Discuss Shylock's dramatic function in The Merchant of Venice.

Despite Shakespeare's iconic greatness as a dramatist and poet, in his comedies, especially, he used the same stereotypes and stock characters that were part of the popular consciousness of his time. On one level, in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock functions simply as a villain for the crowd can jeer at. He is the principal antagonist of the play, and the main conflict that drives the plot stems from the problem Antonio has in paying back the loan Shylock has made to him. Unfortunately, Shakespeare depicts Shylock in a manner that employs typical anti-Semitic stereotypes, just as Marlowe portrays the title character of The Jew of Malta.
That said, the ironic thing about the depiction of Shylock is that it is ambivalent. One could even argue that it is sympathetic, to a degree. This is where Shakespeare, as in other factors, rises above his contemporaries. He clearly portrays Shylock as a victim, despite Shylock's "villainy" in wanting to extract the "pound of flesh" from Antonio. If anything, the message that comes through, at least as strongly as negative stereotyping, is that of the hypocrisy and cruelty of the Christians toward Shylock and toward Jews in general. The famous "I am a Jew" monologue is as clear a statement as possible about the injustice of religious and ethnic bigotry. Nevertheless, the play sends mixed signals, as the other characters rejoice in Shylock's defeat at the end.