MerchantVenice

UNDERSTANDING

SHAKESPEARE:

THE

MERCHANT

OF

VENICE

UNDERSTANDING

SHAKESPEARE:

The Merchant

of Venice

Robert A. Albano

MERCURYE PRESS

Los Angeles

UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE:

The Merchant of Venice

Robert A. Albano

First Printing: July 2012

All Rights Reserved © 2012 by Robert A. Albano

No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic,

electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping, or by any information storage

retrieval system, without the written permission of

the publisher.

MERCURYE PRESS

Los Angeles

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ………………………………. 11

Act I ............................................................. 21

Act II ............................................................. 53

Act III ............................................................. 79

Act IV ............................................................. 101

Act V ............................................................. 121

Final Comments ............................................. 131

Appendix: Il Pecorone ………………….. 145

Books by Robert A. Albano

Middle English Historiography

Lectures on Early English Literature

Lectures on British Neoclassic Literature

Understanding Shakespeare's Tragedies

Understanding the Poetry of William Wordsworth

Understanding Shakespeare (series)

1. The Sonnets

2. Henry IV, Part I

3. Hamlet

4. Macbeth

5. Othello

6. Julius Caesar

7. Antony and Cleopatra

8. Much Ado about Nothing

9. A Midsummer Night’s Dream

10. Twelfth Night

11. King Lear

12. The Merchant of Venice

NOTE: All act and scene divisions and lines

numbers referred to in this text are consistent with

those found in The Norton Shakespeare (Stephen

Greenblatt, editor).

INTRODUCTION

During the time that Shakespeare was

writing his comedies and tragedies, audiences never

knew quite what to expect from one of his plays.

With other playwrights the title usually provided a

strong indication of the contents, but not so with

Shakespeare. In Julius Caesar, for example,

Shakespeare inserts the assassination of his title

character before the play is even half way over.

The bard then proceeds to focus on the character of

Brutus, who becomes the actual central protagonist

of that play.

Shakespeare was inventive and creative in

all of his plays, and part of that invention involved

breaking the traditions and conventions that were

often strictly adhered to by other playwrights.

In The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare

similarly plays with the concepts and conventions

regarding protagonists and antagonists; and like

Julius Caesar, the title character is not actually the

central figure of the play. In fact, Shakespeare’s

merchant, Antonio, is more of a plot device, a bit

part, rather than a major role in the work. But

unlike Julius Caesar, pinpointing the central figure

of Merchant of Venice is somewhat trickier.

The first half of Merchant bears some

similarity to Othello. In that tragedy the character

of Iago dominates the action and actually is the

Understanding Shakespeare

12

character to whom Shakespeare gives the best

speeches. Audiences are certainly far more

interested and intrigued by Iago than they are by

Othello. Yet Iago is the antagonist of the play, a

devious and clever villain who dominates the play

and manipulates the other characters in it. The

character of Othello becomes, in a sense, Iago’s

puppet. Iago tugs on a string, and Othello is forced

to move whether he desires to do so or not. In

Merchant the villainous Shylock also intrigues the

audiences and similarly manipulates the character of

Antonio into taking action that runs contrary to his

own beliefs. And just as Iago wishes to destroy

Othello, Shylock desires to destroy Antonio.

But the second half of Merchant bears more

similarity to As You Like It. In that comedy the

wonderful female character named Rosalind takes

command of the play and of the other characters in

it. By disguising herself as a man, she sorts out the

problems for all of the characters in the play,

including herself: she creates order out of chaos.

Shakespeare had a great deal of respect for the

abilities and intelligence of women, and he certainly

reveals that respect through the character of

Rosalind. Indeed, many noted Shakespeare critics

often rank Rosalind as one of his greatest creations,

right alongside his greatest male characters, notably

Hamlet and Falstaff. And because Shakespeare is


13

noted and praised for creating outstanding

characters that were far more developed and

complex and realistic than any of those characters

created by his contemporaries, the character of

Rosalind is thereby particularly noteworthy. In

Merchant the character of Portia becomes the

commanding presence of the play and the one upon

whom the men of the piece must rely to sort out

their problems and to resolve all hostilities. And,

like Rosalind, Portia disguises herself as a man; for

the time of the English Renaissance was still

primarily a man’s world despite being ruled by a

queen for nearly half a century. And like Rosalind,

Portia reveals that she is every bit as capable as any

man – and more capable than most – in functioning

in that man’s world; yet she never for a moment

loses her own identity and charm as a woman.

Not surprisingly, because The Merchant of

Venice does have these similarities to both one

major tragedy and one major comedy, a number of

Shakespeare scholars classify the play as a

tragicomedy (tragic comedy). However, the play

was classified simply as a comedy in the First

Folio (a collection of Shakespeare’s plays published

in 1623). Shakespeare himself did not worry so

much about categorizing his plays. A play with a

happy ending, despite having serious or nearly

tragic scenes occurring before that ending, was still


14

a comedy. By definition, a tragedy, on the other

hand, demanded that the protagonist must

experience a tragic fall from his position of power

and respect at the end of the tale. And even a

Shakespeare tragedy could contain comic scenes

before that tragic ending took place. However,

today’s reader should keep in mind that English

drama was back then in a state of constant change

and evolution. The rules and conventions

recognized and established in one decade could be

thrown out or turned upside down in the next

decade. Less than two decades before The

Merchant of Venice was first performed, another

fine English poet, Sir Philip Sidney, in his Defense

of Poesy (circa 1582) severely criticized the mixture

of tragedy and comedy (the mingling of kings and

clowns) in a play:

But, besides these gross absurdities, how all

their plays be neither right tragedies nor right

comedies, mingling kings and clowns, not

because the matter so carrieth it, but thrust in

the clown by head and shoulders to play a part

in majestical matters, with neither decency nor

discretion; so as neither the admiration and

commiseration, nor the right sportfulness, is by

their mongrel tragi-comedy obtained. I know

Apuleius did somewhat so, but that is a thing

recounted with space of time, not represented

in one moment; and I know the ancients have

one or two examples of tragi-comedies, as


15

Plautus hath Amphytrio. But, if we mark them

well, we shall find that they never, or very

daintily, match hornpipes and funerals.

However, Shakespeare and other playwrights

quickly showed that Sidney’s view was not entirely

correct. One could, if one were a great playwright,

quite elegantly and masterfully blend elements of

comedy and tragedy together to create a splendid

work of dramatic literature. A convention and

insight that may have been reasonable and

applicable to 1582 was no longer quite so relevant

in 1596. Sidney established a convention, and later

Shakespeare (among others) broke it.

These two aspects of The Merchant of

Venice – the tragic and the comic – are also the

result of the play having two central plots or

stories. Shakespeare is not generally regarded by

many critics as a creator of great stories because he

borrowed extensively from other tales and historical

events – in that sense, he was not entirely original.

Rather these critics praise Shakespeare for (1) the

magnificence of his characterization and (2) the

beauty of his poetry. However, today’s reader

should not be so quick to dismiss the genius that

underlies Shakespeare’s plots. Although

Shakespeare did indeed in many of his plays borrow

from other sources, he took separate and diverse

elements from those sources and weaved them


16

together in such a way as to create a new and

wholly original work of literature. Shakespeare

does not just insert a subplot that runs alternately

with his main plot. Rather, the characters of one

plot are also integral and vital to the other plot.

Shakespeare’s storytelling art involves the blending

of two (and sometimes even more than two) plots in

such a way that every scene and even every line

becomes vital to the meaning and understanding of

both plots and to the overall play. The result, then,

is an entirely new plot (as in the case of a tragedy

like King Lear) or at least a thoroughly revised plot

(as in the case of Merchant of Venice) that is most

assuredly creative in the sense of organization and

integration.

In The Merchant of Venice the two

connected plots or tales are, as critics refer to them,

(1) the winning-the-bride story and (2) the pound-

of-flesh story. However, for this particular play,

Shakespeare owes a great deal of debt to an Italian

collection of tales that appear in a book entitled Il

Pecorone (1378) by Giovanni Fiorentino. Both

the first and second plots appear together in that

collection (see the tale in the appendix). However,

the two plots in the fourteenth century book are far

less integrated and cohesive than they are in

Shakespeare’s play.


17

The first of the plots, the winning-the-bride

tale, is very much like an old folktale or fairytale.

In the source story, a suitor named Giannetto

attempts to win a beautiful woman as his bride by

passing a test. The test simply involves staying

awake all night. However, on his first two attempts

he fails the test because he is given a sleeping

potion. But on the third attempt a sympathetic maid

warns him not to drink the drugged wine, and so

Giannetto wins the bride.

Shakespeare went beyond this earliest

source and made the winning of the bride more

complicated by involving a choice of three caskets

or boxes, one of which contains a portrait of the

lady. The suitor must choose the correct casket

based on various clues; but, if he fails to choose

correctly, he must give up all hope of marriage to

anyone. There are several possible sources that

Shakespeare may have used for the use of caskets

(instead of the sleep test), and Shakespeare could

possibly have used more than one of these sources

when he created his play. The change, however,

was definitely an improvement over Fiorentino’s

version because Shakespeare was thus able to

integrate the two parts of his play more completely

by intertwining thematic aspects of the plots.

Shakespeare’s play thus has greater overall unity

and integrity.


18

The folktale-like features of this part of the

play also cause some critics to categorize Merchant

as a romance. The term romance is used to

indicate those comedies by Shakespeare that share

certain qualities similar to medieval romances, such

as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which

included the use of magical or supernatural

elements as well as knightly adventures.

Shakespeare’s plays The Tempest and The Winter’s

Tale are often designated as romances; but this

category, like the one of tragicomedy, is actually

unnecessary. The simpler designation of comedy

was sufficient for Shakespeare, and it should be for

readers and critics as well.

The second part of the play, the pound-of-

flesh story, also comes originally from the book by

Giovanni Fiorentino. This story may also have

been derived from an earlier folktale source, but

Fiorentino’s version inspired several authors who

came later as well as Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s

genius for both character and poetry, though, is

what sets his variation of the story apart from all of

the others. Like the female bride in Fiorentino’s

book, Portia (the bride who must be won in the first

part of the play) assumes the role of a man and

becomes the clever lawyer who successfully rescues

the beleaguered merchant from the clutches of the

violent money-lender. However, Shakespeare’s


19

courtroom drama scene is longer and far more

riveting. In this scene Portia presents one of

Shakespeare’s greatest and most compelling

speeches – a speech on the quality of mercy.

After the serious courtroom scene, the play

ends with a gentle prank played by the women upon

their husbands. But after having their laugh, the

women reveal their jest. And, like a good comedy

should, all ends happily for all of the major

characters in the play (excluding, of course, the

villain Shylock).

ACT I

Act I, Scene 1: A Want-Wit Sadness

The play opens with the title character –

Antonio, the merchant of Venice – telling two of

his friends that he feels melancholic or depressed.

However, he cannot explain the reason for his

feeling so down. He also describes his emotion as

“a want-wit sadness” (6). The word want here

means lacking. Antonio is lacking or missing his

wits. He feels dull and sluggish. Shakespeare is

suggesting that there are times in a man’s life when

he may just feel blue without any obvious or direct

cause. Simply, the weariness of day-to-day living

has gotten him down. He just does not seem to care

much about life.

Many other people, however, cannot

understand how a person can feel depressed without

having an obvious reason for feeling so. Neither

Salerio nor Solanio, Antonio’s friends (and both

minor characters in this play), understands

Antonio’s feelings. And, so, they thus attempt to

find a cause or explanation for his depression.

Salerio, quite poetically, suggests that

perhaps Antonio is worried about his several ships

that are on their way to Venice. Antonio has


22

invested a great sum of money in his business.

Moreover, merchant ships often encountered

disasters on the open ocean. If one or more of his

ships were to fail to return, Antonio could be

financially ruined. Salerio uses a metaphor,

comparing Antonio’s mind to one of his ships

sailing over a stormy ocean, to describe a possible

cause for Antonio’s sadness:

Your mind is tossing on the ocean. (8)

Salerio then adds a simile, comparing Antonio’s

ships to rich lords or aristocrats – “signors or rich

burghers” (10). By comparison, all of the other

ships on the ocean are like commoners (“petty

traffickers”) or common folk. Just as commoners

would bow down before aristocrats as they would

walk by, so too do the small ships make way for the

large and luxurious merchant ships owned by

Antonio. Salerio’s lines also serve the purpose of

letting the audience know just how valuable and

important the ships are to Antonio. Antonio is like

an aristocrat among the merchants. He is quite

successful, but a loss of one of his ships would

mean a double ruin – the loss of the valuable cargo

as well as the loss of a costly ship.

Solanio, Antonio’s other companion, agrees

with Salerio and adds that if he were Antonio, he …


23

… should be still

Plucking the grass to know where sits the wind.

(17-18)

The word still means always. If someone plucks a

blade of grass and holds it up in the air, the blade

bends to indicate the direction of the wind.

Merchant ships were sailing vessels that depended

upon favorable winds for them to reach safe harbors

in time and to return safely to their home ports.

Like Salerio, Solanio is speaking metaphorically.

He is suggesting that every moment he would be in

a state of constant worry if he had so much invested

in a merchant enterprise.

Salerio agrees and adds that every little

common occurrence would cause him to think about

his ships. For example, if he were to blow on his

soup to cool it, his breath would make him think of

a wind blowing on one of his ships. So, he

concludes that Antonio must be sad because he is

worried about his ships and the merchandise they

contain.

However, Antonio tells them that his

business ventures are not the cause of his sadness.

He explains that he has several ships traveling to

and from various places so that even if he were to

lose one, he could still be financially successful.


24

Moreover, Antonio also has other resources besides

his ships.

Antonio also responds to Solanio’s

suggestion that perhaps it is love (specifically

meaning unrequited or unreturned love) that is the

root of Antonio’s sadness. Again, Antonio tells

them that this is not the reason. So, finally Solanio

accepts the notion that Antonio is sad without any

apparent reason: “you are sad because you are not

merry” (47-48). Solanio philosophically adds that

happiness and sadness are just two aspects of

human nature that can exist in unequal proportions

in any given individual. Some people are always

laughing (“evermore peep through their eyes”)

while other people are always gloomy (having a

“vinegar aspect”). Solanio uses the image of the

Roman god Janus, who was depicted as having two

faces on both sides of his head, to indicate that

happiness and sadness are just two aspects of an

individual (at line 50).

Janus


25

Actually, Janus was a god of time who could look

both backward into the past and forward into the

future; and that is the reason why the Romans

depicted him with two faces. However,

Renaissance poets and later writers frequently used

the two-faced image to indicate the duality of man’s

nature, to indicate that man has qualities that are

often in opposition to one another.

Act I, Scene 1: The Metaphor of the Stage

Salerio and Solanio leave Antonio; and then

Antonio begins speaking with two other friends,

Bassanio and Graziano. Immediately noticing

Antonio’s sad expression, Graziano comments that

Antonio worries too much about his business – that

he has “too much respect upon the world” – and that

worry has changed him in a negative way (lines 74-

76). Graziano is a lighter, comic character in the

play. Through Graziano, Shakespeare suggests that

people should not always be so serious but should

rather take life in stride: they should take life easily.

Picking up on Graziano’s use of the word

world, Antonio responds with the following:

I hold the world but as the world, Graziano –

A stage where every man must play a part,

And mine a sad one. (77-79)


26

Shakespeare frequently liked to refer to life as a

play and the world as a stage. In the comedy As

You Like It (Act II, Scene 7) Shakespeare includes a

famous speech that begins with “All the world’s a

stage.” And in the tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare

reflects reality through a play within a play. In

these lines from The Merchant of Venice the

character of Antonio sees the world simply in black

and white, as comedies and tragedies. In drama

there are comic characters and tragic ones; and

Antonio believes that he is just one of the tragic

characters. He believes that such is his fate. Of

course, Shakespeare realized that man is far more

complex than what Antonio indicates here; and one

of the cruxes for the characters of this play is to get

Antonio to realize that as well.

If every man must play a part in the grand

play of life, then Graziano wants to play the part of

a clown or fool:

Let me play the fool.

With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come,

And let my liver rather heat with wine

Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.

(79-82)

At this point in the play Graziano is the direct

opposite of Antonio. Where Antonio is sad and

melancholic, Graziano is happy and joyous. The

reference to the liver reflects the Renaissance belief

that certain emotions were produced in that organ of

the body. Strong and intense passions were often


27

associated with the liver; and Graziano is

suggesting that he would rather be like the drunken

and carefree reveler instead of a sober, somber, sad,

and serious individual. Love and sadness were

often connected to the heart – especially the

experience of unrequited or unreturned love.

In his speech, Graziano explains that there

are too many overly serious individuals in society

who always seem to be unhappy and whose visages

or faces “do cream and mantle like a standing pond”

(89). In other words, such individuals have hard

and ugly expressions. Graziano is, in a sense,

warning Antonio not to become like one of these

men. Graziano goes even one step further in

discussing the faults of being overly serious. He

asserts that such men appear to be wise by

continually frowning and keeping silent. But, if

they were to speak, other people would then realize

how such men are actually quite foolish. Graziano

asserts that such men go around acting as if they

were “Sir Oracle” (93). In ancient Greek times an

oracle was a priest or priestess who would speak for

the gods and deliver their serious judgments in

regards to the acts of mankind. Graziano's

metaphor indicates that these overly serious men,

then, act as if they have the wisdom of the gods and

are ready to deliver harsh and cruel judgments on

those around them.

Shakespeare frequently in his comedies

commented on the qualities of wit and foolishness

through his fools or clowns (such as Feste in

Twelfth Night). Shakespeare asserted that often in


28

society people who were reputed to be witty or wise

were actually quite foolish; but, on the other hand,

the words of fools often cleverly contained ideas

and suggestions of great wit and wisdom. Graziano

makes a similar comment in his speech and asserts

that the serious man – the Sir Oracle – is really an

individual of very little wit. The Sir Oracle is

actually the biggest of fools.

Like Feste, Graziano is an individual who

has a better and healthier – and therefore, happier –

philosophy in his approach to life. But Shakespeare

was certainly aware that for the most part people

need to bring balance to their lives. And in this

play, just as Antonio must learn to be less

melancholic and morose about life, Graziano must

learn to be more serious and solemn. There are

times, after all, when joking and jesting are

completely inappropriate. And Graziano will soon

experience one of those occasions when he travels

to Belmont with Bassanio.

Act I, Scene 1: The Metaphor of the Arrow

After Graziano leaves the stage, Antonio is

left with his dear and close companion Bassanio. In

the past Bassanio has borrowed a great deal of

money from Antonio, and so he is reluctant to ask

Antonio for more. However, Bassanio has a plan;

and if he is successful in that plan, then he will have

more than enough money to pay back Antonio


29

everything that he owes him. Bassanio's plan is to

become a suitor to a beautiful and wealthy lady

named Portia. If he succeeds in marrying Portia,

then Bassanio will share the wealth of his newly

acquired bride. However, to make a proper suit to

such a lady, Bassanio needs some money (for

traveling, for fine clothing, and other necessary

expenses). So, he must ask his friend Antonio for

another loan.

Antonio would not refuse any help that he

can possibly offer to his friend, but Bassanio still

feels a little embarrassed about asking for money.

So, he tries to explain his plan though a metaphor.

Bassanio explains that when he was

younger, he would often go outside to practice

shooting arrows. On occasion he would lose an

arrow and could not find it. So, he would shoot

another arrow in the same direction and watch it

carefully to see where it landed. Bassanio states

that in this way he could then find both arrows.

Bassanio wants Antonio, through this

metaphor, to think of himself as the shooter of

arrows and to think of his money as the arrows.

Bassanio is implying that Antonio will get back the

money that he has already lent Bassanio (the first

arrow) if he lends more money to (shoots another

arrow at) Bassanio. Bassanio realizes that his

childhood example is, perhaps, weak; but he

explains that in the past, when he had borrowed

money from Antonio he was immature, a “wilful

youth” (146). But now he wants Antonio to realize

that he (Bassanio) is earnest and fully intends to


30

repay Antonio all the money that he owes to him.

Antonio agrees to help Bassanio, and then

Bassanio explains the details of his plan. He

describes Portia of Belmont as a beautiful and

virtuous lady whom he has visited in the past.

Bassanio adds that “sometimes from her eyes I did

receive fair speechless messages” (163-64).

Bassanio means that Portia was attracted to him and

interested in his being a suitor to her. However,

other suitors also hope to win the hand of Portia in

marriage. Bassanio describes the beautiful blond

locks of Portia's hair as being like the golden fleece.

In Greek mythology the golden fleece was the wool

of a magical golden ram that possessed wondrous

qualities. In the story of Jason and the Argonauts

(sailors on board the ship Argo), Jason encounters

many dangers and risks his life to obtain the fleece.

The simile thus suggests that Portia herself is a

treasure that is worth the risk of one's very life. At

least Bassanio thinks so. Bassanio likens the other

suitors as being so “many Jasons come in quest of

her” (172). However, Bassanio is confident that he

will be the “Jason” who will successfully win the

golden fleece.

