I do not feel that Shakespeare is biased in terms of portrayal of the main characters in The Merchant of Venice. This can be seen through the fair portrayal of these characters.
He portrayed the characters with both good and bad qualities. Take Antonio for example, Antonio was portrayed to be a loyal and helpful friend. Where he was even willing to have a pound of flesh cut from him, just to ensure his friend's future. However, he turned out also to be racist and conducted many anti-Jewish acts on Shylock such as telling him that he was a dog and spitting on him.
Another character which was portrayed fairly would be Shylock. Shylock, is portrayed as an evil and cruel with no sense of mercy, and was hell bent on killing Antonio through his bond of a pound of flesh. All these bad characteristics developed due to the discrimination that he was facing and that he probably felt dejected, sad and alone, leading the the growth of hatred towards the christians. This can be seen in many parts of the play such as during the trial whereby the Christians gang up against him, and also the part which Antonio spit on him. Therefore, Shylock is not just portrayed as a ruthless, merciless tyrant, but also a misunderstood character who is discriminated against for being a Jew.
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