Act 1 Scene 1

Setting: Venice. A street.

Characters: Antonio, Solanio, Salerio, Bassanio, Lorenzo, Gratiano
Summary:
-Antonio is sad, but does not know why
-Salerio/Solanio tries to cheer him up by suggesting reasons
-worried about ship wreck, in love etc
-Antonio denies all reasons
-Bassanio, Lorenzo, Gratiano enters
-Antonio and Bassanio are best friends, so other characters leave them alone
-Bassanio asks Antonio for money to impress Portia
Author’s intentions:
・introduce characters/ their relationships
Antonio:
“In sooth, I know not why I am so sad” (Antonio I,i,1)
-his whole speech in lines 1~7 are talking about how he is sad but does not know why.
“A stage where every man must play a part, And mine a said one.” (Antonio I,i, 78)
-every man plays a role on stage (world), Antonio has a sad part
=Antonio is a pessimist

“Your mind is tossing on the ocean” (Salerio I,i,8)

-nautical imagery to describe uncertain state of Antonio’s mind. It also shows how Antonio
is always thinking about his business: Venice=city of trade

“There, where your argosies with portly sail” (Salerio I,i,9)

-argosies=merchant ships, Antonio is a merchant

“Like signors and rich burghers on the flood

Or, as it were, the pageants of the sea,
Do over peer the petty traffickers” (Salerio I,i,10)
-signors and rich burghers- gentlemen and rich citizen
-pageants (decoration) of the sea
-petty traffickers- small commercial ships
-similes/nautical imagery
=Antonio is a wealthy merchant with big ships

“My ventures are not in one bottom trusted” (Antonio I,i,42)

-Antonio separates his products into different ships to save risk
=wise/prudent man
“Two-headed Janus” (Salerio I,i,50)
-Classical allusion: God of gates/doorways
-two heads facing opposite directions
-Antonio is either sad or merry, and he is sad because he is not merry

Salerio/Solanio
“Believe me, sir” (I,i,15)
-social hierarchy, Antonio>Salerio/Solanio

“Would make me sad. My wind, cooling my broth” (SolanioSalerio I,i,22)

-Shared verse lines: 4 syllables, 6 syllables: total 10 syllables between two characters
-usually used between lovers (or just to maintain iambic pentameter)
-in this case shows friendship between Salerio and Solanio

“I would have stay’d till I had made you merry, If worthier friends had not prevented me.”
(Salerio I,i,60)
“I take it, your own business calls on you” (Antonio I,i,62)
-Antonio knows Salerio has his own business to take care of, and is using Bassanio as an
excuse to leave

Bassanio
“Here comes Bassanio, your most noble kinsman” (Salerio I,i,57)
-Bassanio is Antonio’s best friend

-Bassanio started talking to Antonio in prose after all the others left- indicates that they are
in the same social class
-goes back to verse when talking about Portia- indicates seriousness of the conversation

“Wherein my time, something too prodigal Hath left me gag’d” (I,i,129)

-classical allusion: Gospel of Luke: younger son uses up his fortune he inherited, goes back
home and repents: Bassanio referring himself to the prodigal son, saying that his youth has
been too lavish
-talking about shooting an arrow and losing it, trying to find it by shooting another one at the
same direction: asking Antonio indirectly for another “arrow” (i.e Money)
Portia
“By something showing a more swelling port” (I,i,124) nautical imagery
-Bassanio is in love with Portia, wanted to impress her by showing that his port is full of
ships (i.e showing his wealth)

“Her name is Portia; nothing undervalu’d To Cato’s daughter, Brutus’s Portia” (I,i,166)
Classical allusion: she is beautiful
“Nor the wide world ignorant of her worth, For the four winds blow in from every coast”
-nautical imagery, everyone in the world knows she is beautiful and men from every
direction come to get her
“golden fleece”- Portia is blonde, classical allusion: In Greek mythology, Jason led an
expedition to Colchis in search of the golden ram’s fleece

Gratiano
“speaks an infinite deal of nothing”- hyperbole
“his reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff”- simile
-Bassanio criticizing Gratiano but in a friendly way

・introduce the theme of wealth and money/ risks of ocean and trade
“I should be still Plucking the grass to know where sits the wind” (Solanio I,i,17)
“Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads” (18)
Solanio trying to make Antonio feel better by saying that if he is in the same situation he
would be plucking grass to see the direction of the wind, peering into maps for ports etc
“And every object that might make me fear Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt Would
make me sad” (20)

“see the sandy hour-glass…see my wealthy Andrew dock’d in sand Vailing her high-top
lower than her ribs To kiss her burial” (I,i,25)
-think of ship wreck when see sand clock
-Ship personified as a woman, showing his love/affection towards it
-beautiful, valuable, weak, vulnerable to the ocean’s damage

“Enrobe the roaring waters with my silks”

-waves being personified
-his silks will be scattered all over the ocean
-wave seen as something more important/powerful than it actually is

Act 1 Scene 3
Setting: Venice. A public place
Characters: Bassanio, Antonio, Shylock
Summary:
-Bassanio goes ask Shylock to lend him money
-He makes clear that he hates Antonio
-Shylock/Antonio discusses morality of usury
-Shylock reminds Antonio of his past insults
-the merry bond ‘an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken In what part of
your body pleaseth me’
Author’s intentions:
・introduce Shylock/ relationship between him and Antonio
Shylock
“Yet [Antonio’s] means are in supposition: he hath an argosy bound to Tripolis, another to
the Indies…” (I,iii,16)
-Shylock does not trust Antonio’s money in sea
-money is key to him: must be tangible in hand
-cautious, materialistic, greedy character

“I hate him for he is a Christian; But more for that in low simplicity He lends out money
gratis” (I,iii,38)
-Shylock hates Antonio because he is Christian, but also because he lends out money
without interest: “brings down the rate of usance here with us in Venice”
“He hates our sacred nation” (I,iii,44)
-Antonio also hates Shylock and other Jews

“If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.” (I,iii,42)
-Shylock willing to harm (revenge) Antonio if he has the chance

-when Shylock was speaking to Bassanio alone, he was speaking in prose: Bassanio is
Shylock’s customer so he is being friendly
-when Antonio enters, Shylock starts speaking in verse:
-since Shylock hates Antonio, he does not want to speak to him in a friendly manner
-prose indicates lack of education, doesn’t want Antonio to mock him about it

“you call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog, And spit upon my Jewish gabardine…well then, it
now appears you need my help” (I,iii,107)
-Antonio uses animal imagery to describe Shylock: cut throat dog, devil, cur etc- hatred
toward him (also portrays the theme of religious confict)
-Shylock feels powerful now because Antonio needs his help
“Hath a dog money?”
-condescending, sarcastic tone
“And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur”
Plosives, fricatives- harsh sounds, creates tension, Shylock sounds evil

・introduce the theme of appearance versus reality/religious conflict/money and wealth

Money and wealth

-Antonio criticizes Shylock because he lends out money with interest
-Shylock responds/justifies himself with a Biblical allusion:
-Jacob gained his wages of getting striped sheep from uncle Laban by showing the sheep
stripped twigs (by peeling of the bark) while they mated.

Appearance versus Reality

“Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose”
“An evil soul, producing holy witness”
“villain with a smiling cheek”
“goodly apple rotten at the heart”
Imagery: Similes/metaphors to describe Shylock
-difference between appearance and reality

“Your single bond; and, in a merry sport”- as a joke

“be nominated for an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken In what part of
your body pleaseth me”
-the Merry bond: Shylock sounds like he is joking, but…? Late in the play, audience finds
out that Shylock was actually serious: appearance vs reality
Religious conflict
“Yes, to smell pork; to eat of the habitation which your prophet the Nazarite conjured the
devil into. I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you…but I will not eat with you, drink
with you, nor pray with you” ( I,iii,32)
-biblical allusion: Jesus (“the Nazarite”) cured a madman by ordering the devils that
possessed his mind to leave the man and enter into a herd of pigs
-pork seen as unholy, dirty in Judaism
-repetition of pronoun “you”- Shylock wants to make a distinction between Christians and
himself
-creates tension
“The Hebrew will turn Christian: he grows kind” (I,iii,174)
-sarcasm, portrays religious conflict
Act 2 Scene 1
Setting: Belmont. A room in Portia’s house
Characters: Portia, Prince of Morocco
Summary:
-Portia meets the Prince of Morocco
-he talks about his skin color, how the ring plot in unfair etc
-decides to do the casket plot although Portia warns him of the penalty of not being
allowed to woo women for the rest of his life
Author’s intentions:
・Portray the theme of appearance vs reality

Appearance vs Reality
“Mislike me not for my complexion” (II,i,1)
-The first thing he mentions is not to dislike him because of his skin color, he is
expecting to be disliked
“the Shadow’d livery of the burnish’d sun…Where Phoebus’s fire scarce thaws the
icicles”
-he has dark skin because of the sun, Classical allusion: reference to Phoebus, the
God of sun
-he is saying this because the European fashion at the time was to be white
“To prove whose blood is the reddest”
-Elizabethans believed that red blood was sign of good spirits and courage
-Morocco is arrogant/ over conscious about appearance

“pluck the young sucking cubs from the she-bear”

“mock the lion when he roars for prey”
-trying to show his braveness, complaining how the casket plot in unfair
-claims that he is strong and brave, but someone weaker has the same chance
-“If Hercules and Lichas play at dice, which is the between man, the greater throw may
turn by fortune from the weaker hand” (II,i,32)
-Classical allusion: Hercules=super man of classical mythology, Lichas his servant

・creates humor
“Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair As any comer I have look’d on yet for my
affection”
Pun- having a good chance/ having fair skin
-you’re as good as anyone else: she didn’t like anyone
-dramatic irony

-the audience have already laughed at Morocco for his appearance/arrogance etc-
Portia’s words adds on the humor

・fills in the detail of the casket plot

“swear before you choose, if you choose wrong, never to speak to lady afterward in
way of marriage: therefore be advis’d” (II,i,40)
-Portia warns him about the penalty, hoping that he would give up on him
Act 2 Scene 5
Setting: Venice. The street outside Shylock’s house
Characters: Shylock, Launcelot, Jessica
Summary:
-Shylock instructs Jessica to lock up the house
-Launcelot tells Jessica the plan for her elopement
-Shylock goes off to have dinner with Bassanio
Author’s intentions:
・portray the negative relationship between characters

Shylock and Jessica

-audience sees father/daughter interaction for the first time
-while talking to Launcelot, Shylock repeats shouting “What, Jessica!” “Why Jessica!”
three times: shows how harshly he is treating her, already sees the negative
relationship between them

Shylock and Launcelot

“Who bids thee call? I do not bid thee call” (II,v,7)
-Shylock criticizes him for doing something he was not told to (calling for Jessica)
“Your worship was wont to tell me that I could do nothing without bidding”
-Launcelot points out that Shylock have been criticizing him for not being able to do
anything unless told
-the contradictory statements shows the audience that Shylock criticized whatever
Launcelot does- portraying the negative relationship between them

-Shylock uses animal imagery to criticize Launcelot:

“huge feeder”- eats too much (* but in Act 2 Scene 2, Launcelot claimed that Shylock
does not feed him: again contradictory statements )
“snail slow in profit” –slow at work
“sleeps by day more than the wild cat”- too lazy, sleeps too much
“drones not hive not with me”- doesn’t want non-working bees

・portray Shylock’s materialistic character

“there are my keys” “my house” “my girl”
-repetition of the pronoun “my”
-even referring to Jessica as part of his possessions
-greedy, materialistic character, adds on to negative relationship with Jessica
“stop my house’s ears” (II,v,34)
-using “my” again, also personifying his house
-house (wealth) is a part of him, does not want any Christian impact on him at all
“fast find, fast bind”- proverb he who takes care of what he has will prosper

・portray the theme of religious conflict

“yet I’ll go in hate, to feed upon the prodigal Christian” (II,v,15)
-negative tone, biblical allusion: reference to prodigal son, criticizing lavishness of
Bassanio and other Christians

“What, are there masques?”- there will be a costume party outside Shylock’s house:
there will be Christians in the street with music (indicated high social class)
“vile squealing of the wry-neck’d fife” “shallow foppery”–refers to music with diction
containing plosives/fricatives- bitter tone, indicates Shylock’s hatred towards music
“Christian fools with varnished faces” “My sober house” making clear contrast between
the Christians who are having fun and his quiet “sober” house

“There will come a Christian by, will be worth a Jewess’ eye”- proverb indicating great
value, reference to different religions
・cause anxiety
Foreshadowing:
“For I did dream of money-bags tonight”
“Farewell; and if my fortune be not cross’d, I have a father, you a daughter, lost”
-dramatic irony- everyone but Shylock knows about Jessica’s elopement
-Jessica lies when Shylock asked what Launcelot said to her before he left
-anxiety caused about whether Shylock knows about this, and also whether Jessica’s
elopement would succeed or not
Act 2 Scene 7
Setting: Belmont. A room in Portia’s house
Characters: Portia, Morocco
Summary:
-Price of Morocco has come to examine the caskets
-reads out inscription on each one
-chooses the gold casket, fails
Author’s intentions:

・ portray the theme of appearance vs reality/ emphasize Morocco’s

arrogant/narcissistic character at the same time

The three caskets:

Gold- “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire”
Silver “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves”
Lead “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath”

“The one of them contains my picture, prince, if you choose that, then I am yours
withal”
-further detail about the casket plot

Morocco “dull” lead, “with warning all as blunt”

-already judging from appearance
“Must give? For what? For lead? Hazard for lead? This casket threatens. Men that
hazard all do it in hope of fair advantages”
-the lead casket is not worth risking
“a golden mind stoops not to shows of dross (impure metal)”
-referring to his brain as being golden- a narcissist
-eliminates the lead casket from his choices
-use of commas: adding on to his words, shows his arrogance

“What says the silver with her virgin hue?”

-judging the casket from its colors- silver (while) is the color of purity
“if thou rated by thy estimation”
-what he deserves is based on what he rates himself as
“thou dost deserve enough; and yet enough may not extend so far as to the lady”
-not confident whether he deserves Portia
“being afeard of my deserving were but a weak disabling of myself”
-to be unsure of what he deserves is a sign of weakness, bringing discredit to himself
“I do in birth deserve her, and in the fortunes….in love I do deserve”
-convinces himself that he deserves Portia from birth, wealth, love

Gold casket:
“all the world desires her; from the four corners of the earth…to kiss the shrine, this
mortal breathing saint”- emphasizing Portia’s beauty, preciousness and how people
across the world wants to get her
“is’t like that lead contains her?...to rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave”
-lead will be too crude to enfold the winding sheet when she is buried
“Or shall I think in silver she’s immur’d, being ten times undervalu’d to tried gold?”
-unlikely to think that Portia is in the silver casket when silver is ten times less valuable
than gold
“never so rich a gem was set in worse than gold”
-referring to Portia as “jem”, jewels as precious as Portia are never set in worse metal
than gold
“coin that bears the figure of an angel”
-comparison/reference to queen- Shakespeare being aware that his audience is
English

The scroll in the casket

“all that glisters in not gold” -not all glitters are gold
-appearance isn’t everything
“your suit is cold” -your hopes are gone

“let all of his complexion (appearance/personality) choose me so” –Portia’s final

reference to his appearance

・create dramatic irony –audience knows that the gold casket is incorrect
Act 3 Scene 1
Setting: Venice. A street
Character: Solanio, Salerio, Shylock, Tubal
Summary
-Solanio heard bad news about one of Antonio’s ships
-Salerio/Solanio mocks Shylock when he comes on stage
-Tubal gives Shylock the information about Jessica’s elopement and Antonio’s
misfortune
Author’s intentions:

・portray the theme of religious conflict/appearance vs reality

Religious Conlifct
-Solanio and Salerio starts mocking Shylock the moment he enters the stage
“here he comes in the likeness of a Jew” (III,i,19)
Animal imagery: “devil” to describe Shylock, contrast with “good Antonio, honest
Antonio”
“here comes another of the tribe: a third cannot matched, unless the devil himself turn
Jew.” (III,73,)
-again, use of animal imagery “devil” to describe Jews
-there is not another Jew to equal there two

-makes fun of Shylock being sad about Jessica’s elopement

“I, for my part, knew the tailor that made the wings she flew withal” “knoew the bird was
fledged”
-sarcasm, animal imagery to refer to Jessica as a bird: she used to be a caged bird
when she was with Shylock (Jessica herself mentioned “his house is hell” in Act 2
Scene 4), now that he is with Christian Lorenzo, she grew wings and became free

“there is more difference between thy flesh and hers than between jet and ivory; more
between your bloods than there is between red wine and Rhenish.”
-similes to describe difference between Shylock and Jessica
-Jet (black) and Ivory (white)- Elizabethan fashion of white
-red wine (cheap) and Rhenish wine (expensive)

-Shylock/Solanio/Salerio speaking in prose- does not want to be polite to each other

Shylock’s description of Antonio when he heard about the shipwreck

“a bankrupt, a prodigal…a beggar”
-plosives to create harsh tone: shows hatred towards Antonio
-Biblical allusion of prodigal son: lavishness

Shylock’s speech showing his desperate plea to treat him equally with the Christians:
Use of rhetorical questions
“Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections,
passions?” “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you
poison us, do we not die?”
-aware and wants to know why Shylock is treated harshly

“He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked
at my gains, scorned my nation…and what’s his reason? I am a Jew.”
-use of commas to list events: shows how much Antonio has been treating Shylock
harshly just because he is a Jew.

“If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge! If a Christian wrong a Jew,
what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge!”
-use of exclamation marks shows that he is convinced about his questions, justifying
himself for seeking revenge against Antonio

・solidify Shylock’s character/ relationship with Tubal

Shylock’s character
“my daughter is my flesh and my blood” (III,i,34)
“hast thou found my daughter?” (III,i,75)
-use of pronoun “my”, considering Jessica as part of his possessions: materialistic
character seen in previous scenes e.g.II,v

Shylock listing everything he lost:

“a diamond gone, cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfurt”
“two thousand ducats in that, and other precious, precious jewels”
“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!”
-Shylock is sad more about losing his money and jewels than his daughter; he wishes
Jessica to be dead with a jewel in her ear or money in her coffin
-again shows materialistic, greedy characters: audience feels less sympathetic?
Relationship with Tubal
-while Tubal appears to be a nice friend to Shylock and giving him the information he
has, he also seems to be enjoying Shylock’s emotional fluctuations. (*Appearance
versus reality?) Keeps giving information alternating between good news and bad news
“other men have ill luck too. Antonio, as I head in Genoa-”: Shylock is happy to hear
this
“your daughter spent in Genoa, as I heard, one night, fourscore (80) ducats” : Shylock
gets angry/depressed by this news
“Antonio’s creditors in my company to Venice…swear he cannot choose but break”:
Shylock is happy because he has a reason to torture him
“one of them showed me a ring that he had of your daughter for a monkey”: Shylock is
sad because his daughter bought a monkey for Shylock’s dead wife Leah

・creates suspense
Repetition of “let him look to his bond!”- Shylock was serious about the “merry bond”
(appearance versus reality)
“I’ll plague him; I’ll torture him: I am glad of it”
“were he out of Venice, I can make what merchandise I will”
-since they are outside Venice, Shylock can torture Antonio as he likes
- what will happen to Antonio?
Act 3 Scene 2
Setting: Belmont. A room in Portia’s house
Characters: Bassanio, Portia, Gratiano, Nerissa
Summary:
-Portia has fallen in love with Bassanio
-wants him to stay few days before choosing the casket
-Bassanio refuses to wait, picks the lead casket
-Gratiano and Nerissa also declares their marriage
-Salerio brought a letter from Antonio saying that he is in Shylock’s power
Author’s intentions:

・portray the change in Portia’s character/ relationship with Bassanio

“I pray you, tarry, pause a day or two Before you hazard…”
-Portia wants Bassanio to stay longer so he doesn’t have to go right away after picking
the wrong casket. He can also get to know Portia better, and Portia can teach him how
to pick the right casket.
-shows change in her character because of falling in love: used to be assertive
(showing clear dislike towards men who came to get her e.g. referring to County
Palatine as a weeping philosopher, German Duke as a sponge in Act 1 Scene 2), now
being coy and reticent, indirectly telling him that she loves him

“To stay you from election. Let me choose;” (III,ii,24)

Shared verse line with Bassanio- they are in love

“For as I am, I live upon the rack” (III,ii,25)

-metaphor: Bassanio is being tortured having to wait to choose, he wants to chose
immediately because he loves Portia so much

“Ay, but I fear you speak upon the rack, where men enforced do speak anything” (32)
-Portia is playing with Bassanio’s words to stretch out time- men will say anything if he
is tortured, so his words about love might be fake
-showing Portia’s love towards Bassanio and wishing him to stay longer, and to
truthfully love her

“my eye shall be the stream and watery death-bed for him”(46)
Metaphor- if Bassanio fails to choose the right casket, Portia will weep so much that
Bassanio will drown in her tears: again showing love
“Now he goes, with no less presence, but with much more love, than young Alcides,
when he did redeem the virgin tribute paid by howling Troy to the sea monster…go
Hercules!” (III,ii,53)
Classical allusion: Alcides/Herculies- a hero in classical mythology. He saved a Trojan
princess sacrificed to a sea monster because he was promised a horse from her father
-Portia referring to Bassanio as strong, brave, handsome Hercules but with more love

(when Bassanio picked the lead casket)

“how all the other passions fleet to air, as doubtful thoughts, and rash-embrace’d
despair…O love be moderate, allay thy ecstasy…”
Portia is so happy she can marry beloved Bassanio, all her other emotions are flying
away

(Bassanio looking at Portia’s painting in the lead casket)

Hyperbole “what demigod hath come so near creation”
Repetition of the word “sweet”- “here are sever’d lips, parted with sugar breath; so
sweet a bar should sunder such sweet friends” shows her beauty: her breath is a sweet
barrier that parts the sweet friends (her lips)
“a golden mesh’t entrap the hearts of men” metaphor describing Portia’s hair as spider
that traps men’s heart
-hyperbole asking how could the painter paint both her eyes when he could be blinded
with the beauty of the first one
“the substance pf my praise doth wrong this shadow in underprizing it, so far this
shadow doth limp behind the substance”- still the painting is nothing compared to the
actual Portia

After Bassanio kisses Portia:

“I would be trebled twenty times myself, a thousand times more fair, ten thousand times
more rich…” hyperbole
Change in character from the confident, sarcastic character to being coy

Rhyming couplets in conversation between Bassanio and Portia after reading the
scroll, shows their beautiful relationship

Portia thinks she can solve the Merry bond problem with her money- shows her
recklessness when using money
・portray the theme of appearance vs reality
Bassanio’s choice making:
“the world is still deceiv’d with ornament”- people worry too much about appearances
“in law, what plea so tainted and corrupt but, being season’d with a gracious voice,
obscures the show of evil?” –laws sound nice but are evil inside: the most rotten case
can be presented so well that the presentation conceals the evil
“in religion, what damned error, but some sober brow will bless it an approve it with a
text, hiding the grossness with fair ornament?” –in religion, a great sin can be
committed by a innocent looking man who is able to quote the Bible and excuse what
he is doing
“the beards of Hercules and frowning Mars, who, inward search’d, have livers while as
milk”- Classical allusion: Hercules/Mars (god of war)- brave people should have red
blood, but they could have while ones instead
“so are those crisped snaky golden locks which make such wanton gambols with the
wind” –golden curls on woman’s head bay be a wig from another dead woman
Classical allusion: “Snaky”- Medusa: anyone who looked at her was turned to stone
“thou gaudy gold, hard food for Midas, I will none of thee”
-eliminates the gold casket from his choice
Classical allusion: Midas was granted a wish that everything he touched turned into
gold, this unabled him to eat
-not silver either: metal that coins are made out of
“thou meager lead, which rather threaten’st than dost promise aught, thy paleness
moves me more than eloquence”
-the unattractive lead that looks too threatening to promise him any good attracts him
-HE CHOOSES THE LEAD CASKET:]

Scroll in the lead casket

“you that chose not by the view”- not choosing from appearance
“chance as fair, and choose as true”- has better luck, make the right choice
“be content and seek no new”- don’t look for any other women

“When I told you my stats was nothing, I should then have told you that I was worse
than nothing” –Bassanio appeared to be rich but his wealth is nothing, less than
nothing
-provide degree of certainty about failure of Antonio’s venture (creates suspense)
・creates tension/suspense
-Bassanio receives a letter from Antonio
“Here are a few of the unpleasant’st words that ever blotted paper” hyperbole: shows
significance of the letter to Bassanio in a bad way
“the paper as the body of my friend, and every word in it a gaping wound, issuing life-
blood”
-Simile comparing letter and Bassanio/Antonio’s body
-Bassanio feels pain/guilt towards Antonio
-could also be personification of the letter, indicating significance of it

Use of commas: Bassanio’s desperateness

“merchant-marring rocks”
-alliteration with mallow sound, slows down speech and emphasizes the melancholic
mood that Bassanio is experiencing.
-cacophony of the word “rock” creating unpleasantness
-connection to Act 1 Scene 1, church stones as foreshadowing

Shylock is a “mere enemy”

“a creature, that did bear the shape of man”- hatred towards him
-being stubborn and not accepting money but wanting Antonio’s flesh

・create humor
end rhyme in Portia’s song:
“tell me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart or in the head”
-dramatic irony: Audience knows that the lead casket is the right one- shows Portia’s
desparateness to hint Bassanio about it, creates humor

・introduces the ring plot

Ring symbolizes love
-taking it off means end of relationship
-group marriage
Act 4 Scene 1
Setting: Venice. A court of Justice
Characters: Duke, Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano, Shylock, Portia, Nerissa
Summary:
-Duke asks Shylock to show Antonio mercy, he refuses and insists having his pound of
flesh
-young lawyer (Portia in disguise), Nerissa as lawyer’s clerk
-Portia makes a speech in praise of mercy, but Shylock in unmoved
-Portia find a way to rescue Antonio
-Bassanio appreciates her, and Portia asks for his ring in return
Author’s intensions:
・Portray the theme of Appearance vs Reality/ Religious conflict/ Nature of justice and
mercy

Religious conflict
Duke’s vile characterization of Shylock “a stony adversary, an inhuman wretch”(4) “call
the Jew” (14)- the Duke is being very biased when he shouldn’t be

Nature of justice and mercy

“the world thinks…that thou but lead’st this fashion of thy malice” (18)- the Duke thinks
that Shylock is faking his cruelty
“Thou’lt show thy mercy…forgive a moiety of the principal”(20) –insisting Shylock to
give him mercy by letting go of the bond and also forgive some portion of what Antonio
owes him
“we all expect a gentle answer, Jew” (34)- Duke is going against Venetian justice, trying
to convince Shylock to give Antonio mercy.
Shylock challenges this: “To have the due and forfeit of my bond: if you deny it, let the
danger light upon your charter and your city’s freedom” (38)

“what judgment should I dread, doing no wrong?...If you deny me, fie upon your law!
There is no force in the decrees of Venice” (89) Shylock using the law to justify himself;
strongest weapon in Venice, no one can go against him now
-if you have slaves and Shylock asks you to free them , you would not do so as they
are yours. That is what exactly what Shylock is doing about Antonio’s flesh- they are
his.
・solidifies Antonio’s and Shylock’s character
Antonio
“…to suffer with a quietness of spirit the very tyranny and rage of his” (12)
-Antonio gave up knowing that the Duke has done everything to convince Shylock, and
is ready to die- being a pessimist

“the Jew shall have my flesh, blood, bones, and all. Ere thou shalt lose for me one drop
of blood”(113) Bassanio is trying to cheer Antonio up by saying that he will give his
flesh to Shylock instead of Antonio- feeling guilty/ friendship

“I am a tainted wether of the flock meetest for death” (114)- I am the weakest sheep in
the herd who deserves to die
“the weakest kind of fruit drops earliest to the ground”
Metaphor Antonio is referring to himself as weak sheep/fruit
“and write mine epitaph” write my gravestone epitaph for me
Antonio being pessimistic, self-sacrificing

Shylock
“I can give no reason, nor I will not, more than a lodg’d hate and certain loathing I bear
Antonio, that I follow thus losing suit against him” (59)- Shylock does not accept getting
money instead of flesh because he feels like it, the only reason is that he hates Antonio
“wouldst thou have a serpent sting thee twice?”- Shylock referring to Antonio as a
snake, he thinks Jessica escaped on Antonio’s ships: shows hatred

“If every ducat in six thousand ducats were in six parts, and every part a ducat, I would
not draw them. I would have my bond” (85)- shows Shylock’s stubbornness and how
he is willing to kill Antonio rather than receiving wealth

・create suspense/tension
-when Bassanio and Shylock are arguing, Antonio stops him:
“you may as well go stand upon the beach, and bid the main flood bate his usual
height” (71) –may as well ask the ocean not to move its tide
“you may as well use question with the wolf, why he hath made the ewe bleat for the
lamb” (74)
-may as well ask the wolf why he made the mother sheep cry by eating her lamb
“you may as well forbid the mountain pines to wag their high tops, and to make no
noise ” (75)- you may as well ask the trees to make no noise
-sarcastic tone, referring to the pointlessness of asking Shylock to give Antonio mercy
-also shows Antonio being a pessimist
Act 4 Scene 1 (after Portia enters court)

Author’s intentions:

・to create tension/ suspense

“not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew…no metal can…bear half the keenness of
thy sharp envy” (123)
-pun by Gratiano when Shylock was sharpening a knife on the sole of his shoe: no
metal can be as sharp as his cruelty

“govern’d wolf, who, hang’d for human slaughter…infus’d itself in thee”

Imagery: Pythagoras (Greek philosopher believed that the souls of men and of animals
passed into other bodies),
-animal that kill men are often killed before it gets the taste
-spirit of wolf went into Shylock’s body: thus his blood thirstiness

In general, multiple layers of suspense created by: what is going to happen to

Antonio?/ Portia and Nerissa’s costume

“wolvish, bloody, starv’d, and ravenous” (138)

Animal imagery & Cacophony/fricative/plosives etc: harsh sounds portray the anger
that Gratiano is experiencing

“it must not be. There is no power in Venice can alter a decree established…”
-Portia denies Bassanio’s plea when he asked the Duke to bend the law: although
Portia should have come to help Antonio, she is saying something opposite. This
creates suspense as audience is unsure of what Portia is intending to do

・Portray themes appearance vs reality/ justice/ mercy/ religious conflict

Justice
“I stand here for law” (142)- although Shylock is a hated character because of his
stubbornness about the merry bond, he portrays the theme of justice and reminds the
audience that Venice is the city of law and justice- Shylock is not doing anything wrong

Appearance vs Reality

Letter from Bellario from Padua “let his lack of years be no impediment to let him lack a
reverend estimation”(160)
-do not think poorly of him because he is young
-because of the letter itself, people in the court trusts Portia

Portia’s disguise as a doctor of law (lawyer):

-Venice is a city of men
-Portia is trusted because of her disguise as man

“A Daniel come to judgement! Yea, a Daniel! O wise young judge, how I do honor thee!”
-Classical allusion: God sent Daniel, a young youth, to give judgment against the elders

”it doth appear you are a worth judge” (234)

“how much more elder art thou than thy looks!”
Religious conflict

“which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?” (172)

“Antonio and old Shylock, both stand forth” (173)
-both Portia and the Duke refer to Shylock in discriminatory words

Nature of Mercy and Justice

“it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven” (183)

-imagery with religious reference: emphasizes the preciousness/sacredness of mercy

“it is twice blesse’d; it beseeth him that gives and him that takes”
-take: receives mercy, give: makes him a good person

“throned monarch better than his own crown” (187)

-willing to forgive someone is more important than looking important (also appearance
vs reality)

“his sceptre shows the force of temporal power…but mercy is above this sceptered
sway…it is an attribute to God himself”
-mercy being described better than force, it is godlike to be able to have that power:
mercy>justice although in Venice (in the past Antonio mentioned Venetian law/trade,
reputation for foreigners)

“and earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice”- kingly
power seems most like God’s power when the king mixes mercy with justice
“I crave the law, the penalty and forfeit of my bond”- Shylock denying mercy

“I beseech you, wrest once the law to your authority: to do a great right, do a little
wrong”
-Bassanio to the Duke: use your authority to bend the law, do a great right by doing a
little wrong