Antonio has no hesitation in agreeing to help

out his friend. However, since all of his money is

currently invested in his several merchant

enterprises, he tells Bassanio to find a money-lender

and borrow the money in Antonio's name: “Try

what my credit can in Venice do” (180). Because

Antonio is a well-known and successful merchant in

Venice, he knows that Bassanio can borrow any


31

amount he needs if Antonio signs his name to the

loan. However, because of this act of friendship

and generosity, Antonio will soon find himself

embroiled in an extremely difficult and life-

threatening situation.

Act I, Scene 2: Hot Tempers and Cold Decrees

The second scene takes place in Belmont.

As in many of his plays, Shakespeare does not

necessarily intend this location to be a reference to

an actual place in England or anywhere else. This

place actually exists in Shakespeare's imagination,

and he probably chose the name because it means

beautiful mountain (bella montagna in Italian).

Belmont has a mystical or magical quality about it.

It is in the country whereas Venice is a city. Life

and rules are different in Belmont. Shakespeare

subtly indicates that a difference exists by having

the characters speak in prose instead of in poetic

iambic pentameter.

Portia is speaking to her waiting-woman

Nerissa. Although Nerissa is a servant, Portia

appears to have a close and friendly relationship

with her and reveals her intimate thoughts to her.

Yet, despite the magical quality of her

world, Portia is also feeling somewhat melancholic:

she “is aweary of this great world” (1-2). Thus,

Portia becomes a counterpart to Antonio in this

play. However, unlike Antonio, Portia knows the


32

reason for her emotional condition. She is bound to

obey the rules set down in the will of her departed

father. She is trapped by these rules, just as

Antonio is trapped by life. Portia desires a change

that will set her free, and Antonio also may likewise

require a change to set him free from his

melancholy disposition.

Nerissa, as it turns out, is a wise servant and

friend who philosophically advises Portia to view

matters from the proper perspective. Nerissa

reminds Portia that her “good fortunes” – referring

both to wealth and to all of the other advantages she

has been given in life – far outweigh her “miseries”

or problems. With a metaphor Nerissa asserts that

a person who eats too much can become just as sick

as a person who does not eat enough (lines 5-6).

She is suggesting, in this manner, that people who

have an excess of wealth and other advantages may

worry so much about their situations, their

responsibilities, and their property that they become

seriously ill. Nerissa emphasizes this idea with

another figurative expression:

Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs,

but competency lives longer. (7-8)

The word superfluity refers to the privileged class,

to the wealthy people who have more than they

need. The word competency, on the other hand,

refers to those people who have enough but not too

much. Nerissa is observing that often people of the

privileged class age faster. Their responsibilities


33

and worries weigh them down and make them

physically older than they actually are. Thus,

Nerissa states that people who live in the middle –

with enough to meets their needs but who do not

have too much – live longer and happier lives.

Portia agrees with her servant but also notes

that it is far easier to give advice than to follow it.

There is a disparity – a huge difference – between

words and actions. If taking actions were as easy as

saying the words, then the cottages or homes of

poor men would be lordly palaces and small and

lowly chapels would become grand cathedrals (lines

12-13). A person cannot make a wish or desire

come true merely by saying the words. And, Portia

adds, a person (such as a minister or “divine,” as

indicated in line 13) finds that giving advice is far

easier than actually following it. Life,

unfortunately, is often complicated; and people

often find it difficult to do what they know is right.

Through Portia, Shakespeare then proceeds

to make a statement about life that reappears (in

different forms) in a great many of his plays:

The brain may devise laws for the blood,

but a hot temper leaps o'er a cold decree.

(15-17)

Shakespeare is referring to a universal conflict that

exists in all people: the conflict of Reason vs.

Emotion. During the Renaissance the Church of

England taught that reason was a gift from God that

allowed all people to control their emotions and


34

stay away from sin. The Christian outlook was that

everybody has the ability to refrain from sin, and

people who do sin are just being lazy or weak.

Shakespeare, as well as a number of other poets,

though, was aware that on occasion an emotion

could become so powerful that it would overthrow a

person's reason and cause that person to act

irrationally, wildly, and even madly. In Portia's

lines above the word brain refers to the rational side

of man. Through his reason mankind creates rules

and laws that are sensible and logical, but such laws

are cold (unemotional) decrees. When the emotions

(indicated by the word temper) become too strong

or hot, they ignore or break (or leap over) the cold

rules and laws of society.

Portia (Shakespeare actually) adds another

complex metaphor to emphasize this idea. She

personifies the emotions as a mad or wild youth

who, like a rabbit, jumps over and thus avoids the

laws and rules of reason or “good counsel” (lines

17-18). Further, reason is personified as a “cripple”

because he is physically unable to stop the wild

youth. Even during the age of Shakespeare there

existed the concept of the rebellious youth who felt

compelled to ignore and break the rules of society.

And even during the age of Shakespeare all people

occasionally experienced strong and even violent

emotions that caused them to act irrationally or even

madly.


35

Act I, Scene 2: Portia's Suitors

Portia then ends the philosophical discussion

to speak more directly about the cause of her

unhappiness. Portia would like to have a husband;

but her father, who had recently died, left a rather

unusual clause in his will. Any man who wishes to

gain Portia as his bride must choose from among

three chests – one golden, one silver, and one made

from lead. Each chest also has a riddle or clue

inscribed on it, but only one of the chests contains a

portrait of Portia inside. If the suitor chooses the

correct chest, he can marry Portia and become lord

of her palace. But if the man fails to choose the

correct chest, he is bound by his honor (1) to leave

Belmont immediately and never return, (2) to keep

secret the choice he had made in regards to the

chests, and (3) never to marry any other lady. The

third promise is a particularly severe one, but the

princes and some of the lords who are suitors to

Portia feel that the lady and her property make the

risk worthwhile.

The will, the use of the three chests and the

riddles, and the honor-bound promises made by the

lords all give this part of the drama a quality like

that of a folktale or fairytale. It is not realistic.

However, live drama, being very much unlike a

movie, is representational. A play represents

aspects of reality but is not reality itself. During the

Renaissance people would go to a theater and see a

bare and empty stage, but they would be tricked or

lured into believing that that bare stage is Belmont


36

or Venice or some other exotic locale. The

audience depended upon their imagination to create

or fill in what the actors and their spoken lines

merely suggested. Likewise, the use of imagination

would help the audience accept as a type of reality

something that was obviously fictional and untrue.

To put it more bluntly, the audiences of

Shakespeare's day were not bothered by this

unrealistic aspect of the play. They accepted it as

“reality” for that particular story in much the same

way that a reader of science fiction may accept the

premise that there are live alien creatures on Mars

when he actually knows that no such creatures

really exist.

A term that is frequently used today and that

describes mankind's ability to accept such

unrealistic aspects of fiction is suspension of

disbelief. People who read a book or go to the

theater or even go to a movie temporarily suspend

or ignore what they know to be true in order to

enjoy that work of fiction. For example, the

audience going to a movie that depicts aliens from

Mars believes – during the time that they are

watching the movie – that such creatures do exist.

By accepting the premise that something blatantly

untrue is true in the fictional “reality” of that movie,

members of the audience can thus immerse

themselves into that fictional reality and become

emotionally involved with it and enjoy it. A

member of the audience who holds on to his

disbelief will not be truly able to enjoy the movie.

Audiences, then, are like children at play. A


37

young boy who imagines himself as a cowboy or a

pirate is actually engaged in an act of suspending

his disbelief.

Nerissa asks Portia if she has any feelings

for any of the suitors who have come to win her in

marriage, but Portia describes the faults of each one

as Nerissa names them:

1. The prince from Naples (at line 34) only talks

about his horse. He seems to be interested in

nothing else, and Portia jokes that maybe his

mother had an affair with a blacksmith.

2. A count named Palatine (at line 39: the name

indicates both a royal lord and one of the Seven

Hills of Rome) is always frowning and

melancholy, like one of Graziano's serious men.

3. A French lord (at line 46) appears to copy the bad habits of all of the other lords. In other

words, Portia finds him to be insincere and

spurious.

4. A lord from England (at line 55) speaks no

Italian or French, and Portia does not speak

English (a clear indication that the Belmont of

this play is not located in England). Portia

admits that he is handsome, but he dresses

wildly in clothes that come from all over Europe

(Shakespeare could very well have been poking

fun at an actual lord of his day with this

description).


38

5. A lord from Scotland (at line 65) is too

belligerent or quarrelsome. Shakespeare’s

description also reflects the ongoing conflict

that had existed between the English and the

Scottish. England struggled for centuries to

take over Scotland, and on occasion wars

between the two countries occurred. At such

times France, who was also an enemy to

England, joined the side of Scotland against the

English. Portia describes her Scottish suitor as

vowing revenge against her English suitor

because the Englishman boxed (or punched) his

ears, and her French suitor (who copies bad

habits) has taken the side of the Scotsman and

promises to get revenge against the English lord

as well.

6. The last suitor mentioned is a son of a German

duke, who is always drunk (at line 70). Portia

likes him least of all and tells Nerissa to put a

glass of wine on one of the wrong caskets or

chests. The wine will trick the German into

choosing the wrong casket.

Nerissa, however, informs Portia that she has no

need to fear any of these six ill-suited suitors

because none of them want to agree to the terms

that comes with making such a choice.

Portia is happy that she will not be forced

into marriage with any of these lords, but she also

worries that she will never get married and that she

will turn into an old and wrinkled spinster (like

Sibylla in Greek mythology, who received the gift


39

of immortality from the god Apollo but did not

receive the gift of eternal youth). Portia worries

that she will spend many long years alone.

Nerissa then mentions Bassanio, who had

visited Portia in the past. Of all of the many men

who had visited Belmont, Portia mentions only

Bassanio in a positive manner: she finds only him to

be “worthy” (100).

But before Portia and Nerissa can discuss

the suitors any further, a servant interrupts and

informs her that yet another suitor has arrived: the

Prince of Morocco. However, Portia is not happy to

hear about his arrival:

If he have the condition of a saint and the

complexion of a devil,

I had rather he should shrive me than wive me.

(109-10)

In Christian lore, the devil was frequently depicted

as being black. The Moors were also people with

very dark or black skin. Portia acknowledges that a

black person from Morocco may be very kind or

even saint-like despite the color of his skin.

However, she is not attracted to Moors. So, she

jokingly rhymes that instead of marrying her

(“wive” her), she would rather that the Prince of

Morocco should shrive her. In Christianity a saint,

a holy person, like a priest, has the ability to shrive

– to grant God’s forgiveness – to a sinner.

Unfortunately for Portia, though, she has no control

over which suitors shall accept the challenge of


40

choosing from among the three caskets. Her joke is

a way of hiding her frustration over her situation.

Act I, Scene 3: Ships Are But Boards

Back in Venice, Bassanio is arranging to get

a loan from Shylock, the Jewish money-lender.

Bassanio wants to borrow 3000 ducats (gold coins).

Although this was a fairly large amount of money

for most people in Venice at that time, Bassanio is

using Antonio’s pledge or promise to guarantee that

the loan will be paid back in full within three

months. Antonio is a highly successful and

wealthy merchant whose property is worth many

times the amount that Bassanio wishes to borrow.

Shylock, however, is a shrewd business man

who investigates his clients carefully before

agreeing to make any loans. Shylock tells Bassanio

that he is well aware that Antonio has several large

vessels carrying valuable cargo back to Venice from

Tripoli (northern Africa), the Indies, Mexico,

England, and other foreign ports. However,

Shylock is also well aware of the dangers that

merchant ships faced on the open oceans:

But ships are but boards, sailors but men.

(18-19)

Ships are made of wood (boards) and thus can be

easily damaged. Storms can sink them, jagged


41

rocks can tear them apart, and pirates can blast them

apart. Moreover, Shylock is well aware that not all

men can be trusted. The men who sail Antonio’s

ships might just as easily steal the goods on the ship

for themselves. Merchant shipping was often a

huge risk. And Antonio, as Shylock well knows,

has all of his wealth invested in these several

shipping ventures. If all of the ships failed to

return, Antonio would be ruined financially.

So, before he will loan the money to

Bassanio, Shylock asks to speak with Antonio

directly.

Bassanio agrees and invites Shylock to join

them for dinner.

In an aside (a comment that indicates his

thoughts but is not actual dialogue: so Bassanio

does not hear it) Shylock comments on the problem

between Christians and Jews. Although Jews may

walk and talk with Christians, they do not eat with

them or pray with them. Jews do not eat pork

because they believe that the animals are unclean

(physically and spiritually). The restriction against

pork probably originated at a time when pigs

suffered from some plague or other terrible disease

that made their meat dangerous or deadly to any

who ate it. However, the restriction later took the

form of a religious rule; and the meat from pigs was

viewed as unholy or evil. So, Jews do not eat pork.

However, Christians frequently eat pork.

In his aside, Shylock refers to an old

superstition that Jesus Christ (the Nazarite prophet)

turned devils into swine or pigs. Shylock is hinting


42

that Christians themselves should also, then, follow

the restriction against eating pork. Shylock is

criticizing Christians, but more generally he is also

noting that socially Jews are limited as to how much

they can interact with Christians. Most Christians

back then would socialize with Jews only when they

found it necessary to do so (as Bassanio is now

driven by the necessity to borrow money). And the

Jews preferred it this way for the most part since

their customs and beliefs were often in conflict with

those of the Christians.

Act I, Scene 3: Shylock vs. Antonio

As Antonio approaches Bassanio and the

money-lender, Shylock delivers an even longer

aside. As it so happens, Shylock dislikes Antonio

not only because Antonio is Christian. Rather,

Shylock has a personal grudge (complaint or

resentment) against him:

How like a fawning publican he looks.

I hate him for he is a Christian;

But more, for in that low simplicity

He lends out money gratis, and brings down

The rate of usance here with us in Venice.

If I can catch him once upon the hip

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.

He hates our sacred nation, and he rails,

Even there where merchants most do congregate,

On me, my bargains, and my well-known thrift –


43

Which he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe

If I forgive him. (36-47)

Shylock describes Antonio as a “fawning publican.”

A publican was a tax collector, and such men were

frequently depicted as being proud, imperious, cold,

cruel, and merciless. The word fawning, though,

indicates the action of a person who is seeking a

favor by acting insincerely through flattery or some

other means. The words are actually and ironically

an allusion to the Bible (Luke 18: 10-14). In that

book a proud publican asks Jesus Christ for mercy.

Jews do not read the Bible or consider it to be a

sacred text. However, the line sweeps by so quickly

that most people in an audience would not catch the

allusion. Shylock, though, is implying that Antonio

is a hypocrite. Shylock knows that Antonio hates

him, but now Antonio will pretend to like him

because he needs Shylock to lend the money to

Bassanio.

In the aside, the word gratis means free; and

the word usance refers to the act of loaning money

out at interest. Because Antonio often loans money

to others without accepting any interest, the money-

lenders like Shylock often lose business and must

drastically lower their interest rates in order to get

any clients at all. To put it simply, Antonio causes

Shylock to lose money. So, Shylock personally and

deeply hates Antonio.

Shylock wants to get revenge; and by

loaning money to Bassanio, Shylock hopes to catch

Antonio “upon the hip.” That is, he hopes to get


44

Antonio at a disadvantage. If Antonio fails to repay

the loan within the three months that they agree to,

Shylock will then be able to take drastic and

perhaps even violent legal action against him.

Shylock complains that his intense hatred

for Antonio is justified because not only has

Antonio often caused him to lose money, but also

because Antonio has frequently criticized the Jews

(“sacred nation”) in general and Shylock in

particular. Moreover, Antonio often has criticized

the practice of Shylock and others – money-lending

at interest. To Shylock, such a practice is simply a

matter of business contracts (“bargains”) and well-

earned profits (“thrift”).

But Antonio’s view indicates a Christian

outlook that goes back to the Middle Ages. Early

Christians believed that man lived on earth to work.

Even Adam and Eve had to work in the Garden of

Eden. Avoiding work was considered sinful. Such

a belief lies behind the later common Christian

phrase, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”

People who do not work have too much free time on

their hands, and so they will use that time and their

hands to commit sinful acts. To such Christians, the

practice of lending money was not real work.

Rather, it was a way to avoid real work. Lending

out money at interest was thus sinful. Thus,

Antonio’s criticism of Shylock and the other

money-lenders is a result of his Christian

perspective.


45

Act I, Scene 3: The Biblical Allusion to Jacob

As Antonio is approaching them, Shylock

informs Bassanio that he does not currently have the

full 3000 ducats available but that another Jewish

money-lender named Tubal will help to supply the

full amount.

Having arrived, Antonio informs Shylock

that he does not borrow or lend money at interest.

However, because Bassanio is in great need at the

present moment, Antonio is willing to break his

customary habit this one time (lines 58-59).

Shylock questions Antonio in regards to his

views on money lending and makes a Biblical

allusion or reference to the story of Jacob and the

sheep. The story of Jacob appears in the first book

of the Bible, Genesis (chapter 30). The complete

book of Genesis also appears in the Torah, a holy

book sacred to the Jews. So, Shylock’s reference to

it is not unusual. In the story, Jacob makes a deal or

contract with a man named Laban regarding the

lambs who were about to be born that season. In

the deal Jacob would get all of the lambs that were

mixed colored (parti-colored), and Laban would get

all of the solid colored lambs (lambs of one color).

Laban thought he was getting the better part of the

deal because usually lambs are just one color.

However, Jacob tricked Laban. Jacob took a

number of poles or sticks (referred to as “wands” in

line 80) and painted them with stripes. He set these

poles before the ewes (the female sheep), and later


46

all of their offspring – all of the baby lambs – were

mixed colors.

Antonio asks Shylock if he is telling this

story to justify his practice of loaning money at high

interest. Shylock asserts that the story illustrates the

“way to thrive” (85). Shylock is claiming that God

blessed Jacob and helped him to be successful.

Shylock is implying that God blesses all men

(including himself) who wish to thrive or be

successful.

Antonio, however, disagrees with Shylock.

He explains that Jacob was successful only because

God intervened and helped Jacob in this one

particular instance: “swayed and fashioned by the

hand of heaven” (89). Antonio implies that the

lambs became parti-colored because God willed it

to be so. God had special plans for Jacob, and so

God helped Jacob on this one particular occasion so

that Jacob could later fulfill the will of God.

Antonio then turns to Bassanio and makes

the following comment:

The devil can cite scripture for his purpose.

(94)

This is an extremely famous and often quoted line

from the play. The line indicates that the devil can

take the good and holy words from the Bible or

other sacred texts and quote them out of context to

justify sins, to justify acts of evil. In fact, the devil

even does this in the New Testament of the Bible:

in the book of Matthew (chapter 4, verse 5), the


47

devil quotes another holy text in order to tempt

Jesus Christ. With this line Antonio is not only

asserting his belief that lending money out at

interest is evil; he is also implying that Shylock is a

devil. The line thus creates a subtle way of

subconsciously causing the audience to view

Shylock as an extremely negative and evil

character.

Antonio emphasizes his view in the

following lines:

An evil soul producing holy witness

Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,

A goodly apple rotten to the heart.

O, what goodly outside falsehood hath!

(95-98)

Not being any different from today, back in the time

of the Renaissance there were hypocrites who used

the Bible (“holy witness”) in order to justify their

outrageous actions and behavior. Shakespeare uses

the simile of a villain who is always smiling. The

smile is a mask by which he hides his evil

intentions. The second simile is to the apple that

looks red and delicious on the outside but is rotten

on the inside. Hypocrites are like these rotten

apples. On the outside they pretend to be friendly

or helpful, but on the inside they are plotting

mischief and harm. Thus, although Shylock may

quote holy scripture, he is not a holy person.

Rather, from Antonio’s point of view, his intentions

are purely evil.


48

Act I, Scene 3: Shylock’s Complaint

When Antonio asks Shylock about the rate

of interest for the loan to Bassanio, Shylock does

not answer directly. Rather, he first recites a list of

his complaints against Antonio:

Antonio has directly criticized Shylock. (103)

He has criticized Shylock’s business practices.

(104)

He has called Shylock names, like “cut-throat”

and “dog.” (107)

And he has spit on Shylock’s gabardine coat.

(108)

In other words, Shylock is fully justified in refusing

Antonio. And Shylock sarcastically adds that if he

is a dog, as Antonio has called him, how can he

then loan money to Bassanio? “Hath a dog

money?” (117). Shylock is asking why should he

do Bassanio and Antonio the courtesy of lending

them money when Antonio has been extremely

discourteous to him in the past. However, although

Shylock should just say “no” to Antonio, Shylock is

plotting evil. He is the hypocrite Antonio has just

described. Although Shylock cries about being the

hurt victim on the outside, inside he is planning to


49

commit harm and violence to Antonio. He is not

the victim in this play, he is the perpetrator.

