Regarding Shylock, Mr. yesno asked, "why is he so often called just 'the Jew?'" One answer is that as Hawkman suggested, the characters have something in common with the characters Alf Garnet and Archie Bunker. Another is that "Jew" rhymes with "Montague." As we have seen, Shakespeare suggests that the passions of Shylock and Antonio may be much like those of Romeo. Charles D. wrote that the clownish fool Lancelet's purpose is a "comic mirroring or parody of what is happening in the main plot." In his little play within the play(Act 2 , scene 2), he follows the advice of "the fiend." This is in keeping with the beginning of the play where Antonio is a "want-wit." And one might argue that the court scene is engaging, in part, because Antonio and Shylock are co-villains. That is, as Hawkman noted, Antonio is also blameworthy.