What was Big Willy Shakes going for?
Hmm. We can't help up doubt Shylock when he insists this is all for "merry sport." Here, Shylock acts like it's all in good fun, but later he ends up demanding his bond in a big courtroom showdown, and nobody's laughing.
Antonio worries about it too. When his money doesn't show, he says: "I shall hardly spare a pound of flesh to-morrow to my bloody creditor" (3.3.33-34). And before the play is up, the Duke and Portia have said "pound of flesh" as well. In fact, it's one of the recurring images of the play.
We get that he wants a hefty collateral for his loan, but why a pound of flesh?
In order to really understand what's going on with this quote, we've got to turn to the courtroom scene, where Antonio and Shylock go head to head. Shylock says he would rather have a piece of Antonio (literally) than "thrice" the amount of money he's owed, which suggests that Shylock is (a) bloodthirsty, (b) vengeful, and (c) inflexible. In other words, a real winner.
Maybe some of his anger stems from the fact that he's a Jew living in a Christian world. We should tell you that Jews had been exiled from England way back in 1290, so much of how Elizabethans would have thought of Jews was influenced not by reality but by a rather cruel popular imagination. One particular myth that lived on into the 16th century was the supposed Jewish practice of ritual murder, where Jews would kidnap Christian children on Easter and use their blood in ceremonies around the Jewish holiday of Passover.
When Elizabethan audiences watched the play, there's no doubt they would think of this legendary (and entirely fallacious) Jewish practice as a justification for why Shylock would want Antonio's flesh, and why he'd be unconcerned about whether Antonio bled to death. This interpretation is bolstered by the fact that Portia, in her defense of Antonio, states that Shylock cannot spill one drop of "Christian blood," which could be an allusion to the supposed rituals.
Another way to think about Shylock's desire for a pound of Antonio's flesh is to consider the rest of the play. When Shylock hears the news of Antonio's forfeiture, he also learns that his daughter Jessica has run off to marry a Christian.
Shylock's response? He says, "I'll plague him [Antonio]; I'll torture him." Hmm. Is he looking to compensate for the loss of his own flesh and blood (his daughter Jessica) by demanding a little bit of Antonio's flesh and blood?
One thing's for sure: Shylock hates Antonio, and he wants to hurt him any way that he can. If you want to form your own opinion about the whole demanding a pound of flesh thing, check out our guide to the play.