Antonio does not back down in his view of

Shylock. He still thinks that Shylock deserves to be

ill-treated because Shylock still continues to engage

in a practice (money-lending) that Antonio finds to

be both sleazy and evil. Antonio adds that money-

lending has nothing to do with friendship and that a

money-lender should rather loan money to his

enemy anyway so that if the borrower does not pay

back the loan on time, the lender will not have any

feelings of sorrow or guilt. Rather, the lender will

be happy to penalize the borrower and thus get

more money in the bargain.

Shylock, though, is the consummate

hypocrite. He tells Antonio and Bassanio that he

wishes to be friends with them and that he does not

wish to charge them any interest at all for the 3000

ducats. Shylock claims to be offering kindness (line

137). Of course, he really hopes to trick Antonio

into losing something far more valuable than

money. He hopes to trick Antonio into losing his

life.


50

Act I, Scene 3: Shylock’s Terms

What Shylock means by “kindness”

becomes evident right away. Shylock informs

Antonio that they can immediately go to a notary (a

legal official who will serve as their witness) and

sign the contract. Shylock will not charge any

interest for the loan. Instead, if Antonio fails to pay

back the 3000 ducats in three months …

… let the forfeit

Be nominated for an equal pound

Of your fair flesh to be cut off and taken

In what part of your body pleaseth me.

(144-47)

Shylock intends that the pound of flesh that he will

cut from Antonio will be directly from Antonio’s

heart, and Antonio is well aware that Shylock is

implying that Shylock intends to kill Antonio if the

money is not repaid. Shylock’s intentions are not a

secret: an actor portraying Shylock would probably

have a sinister smile on his face and might even be

rubbing his hands in anticipation of ending the life

of his adversary.

Antonio, nevertheless, agrees to the terms of

the contract; and he ironically adds that he will “say

there is much kindness in the Jew” (149). Of

course, Antonio knows that there is no kindness at

all in Shylock. But he informs Bassanio that he will

have several times more than 3000 ducats in less

than two months time. Thus, Antonio has no fear


51

about being able to fulfill the terms of the contract.

The reader should also keep in mind that Antonio

readily agrees to the terms because (1) he still

suffers from melancholy and (2) he has a generous

nature (he likes being able to help his friends

whenever he can). Moreover, Antonio is glad to be

able to get money from Shylock without paying him

any interest. He feels that he is getting an

extremely good deal.

Shylock continues to speak insincerely

(beginning at line 156). He claims that a pound of

Antonio’s flesh has no value to him and that he is

acting purely out of friendship. But neither Antonio

nor Bassanio is fooled into believing that Shylock is

his friend. Bassanio recognizes that Shylock has “a

villain’s mind” (175). Bassanio knows that he is

evil, but Antonio reassures him that there is nothing

to worry about.

ACT II

Act II, Scene 1: The Prince of Morocco

The first of the suitors to attempt to win

Portia as his bride is the Prince of Morocco. The

Prince worries that Portia may not accept him

because his skin is black, but he assures her that he

is as brave as any man who has come to her: his

“blood is reddest” (7). During the Renaissance

bright red blood was considered to be an indication

of bravery or valor. The Prince also adds that the

women of his homeland also think of him as

attractive.

Portia informs the Prince of Morocco that

she really has no voice in the matter because she is

bound by her father’s will to accept the first man to

select the right casket. She has no choice.

However, Portia also tells him that he stands …

… as fair

As any comer I have looked on yet

For my affection. (20-22)

There is a triple meaning with the word fair.

During the Renaissance it traditionally means both

(1) beautiful and (2) having fair or light features,

such as blond hair and white skin. In the context of

this line, Portia is also implying that (3) the Prince

stands as fair a chance – as good a chance – as any

other man in winning her as his wife. Because of

the multiple meanings, Portia is most likely being


54

subtle and speaking sarcastically here. Obviously,

the Prince does not have light skin. Moreover, as

noted in an earlier scene, Portia does not find any of

her other suitors to be attractive or beautiful. Portia

does not really hope the Prince will choose the right

casket.

The Prince asserts his bravery once again;

but he then realizes that even a brave man like

Hercules (a mythological allusion to the half-

human, half-God hero of the ancient Romans) could

lose in a game of chance, like dice, to a lowly

servant (line 32). No amount of bravery can alter

one’s fate or destiny. The Prince refers to fate as

“blind Fortune” (36) because fate would just as

easily destroy a good man or a bad man, a rich man

or a poor man, or a king or a slave. Fate or Fortune

does not bother to look at the person it hurts. The

Prince realizes that his extensive bravery will not be

a factor as to whether he wins Portia or not.

Portia warns him that if he chooses the

wrong casket, he has taken a vow that he will never

speak to any other lady afterwards. That is, if he

chooses incorrectly, he can never marry any

woman. The Prince, however, decides that the

chance to win Portia is worth the risk.


55

Act II, Scene 2: Lancelot and Gobbo

The second scene begins a soliloquy by

Lancelot, who is working for Shylock. Lancelot is

a comic character. He is a clown (but not one of

Shakespeare’s witty fools like Feste in Twelfth

Night or King Lear’s fool). Lancelot is a silly but

good-natured bumpkin who complains about the

poor treatment that he receives from his master,

Shylock. Shylock constantly urges Lancelot to run

away if he does not like the way he is treated by his

master. However, lowly servants could not easily

find new work elsewhere. Lancelot realizes that if

he runs away, he would probably end up as a

beggar. Yet Lancelot feels that Shylock is a fiend

and devil and that running away may be better for

him.

This monologue is important primarily

because it increases the negative portrayal of

Shylock. The audience subconsciously accepts

Lancelot’s comments and will thus view Shylock as

a devilish figure.

Before Lancelot runs away, he encounters

his old, partly-blind father, Gobbo. Gobbo is

looking for his son, but Lancelot – knowing that his

father is unable to see him clearly – pretends to be a

stranger. Lancelot wants to play a joke on his

father, and he gives Gobbo some very complicated

and confusing directions for finding Shylock’s

house (lines 33-36). Lancelot also tells Gobbo that

the Fates (the “sisters three” at line 54) have taken

Lancelot – in other words, Lancelot is dead.


56

Eventually Lancelot stops his nonsense and

reveals his identity to Gobbo. Gobbo tells his son

that he has brought a present for Shylock so that

Shylock will treat Lancelot well. Lancelot, though,

tells his father that Shylock does not even give him

enough food to eat: “You can tell every finger I

have with my ribs” (94-95). The word tell here

means to count. Lancelot is complaining that he has

had so little to eat that his ribs are showing. So,

Lancelot asks his father to present his gift to

Bassanio instead. If Lancelot cannot serve

Bassanio, who treats his servants well, then he will

run away.

Act II, Scene 2: The Request of the Clowns

The scene continues, and Bassanio soon

appears with several other men. Gobbo presents

Bassanio with a gift of cooked doves, and together

the two bumpkins awkwardly ask Bassanio to take

Lancelot into his service. Bassanio has difficulty

understanding them because, in typical Renaissance

clown fashion, Lancelot and Gobble mangle their

English and frequently use words incorrectly. For

example, they use infection instead of affection (line

111), fruitify instead of certify (line 119), and

impertinent instead of pertinent (line 122).

Eventually Bassanio gets them to make their

request plainly and simply, and he agrees to take

Lancelot into his service. Bassanio warns Lancelot,


57

though, that he is not a wealthy man like Shylock,

but is instead rather poor. The happy Lancelot,

however, responds with the following:

The old proverb is very well parted between

my master Shylock and you, sir: you have the

grace of God, sir, and he hath enough.

(134-36)

Lancelot is referring to the proverb, “The grace of

God is gear enough.” The word gear means

wealth. In other words, God’s grace or blessing is

more important than wealth or material goods.

Although Shylock is wealthy, although he has

“enough” of everything, he is without God’s grace.

Lancelot knows from hard experience that

Shylock’s wealth does not benefit those who serve

the miserly money-lender.

Lancelot is rather proud of himself because

he thinks he earned the position with Bassanio

because of his own clever manner of speech (lines

141-42). Lancelot then looks down at the palm of

his hand and begins to read his own fortune. He

claims that the lines on his hand indicate that he will

escape dangers and have many sexual encounters.

Lancelot claims to be a lucky man and concludes

that “if Fortune be a woman, she’s a good wench

for this gear” (149-50). The words “for this gear”

mean in this case – in Lancelot’s case. Although

Fate was frequently referred to as Dame Fortune

during the Renaissance, most men at that time

would not have agreed with Lancelot. Lancelot


58

may be a clown or a fool, but he is right in asserting

that occasionally a man may encounter good

fortune. And in a comedy, good fortune is a

necessary ingredient.

Act II, Scene 2: Another Request

After Lancelot and Gobbo exit, Graziano

walks up to Bassanio. Graziano also has a request

to make of Bassanio. He asks if Bassanio will take

him to Belmont. The generous Bassanio quickly

agrees to help his friend just as Antonio had quickly

agreed to help him.

Bassanio knows, however, that Graziano’s

usually wild, rowdy, and boisterous behavior could

be a problem in Belmont. Bassanio has very serious

intentions to win and marry Portia, and he certainly

does not wish for Portia to think of him as trivial

and foolish. So, Bassanio warns Graziano – who

had earlier told Antonio that if all the world is a

stage, then he wants to play the part of the fool – to

control his “wild behaviour” (168).

Graziano agrees to be discreet at Belmont.

However, he asks Bassanio if that night in Venice

he may be allowed to be merry and enjoy himself.

Bassanio, knowing that the night will be spent

feasting with friends, agrees that Graziano should

indeed enjoy the “merriment” of the night and be in

high spirits (lines 182-84). Bassanio is well aware

that there are times to be merry and there are times


59

to be serious, and he believes that Graziano will act

properly once they arrive in Belmont.

Act II, Scene 3: A Father’s Child

In a brief scene Jessica, the daughter of

Shylock, sadly bids farewell to Lancelot. Jessica

fully understands the reasons for Lancelot wanting

to leave, and she even openly admits to Lancelot

that “our house is hell” (2). This line thus

reinforces the suggestion indicated earlier that

Shylock is a fiend or devil. In fact, Jessica herself

also plans to run away from the house. She gives

Lancelot a note to take to Lorenzo, the man whom

she wants to marry and run away with. Lancelot

cries as he says good-bye. His emotions quickly

convey the idea to the audience that Jessica is the

antithesis (direct opposite) of her father. If he is a

devil, then she is an angel.

Although Shakespeare utilizes the prejudice

against the Jews of his day as a convenient way of

establishing Shylock’s character, the playwright

also reveals that Shylock is not really an ordinary or

typical Jew. In a brief soliloquy, Jessica questions

her feelings towards her father:

Alack, what heinous sin it is in me

To be ashamed to be my father’s child!

But though I am daughter to his blood,

I am not to his manners. (15-18)


60

Both Christians and Jews believe that a child should

honor her father and mother. This regulation is one

of the Ten Commandments, and Christians viewed

the breaking of any commandment as a mortal sin.

The pious Jessica wants to be a good girl, but her

father’s evil is so intense that she feels forced to

disobey her father in order to avoid even greater

sins. The lines about blood and manners are also

highly significant in revealing Shakespeare’s views

about Shylock. Shylock’s blood – his Jewish blood

and his cultural heritage – is not what causes him to

be so evil. After all, the same Jewish blood flows

through Jessica’s veins. Yet she is good. Rather,

Shylock’s individual manners – his attitudes and

behavior – are what make him so bad. Jessica and

most other Jews do not think or behave as does

Shylock. Shylock does not represent all Jews any

more than Iago (the equally despicable villain in the

tragedy of Othello) represents all Christians.

Shakespeare created Shylock as a unique (albeit

detestable) individual, not as a symbol for an entire

race of people.


61

Act II, Scene 4: Misfortune

In another brief scene, Lancelot delivers

Jessica’s message to Lorenzo. Lorenzo is getting

all the details taken care of so that he and Jessica

can run away. Lorenzo then asks two of his friends,

“Will you prepare for this masque tonight?” (22). A

masque was a form of entertainment involving a

simple plot, music, singing, and dancing. Such

types of entertainment were frequently performed at

a court or in the manor of a wealthy lord, and the

performers usually wore elaborate costumes. Here,

the word masque refers to any simple holiday

festivity. In celebration of a religious holiday,

many people in Venice plan to wear costumes and

take part in simple forms of entertainment.

Of course, Lorenzo is not really worried

about entertainment for a holiday. Rather, he is

worried about Jessica. Shylock’s daughter plans to

wear her own costume: she will be dressed in a

page’s outfit (like a servant boy) in order to escape

her father and leave Venice without anybody

recognizing her. Jessica and Lorenzo,

metaphorically speaking, thus will play the parts of

runaway lovers in a very real drama, not in a

masque.

Lorenzo also comments upon the differences

between Jessica and her father; and he asserts that if

Shylock ever gains entrance into heaven, the only

reason for it will be the goodness of his daughter

(33-34). There is no goodness at all in Shylock.

But the worried Lorenzo is also a realist who knows


62

that Fate or Fortune does not always side with good

people in life:

And never dare misfortune cross her foot

Unless she do it under this excuse:

That she is issue to a faithless Jew. (35-37)

Lorenzo also depicts Fortune as an unfair female

force (personification), and he emphasizes her

usually negative role by referring to her as

Misfortune. The first use of the pronoun she (in

line 36) refers to Fortune, but the second occurrence

of the pronoun she (in line 37) refers to Jessica.

Lorenzo means that if anything bad ever happens to

Jessica – if Jessica ever experiences any kind of

misfortune – the reason will not be because of her

character or manners. Jessica is a good person, and

she has never done anything in her life to deserve

any kind of hardship or sorrow.


63

Act II, Scene 5: An Expected Reproach

In the fifth scene Shylock meets Lancelot in

front of his house. Lancelot is bringing a message

to Shylock from Bassanio:

LANCELOT: My young master doth expect your

reproach.

SHYLOCK: So do I his. (19-20)

In another example of mangled English, Lancelot

means to say approach. That is, Lancelot’s new

master Bassanio expects Shylock to approach or

come to the dinner at his house that night. The

word reproach means to express disapproval or

criticism against someone. Although Shylock

knows what Lancelot intended to say, the money-

lender also knows that Bassanio and his friends do

disapprove and criticize him as well. He fully

expects their disapproval.

Lancelot also jokes about Shylock’s

superstitious nature. Shylock expresses the view

that his dream about bags of money last night is a

bad omen, a sign that something bad will happen to

him or his money (line 18). Lancelot then proceeds

to say that a bloody nose that he experienced a long

time ago was an omen that Shylock will see a

masque on that night. Of course, the bloody nose

has nothing at all to do with the performance of the

masques that night. They would be performed that

night whether Lancelot had a bloody nose or not.

In a joking manner, Lancelot is thus expressing the


64

view that dreams are not at all related to reality. Of

course, Shakespeare himself did believe in the force

of fate (a force that was supernatural). And, as

events later indicate, Shylock should indeed worry

about his money.

When Shylock hears that Christian masque-

like entertainments will be performed that night,

with revelers parading by his house, he orders

Jessica to stay inside and close the windows.

Shylock is against anything that is even remotely

associated with Christianity. Of course, he does not

realize that Jessica is planning to take part in her

own “masque” that night and that she later intends

to become a Christian.

As Lancelot exits, he whispers to Jessica

that she should look out of the window that night

because Lorenzo will be coming later.

After Lancelot has gone, Shylock criticizes

him by calling him “a fool of Hagar’s offspring”

(42). This is an allusion to an Old Testament

story. In the Book of Genesis, Hagar was the

second wife of Abraham but was forced to leave

him and run away because of ill treatment at the

hands of Abraham’s first wife. Hagar’s son was

Ishmael, who became leader to a tribe of people

know as Ishmaelites. Shylock uses the expression

“Hagar’s offspring” to refer to the Ishmaelites,

which suggests any people who are not Israelites or

Jews. Hagar and Ishmael are outcasts in the eyes of

Shylock, and Shylock negatively views all

Christians to be worthless outcasts as well.


65

Before he exits, Shylock utters a proverb to

Jessica: “Fast bind, fast find” (52). The word fast

here means securely the first time and quickly the

second time. If a person securely fastens or hides

his money, then he will be able to find it quickly

later (for it will not be stolen). Although this is one

of the proverbs by which Shylock lives, his

precautions will not be of any use to him: he will

lose both his money and his daughter.

The scene ends with Jessica also making a

comment in regards to Fortune. If all goes well for

her, then Shylock will lose a daughter and she will

lose a father (line 55). Jessica also worries about

whether her elopement will be successful, and she

regrets that she is forced to take such a problematic

action against her own father. But her desperate

situation calls for desperate action.


66

Act II, Scene 6: Timely Metaphors

The scene set in front of Shylock’s house

continues. Lorenzo’s friends, Graziano and Salerio,

are disguised as masquers (wearing elaborate

costumes).

The two friends are surprised that Lorenzo himself

is not there already because young lovers are always

anxious and in a hurry: young lovers always “run

before the clock” (4). Salerio uses a mythological


67

allusion to Venus and the doves that pull her chariot

across the sky. He comments that her dove-

propelled chariot (symbolizing young lovers) moves

“ten times faster” than those couples who have

already been married for a long time (lines 5-7).

Young love is fast, but old love is slow.

The witty Graziano then contributes a

number of metaphors to suggest that many objects

in nature start out quickly but then slow down

sometime later:

(1) A hungry person eagerly and quickly sits down to a feast but rises slowly after he has

finished.

(2) An excited horse will gallop quickly to an intended destination but return with a much

slower gait.

(3) A glistening ship setting sail for a journey will energetically head for strong winds, but

on the return trip home the weather-beaten

ship with its ragged sails struggles slowly

upon less fervent winds.

Graziano thus comments that …

All things that are

Are with more spirit chased than enjoyed.

(12-13)

Young people who are in pursuit of love are spirited

and energetic; but shortly after they are united with


68

their lovers, they slow down considerably. Their

energy and eagerness dwindle.

The clever metaphors stop with the arrival

of Lorenzo. He explains to his friends that urgent

business, not his own inclination, caused him to

arrive late. Lorenzo then shouts out toward the

house to see if Jessica is inside.

From inside the house, Jessica looks out of a

window and sees the men. She makes sure that

Lorenzo is one of these men, and she then tosses a

casket (a box) containing money to him. Jessica is

disguised as a servant boy, and she will play the

role of torchbearer for Lorenzo so that she can

escape from Venice without anyone realizing it.

Although Jessica is embarrassed to play the

role of a boy, she informs Lorenzo that she will

quickly finish getting ready and soon join them.

Jessica’s embarrassment is a subtle joke for the

Renaissance audience (but not the contemporary

audience). During the Renaissance boys played the

part of girls and young women. So, the gender role

is doubly confusing: a boy is playing a girl who is

playing a boy. Shakespeare enjoyed the humor of

this gender confusion and used it in other of his

comedies as well (Twelfth Night and As You Like

It).

As the men wait for Jessica, Lorenzo

comments on the virtues of the girl he adores (lines

53-57). Praising the virtue of a lady was a

requisite for writers of love poetry, and thus

Lorenzo also reveals that he is a sincere lover as

well.


69

After Jessica and Lorenzo exit, Antonio

appears and informs Graziano that the masque is

canceled for that evening because Bassanio is to set

sail for Belmont immediately. Graziano is happy to

hear this news, for he is also anxious to go to

Belmont as soon as possible.

Act II, Scene 7: All That Glisters

The next scene is set at Belmont. There the

Prince of Morocco is making an attempt to win

Portia as his bride. In order to win her, he must

choose the correct casket – the one containing a

small portrait of Portia. There are three caskets:

one made of gold, one of silver, and one of lead.

Each casket also contains an inscription, a riddle, to

help or hinder the suitor from choosing the correct

one:

1. The gold casket: “Who chooseth me shall

gain what many men desire.” (5)

2. The silver casket: “Who chooseth me shall

get as much as he deserves.” (7)

3. The lead casket: “Who chooseth me must

give and hazard all he hath.” (9)

The Prince thinks carefully about the riddles. He

rejects the lead casket because he finds it

threatening. Moreover, he thinks that to hazard or

gamble for wealth is foolish and beneath a person of


70

his class, a person who has “a golden mind” (20).

Someone with intelligence, the Prince suggests,

would never foolishly gamble away all that he

possesses.

The Prince of Morocco also rejects the

silver casket. As a prince, he feels that he deserves

as much as any man; but he also has a small doubt

as to whether he deserves the Lady Portia.

However, he then argues that to doubt his merits, to

doubt whether he deserves Portia or not, is a sign of

weakness (line 30). He then convinces himself that

he is as deserving as any other man and more

deserving than most.

So, the Prince then reexamines the riddle on

the gold casket. He immediately believes that

“what many men desire” must refer to Portia herself

(line 38). After all, many men have come from all

parts of the western world to become suitors to

Portia. In addition, the Prince applies two

metaphors to convince himself that the choice of

the gold casket is, indeed, the correct choice:

1. Portia is like a diamond or rare gem set in a

gold band or ring. Gold is the only

appropriate setting for such a rare gem as

Portia. (54-55)

2. Portia’s image is like the angel engraved on

the gold coin that was referred to as an

“angel.” (55-57)


71

The Prince thus concludes that the portrait must

reside in the golden casket; and, so, he asks Portia

for the key to open it.

The Prince, however, is shocked and upset

by what he finds inside. Instead of the portrait, he

discovers a skull with a scroll inside one of the eye

sockets. On the scroll is the following inscription:

All that glisters is not gold;

Often have you heard that told.

Many a man his life has sold

But my outside to behold.

Gilded tombs do worms infold. (65-69)

The first sentence indicates that a person cannot

always judge something or someone by the outside

appearance. And that certainly is true with the

casket. The Prince made his choice based on what

he saw on the surface. He was too superficial. The

second sentence indicates that many men have

risked and lost their lives because of gold or

because of some other superficial reason that really

did not merit such a risk. The last sentence (line 69)

is a fitting metaphor. A king or prince may be

buried in a beautiful and ornate coffin and tomb that

is decorated with real gold, but such decoration will

not prevent the dead body inside from rotting. The

beauty on the outside holds ugliness on the inside.

The Prince’s golden casket, then, is a gold coffin in

miniature; and so it is fitting that the Prince should

find the skull inside.


72

The Prince of Morocco then sadly takes his

leave, and Portia is happy to see him go without his

expected prize.

Act II, Scene 8: My Ducats and My Daughter

A conversation between Salerio and Solanio

provides the audience with some necessary

information regarding the plot.

First, the audience learns that Bassanio and

Graziano have successfully set sail for Belmont, but

Lorenzo and Jessica were not in the ship with them.

Second, Shylock has discovered that both

his daughter and his money (ducats) are missing and

has demanded that the Duke should search

Bassanio’s ship. However, the Duke is too late; for

Bassanio has already sailed off.

In addition to losing his money and

daughter, Shylock is also missing two valuable

gemstones. The moneylender is outraged, and he

irrationally screams about his the loss of “his

stones, his daughter, and his ducats” (24). The boys

of Venice laugh and make fun of Shylock because

the word stone also was Renaissance slang for

testicle. So, when Shylock screams about the loss

of his two stones, the boys (and the Renaissance

audience) would quickly interpret that line as

Shylock screaming that he has lost his testicles.

Shylock has been metaphorically castrated, and the


73

audience is pleased that such an unsavory character

has gotten what he deserves.

Third, one of Antonio’s ships has suffered a

disaster and is wrecked. Salerio worries that

Antonio may have trouble paying the debt he owes

to Shylock. Salerio also tells Solanio that Antonio

had told Bassanio to take his time and be a proper

and gracious suitor towards Portia. Antonio had

also told Bassanio not to worry about the debt.

Bassanio, now that he has left Venice, will have no

way of knowing about Antonio’s financial

difficulty. The tension in the conflict between

Antonio and Shylock now starts to increase. At this

point in the play, Antonio appears to be in danger of

losing his life.

Act II, Scene 9: The Second Attempt

Back in Belmont another suitor to Portia is

attempting to win her as his bride. The fairy-tale

quality of the play soon becomes evident. This

scene parallels the one in which the Prince of

Morocco had attempted to win Portia (Act II, Scene

7). Both the dialogue and the action of the scene

establish a pattern that will conclude with the third

attempt (by Bassanio in Act III, Scene 2). Similar

to Morocco, the Prince of Aragon in the ninth scene

reads over the riddles on the caskets, evaluates them

carefully, and chooses incorrectly.


74

“The third time’s the charm!” This is a

popular idiomatic expression that rose to popularity

during the nineteenth century. The expression

suggests that someone who fails to achieve a goal

on the first two tries or attempts will be successful

on the third try. The origins of this expression,

however, go back much earlier to folk tales and

fairy tales passed down to later generations through

an oral tradition in literature. Fairy tales

especially follow the pattern of three. A good

example is the story of Rumplestiltskin. In this

tale a magical imp or elf demands that a princess

must hand over her child to him – as she had

promised – unless she can guess his name in three

days. At the end of the first two days, the princess

guesses incorrectly; but on the third day she

discovers the strange name, Rumplestiltskin, and

thus is able to keep her child.

The Prince of Aragon, unfortunately, is

making only the second attempt. Thus, in fairy-tale

tradition, he cannot succeed. Even audiences back

in 1597 were apparently familiar with this pattern.

Shakespeare thus establishes certain expectations

for his audience and delivers on them. The

technique (the pattern of three) satisfies the

audience who will anticipate the expected outcome

but will still enjoy the manner in which the

playwright handles the details. Moreover, as to the

outcome of the main conflict – the one involving

Antonio and Shylock – the audience still remains

uncertain.


75

The Prince of Aragon, before he can make

his selection, promises to obey three rules (again,

note the number):

1. He must not reveal to anyone which casket

he chose and what he found inside.

2. He must promise never to get married to

anyone if he fails to choose the right casket.

3. He must immediately leave Belmont if he

chooses incorrectly.

The risk is great; but Aragon, like Morocco, feels

that the prize is worth that risk.

The suitor from Aragon then proceeds to

read the inscriptions (or riddles) and to make his

choice. The Prince rejects the lead casket, the

inscription of which reads that he “must give and

hazard all he hath” (20). He asserts that the casket

must be fairer (more beautiful) before he would risk

or gamble on it. Like Morocco, the Prince of

Aragon is judging by appearances.

Aragon also rejects the gold casket, the

inscription of which read that the chooser “shall

gain what many men desire” (23). The Prince

interprets the words “many men” to indicate the

foolish masses or multitude. The Prince of Aragon

feels that he is superior to common men. Aragon is,

then, a rather proud man.

That leaves the silver casket, which carries

the inscription that the chooser “shall get as much

as he deserves” (35). Because he is a proud man,

the Prince of Aragon firmly believes that he is more


76

deserving of Portia than any other man. The Prince

then makes a short speech about honor and merit,

and the speech also serves the function of social

criticism:

Let none presume

To wear an undeserved dignity.

O, that estates, degrees, and offices

Were not derived corruptly, and that clean honour

Were purchased by the merit of the wearer!

(38-42)

The lines suggest that many men in society hold

highly honored positions and high-ranking titles,

but such men do not deserve these positions and

titles because such men lack merit. They have done

nothing to earn their positions or titles.

Shakespeare himself would fully agree with Aragon

on this point. The playwright was well aware that

during the Renaissance the class system in England

was unfair and unjust. Many aristocrats treated the

commoners unfairly and even cruelly at times. A

key word in this speech is honor. Aristocrats felt

that only aristocrats were capable of being

honorable. Shakespeare, time and again in his

plays, showed that this was not entirely true.

Shakespeare’s most glaring example of this idea

was the creation of the character of Falstaff (in the

Henry IV plays). Falstaff was a knight, an

aristocrat; but he was also the embodiment of

dishonor.

Yet, despite the playwright’s agreement with

the speech, Aragon is not the man to win Portia. He


77

thinks he deserves more than he actually does.

Instead of finding a portrait of Portia inside the

casket, he instead finds a portrait of a fool or “idiot”

(53). The proud Prince is shocked by what he finds

and asks, “Are my deserts no better?” (59). The

word deserts here means what he deserves. And, as

Shakespeare reveals, what he deserves for his

foolish pride is a portrait of a fool.

Along with the portrait of the fool is an

inscription. It begins with the following words:

The fire seven times tried this;

Seven times tried that judgement is

That did never choose amiss. (62-64)

The word this refers to the silver metal, and the

word tried means purified. In order for the metal

used on the casket to become one hundred percent

pure silver, it had to be heated and melted many

times to remove all of the impurities. The silver is

thus a metaphor for judgment. One gains sound and

unerring judgment only after many experiences and

trials. The inscription thus indicates that the Prince

of Aragon was lacking in judgment. He is not wise

enough to make the right decision.

The next two lines of the inscription are as

follows:

Some there be that shadows kiss,

Such have but a shadow’s bliss. (65-66)


78

In this sentence the word shadows refers to a

reflection. Some men are so much in love with

themselves that they kiss their own reflections (like

Narcissus in the Greek myth). Egotistical self-love,

the words suggest, will not lead to bliss or

happiness.

The use of silver for this particular casket is

explained with the following lines:

There be fools alive, iwis,

Silvered o’er; and so was this. (67-68)

Just because a man gets older does not necessarily

mean that the man gets wiser. Even men with gray,

white, or silver hair can be fools. The word this

also refers to the casket. The Prince of Aragon, thus

feeling very much a fool, then quickly leaves

Belmont.

At the end of the scene, a messenger arrives

to inform Portia about the coming of Bassanio. The

third attempt to win Portia’s hand will soon be

made. The third time will be the charm.

ACT III

Act III, Scene 1: If You Prick Us,

Do We Not Bleed?

Back in Venice Solanio and Salerio are

discussing a rumor that another of Antonio’s ships

has crashed. If the rumor is true, that will cause

Antonio severe financial difficulties; and he may

not be able to pay back Shylock the money that he

had borrowed.

Shylock then approaches them. He is still

complaining about how his daughter ran away with

his money and jewels. Solanio and Salerio tease

Shylock because they feel that he deserves the

discomfort that he is experiencing. When Shylock

mentions his “daughter’s flight” (22), that is, his

daughter’s running away, Salerio jokes that he

“knew the tailor that made the wings” which helped

her to fly away (23-24). This is a pun. On the one

hand, the word wings refers to a decorative flap on

the sleeves of clothing. But Salerio is also

suggesting that he knew the person who helped or

who caused Jessica to run away.

Solanio also picks up on the bird metaphor

and informs Shylock that there comes a time when

all fledglings (young birds) must leave the nest and

their “dam” (meaning mother).

Shylock then uses a pun on the word dam,

but his meaning is a spiteful condemnation of his

own daughter:


80

She is damned for it. (28)

Solanio and Salerio do not agree, and suggest only a

devil – or Shylock – would damn her for that act,

not God. They continue to tease Shylock when he

makes the following complaint:

My own flesh and blood to rebel! (30)

By “flesh and blood” Shylock means his own

daughter, but the words in another context could

refer to the body and the intense emotion of lust.

The emotion of lust rebels against one’s better

judgment or reason (the emotion vs. reason

conflict). Thus, Solanio laughs at Shylock for

feeling lustful at his age.

On a more serious note, Salerio asks

Shylock if he would really demand a pound of flesh

from Antonio if Antonio is unable to pay him back

the money. Shylock spitefully tells him that he

would because, although the flesh has no other use

than to be used as bait for fishes, the flesh will also

“feed my revenge” (46). The character of Shylock

then launches into a well-known speech about his

grievances. Shylock forcefully and thoughtfully

argues that a Jew is just as human as any Christian

and experiences the same pains and joys as any

Christian. He then continues with the following

lines:


81

If you prick us do we not bleed? If you

tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison

us do we not die? And if you wrong us

shall we not revenge? If we are like you

in the rest, we will resemble you in that. (54-57)

Shylock does make some valid points. Jews in

Renaissance society were victims of prejudice.

They were treated unfairly. But revenge is not a

virtue of the true Christian, and hatred and spite are

not aspects of Christian belief. Hatred and spite on

either side will only contribute to further hatred,

spite, prejudice, and revenge in the future.

Moreover, and more importantly, Shylock is not

just any Jew. He is not a model or representative of

his race. Shylock is, purely and simply, a villain.

As noted earlier, Shylock does not represent the

typical Jew any more than the villain Iago (in

Othello) represents all Christians. Shylock uses the

plural pronoun “us” to refer to all Jews. But this is

not a tale of Jews versus Christians. It is a tale of

Antonio versus Shylock. Shakespeare is not

interested in making sweeping social statements.

Rather, his focus is on character, on the individual,

and on the dramatic tension that arises from the

interaction of individual men.

To remind the audience that the focus is on a

rather extraordinary and despicable individual

rather than on an entire race of people, Shakespeare

then quickly follows the notable speech with


82

dialogue of a much different nature. Shylock

complains to Tubal, a fellow Jew, about the money

and jewels that Jessica took with her:

I would my daughter were dead at my foot

and the jewels in her ear! Would she were

hearsed at my foot and the ducats in her

coffin! (74-76)

The word would means wish, the word hearsed

means placed dead in a coffin, and the word ducats

refers to the gold coins. Shylock’s desire for

revenge is more important to him than getting back

his money. He wishes for his own daughter to be

dead. Shylock values money, but even more

important to him are hatred and revenge. There is

no love in Shylock. There is no kindness in him.

The lines here foreshadow how Shylock will later

act toward Antonio. Just as he wishes for the death

of his own daughter out of revenge, he will demand

the death of Antonio for the same reason.

Toward the end of the scene, Tubal informs

Shylock that he has heard news of yet another

wreck of one of Antonio’s ships. Shylock is

delighted to hear this news. He now knows that

Antonio cannot pay him back. So, the malicious

moneylender hurries to get an officer to demand the

arrest of Antonio.


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Act III, Scene 2: I Live upon the Rack

The next scene is set at Belmont, where

Bassanio is ready to choose from among the three

caskets. Portia is clearly attracted to Bassanio, and

she asks him to wait a day or two (or a month or

two) before he chooses. She is afraid that he may

choose incorrectly, and she would like to enjoy his

company at least for a short time. Portia would

choose Bassanio for a husband if the choice were

left up to her, but she is an honorable lady and will

not act contrary to the conditions set in her father’s

will. She will not tell Bassanio which casket to

choose even though she clearly desires for him to

choose the correct one:

Let fortune go to hell for it, not I. (21)

The result, Portia is asserting, lies in the power of

Fate or Dame Fortune. As a good Christian, Portia

believes that honoring her father is a virtue and

disobeying him is a sin. Disobeying a parent is a

Mortal Sin because such an act breaks one of the

Ten Commandments: honor thy father and mother.

Christians believe that such sins could lead to the

eternal damnation of the soul – such sins are mortal

or deadly to the soul. Because Portia is a virtuous

lady and a good Christian, she cannot tell Bassanio

which casket to choose. However, she clearly feels

that her marriage to Bassanio would be a good and

virtuous result. So, if Fate prevents such a virtuous


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act from occurring, then Dame Fortune herself

should be damned to hell.

Despite Portia’s pleas to postpone making

his choice, Bassanio is too anxious. Bassanio says

that waiting to find out his fate will be torture to

him: “I live upon the rack” (25). The rack was a

device used to torture prisoners – traitors especially

– into making confessions. The prisoner’s arms and

legs would be pulled in opposite directions, and the

excruciating pain would cause any man to confess

to just about anything. Portia wittily asks Bassanio

if he is a traitor to love: that is, she is asking him if

he would be an unfaithful lover. But Bassanio plays

on the idea of confession and swears that he will

confess all if Portia promises him life (line 34). For

Bassanio, life can only mean life with Portia. Life

without Portia is death to him.

Act III, Scene 2: Where is Fancy Bred?

Portia finally agrees to allow Bassanio to

make his choice, and she requests that music be

played while Bassanio thinks about the inscriptions

on the caskets. Portia compares the situation to the

custom of playing music beneath a bridegroom’s

window on the morning of his wedding day (lines

52-53). She is hoping, of course, that Bassanio will

be a bridegroom and that this will be their own

wedding day.


85

Portia also compares the situation to the

Greek mythological story about Hercules (who was

also called Alcides) and his rescue of a Trojan

princess. In that story the virgin princess is tied to a

rock along a shore as a sacrifice to a sea monster

that was terrorizing the city. Hercules slew the

monster and rescued the princess. In a triple

metaphor, Bassanio is Hercules, Portia the princess,

and cruel fate is the sea monster. If Bassanio

chooses correctly, Portia will be saved. But if he

chooses incorrectly, then Portia will feel like she is

being devoured by a cruel fate. Life without

Bassanio will be like death to her.

The song follows Portia’s speech:

Tell me where is fancy bred?

Or in the heart or in the head?

How begot? How nourished?

Reply, reply.

It is engendered in the eyes,

With gazing fed; and fancy dies

In the cradle where it lies.

Let us all ring fancy’s knell.

I’ll begin it: ding, dong, bell.

Ding dong, bell. (63-72)

The first line of this poem is quite famous and often

repeated. The word fancy can mean imagination,

but here specially refers to love. The first singer

asks about the origin of love. Does love begin in

one’s heart or one’s head? The chorus (at line 67)

responds that neither one is correct. Love actually


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begins with the eyes or in the eyes. The song is

actually an example of irony, an ironic counterpoint

to the idea of true love suggested by the relationship

of Portia and Bassanio (and of Lorenzo and

Jessica). The words suggest that love is superficial

and does not last long, for it dies in its cradle (the

eyes). The word cradle actually suggests two

possibilities about love’s end: (1) Love dies in its

infancy. Love never matures or grows up. (2) Love

dies when the lover no longer sees the person he

was attracted to in the same way. When the lover

first sees a woman he adores, he does not see her

accurately. His imagination adds to her attractions.

But, later, when love cools, he sees her more

realistically; and then love dies. That is why the

song calls for a death knell (funeral bells) to be

played at the death of fancy or love.

However, despite the irony of the lyrics, the

comic song does not affect the audience’s hope that

Bassanio will choose the correct casket.


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Act III, Scene 2: Shadow and Substance

Bassanio makes a speech to himself (an

aside) as he thinks about the three caskets and their

inscriptions. Bassanio quickly notes that a person

should not be quick to judge by appearances.

Religious hypocrites hide their false ways and false

words with “a gracious voice” and with the sacred

words of a religious text (lines 77-80). And

cowards hide their lack of bravery by wearing “the

beards of Hercules and frowning Mars” (line 85:

Mars is the Roman god of war). And seemingly

beautiful women hide their physical flaws through

the use of cosmetics or make-up or by using wigs

(lines 88-94). So, for these reasons, Bassanio

rejects the gold casket and the silver one, adding the

comment that silver is actually just a common

“drudge” (worker or laborer) because numerous

coins are made with silver. Thus, the beauty of it

hides its baseness.

So, Bassanio chooses the leaden casket, and

Portia is overjoyed by the choice.

Bassanio finds a beautiful portrait of Portia

inside, and he marvels at the artistry of the likeness.

But then he comments that despite the beauty of the

painting, the real Portia is far more beautiful: “this

shadow doth limp behind the substance” (129-30).

The word shadow refers to the portrait, and the

word substance refers to Portia herself. At this

point in the play Bassanio would then look up from

the portrait and stare at Portia.


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Along with the portrait is also a scroll,

which bears the following inscription:

You that choose not by the view

Chance as fair and choose as true.

Since this fortune falls to you,

Be content and seek no new.

If you be well pleased with this,

And hold your fortune for your bliss,

Turn you where your lady is,

And claim her with a loving kiss. (131-38)

The fairy-tale rhyme emphasizes the idea of fate or

fortune. Portia’s father did not want his daughter to

marry someone who made his choices based on

appearances. Love (and marriage) based on

appearances or other superficial circumstances will

not last. The metaphor suggests that the fancy or

love between Bassanio and Portia, then, is not bred

or engendered in the eyes.


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Act III, Scene 2: The Ring

Portia makes a speech to Bassanio in which

she tells him that he is now master of the mansion

and of herself. She also hands a ring to Bassanio:

I give them with this ring,

Which when you part from, lose, or give away,

Let it presage the ruin of your love,

And be my vantage to exclaim on you.

(171-74)

The fairy-tale quality of the subplot thus continues

with this ring business. The ring becomes a magical

symbol of their love, and the loss of the ring would

thus signify an end of their love.

Bassanio puts the ring on his finger and

makes a solemn vow or promise that he shall never

remove the ring:

But when this ring

Parts from this finger, then parts life from hence.

(183-84)

Bassanio claims that the only way that the ring will

ever leave his finger is when he is dead and thus

unable to stop anyone from removing it. The vow

is a vow of honor, and Bassanio must keep his

word. However, this is a comedy, not a fairy tale.

And so the ensuing events will not be the same as

those in a fairy tale.


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The happy news is made happier still when

Graziano asks Bassanio if he can be married on the

same day that Bassanio and Portia are to wed. As

Graziano explains, he had long been interested in

Nerissa, Portia’s maid. But Nerissa told him that

she would marry him only if Bassanio successfully

chose the correct casket and would marry Portia.

Bassanio is happy for his friend and agrees to the

double-wedding ceremony.

Act III, Scene 2: The Creature

The feeling of happiness for Bassanio and

the others at Belmont lasts all too briefly; for

moments later Salerio, along with Lorenzo and

Jessica, arrives and informs Bassanio about

Antonio’s misfortunes. In a letter from Antonio,

Bassanio reads that all of his business ventures have

failed: all of Antonio’s merchant ships have

suffered mishap and disaster.

To make matters worse, now that Antonio’s

debt is past the due date, Shylock refuses to accept

any payment but instead demands the “pound of

flesh” as Antonio had promised. Salerio contributes

to the description of Shylock as something

unnatural and monstrous:


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Never did I know

A creature that did bear the shape of man

So keen and greedy to confound a man.

