Shylock is the villian of the play, because Shakespeare wrote him as the villian. Since he created Shylock, as well as the rest of the play, intending for Shylock to be the villian, he is technically so. However, this sometimes is tricky to see. Shakespeare wrote the play in such a way that evoked pity for Shylock, you can see his side of the story, why he wants to get revenge on Antonio. Nontheless, he is still trying to kill the main character in the play. And so, whether reasonable or not, Shylock is the villian of the merchant of venice.