Shylock

Shylock was a character in William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.

While briefly held captive and forced to become Saladin's storyteller in 1190, Barbara Wright considered The Merchant of Venice among a list of tales she which she felt might divert and entertain him. She thought she could "slightly change" it by making Shylock a Syrian or an Arab to bring the story "closer to Saladin's understanding and provide him with a character with whom he could sympathize". (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Crusaders) In the original play, Shylock's home was the titular city of Venice. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)