(273-75)

The word keen means eager and the word confound

means destroy. Salerio further states that despite

the pleas of many merchants, lords, and the Duke

himself, Shylock insists on carrying out the terms of

the contract and taking the life of Antonio. Jessica,

Shylock’s daughter, adds that her father’s

vengeance and hatred are more important to him

than any amount of money.

The understanding Portia tells Bassanio that,

as soon as they are wed but before they even have a

chance to spend one night together, he must hurry

back to Venice and try to help his friend. Portia

even supplies Bassanio with many times the amount

of money owed to Shylock so that he can pay off

Antonio’s debt.

To show how dear a friend Antonio is to

him, Bassanio reads the letter to Portia. Antonio

makes only one request of Bassanio: “… if I might

see you at my death” (317-18). The still

melancholy merchant accepts his fate and does not

expect rescue or help of any kind.


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Act III, Scene 3: The Course of Law

In a brief scene, Antonio, being led by the

jailor, attempts to talk to Shylock. The

moneylender, however, refuses to listen. Shylock,

oddly, even describes himself in less-than-human

terms:

Thou called’st me a dog before thou hadst a cause,

But since I am a dog, beware my fangs. (6-7)

The metaphor suggests that Shylock is violent,

vicious, and wild. More importantly, like a wild

animal, Shylock is incapable of rational thought.

Antonio realizes that to reason with him is useless;

and, so, the merchant resigns himself to his fate.

Solanio, Antonio’s friend, thinks that the

Duke of Venice will never allow Shylock to take

the pound of flesh and to take the life of Antonio.

But Antonio explains that the Duke does not really

have a choice:

The Duke cannot deny the course of law,

For the commodity that strangers have

With us in Venice, if it be denied,

Will much impeach the justice of the state,

Since that the trade and profit of the city

Consisteth of all nations. (26-31)

The word commodity refers to the trade agreement

between Venice and other nations. The laws of

trade and commerce apply to all of the nations that

do business with one another. If the Duke breaks a


93

law for the personal reason of saving Antonio, that

action will set a precedent: other nations could then

break laws when they have personal reasons to do

so. Of course, no nation will want to trade or

conduct business with another nation if that other

nation is dishonorable and does not follow the rules,

practices, and laws of international commerce.

Thus, if the Duke interferes and denies Shylock’s

contract from being fulfilled, the entire economy of

Venice would be affected. It would be ruined

because other countries would soon learn that the

Duke of Venice denied the terms of a legal and

binding contract.

Act III, Scene 4: A Strange Transformation

Back at Belmont, Portia tells Lorenzo and

others that she does not regret sending her new

husband to Venice to help his friend. She has heard

that Antonio is very similar to Bassanio and adds …

If it be so,

How little is the cost I have bestowed

In purchasing the semblance of my soul

From out the state of hellish cruelty. (18-21)

The phrase contains a double-metaphor. By the

word soul, Portia is referring to Bassanio. The one

who bears a semblance (or resemblance or

similarity) to that soul (that is, to Bassanio) is


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Antonio. Thus, Portia is declaring that saving

Antonio from Shylock’s cruelty is certainly worth

the money that she has made available to Bassanio.

Portia then asks Lorenzo to take care of her

estate while she goes away for a brief time. She

tells Lorenzo that she and Nerissa are going to a

monastery to pray until Bassanio and Graziano

safely return. However, this is not true. Actually,

Portia and Nerissa intend to disguise themselves as

men and go to Venice in order to help Bassanio in

the rescue of Antonio.

Privately to Nerissa, Portia jokes that she

will be a more attractive man than Nerissa. Portia

also looks forward to boasting and bragging (like

many men do) about how “he” caused many fine

ladies to fall in love with him; but, because he

rejected all of them, “they fell sick and died” (71).

The humor, though, is just a cover for the

extremely serious business that Portia has in mind.

Despite having been honor-bound to fulfill the

rather odd request in her father’s will, Portia is an

extremely intelligent and clever woman who is

capable of taking many serious matters into her own

hands. In fact, she is shrewder and more capable

than the men in this play. However, during the

time of the Renaissance, affairs of business and

state were controlled mostly by men. Portia is well

aware that the only way to be successful in the

world of men is to become a man herself. And, so,

even though Portia apparently accepted the role of

fate in regards to her marriage and choice of

husband, at this point in the play Portia takes charge


95

and challenges the fate that supposedly awaits

Antonio.

Shakespeare apparently enjoyed the

complexities of gender identity in his play. In

other comedies, notably Twelfth Night with the

character of Viola and As You Like It with the

character of Rosalind, Shakespeare also employed

the device of women disguising themselves as men.

Shakespeare, in many ways, was an early feminist,

well aware of and sympathetic to the trials and

tribulations that women faced in his time. More

importantly, Shakespeare wrote his comedies at a

time when a woman, Queen Elizabeth, sat on the

throne of England. That ruler of England surely

would have experienced great delight and pleasure

in seeing clever female characters like Rosalind and

Portia on the stage.

Moreover, the shift in identity was

particularly practical in increasing the comic

potential of the play during the time of the

Renaissance; for men and boys played the parts of

the women. Thus, a young male actor would play

the female Portia who is then disguised as a young

man. Audiences, swept up by the illusion of the

play, might temporarily forget or ignore the fact that

a female character was played by a male actor. But

the shift or change of identity could shake that

illusion.

In addition, although the other characters of

the play are fooled by the disguises, the audience is

in on the joke. The audience laughs at the male

characters who are fooled by the disguised females


96

while, perhaps, still marveling at the cleverness of

the male actor who portrays a woman who portrays

a man.

Act III, Scene 5: The Sins of the Father

At Belmont the clown Lancelot is speaking

with Jessica and tells her …

The sins of the father are to be laid upon

the children. (1-2)

This is an extremely famous quote, and the source

of it comes from the Old Testament of the Bible

(specifically, chapter 20 of Exodus). The great

Greek writer of tragedies, Euripides, also wrote a

similar line: "The gods visit the sins of the fathers

upon the children" (in a surviving fragment of a lost

play entitled Phrixus).

The line from the Bible is actually a

warning: fathers who commit sins teach, by

example, their sons to commit the same sins. And,

so, the sons commit the same sins when they grow

up. The line in the Bible, then, is actually a

suggestion to all fathers that they should lead sinless

lives so that their children will then become sinless

as well.

Superstitious people of early times,

however, interpreted the passage as a kind of curse.

That is, they believed that God cursed the sinful


97

man and that the curse was passed down on his

children whether they were innocent or guilty of

committing any sins themselves.

In the fifth scene the clown Lancelot

displays his wit. The scene is humorous, and the

reader should note how the play now shifts into

prose. Since the lowly clown dominates the

dialogue, the use of prose distinguishes it from the

elevated language of those with higher social rank.

However, the dialogue is also rich with word play

and cleverness.

Lancelot, who interprets the lines about the

sins of the father as a curse, tells Jessica that she is

damned because her father Shylock is a most

grievous sinner. Lancelot then sets up his joke: he

tells Jessica that she has once chance or hope of

going to Heaven, but that chance is a “bastard hope”

(6). What that expression actually means is false

hope. Jessica falls for the joke and asks Lancelot to

explain. The clown then tells her that her only hope

is that Shylock is not really her true father: in other

words, Lancelot is suggesting that if her mother had

sexual relations with another man, then she will not

be cursed by Shylock’s sins. Jessica is clever

herself, and sees a fallacy with Lancelot’s

explanation. If her own mother had sexual relations

with another man, she would then be guilty of

adultery, which is also a serious sin. Thus, the sin

of the mother would be passed down to Jessica.

She would be damned either way.

Lancelot then suggests that Jessica’s parents

are like two mythological sea monsters, Scylla and


98

Charybdis. If one monster (or sinner) does not get

her, then the other will.

Although the wordplay of Lancelot and

Jessica does provide comic relief in the play, the

dialogue also serves to function as a social

comment. Many Christians during the Renaissance

did believe that all Jews were damned to Hell.

They believed that only people who believed in

Jesus Christ as the son of God and who followed the

teachings of Christ would enter Heaven.

Shakespeare subtly gets his audience thinking about

the nature of sin and guilt and salvation. Jessica is a

good and positive character in the play, and the

members of the audience might then start to

question their belief that all Jews are damned.

The witty Lancelot continues to display his

wit throughout the scene:

1. He tells Jessica that if Lorenzo converts her to a Christian, that will raise “the price of

hogs” (19). He implies that since Jews do

not eat pork, the price of that meat is not

expensive. But if all Jews were converted to

Christians, they would then eat pork and

such meat would then become more difficult

to obtain.

2. He puns on the words Moor and more when

Lorenzo tells him that the Moor, a woman

from northern Africa, has become pregnant

by him. Lorenzo comments that such a

woman is “more than reason” (34-35) or

beyond reason as well as meaning bigger


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than is reasonable. She is becoming bigger

(more) because of the baby growing within

her.

3. When Lorenzo asks Lancelot to bid their

guests to “prepare for dinner,” the clown

responds with “they have all stomachs” (41).

Lorenzo means that the guests should come

to dinner, but Lancelot jokes that the only

preparation needed for eating dinner is to

have a stomach. Thus, the guests are

already prepared for the meal.

4. Lancelot also makes a triple pun with the

word cover: (a) cover the table means to set

the table; (b) cover also refers to a hat, a

covering for the head; and (c) a cover also

refers to a covered dish.

After Lancelot exits, the language of the

dialogue becomes poetic once again. Lorenzo

comments to Jessica about Lancelot’s play with

words:

I do know

A many fools that stand in better place,

Garnished like him, that for a tricksy word

Defy the matter. (57-60)

Lorenzo is suggesting that a great many people

holding positions of respect and authority also use

or manipulate language to “defy the matter.” In

other words such people twist language around in

order to justify their actions and behavior, to act


100

contrary to law or sense. Again, Shakespeare is

subtly making another statement about society and

about people in authority (social commentary).

Some of the people in such high positions are, in

fact, merely fools; but they do not realize it.

Lorenzo’s comment may also get the

audience thinking about words and their use and

misuse and abuse. The words of a legal contract,

such as the one written between Antonio and

Shylock, also contain a great many words that can

be manipulated and misconstrued and open to

interpretation. Lorenzo’s comment thus

foreshadows the act that follows.

ACT IV

Act IV, Scene 1: Shylock’s Humour

The climax of the subplot – the tale of

Bassanio and Portia involving fate and the three

caskets – occurs in the third act just as Bassanio is

about to make his choice of caskets.

But the climax of the main plot – the tale of

Antonio and Shylock involving choices and legal

contracts – occurs in Act IV. The scene is set in the

court of Venice; and Antonio is ready to accept his

fate, to accept his own death. Antonio even thanks

the Duke of Venice for trying to help his cause, but

Shylock refuses to accept any and all offers: the

moneylender demands his pound of flesh. So,

Antonio tells the Duke that he is “armed to suffer

with a quietness of spirit the very tyranny and rage”

of Shylock (10-12). However, although

Shakespeare was a strong believer in the power and

tyranny of fate, the playwright also knew that there

were occasions when man could control the

outcome of a conflict. Man should not always be so

ready to accept meekly and passively what may

appear to be an expected fate. There are times

when the spirit should not be quiet.

Unfortunately, Antonio is too passive and

too melancholy. Thus, a different hero must step

forward to take Antonio’s place in the conflict

against Shylock. And that hero, stepping out of her

role as a passive sufferer of fate in the subplot, is

Portia. In the main plot Portia becomes an active


102

figure with a tremendously strong and vital spirit

who opposes both Shylock and what Antonio

believes is a verdict of fate. In Act IV Portia

becomes the protagonist of the main plot.

Before Portia arrives in Venice, the Duke

asks Shylock to reconsider his determination to take

the pound of flesh. He asks Shylock for a show of

“mercy” (19).

Shylock, though, remains stubborn. He

realizes that he is being illogical and tells the Duke

that he is motivated by his “humour” (42). During

the Middle Ages people in England believed that

erratic behavior in humans was caused by an excess

of one of four bodily fluids called humours:

sanguine, choler, melancholy, and phlegm. Shylock

specifically is suggesting the first of these: a

sanguinary person is often depicted as violent and

being eager for bloodshed. Shakespeare depicts

Shylock, then, as a person who is overwhelmed by

his passions and emotions. In nearly every play

Shakespeare reveals that in the conflict of Reason

vs. Emotion, if the emotion is extraordinarily

intense, then it will defeat any and all reason. Since

Shylock is beyond reason, the words of the Duke

are wasted on him.

Shakespeare, through the character of

Shylock, explains that many men often act

irrationally for what seems to be very slight or

insubstantial causes:


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1. A man will pay a fortune to another to

get rid of a rat in his house.

(lines 44-45)

2. A man goes crazy when he sees a

roasted pig with its mouth open. (46)

3. A man goes mad whenever he sees a cat.

(47)

4. A man urinates in his pants whenever he

hears a bagpipe. (48-49)

Such men cannot explain why they act the way they

do. There is no rational or logical explanation.

They are victims of their emotions. Shylock admits

that he is the same way: “So can I give no reason”

(58). Shylock admits that his emotions, specifically

“hate” and “loathing,” motivate him (59). He

cannot give another reason, for he is emotional

(unreasonable).

Bassanio, fearing for his friend’s safety,

cannot accept Shylock’s answer. But Antonio tells

him that Shylock’s very nature cannot be changed

anymore than the nature of a wolf that attacks a

lamb (lines 72-73). The wolf’s nature is to attack

and kill the lamb, and Shylock’s nature is to attack

and kill Antonio. The metaphor is appropriate in

that wolves act out of nature and instinct rather than

logic. Yet the metaphor also suggests that Shylock

is less than human in his behavior. And Antonio

adds that Shylock is different from other humans in

that he has a hard heart (lines 78-79). So, Antonio


104

asks Bassanio to stop from trying to dissuade the

moneylender.

Act IV, Scene 1: Hypocrisy

The Duke asks Shylock how he can ever

expect mercy when he shows none toward others

(line 87). At this point Shakespeare, through the

character of Shylock, inserts some social

commentary. Shylock, in return, asks the Duke

why the people of Italy do not show mercy to their

slaves. During the Middle Ages and earlier, slaves

were treated like animals, overworked and abused.

And even in the time of Shakespeare, the attitude of

most Christian leaders was a toleration and

acceptance of slavery. In fact, slavery continued to

exist within the British Empire until the Slavery

Abolition Act of 1833. Shylock is correct in

pointing out that people who accept and support

slavery have no right to talk about mercy. A slave

owner who talks about mercy is, thus, a hypocrite;

for the very institution of slavery was one without

mercy.

Of course, slavery is wrong; but, as the old

maxim goes, “two wrongs don’t make a right.” One

act of injustice and immorality does not give others

permission to commit similar acts of injustice

elsewhere. Although Shylock is correct in pointing

out the hypocrisy of slave owners, he is wrong in

thinking that it justifies his own behavior.


105

From the Christian point of view, one sin

can never justify another sin. Later, when Shylock

sharpens his knife on the sole of his shoe, Graziano

makes the following pun:

Not on thy sole but on thy soul, harsh Jew,

Thou mak’st thy knife keen. (122-23)

Graziano is clearly suggesting that Shylock’s act

will damn him to hell for all eternity.

Graziano continues his criticism of Shylock

with a reference to Pythagoras, the philosopher of

ancient Greece. Pythagoras believed in

reincarnation, the belief that the souls of man can

return to earth in the forms of animals. Although

Graziano is a Christian who does not believe in

reincarnation, he tells Shylock that his very

existence makes him question that belief: for

Shylock must have surely been a dog or a wolf in a

past life. Graziano describes Shylock as “wolvish,

bloody, starved, and ravenous” (137). Graziano’s

comment is just one more contribution to the

already large list of lines and phrases that describe

Shylock as something inhuman and monstrous.


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Act IV, Scene 1: The Quality of Mercy

The Duke of Venice summons a noted

lawyer named Bellario to defend Antonio and

determine the legality of Shylock’s claim on the

pound of flesh. Bellario, though, sends a letter to

the Duke that he is sick and cannot come to Venice

at that time. However, in his place, Bellario is

sending a young but wise lawyer named Balthasar.

Actually, Balthasar is really Portia in her disguise

as a man. Portia, the play implies, knows Bellario

and has asked him to take his place so that she may

help her husband’s best and closest friend.

When Portia (in disguise) arrives at the

court, Antonio informs her that he had agreed to the

terms of the contract between Shylock and himself.

Portia then declares that Shylock must “be

merciful” (177). She is implying that Shylock has

every legal right to take the pound of flesh, and only

if he decides to show mercy will Antonio be spared.

In other words, the forces of the law must support

Shylock’s legal right. In regards to showing mercy,

Shylock asks, “On what compulsion must I?” (178).

He is asking what force or power would compel

him or make him show mercy. Portia responds with

an eloquent speech on mercy. This speech is one of

Shakespeare’s finest and most highly regarded

poems:


107

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

(180)

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown;

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,

(185)

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptred sway;

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself;

(190)

And earthly power doth then show likest God's

When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,

Though justice be thy plea, consider this,

That, in the course of justice, none of us

Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;

(195)

And that same prayer doth teach us all to render

The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much

To mitigate the justice of thy plea;

Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice

Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

(200)

In the first line Portia is telling Shylock that mercy

is not an attribute that is strained or forced. No one

will compel him to show mercy. Mercy must come

out of his own heart. The metaphor to the “gentle

rain” suggests not only a soft or mild rain but also


108

indicates the other meaning of the adjective:

considerate and kindly. Mercy is an act of

kindness. In olden times the word gentle also

meant noble and chivalrous. Portia is thus implying

that showing mercy is also an act of honor.

Portia also indicates that an act of mercy

blesses both the giver and the receiver. Antonio

would obviously be blessed in a physical sense: his

life would be spared. But Shylock would be blessed

in a spiritual sense: his act of kindness and

goodness would be rewarded by God. Mercy is the

other side of the coin, so to speak. It is necessary to

balance the power of justice. Justice without mercy

is the quality of a tyrant, not of a good king. Justice

is an act of cool reason, but mercy is an act of warm

and tender feeling. Portia metaphorically suggests

that the king’s crown and scepter are symbols of

temporal or earthly power, but his heart is a

symbol of heavenly or spiritual power. Mercy is

superior to justice, then, because it is an attribute of

the eternal soul and of God.

Portia further reminds Shylock that all

people on earth seek mercy from God. All people

are sinners. If God was a just God but not a

merciful one as well, then all people would be

damned to hell for all eternity. All people thus hope

for mercy: all people hope to be blessed by God.

Toward the end of her speech, Portia makes

reference to a Christian prayer (lines 195-96). She

is referring to the best known and most often recited

prayer in Christianity, The Lord’s Prayer:


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Our Father, which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth,

As it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen.

(Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 1662)

The word trespass means sin. Christians pray that

God will forgive them for their sins. They are

praying for God to be merciful to them. But the

prayer also indicates that people should forgive

others when those others commit acts of sin or

injustice towards them. The prayer is indicating

that all people should be forgiving: all people

should be merciful.

Despite the beauty and gentleness and power

of Portia’s eloquent and poetic words, Shylock

remains unmoved. He is incapable of showing

mercy.


110

Act IV, Scene 1: The Biblical Allusion to Daniel

Shylock responds to Portia’s excellent

speech with the following: “My deeds upon my

head! I crave the law” (201). Shylock is asserting

that he takes responsibility for his own actions or

deeds, but he is also implying that he does not care

at all about mercy and sin. As noted earlier,

Shylock acts solely out of passion. He is

sanguinary, a creature motivated solely by his desire

for violence and bloodshed. Thus, even if he will

be damned by God, he cannot and will not change

his mind.

Portia then declares that the law cannot be

broken and that the terms of the contract must be

fulfilled. If the court ruled against Shylock, it

would, as noted earlier, set a terrible precedent (line

215). The laws of Venice might no longer be held

as binding or meaningful. Portia is declaring that

the officials of Venice cannot break their own laws.

When Shylock hears that Portia is

supporting his side of the case, he declares …

A Daniel come to the judgement, yea, a Daniel!

O wise young judge, how do I honour thee!

(218-19)

Shylock is referring to the Book of Daniel, a

religious book of the Jews that also appears in the

Catholic Bible (but not in Protestant Bibles). In

that book appears the story of young Daniel who

defends a woman named Susanna. Two older men


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attempt to blackmail Susanna and accuse her of

having sexual relations with another man in her

garden. Daniel questions these men and reveals

their lies. The two false men are then put to death.

Like Daniel, Portia (in her disguise) is a

young and wise lawyer. But unlike Susanna,

Shylock is not an innocent and virtuous person, and

he is not a victim. The metaphor turns out to be an

appropriate one, though, for just as Daniel defended

the virtuous Susanna, Portia will defend the virtuous

Antonio.

Once again Portia offers Shylock several

times the amount of money that Antonio had

borrowed if Shylock will drop his demand for a

pound of flesh. Naturally, Shylock continues to

refuse these offers. Portia realizes that no amount

of money can sway Shylock from his demands, so

she tells Antonio to open his shirt and make himself

ready for Shylock’s knife.


