The comedy builds when Launcelot's father, Old Gobbo, comes onstage. Old Gobbo is "more than sandblind" and does not recognize his son. He sees before him only the dim image of a man who he hopes can direct him to Shylock's house. Launcelot is delighted to encounter his father, whom he has not seen for a long time, and so he conceals his true identity and playfully confuses the old man with much clowning and double-talk, before revealing who he really is and kneeling to receive his father's blessing.
Bassanio now enters, along with Leonardo and other followers, and he is enthusiastically talking of preparations for a dinner tonight, complete with a masque, to which he has invited his friends to celebrate his departure for Belmont, where he will begin his courtship of Portia. Launcelot is quick to note Bassanio's good mood, and he immediately speaks to him about Bassanio's hiring him as a servant. Bassanio agrees and orders a new set of livery for his new servant.
Gratiano enters, looking for Bassanio, and tells him, "I must go with you to Belmont." Bassanio is hesitant, but he finally consents, urging Gratiano to modify his "wild behaviour," which Gratiano agrees to do. But he will do that tomorrow. Tonight, he says, shall be a night of merriment, a gala inaugurating his setting out for Belmont.
Act II—Scene 3
In this scene, set in Shylock's house, we are introduced to Jessica, Shylock's daughter. She is speaking with Launcelot, and she expresses her sorrow that he decided to leave his position as her father's servant. "Our house is hell," she says, "and thou a merry devil / Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness." She then gives him a letter to deliver secretly to her lover Lorenzo "who is thy new master's [Bassanio's] guest." After Launcelot leaves, we discover that Jessica is planning to elope with Lorenzo; in addition, she is planning to renounce her father's faith and become a Christian.
Act II—Scene 4
Gratiano, Lorenzo, Salarino, and Salanio discuss their plans for Bassanio's dinner party and masque that night. All of the preparations have not been made; for example, one of the things which they have neglected to do, and which must be done, is to hire young boys to act as torchbearers for the evening so that the gala party will be brightly lighted. This is to be a special evening, and all details must be considered.
While they are talking, Launcelot enters, on his way to invite Shylock to the party, and he delivers Jessica's letter to Lorenzo. Lorenzo reads it and sends Jessica a reply: "Tell gentle Jessica / I will not fail her; speak it privately." Lorenzo then tells his friends that he has found a torchbearer, and he confides to Gratiano that Jessica is going to disguise herself as a page tonight and elope with him; furthermore, she will escape with enough gold and jewels for a proper dowry. Lorenzo feels sure that Jessica, in a page's attire, can successfully disguise herself as a torchbearer for Bassanio's party and not be recognized.
Act II—Scene 5
Preparing to leave for Bassanio's dinner party, to which he has accepted an invitation after all, Shylock, encounters Launcelot, who has come to deliver Lorenzo's reply to Jessica. Shylock chides his former servant and says that in Launcelot's new capacity as Bassanio's attendant, Launcelot will no longer be able to "gormandize" and "sleep and snore" as he was (theoretically) able to do with Shylock. All the while that Shylock is expostulating to Launcelot; his speeches are broken with repeated calls for Jessica. When she finally appears, he gives her the keys to the house and tells her that he is going to attend Bassanio's dinner party. Grumbling, he confesses that he accepted the invitation "in hate, to feed upon / the prodigal Christian." He elaborates further and says that he is "right loath to go"; he has a foreboding that "some ill [is] a-brewing."
Launcelot urges his former master to go; he too has a premonition. He has a "feeling" (because his "nose fell a-bleeding on Black Monday last at six o'clock in the morning . . .") that Bassanio is preparing an elaborate masque as part of the evening's entertainment. Shylock is horrified at the suggestion that he may have to endure the bawdy, showy heresies of a Christian masque. He insists that if Jessica hears any sounds of the masque, she is to "stop up [his] house's ears," and she herself is to keep inside and not "gaze on Christian fools with varnished faces [painted masks]"; he vows that no "sound of shallow foppery" will enter his "sober house." Despite grave misgivings, Shylock finally decides to set out for Bassanio's dinner party—but not before repeating one final command for Jessica to stay inside: "Fast bind, fast find— / A proverb never stale in thrifty mind." Shylock exits then, not realizing that Launcelot was able to whisper a quick word of advice to Jessica before he left: She is to be on watch for "a Christian" who will be "worth a Jewess' eye"—Lorenzo.
