luke 23:20-23; Mat 27:25] Through this one except from the bible, the Jewish mob is shown as desiring the death of Jesus Christ. “His blood be on us, and on our children,” was always used in the performance of the play to signify the guilt of not only those Jews present, but their children and all resulting generations as well. (Spiro2) Through this one line, which was recited all over Europe every time one of these plays was performed, the Jews were repeatedly blamed for death of Jesus Christ, and thusly associated with murder and cruelty for many years.
Though Shakespeare began to write plays long after the height of the popularity of mystery plays, the stereotypes and connotations associated with Jews were so ingrained in the public that the use of a Jew as a villain in a play, such as The Merchant of Venice, was expected. In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the character of Shylock is portrayed as a typical Jew, whose characteristics were established by characters portrayed in the medieval mystery cycles. He practices money-lending as a business and through collecting interest makes a profit. Throughout the play, Shylock is shown as a very money-conscious person, even to the point of cruelty toward the character of Antonio. In the courtroom scene (4:1) Shylock cares more about collecting “the pound of flesh” from the disgraced Antonio than being merciful. (Bevington103) In this scene, the stereotypical Jew cares more for money than fellow man, playing on negative connotations and stereotypes reminiscent of the Passion plays. In many performances of the play in Elizabethan times, Shylock was played with a red wig, hearkening back to Passion play portrayals of Judas as a redhead. (Judas3) Again, the Jewish character is reduced to stereotypes well-ingrained in European culture.
Despite the similarities regarding the portrayal of Jews between The Merchant of Venice and the Passion plays of the fifteenth century, Shakespeare also differed from the well-established Jewish stereotype. Throughout the Passion plays, the Jewish characters such as Judas and the Mob were portrayed only as villains without any further development. Shakespeare differs from this practice in that he showed motivation for Shylock’s resentment toward Antonio and other Christians. He built a more realistic and most importantly, human, character from the mold established by the medieval mystery cycles. (Rogers1) One of the most controversial speeches of The Merchant of Venice is Shylock’s “I am a Jew…” speech (Scene 3.1). In this speech, Shakespeare sets up Shylock as a human character who is motivated by the persecution he has endured. The motivations for Shylock’s behavior are reasonable, which makes him easier to sympathize with than some of Shakespeare’s other villains. Because Shylock is Jewish, he is “spit upon,” called names like “misbeliever” and “cutthroat dog,” and not given the full rights of a citizen. This speech is just one of many instances where Shakespeare provides reasoning for Shylock’s negative attitude toward Christians, especially Antonio. (Bevington85) Even though Shylock is repeatedly shown as being cruel and hateful, Shakespeare incorporates specific lines to ensure that he is both a well-developed and motivated character as opposed to the one-dimensional Jewish villains of the past.
Due to their early popularity, the negative stereotypes and characteristics associated with Jews remained an influence on European literature for many years after their introduction. These stereotypes had an immeasurable influence on Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Though he included the negative stereotypes established by the medieval mystery cycles, he also made Shylock a villain with whom people could sympathize. Playing on those stereotypes and giving voice to a Jewish character gives Shylock a more nuanced and layered personality than he would have otherwise.
Works Cited
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