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Act IV, Scene 1: Sad Farewell and Humor

Before Shylock cuts Antonio with his knife,

Portia asks the merchant if he has any final words to

say. The melancholy merchant states that Dame

Fortune (or fate) is actually being kind to him, for

most men lead a long life into an age of poverty and

misery (lines 262-67). At least, Antonio somberly

asserts, he does not have to worry about being old

and poor and miserable.

Antonio also comments about his affection

for his friend, Bassanio; and he is grateful that his

death at least served a useful purpose in helping

Bassanio to win a good and loving wife (lines 268-

76). Antonio has no regrets. He does not care

much for life, and he certainly cares little for the

misfortune that men suffer while on earth.

Bassanio is deeply moved by Antonio’s

words and declares that he would gladly sacrifice

his own wife and even his own life in order to save

Antonio.

Portia, still disguised as Balthasar, injects a

humorous aside at this point in the play: “Your wife

would give you little thanks for that if she were by

to hear you make the offer” (283-84). The aside is a

stage convention: Bassanio does not hear the words

although the audience does. Of course, all wives

wish for their husbands to value them over their

male friends. And the line is humorous because the

audience is on the joke: they know that Balthasar is

Portia; they know that Bassanio’s wife is nearby to

hear him make the offer. The lines function to


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lighten the tense and sad dialogue between Antonio

and Bassanio. But the lines also serve the function

of foreshadowing a less than sad outcome for the

trial. Portia would not be so lighthearted unless she

knew that the trial would end happily for Antonio.

The humor is doubled when Graziano

makes a similar comment about his wife and his

wish for Antonio’s salvation. Nerissa, who is also

disguised as a male, also makes an aside about her

new husband’s comment.

And the humor is tripled when Shylock

makes an aside about Christian husbands. He

asserts that he would rather have his daughter

married to a descendant of Barabbas, a Jewish thief,

than to a Christian (lines 290-92). Shylock is

suggesting that a Christian husband cannot be any

good if he is so quickly willing to give his wife up,

as Bassanio and Graziano seem to be.

The humor is short-lived, however, for

Shylock asserts that they are wasting time. He

wants his pound of flesh immediately.


114

Act IV, Scene 1: The Loophole

A loophole is a means of escaping a

difficulty, and the term is frequently applied to

certain legal contracts where imprecise or

ambiguous wording allows the terms of a contract

to be broken or reinterpreted. Portia announces

that Shylock “shall have all justice” (316). She is

stating that Shylock has legally won the case and

may take his pound of flesh from Antonio’s body.

But then, as Shylock approaches Antonio with his

knife, she tells him to wait and adds …

He shall have nothing but the penalty. (317)

Portia means that Shylock must follow the terms of

the contract precisely. She explains about the

wording of the legal document and certain

conditions that Shylock must follow:

(1) The contract does not make any

mention of blood. Thus, if Shylock

takes even one drop of blood from

Antonio, he will be breaking the terms

of the contract. Obviously, one cannot

cut the flesh off of a person without

taking some blood with it.

(2) The contract specifies that Shylock may

take exactly one pound of flesh. Portia

states that if the weight is not exactly

one pound, even if it is just a fraction of

an ounce more or less, then Shylock


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will be breaking the terms of the

contract as well.

Both of these conditions are loopholes. Portia has

found a way for Antonio to escape his difficulty.

Portia informs Shylock that if he does not follow

the conditions of the contract precisely, then he will,

according to the laws of Venice, be put to death and

all of his belongings will be seized by the court.

Graziano applauds the wisdom of the young

lawyer and sarcastically throws Shylock’s own

words back at him:

A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!

Now, infidel, I have you on the hip. (328-29)

The expression “on the hip” is a wrestling term

which is used when one wrestler has an

advantageous hold on another. Graziano is

implying that he and Antonio’s other friends now

hold an advantage over Shylock. Shylock has lost

the case.

Shylock realizes that he has lost, and he

states that he will drop the case and accept the

amount of money that Antonio had borrowed (“the

principal”). Portia, though, informs him that he is

too late. Shylock has already refused the amount of

payment in open court. So, he may only take the

pound of flesh and nothing else. And, of course, if

Shylock breaks either of the two conditions that she

mentioned earlier, Shylock will lose his life.


116

Shylock, realizing that he has been defeated

and will get nothing, starts to leave. But Portia tells

him to wait. She then explains that Shylock has

broken a law of Venice. According to that law, if

an alien (someone who is not a citizen) attempts

either directly or indirectly to take “the life of any

citizen” of Venice, the citizen shall then receive half

of the goods of that alien and the state of Venice

shall seize the other half (lines 344-49). In addition,

the life of the offending alien shall lie “in the mercy

of the Duke” (350-51). Since Shylock did attempt

to take the life of Antonio, he has broken this law.

And now the moneylender, who offered no mercy

to Antonio, must depend upon the mercy of the

Duke in order to spare his life. In theater this

situation is an example of dramatic irony. The

effect is far different from what Shylock had hoped

and expected.

The Duke does not even ask Shylock to beg

for mercy but instead informs him that his life will

be spared. However, half of Shylock’s wealth now

belongs to Antonio, and the other half belongs to

the state of Venice. The Duke even adds that he

will be even more merciful and allow Shylock to

keep some of his money if Shylock repents and

shows some humility (367).

Shylock complains that without his house

and property, he will not have the ability to make a

living. So, he would rather be put to death than to

live a life of poverty (lines 369-72).

Portia asks Antonio if he wishes to show any

mercy to Shylock. Graziano interrupts and says that


117

the only mercy that Antonio should show him is to

present him with “a halter,” a hangman’s noose. In

other words, Graziano feels that Antonio should

seek the death penalty for Shylock.

However, Antonio is merciful. Antonio tells

the court that he will accept as judgment, if the

Duke agrees, that Shylock should be allowed to

keep half of his wealth for himself if the other half

is reserved or held in trust for Jessica and her

husband Lorenzo and given to them upon the time

of Shylock’s natural death (lines 375-80).

Antonio adds that Shylock must also agree

to two other conditions:

(1) He must immediately become a Christian.

(2) He must write a will that indicates that

Jessica and Lorenzo will be his sole heirs.

In regards to the first condition, readers should keep

in mind that Christians in times past believed that

all pagans (non-Christians) would be damned to

Hell, that only good Christians would enter Heaven.

From the Christian point of view, Antonio’s

condition is both moral and merciful.

Shylock, defeated and depressed, agrees to

Antonio’s conditions; and the Duke of Venice

agrees as well.

This courtroom scene is the resolution of

the main plot of the drama. The conflict between

Antonio and Shylock has been resolved. The

conflict is at an end. The rest of the play, then,


118

moves the play away from a serious drama and

turns to comedy.

Act IV, Scene 1: The Ring Business

Now that the serious portion of the play is

over, some lighter and comic moments follow.

After the Duke and the other members of the court

exit, Antonio, Bassanio, and Graziano are left on

stage with Portia and Nerissa (both of whom are

still in disguise as men).

Bassanio tells Balthsar/Portia that he wishes

to compensate, to pay, the young lawyer for all of

his (her) effort and work. Portia, though, refuses

the money and asserts …

He is well paid that is well satisfied. (411)

Portia is happy with the result of her efforts, and

that happiness is reward enough. Of course,

Bassanio still does not realize that Balthsar is

actually his own wealthy wife, Portia.

Bassanio, though, insists that he and

Antonio should give at least some kind of payment

to Portia as a way of expressing their gratitude and

thanks.

Portia then says that, as a small reward, she

will accept Antonio’s gloves and Bassanio’s ring.

Bassanio is shocked by this request, for he

has made a solemn vow to his wife that he would


119

never remove that ring unless it were taken off his

hand when he is dead.

Bassanio tries to explain this to the young

lawyer, but Portia insists that she will take nothing

but the ring. Portia is toying or playing with her

husband. She is playing a joke on him. Of course,

Bassanio does not know this. Portia then tells the

distraught man …

… if your wife be not a madwoman,

And know how well I have deserved this ring,

She would not hold out enemy for ever

For giving it to me. (441-44)

Portia is telling Bassanio that his wife will forgive

him, but Bassanio is not so confident about that.

Portia, with Nerissa, then exits the stage without the

ring.

Antonio, however, urges Bassanio to give

Portia the ring. Both Antonio and Bassanio know

that the young lawyer deserves far more reward

than just that ring. Bassanio relents and hands it to

Graziano. He tells his friend to run after the young

lawyer and give him the ring. Bassanio, however, is

still troubled; for he does not know how his wife

will respond when she discovers that his ring is

missing.


120

Act IV, Scene 2: More Ring Business

Portia tells Nerissa that as soon as they get

Shylock to sign the will leaving all of his wealth

and possessions to Jessica and Lorenzo, they will

head back immediately to Belmont and get there

before their husbands (the will is referred to as a

“deed” in line 1).

Graziano then arrives and gives Portia the

ring from Bassanio.

In an aside to Portia (so that Graziano does

not hear), Nerissa tells Portia that she will attempt

to get Graziano’s own ring in the same manner that

Portia got the one from Bassanio. Portia agrees that

this is a clever idea, and she looks forward to the

fun they will have when their husbands return to

Belmont. Both ladies will take delight in watching

their husbands squirm when they accuse them of

giving their rings away to other women.

ACT V

Act V, Scene 1: Young Lovers’ Nonsense

In literature the word denouement refers to

the part of the story that occurs after the conflict has

been resolved and ties up any loose ends or answers

any questions that the readers or audience may still

have. The word actually comes from the French,

dénouement, and literally means untying. The

knots or complications are untied, the questions are

answered. Although the main conflict is now at an

end, the play still has two questions to answer. (1)

How will Bassanio and Graziano explain the loss of

their rings? And, on a more serious note, (2) what

will become of the melancholy Antonio? In

Merchant of Venice, the entire fifth act is the

denouement.

Back in Belmont the young lovers, Jessica

and Lorenzo, are taking care of Portia’s house while

she is away. Lorenzo comments on the beauty of

the moon; and he, speaking nonsensically as young

lovers often do, claims that such a bright and lovely

moon must have also shined over lovers who are

mentioned in the tales of the past. Lorenzo and

Jessica then engage in a comic dialogue that

involves mythological lovers:


122

(1) Lorenzo begins by mentioning Troilus and

Cressida. Cressida at first loved Troilus but

then abandoned him for another.

(2) Jessica then mentions Pyramus and Thisbe.

The two lovers were supposed to run away

together at night, but Pyramus got frightened

by a lion. Later, Pyramus thinks the lion

killed Thisbe, and he commits suicide.

When Thisbe finds his dead body, she then

kills herself.

(3) Lorenzo then mentions Aeneas and Dido.

Aeneas loved Dido, but then left her.

(4) Jessica then mentions Jason and Medea.

They were husband and wife, but Jason later

left Medea for a princess of another land.

(5) Lorenzo then brings up his own tale, the story of Jessica and Lorenzo.

The humor is that all four of the mythological tales

involve unsuccessful love. Lorenzo is jokingly

suggesting that their own love will be unsuccessful.

Jessica plays on the notion by adding that in the

story of Lorenzo and Jessica, Lorenzo made “many

vows of faith” that his love was true, but that those

vows were really false (19-20). Neither Lorenzo

nor Jessica actually think that their spouses are false

or that their love will be unsuccessful, and Lorenzo

ends the dialogue with the following:


123

In such a night

Did pretty Jessica, like a little shrew,

Slander her love, and he forgave her it.

(20-22)

The word shrew, which is slang for a nagging and

mean-spirited woman, is used jokingly and

affectionately by Lorenzo. Both Lorenzo and

Jessica know that their dialogue was full of slanders

and lies. They both trust each other fully and

completely.

The dialogue is interrupted by a messenger,

who announces that Portia will be arriving soon.

Lancelot also enters and announces that Bassanio

will be arriving by morning as well.

Lorenzo calls for musicians to perform and

welcome Portia back home. Renaissance comedies

frequently included music as a method to divert and

entertain the audiences. Lorenzo also makes a

speech about the “power of music” (lines 69-87)

and notes that men who are not moved by music are

not to be trusted. The two lovers then listen to the

music.


124

Act V, Scene 1: So Shines a Good Deed

Portia and Nerissa arrive, and Portia makes

the following comment about the candlelight:

That light we see is burning in my hall.

How far that little candle throws his beams –

So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

(88-90)

In a night that is pitch dark, the small burning flame

of a candle can be seen from a great distance away.

Portia uses the candlelight as a metaphor for a

good deed or act. Even though a good deed may

seem small or insignificant, especially in context of

world events and the evil that envelop mankind,

such a good deed actually has more power and

effect than most people realize (the word naughty

means evil in the quote). It is all a matter of

perspective. People often overlook or undervalue

the significance of a good deed. These lines may be

specifically applied to Antonio and his melancholy.

In a world that is evil and full of corruption, many

people become despondent and gloomy. But if they

look toward the good, such gloom and melancholy

could be lifted.

Portia also notes that the song of her

musicians sounds “much sweeter” during the quiet

night than it does during the day (99). The music is

a metaphor, like the candlelight. In the right

setting, the music assumes greater significance and

value than it does in lesser circumstances. When


125

music is played in a setting where other sounds and

noises interfere and disrupt it, the music is not

valued or appreciated properly. People may

overlook its goodness and beauty.

When Lorenzo and Jessica greet Portia, the

lady still keeps up the pretence that she and Nerissa

were in a convent all of that time and were praying

for the success of her husband’s venture. However,

Portia also warns Lorenzo and Jessica not to

mention her absence to Bassanio and Graziano.

Act V, Scene 1: The Teasing Begins

When Bassanio and Graziano return home,

Bassanio praises the beauty of his wife by telling

her that she is as radiant as the sun (implied by the

suggestion that when the sun is on the other side of

the world – “the Antipodes” – Portia can take the

place of it and turn the night into day: lines 126-27).

The witty Portia uses the mention of sunlight as a

means to begin the fun and the teasing of her

husband:

Let me give light, but let me not be light;

For a light wife doth make a heavy husband,

And never be Bassanio so for me. (128-30)

By the expression “a light wife,” Portia means a

wife who is light or not serious in her faithfulness to

her husband. A light wife is an unfaithful wife.


126

Portia also plays on another meaning of light, as the

opposite of heavy, and then makes a pun out of the

word heavy. A heavy husband is a sad husband,

which Bassanio would be if Portia were unfaithful.

Portia concludes with the remark that Bassanio

should never be light (unfaithful) to her. Portia thus

sets the tone for accusing her husband of infidelity

when she later notices that his ring is missing.

As Portia welcomes Antonio, Nerissa is

standing in the back of the stage and is talking with

her husband, Graziano. Nerissa is already accusing

Graziano of giving his wedding ring away to

another woman, and the flustered Graziano is trying

unsuccessfully to explain that he gave it to a

lawyer’s clerk.

Portia interrupts the fighting couple and

accuses Graziano of being most unkind to his wife

and causing her extreme “grief” (165-75).

Bassanio, listening to his wife accuse Graziano,

squirms and shifts uncomfortably; for if she has

become that angry at Graziano, he knows that she

will become even angrier at him.

Graziano then admits to Portia that Bassanio

also gave his ring away to the lawyer who defended

Antonio, and Portia madly tells her own husband

that she will never come to his bed until she sees

that ring again.

Bassanio tries to explain that he gave the

ring away because of the great debt that Antonio

owed to the lawyer, but Portia pretends not to

believe him and insists that he gave the ring away to

some other woman.


127

Bassanio does not know what to do or what

to say. He is thoroughly defeated. Portia, however,

teases him further by saying that since he so lightly

gave his ring to the lawyer, then she will just as

lightly give her body away to that same lawyer

(doctor of law): “I’ll have that doctor for my

bedfellow” (232). Of course, there is a humorous

truth to the line. Portia does, after all, sleep with

herself.

Nerissa doubles the humor by telling

Graziano that she will likewise sleep with the clerk

to whom he gave his ring away.

Bassanio tries once again to explain, and

begins by swearing to the beautiful eyes of Portia,

in which he sees his own reflection. Portia wittily

plays on the idea of reflection to tease Graziano

further:

In both my eyes he doubly sees himself,

In each eye one. Swear by your double self,

And there’s an oath of credit. (243-45)

By “double self” Portia means that Bassanio is

double dealing or deceitful. She thus is jokingly

asserting that Bassanio is admitting his guilt.

The teasing finally moves toward an end

when Antonio intervenes. Antonio supports

Graziano’s claim that the ring went to the lawyer

who saved him, and the merchant also pledges his

own life that Graziano will never be unfaithful to

Portia.


128

Portia then hands a ring to Antonio and tells

him to give it to Bassanio as a pledge of their rebuilt

faith. She also states that Bassanio should “keep it

better than the other” ring (254).

Bassanio is surprised and confused to see

that the ring is the very same one that he had given

to the lawyer, and Graziano is equally surprised and

bewildered when Nerissa hands him the very same

ring that he had given to the lawyer’s clerk.

Portia cannot help but make one more jest.

She tells Bassanio that she got the ring from the

lawyer by sleeping with him; and Nerissa tells

Graziano that she similarly got her ring by sleeping

with the clerk.

But before the shocked husbands can grieve

over the infidelity of their wives, Portia admits the

truth and tells the surprised men that she herself was

the lawyer who saved Antonio from Shylock and

that Nerissa was her clerk.

The husbands and wives thus are united

once again.


129

Act V, Scene 1: Life and Living

Portia also has good news for Antonio. She

hands him a letter in which he is informed that three

of his merchant ships have safely arrived in Venice.

Antonio is not impoverished after all, and he

happily thanks Portia:

Sweet lady, you have given me life and living.

(285)

Antonio, however, is not simply referring to his

wealth and merchandise. He is referring to a

purpose in life. In seeing the goodness and

generosity in the actions of Portia and in seeing the

love and enjoyment that exists between Portia and

Bassanio, Antonio sees that life is worth living. He

no longer will be the melancholy merchant of

Venice. So shines a good deed!

FINAL COMMENTS

PLOT

Although Shakespeare is often praised by

critics for his brilliant character portraits and for the

beauty of his poetry, he also took great care in

forming and developing his plots as well. In

Merchant of Venice, the main plot involves a

double complication, and there are four subplots as

well.

First, Antonio’s conflict with Shylock forms

the main or basic conflict of the play. The Antonio

vs. Shylock (or man vs. man) conflict also

integrates an Antonio vs. Society conflict (a legal

conflict) as well. Shakespeare often commented

directly or, more often, indirectly upon the justice

system and the numerous acts of injustice that

occurred in his time.

Second, Antonio’s lethargic condition, his

“want-wit sadness,” forms an internal conflict, a

conflict of Antonio vs. Himself. This condition

affects his role in the legal conflict with Shylock,

and thus his position as protagonist requires a

substitute (namely Portia) to intervene on his behalf.


132

Indirectly, one could argue that a man vs. nature

conflict exists in the sense that Antonio is in

conflict with his own human nature.

Third, Bassanio’s conflict to woo and marry

Portia forms the main subplot of the play. This

tales involves a Bassanio vs. Fate. Yet even this

subplot is not so simple to express. Portia is just as

much a protagonist of this subplot. She too is

involved in a conflict with destiny: Portia vs. Fate.

Shakespeare makes both of these characters central

figures of the subplot, yet each is in conflict with

fate in different ways.

Fourth, the lover’s tale is usually central to a

comedy during the Renaissance, but in this play the

problems of the young lovers takes a secondary

position to the larger subplot of Bassanio and

Portia. Lorenzo’s struggle to win Jessica, Shylock’s

daughter, involves two types of conflicts: Lorenzo

vs. Shylock (man vs. man) and Lorenzo vs. Fate.

The reader may also view Jessica as a protagonist

in this subplot. Lorenzo and Jessica are star-crossed

lovers: they are from different religions and

different nationalities, and a parent opposes the

marriage.


133

Fifth, a minor conflict involves Lancelot’s

problems with Shylock. This conflict is also

double-sided: man vs. man and man vs. society

(class structure).

Sixth, the attempts of the other suitors

attempt to win Portia also makes up a subplot, again

depicting man vs. fate

Certain critics argue that Antonio’s conflict

with himself is at heart of play. Antonio’s conflict

involves two contrary states – happiness and

sadness. Other characters are happy in having

something to achieve. Even Shylock is happy in

thinking about revenge.

Suspense in the play is created by the

wooing scenes and by the attempts of the three

suitors:

a. Act II, Scene 7: Prince of Morocco � gold casket

b. Act II, Scene 9: Prince of Aragon � silver casket

c. Act III, Scene 2: Bassanio � lead casket

Antonio’s loss of ships does not contribute much to

the suspense, since those losses are mentioned in

reported speech (and not in the main action of the

play).


134

However, the greatest amount of suspense in

the play occurs during the trial scene. The

courtroom drama is the pivotal and central scene of

the play.


135

SOURCES

1. Il Pecorone (The Simpleton), written in 1378 by

Giovanni Fiorentino, is the primary source of the

play. It includes “Belmonte” as locale, the winning-

the-bride story, and the pound-of-flesh story. In the

bride story, though, there are no caskets. The suitor

must stay awake all night, but on the first two

attempts, the suitor is given a sleeping potion.

2. For the use of caskets, Shakespeare may have

borrowed from any of the following three

possibilities:

a. John Gower – Confessio Amantis – 1390

b. Boccaccio – Il Decamerone

c. anonymous Gesta Romanorum – 14th C

(English translation appears in 16th C.)

3. The pound-of-flesh story also appears elsewhere,

such as “The Ballad of the Crueltie of Geruntus,”

written anonymously, c. 1590.

4. Another possible source is a lost play entitled

The Jew. It was briefly described by Stephen

Gosson in 1579.


136

5. Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta (1589)

may also have influenced Shakespeare. Marlowe’s

drama depicts a cruel, vindictive Jew who is more

evil and more of a stereotype than is Shylock.

6. Real-life historical events of 1586 may also have

influenced Shakespeare slightly. Roderigo Lopez,

a Jewish-Portuguese doctor, became Queen

Elizabeth’s personal physician. He was alleged to

have been involved in a plot to assassinate the heir

to Portuguese throne; and, later, he was suspected of

attempting to poison the Queen. Elizabeth was not

convinced that Lopez was guilty, but she reluctantly

signed his death warrant in 1594. Lopez was

hanged, drawn, and quartered. The event incited

public hostility toward Jews. The reference to wolf

(in Act IV, 1: 134) could be a pun on Lopez’s name

(lupe = wolf).


137

CHARACTERS

Antonio undergoes a dynamic change (from

sadness and melancholy to happiness).

He shows mercy to Shylock (IV, 1: 380-90).

But Antonio has no big speeches at the end

of play. In fact, as a title character, he

speaks very little. The character of Portia

actually dominates final act.

Shylock is the most interesting character in the

play. He is a highly developed character,

although he is also stereotyped in some

ways. His big speech on revenge (III, 1: 53-

73) and his appearance in the courtroom

scene (IV, 1: 35-62) are the central

occasions when his character becomes fully

illuminated. His demands for justice and his

admission that revenge is unreasonable help

to establish the portrayal of Shylock as one

of Shakespeare’s most dramatic

psychological characters.


138

Portia, as several critics note, is a rendering of the

ideal woman. As such, she is a portrait or

symbol of Queen Elizabeth. Her intellect,

her humor, and her views on marriage make

her a complicated and intriguing character;

and her speech on the Quality of Mercy (Act

IV, Scene 1) contributes to her moral and

ideal personality. The trick on her husband

Bassanio with the ring, though, humanizes

Portia: it makes her more realistic.


139

THEMES

A number of concepts and ideas provide the themes

and motifs of the play:

love

fate / destiny

melancholy (want-wit sadness)

mercy

marriage

greed / wealth

revenge

law & society / justice

class system

a. Lancelot

b. Shylock’s speech on slavery

Judaism & prejudice

jealousy

happiness vs. sadness

women’s roles in society

As noted above (see final comments on plot), the

two contrary states of happiness and sadness, may

provide the central theme of the play. Having a

certain goal, attempting to achieve a certain

outcome in one’s life, is necessary to achieving

happiness in a world that is otherwise filled with

vice and corruption.


140

In a number of plays Shakespeare presents a Two

Worlds Theme. In A Midsummer Night’s

Dream, for example, the city of Athens is stiff and

rule-oriented, artificial and harsh; but the forest

outside of Athens is magical and natural. A journey

into the forest results in bringing its positive effects

back into the city. In The Merchant of Venice,

Belmont and Venice are two different worlds. And

only a person from the magical, fairy-tale world of

Belmont can resolve the difficulties imposed by the

harsh, merciless laws of Venice.


141

COMMENTS FROM THE CRITICS

Anne Barton, Riverside Shakespeare

1. Jews were banished from England since time of

Edward III, nearly three centuries by the time

Shakespeare wrote this play. In popular

imagination, Jews were figured as mythical beasts,

as strange evil beings who had crucified Christ and

who would persevere in anti-Christian activities.

There were some Jews in Shakespeare’s London,

but they had to keep secret their race and religion.

2. Barabas, in Christopher Marlowe’s Jew of Malta

is a figure of fantastic evil. By contrast, “Shylock is

a closely observed human being.”

3. Shylock was an attractive role for actors, who

played the character in a variety of ways: as a devil

incarnate, a comic villain, or as a sentimentalized

noble father.

4. The antipathy between Shylock and citizens of

Venice is not simply racial nor simply a conflict

between merchant and usurer. Shylock is an alien

in a society whose religion, pleasures, aims, and

attitudes are radically different from his own.


142

5. “The Merchant of Venice is a play about

contrasted attitudes towards wealth and the life-

styles dictated by each, but it is also a comedy … of

love and friendship and the rivalry between them.”

6. “Belmont is really the better self of Venice: a

world of clarity, order, and materialism

transfigured, presided over by a lady in whom the

virtues characteristic of the Christians in the

comedy manifest themselves in their most complete

and realized form.”


143

Katherine E. Maus, Norton Shakespeare

Is the play anti-semitic?

Does it criticize anti-semitism?

Does it neither condemn nor endorse

anti-semitism?

Are the Christians right to call Shylock a

“devil” and a “dog”?

Is Shylock simply a victim of bigotry?

What was WS own attitudes about Jews?

He probably never encountered a Jew in is lifetime.

Joseph Rosenblum, Reader’s Guide

Shylock “is not wholly a comic character, for

despite often appearing ridiculous, he poses too

much of a threat to be dismissed lightly. Yet he is

too ineffectual and grotesque to be a villain as cold

and terrifying as Iago or Edmund, or one as

engaging as Richard III. He is a malevolent force.”


144

Harold Bloom, The Invention of the Human

The Merchant of Venice is “a profoundly anti-

Semitic work.”

“Shylock is a comic villain and … Portia would

cease to be sympathetic if Shylock were allowed to

be a figure of overwhelming pathos.”

“Shakespeare’s comedy is Portia’s play, and not

Shylock’s.”

“There is an extraordinary energy in Shylock’s

prose and poetry, a force both cognitive and

passional [sic], which palpably is in excess of the

play’s comic requirements.”

“Shylock simply does not fit is role; he is the wrong

Jew in the right play.”

NOTE: Although Bloom calls the play Portia’s, he

devotes most of his chapter to Shylock.

APPENDIX

from Il Pecorone by Giovanni Fiorentino

(edited from the translation by W. G. Waters)

There was once in Florence, in the house of the

Scali, a certain merchant called Bindo, who had sailed

many times to Tana, near to Alexandria, and had

likewise adventured in those other long voyages which

are made for the sake of traffic. This Bindo, who was

very rich, had three stalwart sons; and when he lay on

his deathbed, he bade come to him the eldest and the

second born. And in their presence he made his will and

left them heirs of all he possessed in the world. But to

the youngest he left nothing.

When the will was completed, the youngest son,

who was called Giannetto, heard tell of the same, and

went to his father's bedside and said, “Father, I am

greatly astounded at what you have done, in taking no

thought of me in your testament.”

The father answered, “My Giannetto, there is no

one living I hold dearer than you. Therefore I am not

minded that you should tarry here after my death, but

rather that you should betake yourself to Venice to your

godfather, who is named Messer Ansaldo. He has no

son of his own, and has written to me more than once to

send you to him. Moreover, I must tell you that he is the

richest of all the Christian merchants. Wherefore I

desire that you go to him after my death and give him


146

this letter. If you manage your affairs with prudence,

you will become a rich man.”

The young man answered, “My father, I am

ready to do what you command.”

Whereupon the sick man gave him his blessing,

and in a few days' time breathed his last. All the sons

lamented sorely, and buried their father with due honors.

When a few days had passed, the two brothers

called Giannetto, and said to him, “Brother, it is true

indeed that our father has made a will leaving us his

heirs, and making no mention of you. Nevertheless, you

are our brother, and from this time you shall have share

in whatever may be left, equally with ourselves.”

Giannetto answered, “I thank you, my brothers,

for what you offer, but I have made up my mind to seek

my fortune in some other place. On this I am fully

determined. Therefore you can take the heritage

sanctified and assigned to you.”

The brothers, when they saw what his will was,

gave him a horse and money for his charges. Giannetto

took leave of them; and having journeyed to Venice and

gone to the warehouse of Messer Ansaldo, he delivered

the letter which his father had handed to him on his

deathbed.

And Messer Ansaldo, when he had read the

same, learned that the young man before him was the

son of his dear friend Bindo. As soon as he had read it,

he straightway embraced Giannetto, saying, “Welcome,

dear godson, whom I have so greatly desired to see.”

Then he asked news of Bindo, and Giannetto

replied that he was dead. Whereupon Ansaldo embraced


147

and kissed him, weeping the while, and said, “I am

sorely grieved over Bindo's death, inasmuch as it was by

his aid that I won the greater part of my wealth; but the

joy I feel at your presence here is so great that it takes

away the sting of my sorrow.”

Then he led Giannetto to his house, and gave

orders to his workpeople, and those about his person, as

well as to his grooms and servants, that they should do

service to Giannetto even more zealously than to

himself. The first thing he did was to hand over to

Giannetto the key of all his ready money, saying, “My

son, spend what you will; buy raiment and shoes to suit

your taste; bid the townsfolk to dine with you, and make

yourself known; for I leave you free to do what you will,

and the better you are liked by our citizens the better I

shall love you.”

So Giannetto began to keep company with the

gentlefolk of Venice, to entertain, to give banquets and

presents, to keep servants in livery, and to buy fine

horses. Moreover, he would joust and tilt, because he

was very expert and magnanimous and courteous in

everything he did. He never failed to

give honor and respect where they might be due, and he

reverenced Messer Ansaldo as if he had been a hundred

times his father. So prudent was his carriage with men of

all conditions that he won the goodwill of all the people

of Venice, who regarded him as a youth of the greatest

intelligence, and most delightful manners, and courteous

beyond measure; so that all the ladies, and the men as

well, seemed in love with him. Messer Ansaldo had no

eyes for any but him, so charmed was he with


148

Giannetto's bearing and manners. Nor was any feast ever

given to which he was not bidden.

It happened one day that two good friends of his

determined to sail for Alexandria with some wares laden

in two ships, as was their annual custom. They said to

Giannetto, “You ought to give yourself

the pleasure of a voyage with us, in order to see the

world, especially Damascus and the parts thereabout.”

Giannetto answered, “In faith I would go

willingly, if only Messer Ansaldo would give me leave.”

They replied, “We will see that he does this, be

sure of that.”

They went forthwith to Messer Ansaldo and said

to him, “We beg you to let Giannetto go with us this

spring to Alexandria, and to give him a bark or vessel so

that he may see something of the world.”

Messer Ansaldo replied that he was willing to let

Giannetto do as he liked, and the others assured him that

the young man would be well pleased to go.

Then Messer Ansaldo let prepare a very fine

ship, which he loaded with much merchandise, and

supplied with banners and arms and all that was

necessary. And when all was in readiness Messer

Ansaldo gave orders to the captain and the crew of the

ship that they should do whatever Giannetto might

direct, and he committed him to their care. “For,” said

he, “I am not sending him out for the sake of gain, but so

that he may see the world as it best pleases him.”

When Giannetto went to embark, all Venice

came to see him, for it was long time since any ship so

fine or so well furnished had left the port; and when he


149

had taken leave of Messer Ansaldo and of his

companions, he put out to sea and hoisted sail and

steered the course for Alexandria in the name of God

and of good fortune.

After these three friends in their three ships had

sailed on several days, it chanced that early one morning

Giannetto caught sight of a certain gulf in which was a

very fair port. Whereupon he asked the

captain what might be the name of the place. The captain

replied that it belonged to a certain lady, a widow, who

had brought many to ruin.

Giannetto inquired how they had been undone,

and the captain replied, “Messere, this lady is very

beautiful, and she has made it a law that, if any stranger

lands there, he must needs share her bed, and, if he

should have his will of her, that he should have her to

wife and be the lord of the town and of all the country

round. But if he should fail in his venture, he must lose

all he has.”

Giannetto meditated for a moment, and then

bade the captain land him at the port by some means or

other, but the captain cried to him, “Messere, take care

what you do, for many gentlemen have landed there, and

everyone has been ruined.”

But Giannetto said, “Trouble not yourself about

others; do what I tell you.”

His command was obeyed. They put the ship

about at once and made sail for the port, and those on

board the other ships perceived not what was done.

In the harbor the next morning, when the news

was spread that a fine ship had come into port, all the


150

people flocked to see her. And it was told likewise to

the lady, who forthwith sent for Giannetto.

He went to her with all haste and made

respectful obeisance. Whereupon she took him by the

hand and asked who he was, and whence he had come,

and whether he knew the custom of the land.

Giannetto answered that he did, and that he had

come there by reason of this custom alone.

The lady said, “You are welcome a

hundredfold.” And all that day she treated him with the

greatest honor, and bid come diverse counts and barons

and knights who were under her rule to keep Giannetto

company. All these were mightily pleased with

Giannetto's manners and his polished and pleasant and

affable presence. Almost everyone felt kindly towards

him, and all that day they danced and sang and made

merry at the court for the sake of Giannetto. And

everyone would have been well content to own him as

over-lord.

When evening was come the lady took him by

the hand and led him into the bedchamber, and said,

“Meseems it is time for us to go to bed.”

Whereto Giannetto made answer, “Madonna, I

am at your command.”

Then two damsels came, one bearing wine and

the other sweetmeats, and the lady said, “Surely you

must be thirsty; drink of this wine.”

Giannetto took some sweetmeats and drank of

the wine, which was drugged to make him sleep, and he

unwitting drank half a glass thereof, as it had the taste of

good wine. Then he undressed and lay down on the bed,


151

and fell asleep at once. The lady lay down beside him,

but he woke not till it was past nine o'clock the next

morning.

As soon as it was day the lady arose, and made

them begin unload the ship, which was filled with rich

and fine merchandise. When nine o'clock had struck the

waiting-maid went to the bed where Giannetto lay, and

bade him rise and go his way with God's help,

forasmuch as he had forfeited his ship and all that was

therein.

He was greatly ashamed, and conscious that he

had fared very ill in his adventure. The lady

bade them give him a horse and money for the way.

And he, after a sad and doleful journey, arrived at

Venice, but he dared not for shame go home.

He called by night at the house of one of his

friends, who marveled greatly at the sight of him, and

said, “Alas! Giannetto, what means this?”

And Giannetto made answer, “My ship struck

one night upon a rock, and became a wreck, and

everything was broken up. One was cast here and

another there, and I caught hold of a piece of wood,

on which I reached the shore. I returned hither by land,

and here l am.”

Giannetto tarried for some time in the house of

his friend, who went one day to see Messer Ansaldo, and

found him in very melancholy mood.

Ansaldo said, “I am so sorely afeared lest this

son of mine should be dead, or that he have met some ill

fortune at sea, that I can find nor peace nor happiness, so

great is my love for him.”


152

The young man answered, “I can tell you news

of him; he has been shipwrecked and has lost everything,

but he has escaped with his life.”

“God be praised for this,” said Messer Ansaldo.

“So long as he has saved himself I am contented, and

care naught for what he has lost. But where is he?”

The young man replied that Giannetto was in his

house. Whereupon Messer Ansaldo arose forthwith and

was fain to go thither. And when he saw Giannetto, he

ran towards him and embraced him, saying, “My son,

you need feel no shame for what has befallen you,

inasmuch as it is no rare thing for a ship to be wrecked at

sea. Be not cast down, for since no hurt has come to

you, I can rejoice.”

Then he took Giannetto home and cheered him

the best he could. And the news spread through Venice,

everyone being grieved for the loss which had befallen

him.

Before long Giannetto's companions returned

from Alexandria, having won great profit from their

venture. And as soon as they landed they asked for news

of him. When they heard his story they went straightway

to greet him, saying, “How did you leave our company,

and where did you go? When we lost sight of you, we

turned back on our course for a whole day. But we

could neither see aught of your ship nor learn where you

had gone. Thus we fell into such grief that, for the

whole of our voyage, we knew not what merriment was,

deeming you to be dead.”

Giannetto answered, “An adverse wind arose in

a certain inlet of the sea, which drove my ship on a rock


153

near the shore, and caused her to sink. I barely escaped

with my life, and everything I had was lost.” This was

the excuse made by Giannetto to conceal his failure.

And all his friends made merry with him,

thanking God that his life had been spared, and saying,

“Next spring, with God's help, we will earn as much as

you have lost this voyage; so let us now enjoy ourselves

without giving way to sadness.” And they took their

pleasure according to their wont.

But Giannetto could not banish the thought of

how he might return to that lady, pondering with himself

and saying, “Certes, I must make her my wife or die.”

And he could not shake off his sadness.

Wherefore Messer Ansaldo besought him often

that he should not grieve; for that, with the great wealth

he possessed, they could live very well. But Giannetto

answered that he could know no rest until he should

have once more made that voyage overseas.

When Messer Ansaldo saw what his longing

was, he let furnish for him in due time another ship,

laden with yet richer cargo than the first, spending in this

venture the main portion of his possessions; and the

crew, as soon as they had stored the vessel with all that

was needful, put out to sea with Giannetto on board, and

set sail on the voyage.

Giannetto kept constant watch to espy the port

where the lady dwelt, which was known as the port of

the lady of Belmonte. And, having sailed one night up

to the entrance thereof, which was in an arm of the sea,

he suddenly recognized it and bade them turn the sails


154

and steer into it in such fashion that his friends on board

the other ships might know naught of what he did.

The lady, when she arose in the morning, looked

towards the port, where she saw flying the flag of

Giannetto's ship. And, having recognized it at once, she

called one of her chambermaids and said to her, “Know

you what flag that is?”

And the maid replied that it was the ship of the

young man who had come there just a year ago, and who

had left with them all his possessions to their great

satisfaction.

Then said the lady, “It is true what you say, and

certes he must be hugely enamoured of me, seeing that I

have never known one of these to come back a second

time.”

The maid said, “I indeed never saw a more

courteous and gracious gentleman than he.”

Whereupon the lady sent out to Giannetto a

troop of grooms and pages, who went joyfully on board

the ship. He received them in like spirit, and then went

up to the castle and presented himself to the lady.

She, when she met him, embraced him with joy

and delight; and he returned her greeting with reverent

devotion. All that day they made merry, for the lady had

bid come to her court diverse ladies and gentlemen. And

these entertained Giannetto joyfully for the love they

bore him.

The men grieved over the fate which was in

store for him, for they would gladly have hailed him as

their lord on account of his charm and courtesy. While

the women were almost all in love with him when they


155

saw with what dexterity he led the dance, and how he

always wore a merry face as if he had been the son of

some great lord.

When it seemed to her time to retire, the lady

took Giannetto by the hand and said, “Let us go to bed.”

And when they had gone into the chamber, and

had disposed themselves to rest, two damsels came with

wine and sweetmeats, whereof they ate and drank, and

then went to bed. Giannetto fell asleep as soon as he lay

down; whereupon the lady undressed and placed herself

beside him, but he did not awake from sleep all night.

As soon as it was day the lady arose and bade

them quickly unload the vessel. And when it was nine

o'clock Giannetto awoke. But on seeking for the lady,

he could not find her. Then he lifted up his head and

perceived that it was broad day. So he got up, covered

with disgrace, and once more they gave him a horse and

money for the journey, and said, “Go your way.” And

he departed full of shame and sorrow.

He journeyed for many days without halt till he

came to Venice, and there he went by night to the house

of his friend, who, when he saw him, was hugely

amazed and said, “Alas! And what can this mean?”

Giannetto replied, “I am in evil case. Accursed

be the fortune which led me into that land!”

His friend replied, “Certes, you may well miscall

your fortune, since you have ruined Messer Ansaldo, the

greatest and the richest of our Christian merchants; but

still your shame is worse than his loss.”

Giannetto lay hid some days in his friend's

house, knowing not what to say or do, and almost


156

minded to return to Florence without speaking a word to

Messer Ansaldo. But at last he determined to seek him.

And when Anseldo beheld him, he arose and ran to him

and embraced him, saying, “Welcome to you, my son.”

And Giannetto embraced him, weeping the while.

Then, when he had learnt all, Messer Ansaldo

said, “Listen to me, Giannetto, and give over grieving;

for, as long as I have you back again, I am contented.

We still have enough to allow us to live in modest

fashion. The sea is always wont to give to one and to

take from another.”

It was soon noised abroad in Venice what had

happened, and all men were much grieved over the loss

which Messer Ansaldo had suffered, for he was obliged

to sell many of his chattels in order to pay the creditors

who had supplied him with goods.