Alone on the stage, Jessica anticipates her impending elopement and utters a prophetic couplet that closes the scene:
Farewell; and if my fortune be not crossed,
I have a father, you a daughter, lost.
(55-56)
Act II—Scene 6
Gratiano and Salarino, masked and costumed for Bassanio's party, wait for Lorenzo under the overhanging roof (the "penthouse") of Shylock's house. Gratiano is puzzled that Lorenzo is late for his rendezvous with Jessica; he knows that lovers usually "run before the dock." Lorenzo's delay is certainly uncharacteristic of most young lovers.
Suddenly, Lorenzo rushes onstage, apologizes for his lateness, and calls to Jessica. She appears above, dressed as a boy, and tosses down a casket of money and jewels to Lorenzo. Shyly, she says that she is ashamed to be eloping with her beloved while she is so unbecomingly dressed as a boy. "Cupid himself," she tells Lorenzo, "would blush." Lorenzo tells her that she must play her part well; not only must she successfully be convincing as a boy, but she must also be his torchbearer at Bassanio's party—a fact that unnerves her. The idea of "hold[ing] a candle to [her] shames" is frightening. She is certain that what Lorenzo is asking of her will lead to discovery, and she feels that she "should be obscured." Lorenzo is finally able to reassure her, however, and Jessica turns back to do two last things before they elope. She wants to "make fast the doors" (as her father instructed her to do), and she wants to get "some more ducats."
Gratiano praises her, and Lorenzo reaffirms that he will love her in his "constant soul," for she is "wise, fair, and true." Jessica then enters below, and the lovers and Salarino exit.
Antonio enters and, finding Gratiano, tells him that there will be "no masque tonight." The wind has changed, and Bassanio and his men must sail for Belmont. Gratiano admits that he is relieved that there will be no feasting and no masque. He is anxious to be "under sail and gone tonight."
Act II—Scene 7
At Belmont, in a room in Portia's house, the Prince of Morocco surveys the three caskets—one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead. He must choose one, and if he chooses the correct one, his reward will be the "fair Portia." As he reads the words engraved on the top of each casket, he ponders each of the cryptic inscriptions. On the leaden casket, he reads, "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath"; on the silver casket, he reads, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves"; and on the golden casket, he reads, "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire." Portia informs him that the correct casket contains her picture.
Morocco reviews the inscriptions again and rejects the lead casket as being not worth the high stakes for which he gambles. He ponders a long time over the silver casket. The words "get as much as he deserves" intrigue him. He is quite sure that he deserves Portia; he deserves her "in birth," "in fortune," "in grace," "in qualities of breeding," and most of all, "in love." Yet, ultimately, he rejects the silver casket because he refuses to believe that Portia's father would "immure" a portrait of his treasured daughter in a metal "ten times undervalued [as] tried gold." The prince reasons that a portrait of Portia—a "mortal, breathing saint," a woman whom "all the world desires"—could be only within the golden casket. He chooses, therefore, the golden casket, hoping to find "an angel in a golden bed."
When he unlocks the casket and looks inside, he discovers only a skull ("carrion Death") and a scroll rolled up and inserted within the skull's "empty eye." He takes it out and reads the message: "All that glisters is not gold; . . . Gilded tombs do worms infold." Defeated and grieving, he makes a hasty exit with his entourage. "A gentle riddance," comments Portia.
Act II—Scene 8
Salarino and Salanio discuss developments in Venice. When Shylock discovered that Jessica was gone, he demanded that the Duke of Venice have Bassanio's ship searched; this proved to be impossible because Bassanio had already sailed. Antonio, however, assured the duke that Lorenzo and Jessica were not on board Bassanio's ship. Salanio then describes how Shylock raved in the streets, crying, "My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! / Fled with a Christian," while "all the boys in Venice" followed him, mocking him, his daughter, and his ducats.
Salanio worries about what will happen to Antonio: He knows Shylock's temper. Jessica's elopement and Antonio's swearing that Bassanio had no part in her escape "bade no good" for Antonio. He knows that Antonio must "keep his day" (repay his debt when it comes due) or else "he shall pay for this." Salanio is likewise worried about Antonio's future. Only yesterday, a Frenchman told him about an Italian ship that had sunk in the English Channel. He immediately thought of Antonio, hoping that the ship was not one of his. The news about the shipwreck must be broken gently to Antonio because Antonio is a sensitive man. Realizing that Antonio may need cheering up, Salanio and Salarino decide to pay him a visit.
Act II—Scene 9
At Belmont, the Prince of Arragon has arrived to try his luck at choosing the correct casket, and before he decides on one, he promises Portia that he will abide by her father's rules. First, if he fails to choose the casket containing her portrait, he will never reveal which casket he chose; second, he promises never to court another woman; and last, he will leave Belmont immediately.
Reviewing the inscriptions, he rejects the lead casket immediately because he thinks that it is not beautiful enough to give and risk all his possessions for. He also rejects the gold casket because "what many men desire" may place him on the same level with "the barbarous multitudes." He thus chooses the silver casket, which bears the inscription, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves." Arragon reviews his worth and decides that he "will assume desert"—that is, he feels that he rightfully deserves Portia. When he opens the silver casket, he finds within "the portrait of a blinking idiot"—a picture of a fool's head. He protests the contents; he chose according to what he felt that he deserved: "Did I deserve no more than a fool's head?" Portia reminds him that no man is permitted to judge his own cause. The scroll in the silver casket reads, "There be fools alive, I wis [know], / Silver'd o'er; and so was this." Arragon departs then with his followers, promising to keep his oath.
Portia is dearly relieved and sums up the reason for the prince's failure: "O, these deliberate fools! When they do choose, / They have their wisdom by their wit to lose." In other words, even fools choose deliberately and believe that they are wise to deliberate; in fact, it is their excessive deliberation which ultimately defeats them.
A servant announces the arrival of a Venetian ambassador from another suitor and adds that he brings gifts; in fact, in the messenger's estimation, the man who accompanies this latest suitor is "so likely an ambassador of love" that "a day in April never came so sweet." Portia is neither impressed nor optimistic, yet she urges Nerissa to bring the man to her so that she can see for herself this "quick Cupid's post [messenger] that comes so mannerly." Nerissa sighs; "Lord Love," she prays, "if thy will it be," let this suitor be Bassanio!
Act III Scene 1
In Venice, Salanio and Salarino are discussing the latest news on the Rialto, the bridge in Venice where many business offices are located. There is a rumor that a ship of Antonio's has been wrecked off the southeast coast of England. Salanio despairs twice—once because of Antonio's bad luck, and second because he sees Shylock approaching. Shylock lashes out at both men, accusing them of being accessories to Jessica's elopement. They expected as much and mock the moneylender, scoffing at his metaphor when he complains that his "flesh and blood" has rebelled. Jessica, they say, is no more like Shylock than ivory is to jet, or Rhenish wine is to red wine. Shylock then reminds the two that their friend Antonio had best "look to his bond . . . look to his bond." The implication is clear; Shylock has heard of the shipwreck.
Surely, says Salarino, if Antonio forfeits the bond, "thou wilt not take his flesh." Shylock assures them that he will, for he is determined to be revenged on Antonio for many grievances, all committed against Shylock for one reason: because Shylock is a Jew. A Jew is a human being the same as a Christian, Shylock continues; like a Christian, a Jew has "eyes . . . hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions . . . [is] hurt . . . subject to the same diseases, [and] healed by the same means." Like a Christian, a Jew bleeds if pricked, and since a Christian always revenges any wrong received from a Jew, Shylock will follow this example. A servant enters then and informs Salanio and Salarino that Antonio wishes to see them at his house.
As they depart, Shylock's friend Tubal enters. Tubal has traced Jessica to Genoa, where he has heard news of her but could not find her. Shylock again moans about his losses, especially about his diamonds and ducats; he wishes Jessica were dead. Tubal interrupts and tells Shylock that he picked up additional news in Genoa: Another of Antonio's ships has been "cast away, coming from Tripolis." Shylock is elated. But as Tubal returns to the subject of Jessica's excessive expenditures in Genoa, Shylock groans again. Thus Tubal reminds Shylock of Antonio's tragic misfortunes, and the moneylender exults once more. One thing is certain, Tubal assures Shylock: "Antonio is certainly undone." Shylock agrees and instructs Tubal to pay a police sergeant in advance to arrest Antonio if he forfeits the bond.
