Merchant Venice

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 21 53 79
Act I ............................................................. Act II ............................................................. Act III .............................................................
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 Nights 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, Shakespeares 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
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, Iagos 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 12
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 mans 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 mans 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 Shakespeares 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 13
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, todays 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
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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 Sidneys 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, todays reader should not be so quick to dismiss the genius that underlies Shakespeares 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 15
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. Shakespeares 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 poundof-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 Shakespeares play.
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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 Fiorentinos version because Shakespeare was thus able to integrate the two parts of his play more completely by intertwining thematic aspects of the plots. Shakespeares play thus has greater overall unity and integrity. 17
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. Shakespeares plays The Tempest and The Winters 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-offlesh story, also comes originally from the book by Giovanni Fiorentino. This story may also have been derived from an earlier folktale source, but Fiorentinos version inspired several authors who came later as well as Shakespeare. Shakespeares 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 Fiorentinos 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, Shakespeares 18
courtroom drama scene is longer and far more riveting. In this scene Portia presents one of Shakespeares 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).
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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 mans 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, Antonios friends (and both minor characters in this play), understands Antonios 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
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 Antonios mind to one of his ships sailing over a stormy ocean, to describe a possible cause for Antonios sadness: Your mind is tossing on the ocean. (8) Salerio then adds a simile, comparing Antonios 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. Salerios 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, Antonios other companion, agrees with Salerio and adds that if he were Antonio, he 22
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. 23
Moreover, Antonio also has other resources besides his ships. Antonio also responds to Solanios suggestion that perhaps it is love (specifically meaning unrequited or unreturned love) that is the root of Antonios 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
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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 mans 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 Antonios 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 7476). 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 Grazianos 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)
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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 worlds 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 26
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 27
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 28
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 29
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 30
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 lifethreatening 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 31
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 32
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 33
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.
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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 35
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 36
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).
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5. A lord from Scotland (at line 65) is too belligerent or quarrelsome. Shakespeares 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 38
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 Gods forgiveness to a sinner. Unfortunately for Portia, though, she has no control over which suitors shall accept the challenge of 39
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 Antonios 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 40
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 Antonios 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 41
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
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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 moneylenders 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 43
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 wellearned profits (thrift). But Antonios 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 devils 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, Antonios criticism of Shylock and the other money-lenders is a result of his Christian perspective.
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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, Shylocks 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 45
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 46
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 Antonios point of view, his intentions are purely evil. 47
Act I, Scene 3: Shylocks 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 Shylocks business practices. (104) He has called Shylock names, like cut-throat and dog. (107) And he has spit on Shylocks 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 48
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 moneylending 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.
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Act I, Scene 3: Shylocks 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 Antonios heart, and Antonio is well aware that Shylock is implying that Shylock intends to kill Antonio if the money is not repaid. Shylocks 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 50
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 Antonios 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 villains mind (175). Bassanio knows that he is evil, but Antonio reassures him that there is nothing to worry about.
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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 fathers 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
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 halfhuman, 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 ones 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.
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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 Shakespeares witty fools like Feste in Twelfth Night or King Lears 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 Lancelots 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 Shylocks 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. 55
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, 56
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, Gods grace or blessing is more important than wealth or material goods. Although Shylock is wealthy, although he has enough of everything, he is without Gods grace. Lancelot knows from hard experience that Shylocks 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, shes a good wench for this gear (149-50). The words for this gear mean in this case in Lancelots 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 57
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 Grazianos 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 58
to be serious, and he believes that Graziano will act properly once they arrive in Belmont.
Act II, Scene 3: A Fathers 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 Shylocks 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 fathers child! But though I am daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners. (15-18) 59
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 fathers 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 Shakespeares views about Shylock. Shylocks 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 Jessicas veins. Yet she is good. Rather, Shylocks 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.
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Act II, Scene 4: Misfortune In another brief scene, Lancelot delivers Jessicas 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. Shylocks daughter plans to wear her own costume: she will be dressed in a pages 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 61
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.
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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, Lancelots 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 moneylender also knows that Bassanio and his friends do disapprove and criticize him as well. He fully expects their disapproval. Lancelot also jokes about Shylocks 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 63
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 masquelike 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 Hagars 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 Abrahams first wife. Hagars son was Ishmael, who became leader to a tribe of people know as Ishmaelites. Shylock uses the expression Hagars 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. 64
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.
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Act II, Scene 6: Timely Metaphors The scene set in front of Shylocks house continues. Lorenzos 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 66
allusion to Venus and the doves that pull her chariot across the sky. He comments that her dovepropelled 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 67
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. Jessicas 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. 68
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 69
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. Portias image is like the angel engraved on the gold coin that was referred to as an angel. (55-57)
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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 Princes golden casket, then, is a gold coffin in miniature; and so it is fitting that the Prince should find the skull inside. 71
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 Bassanios 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 72
audience is pleased that such an unsavory character has gotten what he deserves. Third, one of Antonios 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 Antonios 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. 73
The third times 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. 74
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 75
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. Shakespeares 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 playwrights agreement with the speech, Aragon is not the man to win Portia. He 76
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 shadows bliss. (65-66)
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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 oer; 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 Portias hand will soon be made. The third time will be the charm.
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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 Antonios 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 daughters flight (22), that is, his daughters 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:
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 ones 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:
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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 81
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. Shylocks 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 Antonios 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 fathers 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 83
act from occurring, then Dame Fortune herself should be damned to hell. Despite Portias 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 prisoners 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 bridegrooms 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. 84
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 Portias 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 fancys knell. Ill 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 ones heart or ones head? The chorus (at line 67) responds that neither one is correct. Love actually 85
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 loves 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 audiences 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. 87
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. Portias 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. 89
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, Portias 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 Antonios misfortunes. In a letter from Antonio, Bassanio reads that all of his business ventures have failed: all of Antonios merchant ships have suffered mishap and disaster. To make matters worse, now that Antonios 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, Shylocks daughter, adds that her fathers 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 Antonios 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 calledst 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, Antonios 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 92
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 Shylocks 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 93
Antonio. Thus, Portia is declaring that saving Antonio from Shylocks 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 fathers 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 94
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 95
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 96
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 Shylocks sins. Jessica is clever herself, and sees a fallacy with Lancelots 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 Jessicas parents are like two mythological sea monsters, Scylla and 97
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 98
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 Lancelots 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 99
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. Lorenzos 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. Lorenzos comment thus foreshadows the act that follows.
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ACT IV
Act IV, Scene 1: Shylocks 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 Antonios 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
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 friends safety, cannot accept Shylocks answer. But Antonio tells him that Shylocks very nature cannot be changed anymore than the nature of a wolf that attacks a lamb (lines 72-73). The wolfs nature is to attack and kill the lamb, and Shylocks 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 103
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 dont 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. 104
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 makst thy knife keen. (122-23) Graziano is clearly suggesting that Shylocks 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). Grazianos 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 Shylocks 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 husbands 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 Shylocks 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 Shakespeares finest and most highly regarded poems:
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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 107
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 kings 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 Lords Prayer: 108
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 Portias eloquent and poetic words, Shylock remains unmoved. He is incapable of showing mercy.
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Act IV, Scene 1: The Biblical Allusion to Daniel Shylock responds to Portias 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 110
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 Shylocks 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 26876). 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 Antonios 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 Bassanios wife is nearby to hear him make the offer. The lines function to 112
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 Antonios salvation. Nerissa, who is also disguised as a male, also makes an aside about her new husbands 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.
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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 Antonios 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 114
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 Shylocks 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 Antonios 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. 115
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 Shylocks 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 116
the only mercy that Antonio should show him is to present him with a halter, a hangmans 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 Shylocks 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, Antonios condition is both moral and merciful. Shylock, defeated and depressed, agrees to Antonios 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, 117
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 Antonios gloves and Bassanios ring. Bassanio is shocked by this request, for he has made a solemn vow to his wife that he would 118
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.
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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 Grazianos 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.
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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, dnouement, 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 Portias 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:
(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:
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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.
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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 124
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 husbands 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. 125
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 lawyers 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. 126
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): Ill 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 theres 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 Grazianos 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. 127
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 lawyers 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.
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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!
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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, Antonios 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, Antonios 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.
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, Bassanios 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 lovers 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. Lorenzos struggle to win Jessica, Shylocks 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.
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Fifth, a minor conflict involves Lancelots 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 Antonios conflict with himself is at heart of play. Antonios 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 Antonios 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). 133
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.
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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 winningthe-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.
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5. Christopher Marlowes The Jew of Malta (1589) may also have influenced Shakespeare. Marlowes 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 Elizabeths 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 Lopezs name (lupe = wolf).
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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: 5373) 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 Shakespeares most dramatic psychological characters.
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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.
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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. Shylocks speech on slavery Judaism & prejudice jealousy happiness vs. sadness womens 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 ones life, is necessary to achieving happiness in a world that is otherwise filled with vice and corruption.
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In a number of plays Shakespeare presents a Two Worlds Theme. In A Midsummer Nights 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.
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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 Shakespeares London, but they had to keep secret their race and religion. 2. Barabas, in Christopher Marlowes 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. 141
5. The Merchant of Venice is a play about contrasted attitudes towards wealth and the lifestyles 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.
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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, Readers 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.
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Harold Bloom, The Invention of the Human The Merchant of Venice is a profoundly antiSemitic work. Shylock is a comic villain and Portia would cease to be sympathetic if Shylock were allowed to be a figure of overwhelming pathos. Shakespeares comedy is Portias play, and not Shylocks. There is an extraordinary energy in Shylocks prose and poetry, a force both cognitive and passional [sic], which palpably is in excess of the plays comic requirements. Shylock simply does not fit is role; he is the wrong Jew in the right play. NOTE: Although Bloom calls the play Portias, he devotes most of his chapter to Shylock.
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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
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
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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
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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
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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
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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,
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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 yourself, 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.
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Merchant Venice

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UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

The Merchant of Venice

UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE: The Merchant of Venice

First Printing: July 2012

Act I ............................................................. Act II ............................................................. Act III .............................................................

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

Which he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe If I forgive him. (36-47)

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

asks Bassanio to stop from trying to dissuade the moneylender.

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice