Beyond a mere dietary preference, eating meat and vegetables in Shakespeare’s drama is also indicative of the consumer’s identity, social status and religious beliefs. This article probes the dietary language in early modern culture with a particular focus on Shylock’s seemingly violent flesh-eating rhetoric in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (1598). If eating meat connotes early modern sacrifice rituals and masculinity, then vegetarianism becomes a source of communal virtue, spiritual wealth and the celebration of religio-cultural diversity. Shylock’s vulgar rhetoric, his references to meat-eating (both animal and human), and his preference for a rotten, Christian pound of flesh are all situated within a context of religious conflict. Yet Shakespeare’s depiction of Shylock’s violent, carnivorous language is ultimately in ironic service of the moderate individual who is always willing to set aside self-interest and social biases for the sake of peaceful coexistence.

Title

English Studies in Africa

Publisher

Taylor and Francis

Publisher Country

South Africa

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

0.5

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

68

Year

2025

Pages

39-50