Act III Scene 2
At Belmont, Portia would like Bassanio to delay before he chooses one of the caskets. Already she has fallen in love with him, and she fears the outcome. She asks him to "tarry," to "pause a day or two," to "forbear awhile"; anything, she tells him, to keep him from possibly choosing the wrong casket. Bassanio, however, begs to choose one of them. His anxiety is too great. If he waits, it is as though he "lives on the rack." Thus Portia acquiesces and tells her servants that this choice is no ordinary choice; therefore, she would like music to be played "while he doth make his choice."
The song which is sung, beginning "Tell me where is fancy bred," has ominous lyrics. Bassanio surveys the caskets, reads their inscriptions, and is reminded by the background music that "fancy" is sometimes bred in the heart and is sometimes bred in the head. The words seem to warn him not to judge by external appearance. Consequently, Bassanio rejects the golden casket; it is a symbol for all "outward shows"; likewise, he rejects the silver casket, calling it a "common drudge / 'Tween man and man." Instead, he chooses the casket made of "meagre lead," which is the least attractive of the caskets—if they are judged by appearance alone.
When Bassanio's choice is made, Portia prays in an aside for help in containing her emotions. She watches rapturously as Bassanio opens the lead casket and finds in it a picture of Portia, which, though beautifully painted, fails to do her justice, in Bassanio's opinion. Alongside Portia's portrait, there is a scroll which tells him, "Turn you where your lady is / And claim her with a loving kiss." Still giddy from his success, Bassanio does so, and Portia, who only a moment before was mistress of herself and of all her possessions, now commits herself and all she owns to her new lord. She also presents him with a ring, a symbol of their union, which he is never to "part from, lose, or give away." Bassanio promises to wear the ring as long as he lives.
Nerissa and Gratiano congratulate the lovers and announce that they also have made a match and ask permission to be married at the wedding ceremony of Portia and Bassanio. Portia agrees to the double wedding, and Gratiano boastfully wagers that he and Nerissa produce a boy before they do.
While the lovers are enjoying their happiness, Lorenzo, Jessica, and Salerio arrive. Salerio says that he has come with a letter from Antonio to Bassanio, and that he met Lorenzo and Jessica, whom he persuaded to come with him. As Portia welcomes her fiancé's old friends, Bassanio opens Antonio's letter. He reads it, and Portia notices that he has turned pale; the letter contains bad news. She begs him to share the cause of his anguish, and he tells her that he has just read "the unpleasant'st words / That ever blotted paper." He confesses that he is deeply in debt to "a dear friend" who in turn is in debt to a dangerous enemy. Turning to Salerio, Bassanio asks, "But is it true? . . . Hath all his ventures fail'd?" Has not a single one of Antonio's ships returned safely? Not one, Salerio replies, and besides, even if Antonio now had the money to repay Shylock it would do no good, for Shylock is already boasting of how he will demand "justice" and the payment of the penalty for the forfeited bond. Jessica testifies to her father's determination to "have Antonio's flesh" rather than accept "twenty times the value of the sum" that Antonio owes.
When Portia understands that it is Bassanio's "dear friend that is thus in trouble," she offers to pay any amount to prevent his suffering "through Bassanio's fault." But first, she and Bassanio will be married and then immediately afterwards he must go to Antonio's aid, "for never shall you lie by Portia's side / With an unquiet soul." In Bassanio's absence, she and Nerissa "will live as maids and widows." Bassanio then reads to Portia the full contents of Antonio's letter. Antonio says that he wishes only to see Bassanio before he dies; his plans "have all miscarried," he says; his "creditors grow cruel"; his "estate is very low"; and his "bond to the Jew is forfeit." Yet, Antonio says, all debts between him and Bassanio are "cleared," and he says that he wishes only "that I might but see you at my death." Portia comprehends the gravity of the situation. Bassanio must leave at once. "O love, dispatch all business, and be gone!" she tells him, as her newly bethrothed lover makes ready to leave for Venice.
Act III Scene 3
In Venice, Antonio has been allowed to leave the jail, accompanied by his jailer. He hopes to speak with Shylock and plead for mercy, but Shylock refuses to listen. Five times while Antonio begs Shylock to let him speak, the moneylender repeats emphatically, "I'll have my bond!" Antonio has publicly called Shylock a "dog"; now Antonio will feel the fangs of that dog. Shylock refuses to be a "soft and dull-eyed fool" and "rent, sigh, and yield." He is absolutely certain that the Duke of Venice will see that justice is carried out according to the terms of the bargain.
