--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In addition, unlike Othello, whose…" description: "\"“In addition, unlike Othello, whose profession of arms is socially honorable, Shylock is a professional usurer who, like a prostitute, has a social fun..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/165/w-h-auden-2-7412_belial_in-addition-unlike-othello-whose-profess_2106467.jpg" --- # In addition, unlike Othello, whose profession of arms is… ![“In addition, unlike Othello, whose profession of arms is socially honorable, Shylock is a professional usurer who, like a prostitute, has a social function but is an outcast from the community. But, in the play, he acts unprofessionally; he refuses to charge Antonio interest and insists upon…” quote by W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/165/w-h-auden-2-7412_belial_in-addition-unlike-othello-whose-profess_2106467.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/165/w-h-auden-2-7412_belial_in-addition-unlike-othello-whose-profess_2106467.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/165/w-h-auden-2-7412_belial_in-addition-unlike-othello-whose-profess_2106467.jpg) > ““In addition, unlike Othello, whose profession of arms is socially honorable, Shylock is a professional usurer who, like a prostitute, has a social function but is an outcast from the community. But, in the play, he acts unprofessionally; he refuses to charge Antonio interest and insists upon making their legal relation that of debtor and creditor, a relation acknowledged as legal by all societies. Several critics have pointed to analogies between the trial scene and the medieval Processus Belial in which Our Lady defends man against the prosecuting Devil who claims the legal right to man’s soul. \[…\] But the differences between Shylock and Belial are as important as their similarities. The comic Devil of the mystery play can appeal to logic, to the letter of the law, but he cannot appeal to the heart or to the imagination, and Shakespeare allows Shylock to do both. In his "Hath not a Jew eyes…" speech in Act III, Scene I, he is permitted to appeal to the sense of human brotherhood, and in the trial scene, he is allowed to argue, with a sly appeal to the fear a merchant class has of radical social evolution: You have among you many a purchased slave Which like your asses and your dogs and mules, You use in abject and in slavish parts, which points out that those who preach mercy and brotherhood as universal obligations limit them in practice and are prepared to treat certain classes of human beings as things.”” [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shylock’s speech exposes contradictions in societal morals, blending legal logic with human empathy, and critiques hypocrisy. **In simple terms:** Shylock shows law can be cold while humanity calls for compassion. Key Takeaway Recognize the clash between law and compassion. Themes justice prejudice humanity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - courtroom debates - financial negotiations - social reform Key Concepts ethics social critique Questions to Reflect On - Can law ever fully embody compassion? - How do personal biases shape justice? A Different Perspective Legal arguments may ignore moral consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belial-17957/) [Differences Shylock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences-shylock-4233027/) [Honorable Shylock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honorable-shylock-4233026/) [Shylock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shylock/) [Shylock Hath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shylock-hath-4233028/) [Unlike Othello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlike-othello-4233029/) ## Related quotes > [“Portia we can admire because, having seen her leave her Earthly Paradise to do a good deed in this world (one notices, incidentally, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/portia-we-can-admire-because-having-seen-her-leave-her-earthly/) [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) > [“After Portia has trapped Shylock through his own insistence upon the letter of the law of Contract, she produces another law by which any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/after-portia-has-trapped-shylock-through-his-own-insistence-upon-the/) [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) > [Better to reign in hell than serve in heav'n.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/better-to-reign-in-hell-than-serve-in-heav-n/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [I cling unto the burning Æthyr like Lucifer that fell through the Abyss, and by the fury of his flight kindled the air. 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Religion has never yet changed the metal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/you-know-the-ark-of-israel-and-the-calf-of-belial-were-both-made-of/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [He has been known by many names: Lucifer, Beelzabub, Belial, the Prince of Lies, Satan, and at a party once an obnoxious drunk kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-larson/he-has-been-known-by-many-names-lucifer-beelzabub-belial-the-prince/) [Gary Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-larson/) > [Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? ...If you poison us, do we not die? 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With Shakespeare's words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paterson-joseph/when-i-was-14-i-was-really-taciturn-i-hardly-said-a-word-but-then-i/) [Paterson Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paterson-joseph/) > [If thou wilt lend this money, lend it not As to thy friends; for when did friendship take A breed for barren metal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-thou-wilt-lend-this-money-lend-it-not-as-to-thy-friends-for-when/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We cannot reform the world… Uncle Sugar is as dangerous a role for us to play as Uncle Shylock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-cannot-reform-the-world-uncle-sugar-is-as-dangerous-a-role-for-us/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Will you stand by it now, or will you let the Shylocks come and have their way? It is for you to determine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/will-you-stand-by-it-now-or-will-you-let-the-shylocks-come-and-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by W.H. Auden > [“Part came from Lane, and part from D.H. Lawrence; Gide, though I didn't know it then, gave part. They taught me to express my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/part-came-from-lane-and-part-from-d-h-lawrence-gide-though-i-didn-t/) [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) > [“As his wife, Emilia must know Iago better than anybody else. She does not know, any more than the others, that he is malevolent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/as-his-wife-emilia-must-know-iago-better-than-anybody-else-she-does/) [W.H. 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Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) > [“But round your image there is no fog, and the Earth can still astonish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden-2/but-round-your-image-there-is-no-fog-and-the-earth-can-still-astonish/) [W.H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) [Explore all 89 W.H. Auden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden-2/) ## More Belial quotes > [Better to reign in hell than serve in heav'n.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/better-to-reign-in-hell-than-serve-in-heav-n/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [You know the Ark of Israel and the calf of Belial were both made of gold. Religion has never yet changed the metal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/you-know-the-ark-of-israel-and-the-calf-of-belial-were-both-made-of/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [Thus Belial, with words clothed in reason's garb, counseled ignoble ease, and peaceful sloth, not peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/thus-belial-with-words-clothed-in-reason-s-garb-counseled-ignoble/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Everyone should avoid familiarity or friendship with anyone suspected of belonging to masonry or to affiliated groups. Know them by their fruits and avoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/everyone-should-avoid-familiarity-or-friendship-with-anyone-suspected/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [I cling unto the burning Æthyr like Lucifer that fell through the Abyss, and by the fury of his flight kindled the air. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/i-cling-unto-the-burning-thyr-like-lucifer-that-fell-through-the/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [He has been known by many names: Lucifer, Beelzabub, Belial, the Prince of Lies, Satan, and at a party once an obnoxious drunk kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-larson/he-has-been-known-by-many-names-lucifer-beelzabub-belial-the-prince/) [Gary Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-larson/) [Browse all 7 Belial quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belial-17957/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In addition, unlike Othello, whose profession of arms is socially honorable, Shylock is a professional usurer who, like a prostitute, has a social function but is an outcast from the community. 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