It happened that the adventurers who had set sail

with Giannetto returned from Alexandria with great

profit. And as soon as they landed, they heard how

Giannetto had come back broken in fortune. Wherefore

they were greatly amazed and said, “This is the strangest

matter that ever was.” Then they went with great

laughter and merriment to Messer Ansaldo and

Giannetto and said, “Messere, be not cast down, for we

have settled to go next year to trade on your account,

seeing that we have been in a way the cause of your loss

in that we persuaded Giannetto to go with us. Fear

nothing, for as long as we have anything you may treat it

as your own.”


157

On this account Messer Ansaldo thanked them,

and said that he had as yet enough left to give him

sustenance.

But it came to pass that Giannetto, pondering

these matters day and night, could not shake off his

sorrow. Wherefore Messer Ansaldo demanded to know

what ailed him.

And Giannetto answered, “I shall never know

content till I have regained you what I have lost.”

Messer Ansaldo answered, “My son, I would

not that you should leave me again, for it will be better

for us to live modestly on what is left to us than for you

to put aught else to hazard.”

Giannetto said, “I am determined to do all I can,

forasmuch as I should hold myself to be

in most shameful case were I to bide here in this

fashion.”

Then Messer Ansaldo, seeing that his mind was

set thereon, made provision to sell all that he had left in

the world, and to equip for him another vessel. And,

after he had sold everything, so that he had naught left,

he loaded a fine vessel with merchandise. And because

he wanted yet ten thousand ducats to complete his

venture, he went to a certain Jew of Mestri, with whom

he made an agreement that, if he should not repay the

debt by Saint John's day in the June following, the Jew

should have the right to take a pound of his flesh, and to

cut the same from what place so ever he listed. Messer

Ansaldo having duly agreed, and the Jew having drawn

up a binding document with witnesses, using all the

precautions and formalities which the occasion


158

demanded, the ten thousand gold ducats were handed

over. And with the same Messer Ansaldo supplied all

that was wanting in the ship's cargo.

In sooth, if the other two vessels had been fine

and fair, this third was much richer and better furnished.

In like manner Giannetto's friends fitted out their

vessels, with the intention of giving to him whatever

they might gain by traffic.

When the day of departure had come and they

were about to sail, Messer Ansaldo said to Giannetto,

“My son, you are going away, and you see with what

bond I am bound. One favour I beg of you, which is,

that if perchance you should again miscarry, you will

return hither, so that I may see you again before I die.

Then I shall be content to depart.”

And Giannetto answered that he would do all

things which were agreeable to Messer Ansaldo's

wishes. Then Ansaldo gave him his blessing, and,

having taken leave, they set sail on their voyage.

The two friends who sailed with Giannetto kept

good watch over his ship, while he thought of nothing

else than how he might again drop into the harbor of

Belmonte. Indeed, he gained over to his interests one of

the steersmen so completely that he caused the vessel to

be brought one night into the port of the lady's city.

When in the morning the light grew clear, his

two friends in the other two ships conferred and

deliberated. And, since they saw nothing of Giannetto's

ship, they said one to the other, 'In sooth, this is an evil

turn for him.” And then they kept on their course,

wondering greatly the while.


159

When the vessel entered the port all the people

of the city ran to see her. And when they learned that it

was Giannetto come once again, they marveled amain,

saying, “Certes, he must be the son of some great prince,

seeing that he comes hither every year with such a fine

ship and such great store of merchandise. Would to

God that he were our ruler!”

Then all the chief men and the barons and

cavaliers of the land went to visit Giannetto, and word

was carried to the lady how he was once more in the

port. Whereupon she went to the window of the palace,

and, as soon as she espied the fine vessel and the banner

thereof, she made the sign of the holy cross and said,

“Of a surety this is a great day for me, for it is the same

gentleman who has already brought such wealth into the

land.” And she forthwith sent for Giannetto.

He repaired to her presence, and they embraced

one another and exchanged greetings and reverence.

And then the people set themselves to make merry all

that day, and, for the love they had for Giannetto, they

held a stately jousting, many barons and cavaliers

running a course.

Giannetto also was minded to show his skill, and

indeed he wrought such marvelous deeds, and showed

such great prowess both with his arms and his horse, and

won so completely the favor of the barons, that they all

desired to have him to rule over them. And when

evening had come, and it was time to retire, the lady

took Giannetto by the hand and said, “Let us go to bed.”

When they came to the chamber door one of the

lady's waiting-women, who had pity for Giannetto, put


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her lips close to his ear and said in a whisper, “Make a

show of drinking the wine, but taste it not.”

Giannetto caught the meaning of her words, and

entered the room with the lady, who said, “I am sure you

must be athirst. Wherefore I will that you take a draught

before you lie down to sleep.”

Straightway came two damsels, who were as fair

as angels, bearing wine and sweetmeats according to

their wont, and making ready the draught.

Then said Giannetto, “Who could refuse to drink

with cupbearers so lovely as these?”

The lady laughed. And Giannetto took the cup

and feigned to drink therefrom. But he poured

the wine down into his breast.

The lady however believed that he had indeed

drunk of the same, and said to herself, “Thou wilt sail

here again with another ship, for thou hast lost the one in

the port.”

Giannetto got into bed and found himself with

his wits clear and full of desire, and the time that sped

before the lady came to his side seemed a thousand

years. He said to himself, “Certes, I have caught her this

time, and she shall no longer have reason to think of me

as a glutton and a toper [drunkard].”

And, in order to let her come the quicker to bed,

he began to snore and to feign to be sleeping. When the

lady saw this she said, “All is well.” And she quickly

undressed herself and lay down beside Giannetto, who

lost no time. But, as soon as the lady was under the

sheets, he turned to her and embraced her, saying, “Now

I have that which I have so long desired.”


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And with these words he gave her the greeting

of holy matrimony, and all that night she lay in his arms;

wherefore she was well content.

The next morning she arose before dawn, and let

summon all the barons and cavaliers and many of the

citizens, and said to them, “Giannetto is your lord ; so let

us make merry.”

And at these words there went a shout through

all the land, “Long live our lord, Giannetto!”

The bells and the musical instruments gave

notice of the feast, and word was sent to diverse barons

and counts who dwelt far from the city bidding them

come and see their ruler.

There were merrymakings and feastings many

and sumptuous. And when Giannetto came forth from

the chamber, they made him a cavalier and set him upon

the throne, giving him a wand to hold

in his hand and proclaiming him lord with much state

and rejoicing.

When all the barons and ladies of the land were

come to court, Giannetto took to wife the lady with

rejoicings and delights so great that they can neither be

described nor imagined. For at this time all

the barons and nobles of the country came to the feast,

and there was no lack of merry jesting, and jousting, and

sword-play, and dancing, and singing, and music, and all

the other sports appertaining to jollity and rejoicing.

Messer Giannetto, like a high-spirited

gentleman, made presents of silken stuffs and of other

rich wares which he had brought with him. He was a


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strong ruler, and made himself respected by the

equal justice he maintained towards men of all classes.

Thus he lived his life in joy and gladness, and

gave no thought to Messer Ansaldo, who,

luckless wight as he was, remained a living pledge for

the ten thousand ducats which he had borrowed from the

Jew.

One day Messer Giannetto, standing with his

wife at the window of the palace, saw, passing through

the piazza, a band of men bearing lighted torches in their

hands, as if they were going to make some offering.

Giannetto inquired of her what this might mean.

Whereupon she replied that it was a company of

craftsmen going to pay their vows at the church of San

Giovanni on the festival of the saint.

Messer Giannetto then remembered Messer

Ansaldo. And, having gone away from the window, he

sighed deeply and became grave of countenance, and

walked up and down the hall thinking over what he had

just seen. The lady asked what ailed him, and he replied

that nothing was amiss.

But she began to question him, saying, “Certes,

you are troubled with something you are loath to tell

me.” And she spake so much on the matter that at last

Messer Giannetto told her how Messer Ansaldo was held

in pledge for ten thousand ducats, and that the time for

repayment expired this very day.

“Wherefore,” he said, “I am smitten with great

sorrow that my father should have to die for me. For

unless his debt shall be repaid today, he is bound to have

cut from his body a pound of flesh.”


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The lady said, “Messere, mount your horse

quickly, and travel thither by land, for you can travel

more speedily thus than by sea. Take what following

you wish, and a hundred thousand ducats to boot, and

halt not till you shall be come to Venice. Then, if your

father be still living, bring him back here with you.”

Whereupon Giannetto let the trumpets sound

forthwith, and, having mounted with twenty companions

and taken money enough, he set out for Venice.

When the time set forth in the bond had expired,

the Jew caused Messer Ansaldo to be seized, and then he

declared he meant to cut away from his debtor the pound

of flesh. But Messer Ansaldo begged him to let him live

a few days longer, so that, in case Giannetto should

return, he might at least see his son once more.

The Jew replied that he was willing to grant this

favor, as far as the respite was concerned, but that he

was determined to have his pound of flesh according to

his agreement, though a hundred Giannettos should

come; and Messer Ansaldo declared that he was content.

All the people of Venice were talking of this

matter, everyone being grieved thereat. And diverse

traders made a partnership together to pay the money,

but the Jew would not take it, being minded rather to do

this bloody deed, so that he might boast that he had slain

the chief of the Christian merchants.

Now it happened that, after Messer Giannetto set

forth eagerly for Venice, his wife followed immediately

behind him clad in legal garb and taking two servants

with her.


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When Messer Giannetto had come to Venice, he

went to the Jew's house. And, having joyfully embraced

Messer Ansaldo, he next turned to the Jew, and said he

was ready to pay the money that was due, and as much

more as he cared to demand.

But the Jew made answer that he wanted not the

money, since it had not been paid in due time, but that he

desired to cut his pound of flesh from Ansaldo. Over

this matter there arose great debate, and everyone

condemned the Jew. But, seeing that equitable law ruled

in Venice, and that the Jew's contract was fully set forth

and in customary legal form, no one could deny him his

rights. All they could do was to entreat his mercy.

On this account all the Venetian merchants came

there to entreat the Jew, but he grew harder than before.

And then Messer Giannetto offered to give him twenty

thousand, but he would not take them. Then he

advanced his offer to thirty, then to forty, then to fifty,

and finally to a hundred thousand ducats.

Then the Jew said, “See how this thing stands! If

you were to offer me more ducats than the whole city of

Venice is worth, I would not take them. I would rather

have what this bond says is my due.”

And while this dispute was going on, there

arrived in Venice the lady of Belmonte, clad as a doctor

of laws. She took lodging at an inn, the host of which

inquired of one of her servants who this gentleman

might be. The servant, who had been instructed by the

lady as to what reply he should make to a question of

this sort, replied that his master was a doctor of laws


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who was returning home after a course of study at

Bologna.

The host when he heard this did them great

reverence, and while the doctor of laws sat at table he

inquired of the host in what fashion the city of Venice

was governed. Whereupon the host replied, “Messere,

we make too much of justice here.”

When the doctor inquired how this could be, the

host went on to say, “I will tell you how, Messere. Once

there came hither from Florence a youth whose name

was Giannetto. He came to reside with his godfather,

who was called Messer Ansaldo. And so gracious and

courteous did he show himself to everyone, that all the

ladies of Venice, and the gentlemen as well, held him

very dear. Never before had there come to our city so

seemly a youth. Now this godfather of his fitted out for

him, on three different occasions, three ships, all of great

value. And every time disaster befell his venture. But

for the equipment of the last ship Messer Ansaldo had

not money enough, so he had perforce to borrow ten

thousand ducats of a certain Jew upon these terms, to

wit, that if by the day of San Giovanni in the following

June he should not have repaid the debt, the Jew

aforesaid should be free to cut away, from

whatever part of his body he would, a pound of flesh.

Now this much desired youth has returned from his last

voyage. And, in lieu of the ten thousand ducats, has

offered to give a hundred thousand. But this

villainous Jew will not accept them. So all our excellent

citizens are come hither to entreat him, but all their

prayers profit nothing.”


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The doctor said, “This is an easy question to

settle.”

Then cried the host, “If you will only take the

trouble to bring it to an end, without letting this good

man die, you will win the love and gratitude of the most

worthy young man that ever was born, and besides this

the goodwill of every citizen of our state.”

After hearing these words of the host, the doctor

let publish a notice through all the state of Venice,

setting forth how all those with any question of law to

settle should repair to him. The report having come to

the ears of Messer Giannetto that there was come from

Bologna a doctor of laws who was ready to settle the

rights and wrongs of every dispute, he went to the Jew

and suggested that they should go before the doctor

aforesaid.

And the Jew agreed, saying at the same time

that, come what might, he would demand the right to do

all that his bond allowed him.

When they came before the doctor of laws, and

gave him due salutation, he recognized Messer

Giannetto, who meantime knew not the doctor to be his

wife, because her face was stained with a certain

herb.

Messer Giannetto and the Jew spake their

several pleas, and set the question fully in order before

the doctor, who took up the bond and read it, and then

said to the Jew, “I desire that you now take these

hundred thousand ducats, and let go free this good man,

who will ever be bound to you by gratitude.”

The Jew replied, “I will do naught of this.”


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Whereupon the doctor persuaded him again

thereto, saying it would be the better course for him, but

the Jew would not consent.

Then they agreed to go to the proper court for

such affairs, and the doctor, speaking on behalf of

Messer Ansaldo, said, “Let the merchant be brought

here.” And they fetched him forthwith, and the doctor

said, “Now take your pound of flesh where you will, and

do your work.”

Then the Jew made Messer Ansaldo strip

himself, and took in his hand a razor which he had

brought for the purpose.

Whereupon Messer Giannetto turned to the

doctor and said, “Messere, this is not the thing I begged

you to do.”

But the doctor bade him take heart, for the Jew

had not yet cut off his pound of flesh. As the Jew

approached, the doctor said, “Take care what you do.

For, if you cut away more or less than a pound of flesh,

you shall lose your own head. And I tell you, moreover,

that if you let flow a single drop of blood, you shall die,

for the reason that your bond says naught as to the

shedding of blood. It simply gives you the right to take

a pound of flesh, and says neither less nor more. Now, if

you are a wise man, you will consider well which may

be the best way to compass this task.”

Then the doctor bade them summon the

executioner, and fetch likewise the axe and the block.

And he said to the Jew, “As soon as I see the first drop

of blood flow, I will have your head stricken off.”


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Hereupon the Jew began to be afeared, and

Messer Giannetto to take heart. And, after much fresh

argument, the Jew said, “Messer doctor, you have

greater wit in these affairs than I have. So now give me

those hundred thousand ducats, and I will be satisfied.”

But the doctor replied that he might take his

pound of flesh, as his bond said, for he should not be

allowed a single piece of money now. He should have

taken it when it was offered to him.

Then the Jew came to ninety, and then to eighty

thousand, but the doctor stood firmer than ever to his

word.

Messer Giannetto spake to the doctor, saying,

“Give him what he asks, so that he lets Messer Ansaldo

go free.”

But the doctor replied that the settlement of the

question had better be left to himself.

The Jew now cried out that he would take fifty

thousand.

But the doctor answered, “I would not give you

the meanest coin you ever had in your pouch.”

The Jew went on, “Give me at least the ten

thousand ducats that are my own, and cursed be heaven

and earth!”

Then said the doctor, “Do you not understand

that you will get nothing at all? If you are minded to

take what is yours, take it. If not, I will protest, and

cause your bond to be annulled.”

At these words all those who were assembled

rejoiced exceedingly, and began to put flouts and jests


169

upon the Jew, saying, “This fellow thought to play a

trick, and see he is tricked himself.”

Then the Jew, seeing that he could not have his

will, took his bonds and cut them in pieces in his rage.

Whereupon Messer Ansaldo was at once set free and led

with the greatest rejoicing to Messer Giannetto's house.

Next Giannetto took the hundred thousand

ducats and went to the doctor, whom he found in his

chamber making ready to depart, and said, “Messere,

you have done me the greatest service I have ever

known, and for this reason I would that you take with

you this money, which, certes, you have well earned.”

The doctor replied, “Messer Giannetto, I thank

you heartily. But as I have no need of the money, keep

it yourself, so that your wife may not charge you with

wasting your substance.”

Messer Giannetto answered, “By my faith, she is

so generous and kindly and good, that, even were I to

lavish four times the money I have here, she would not

complain. In sooth, she was fain that I should take with

me a much greater sum than this.”

The doctor inquired whether Giannetto were

contented with this wife of his.

And Giannetto replied, “There is no one God

ever made who is so dear to me as she is; she

is so prudent and so fair that nature could not possibly

excel her. Now, if you will do me the favor to come and

visit me, and see her, I think you will be amazed at the

honorable reception she will give you, and you can see

for yourself whether or not she is all that I now tell you.”


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The doctor of laws replied, “I cannot visit you as

you desire, seeing that I have other business in hand.

But, since you tell me that your wife is so virtuous a

lady, salute her on my behalf when you see her.”

Messer Giannetto declared that he would not fail

to do this, but he still urged the doctor to accept the

money as a gift.

While they were thus debating the doctor espied

upon Messer Giannetto's hand a ring, and said, “I would

fain have that ring of yours, but money of any sort I will

not take.”

Messer Giannetto answered, “It shall be as you

wish, but I give you this ring somewhat unwillingly, for

my wife gave me the same, saying that I must always

keep it out of love for her. Now, were she to see me

without the ring, she would deem that I had given it to

some other woman, and would be angry with me, and

believe I had fallen in love otherwhere, but in sooth I

love her better than I love myself.”

The doctor replied, “Certes, if she loves you as

much as you say, she will believe you when you tell her

that you gave it to me. But perchance you want to give

it to some old sweetheart of yours here in Venice.”

Messer Giannetto answered, “So great are the

love and the trust I have for her, that there is not a

lady in the world for whom I would exchange her, so

consummately fair is she in every sense.” And with

these words he drew from his finger the ring, which he

gave to the doctor. And they embraced each

other, saluting with due respect.


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The doctor asked Messer Giannetto if he would

grant him a favor, and being answered in the affirmative,

he went on to say, “I would that you tarry not here, but

go straightway home to your wife.”

Messer Giannetto declared that the time yet to

elapse before meeting her would be as long to him as a

thousand years, and in this wise they took leave of one

another.

The doctor embarked and went his way, while

Messer Giannetto let celebrate diverse banquets, and

gave horses and money to his companions, and the

merrymaking went on for several days. He kept open

house, and at last he bade farewell to the Venetians, and

took Messer Ansaldo with him, with many of his old

friends accompanying them on their voyage.

Well nigh all the gentlemen and the ladies shed

tears over his departure, so gracious had been his

carriage with everyone what time he had abode in

Venice, and thus he departed and returned to Belmonte.

It happened that his wife had come there some

days before, having given out that she had been away at

the baths, and had once more put on woman's garb. Now

she prepared great feastings, and hung all the streets with

silk, and bade diverse companies of men-at-arms array

themselves.

So when Messer Giannetto and Messer Ansaldo

arrived, all the barons and the courtiers met them, crying

out, “Long live our lord!”

When they had landed, the lady ran to embrace

Messer Ansaldo, but with Messer Giannetto she seemed

somewhat angered, albeit she held him dearer than her


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own self. And they made high festival with jousting,

and sword-play, and dancing, and singing, in which all

the barons and ladies present at the court took part.

When Messer Giannetto perceived that his wife

did not welcome him with that good humor which was

her wont, he went into the chamber, and, having called

her, asked her what was amiss, and offered to embrace

her.

But she said, “I want no caresses of yours, for I

am well assured that you have met some old sweetheart

of yours at Venice.”

Messer Giannetto began to protest. Whereupon

the lady cried, “Where is the ring I gave you?”

Messer Giannetto answered, “That which I

thought would happen has indeed come to pass, for I

said you must needs think evil of what I did. But I swear

to you, by the faith I have in God and in your-

self, that I gave the ring to that doctor of laws who

helped me win the suit against the Jew.”

The lady said, “And I swear to you, by the faith I

have in God and in you, that you gave it to a woman. I

am sure of this, and you are not ashamed to swear as you

have sworn.”

Messer Giannetto went on, “I pray that God may

strike me dead if I do not speak the truth. Moreover, I

spake as I told you to the doctor when he begged the ring

of me.”

The lady replied, “You had better abide

henceforth in Venice, and leave Messer Ansaldo here,

while you take your pleasure with your wantons. In

sooth, I hear they all wept when you left them.”


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Messer Giannetto burst into tears, and, greatly

troubled, cried out, “You swear to what is not and cannot

be true.”

Whereupon the lady, perceiving from his tears

that she had struck a knife into his heart, quickly

ran to him and embraced him, laughing heartily the

while. She showed him the ring, and told him

everything: what he had said to the doctor of laws, how

she herself was that same doctor, and in what wise he

had given her the ring.

Thereupon Messer Giannetto was mightily

astonished. And, when he saw that it was all true, he

made merry thereat. When he went forth from the

chamber, he told the story to all the barons and

to his friends about the court. And from this adventure

the love between this pair became greater than ever.

And afterwards Messer Giannetto let summon

that same waiting-woman who had counseled him not to

drink the wine, and gave her in marriage to Messer

Ansaldo. And they all lived together in joy and feasting

as long as their lives lasted.

MerchantVenice

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