Salarino tries to comfort Antonio but is unsuccessful. Antonio knows that one of the chief reasons why Shylock hates him so much is that Antonio often saved people who were in debt to Shylock by paying their debts for them. Thus he prevented Shylock from foreclosing and claiming their collateral. He also knows that the Duke of Venice must judge according to the letter of the law. Venice is an international trade center; money lending is a major business and cannot be treated lightly. Antonio must pay his debt according to his contract. He knows that Shylock seeks his life, and the law cannot save him. He is prepared to die if only Bassanio will "come / To see me pay his debt, and then I care not."
Act III Scene 4
At Belmont, following the departure of Bassanio, Lorenzo commends Portia for her perfect understanding of the friendship between her husband and Antonio. Portia says that she feels that if Antonio is worthy of Bassanio's friendship, he is well worth rescuing from "hellish cruelty" at any cost. Leaving the management of her affairs to Lorenzo, she announces that she and Nerissa will go to "a monastery two miles off" until their husbands return. She asks Lorenzo not to deny them this "imposition" and thanks him for agreeing to manage her household until she and Bassanio return. Lorenzo agrees not to interfere, and he and Jessica wish her "all heart's content" and withdraw.
Portia then sends her servant Balthasar "in speed" with a letter to her cousin, the lawyer Doctor Bellario, in Padua, with instructions to bring her "what notes and garments he doth give thee." She tells Nerissa that they will "see [their] husbands / Before they think of [them]." She then explains her plan for both of them to disguise themselves as young men and follow Bassanio and Gratiano to Venice. Moreover, Portia is so sure that her plan will work that she is willing to bet that she will act the part more convincingly—with "manly stride" and "bragging"—than Nerissa. Her plan must succeed; if Bassanio has weighty troubles, then she shares them. Their "souls do bear the equal yoke of love."
Act III Scene 5
In a garden at Belmont, the jester Launcelot is teasing Jessica that he fears that she is damned because she is a Jew ("the sins of the father are to be laid on the children"), but she reminds Launcelot that her husband Lorenzo has made her a Christian by marrying her. "The more to blame he," Launcelot jokes: "This making of Christians will raise the price of hogs."
Lorenzo joins them then and pretends jealousy on finding his wife alone with Launcelot. He orders Launcelot to go inside and "bid them prepare for dinner." He suddenly turns to Jessica then and asks her, "How dost thou like the Lord Bassanio's wife?" Jessica praises Portia as being without equal on earth. Lorenzo jokingly responds, "Even such a husband / Hast thou of me as she is for a wife." Jessica is ready to comment to his teasing when he urges her to save her comments "for table-talk." So with loving jests, they go in to dinner.
Act IV—Scene 1
The trial of Antonio in a Venetian court of justice begins. The Duke of Venice warns Antonio, the defendant, that the plaintiff (Shylock) is "a stony adversary . . . uncapable of pity . . . [and] void . . . of mercy." Antonio declares that he is ready to suffer quietly. He knows that "no lawful means" can save him now. Shylock is called then, and when he enters, the duke says that everyone—"the world thinks, and I think so too"—thinks that he should relent at the last moment and spare Antonio, taking "pity on his losses." But Shylock is adamant; he prefers the penalty of a pound of flesh to repayment of three thousand ducats. Why? "Say," says Shylock, "it is my humor." In other words, Shylock wants the pound of flesh for no rational reason. He wants it only because of "a lodged hate and a certain loathing" for Antonio.
Bassanio then tries to reason with Shylock—but without success. Antonio tells Bassanio that he is wasting his time. He himself asks for no further pleas; he begs that judgment be quickly given. Bassanio cannot believe that his friend is serious. He offers six thousand ducats, but Shylock refuses. The duke then asks Shylock a question: "How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?" In reply, Shylock cites the mistreatment of many Venetian slaves by the Venetians themselves, justified by the fact that they bought the slaves and can treat them as they please; likewise, the pound of flesh which he has "dearly bought" belongs to him, and he can do with it as he pleases. He therefore demands an immediate judgment confirming this right.
The duke declares that he is waiting for a certain "Bellario, a learned doctor," to arrive from Padua before he makes a final decision concerning this case. This matter is too weighty for one man to render a single opinion on; therefore, Shylock's demand for judgment will have to wait, and he will have to cease his demand—or else the duke "may dismiss this court."
Bassanio meanwhile tries to cheer up Antonio, vowing that he himself shall give Shylock his own life in place of Antonio's "ere [Antonio] shalt loose for me one drop of blood." Antonio, however, is without hope. He tells Bassanio to "live still, and write mine [Antonio's] epitaph."
At that moment, Nerissa enters the courtroom, dressed like a lawyer's clerk, and delivers a letter from Bellario to the duke. While the duke reads the letter, Shylock whets his knife on the sole of his shoe to the horror of Antonio's friends. The clerk of the court then reads aloud the letter from Bellario. The doctor is ill, but he has sent in his place "a young doctor of Rome," named Balthasar, whose wisdom in the law belies his youth. Bellario says that he never knew "so young a body with so old a head," and he asks the duke for his "gracious acceptance" of Balthasar in Bellario's stead.
The duke welcomes young Balthasar, who is, of course, Portia "dressed like a Doctor of Laws." Portia acknowledges that she is familiar with this case and its "strange nature," and she is equally acquainted with the integrity of Venetian law. She asks Antonio if his bond is a valid one, and he admits that it is. She then tells him that Shylock must be merciful. At this, Shylock is shocked: Why should he be merciful? Because, Portia answers, "mercy is . . . [like] the gentle rain from heaven"; mercy is "twice blest; / It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." She continues and says that mercy is an attribute of God. It is freely bestowed to temper justice, and those who grant mercy ennoble themselves, especially those people who have the power to dispense punishment and yet award mercy instead. She points out to Shylock that all people "pray for mercy" and "that same prayer" should teach us all to "render the deeds of mercy."
Her speech is lost on Shylock. He "crave[s] the law" and "the penalty and forfeit of [his] bond." He does not care that Bassanio has offered him "thrice the sum" of the bond or even "ten times o'er"; Shylock demands the penalty. Portia pronounces that Venetian law is indeed binding, and whenever decrees are established, alterations set a precedent and "many an error" has been the result. Thus, Antonio's bond is legal, and Shylock can collect the pound of flesh.
Shylock hails the wisdom of this young judge, calling him "noble," "excellent," "wise and upright." He then produces the scales on which he will weigh the flesh, but he balks at Portia's suggestion that he himself personally pay a physician to attend Antonio to see that he does not bleed to death. A judgment is a judgment, and nothing in Antonio's bond mentioned Shylock's hiring a physician. Antonio then turns to Bassanio, bids him farewell, and asks to be commended to Bassanio's "honorable wife," for whose cause the loan was arranged in the first place. He tells Bassanio to tell Portia that he, Antonio, loves Bassanio; Bassanio loses only a friend who loves him dearly. This is all, and "if the Jew do cut but deep enough," death will come quickly. Both Bassanio and Gratiano assure Antonio that they would sacrifice everything they have—even their wives—to save him. Both Portia and Nerissa—the Doctor of Law and her clerk of law—comment on this; they doubt that the wives of these loyal friends would "give little thanks" for that offer.
Impatient to proceed, Shylock makes ready to begin, but before he can carry out the sentence, Portia stops him. "There is something else," she says. Shylock is legally entitled to take a pound of Antonio's flesh—but no more. That is, Shylock may not take even a single "jot of blood." She then gives Shylock leave to begin his surgery, warning him that if "one drop of Christian blood" is shed, Shylock's "lands and goods" will be confiscated by "the state of Venice."
Shylock realizes that he has been foiled. Thus he says that he is now willing to take Bassanio's offer of three times the amount of the bond. Portia decides otherwise. Shylock shall have "nothing but the penalty"—"just a pound of flesh"—no more, no less. And if he takes even "in the estimation of a hair" more than a pound of flesh, he will die and all his goods will be confiscated. Gratiano jeers at the moneylender; now the tables are turned. Realizing that he is beaten at his own game, Shylock asks for only the amount of the bond—and Bassanio offers it—but Portia points out that all the court was witness to Shylock's refusing the money. Therefore, he can have "nothing but the forfeiture," which he can still take, but at his own peril. In addition, Portia reminds Shylock that one of the laws of Venice forbids an alien from directly or indirectly attempting "to seek the life of any citizen" of Venice. She tells Shylock that she has seen sufficient proof that Shylock seeks Antonio's life both directly and indirectly. Thus, she commands him to "beg mercy of the Duke." At this point, the duke speaks and pardons Shylock, sparing his life and adding that the penalty of the state's taking half of Shylock's goods will be reduced if Shylock evidences some "humbleness." Shylock is adamant at such a proposal: "Nay, take my life and all," he declares.
Following the duke's merciful example, Antonio says that he will take only half of Shylock's goods which are due to him (Shylock can have the other half) in trust in order to give them to Lorenzo (Shylock's son-in-law) upon Shylock's death, on two conditions: first, Shylock must become a Christian, and second, he must deed everything to Jessica and Lorenzo. Quietly, Shylock agrees to the settlement: "I am content," he says, and asks permission to leave the court.
The duke invites Portia to dinner, but she declines; she also declines Bassanio's offer of three thousand ducats as her legal fee. Both Antonio and Bassanio press Portia to take something; they are both exceedingly grateful for all she has done, and Portia finally agrees to take two tokens as a "remembrance." She asks for Bassanio's gloves, and she also asks for his ring. Bassanio pales; she can ask for anything, he says, but ask not for his ring. It was a present from his wife, who made him promise never to part with it. Portia pretends indignation: She wants "nothing else" but the ring; "methinks I have a mind to it." She tells Bassanio that he is only "liberal in offers." He is, in effect, asking her to beg for the ring—an insult. Turning, she leaves. Antonio pleads with his friend; surely the lawyer deserves the ring. At last, Bassanio yields and sends Gratiano after the lawyer to give him the ring. He then turns to Antonio and tells him that early the next morning they will "fly toward Belmont."
Act IV—Scene 2
Still in Venice after the trial, Portia stops on a street and instructs Nerissa to find Shylock's house and have him sign the deed bequeathing everything he owns to Lorenzo and Jessica; then they will be home by tomorrow.
Gratiano catches up with them and presents Portia with the ring from Bassanio, who, he says, also sends an invitation to dinner. Portia accepts the ring but declines the dinner invitation. She asks Gratiano, however, to show Nerissa ("my youth") the way to "old Shylock's house." Nerissa, in an aside, whispers to Portia that on the way she will try to get the ring which she gave to her husband on their wedding day, a ring which she made him "swear to keep for ever." Portia is delighted at her friend's plan. She is certain that Nerissa will succeed, and then both of them will have a merry time hearing their husbands try to explain how and why they gave their wedding rings away to other men.
Act V—Scene 1
It is a moonlight night at Belmont, and Lorenzo and Jessica are on the avenue leading to Portia's house. In the still evening air, the newlyweds are jokingly comparing this night to nights when other lovers—Troilus, Thisbe, Dido, and Medea—all committed romantic acts of love and daring. Lorenzo reminds Jessica that this night is very much like the night when he "stole" Jessica away, and she reminds him that on just such a night as this, Lorenzo swore his vows of love to her. She boasts that she could surpass him in producing other examples of other lovers, but she hears someone approaching. It is Stephano, who brings them news that Portia, accompanied by Nerissa, will arrive "before break of day." Launcelot then comes in, dancing and "hooloaing" and "sollaing" that his master Bassanio will arrive before morning, and he exits.
Lorenzo asks Stephano to have the musicians come outdoors and play. Silently, Portia and Nerissa enter and pause to listen. Portia remarks that music heard at night "sounds much sweeter than by day." Lorenzo hears Portia's voice and recognizes it immediately. He welcomes her home, and Portia gives orders that no one is to mention her absence. Then, as dawn is about to break, a trumpet announces the arrival of Bassanio, Antonio, Gratiano, and their followers.
Portia and Bassanio immediately exchange loving greetings, and Bassanio introduces his friend Antonio, who is graciously welcomed. Their conversation, however, is interrupted by a quarrel between Nerissa and Gratiano over the wedding ring which she gave him, and which he now confesses to have given to a "judge's clerk," a half-grown youth no taller than Nerissa. Portia tells Gratiano that he was at fault to give away his "wife's first gift." She is confident that Bassanio would never, for any reason, part with the ring which she gave him. Angrily, Gratiano tells her that Bassanio did indeed give away his wedding ring; in fact, he gave it to the "judge that begg'd it," just as he, Bassanio, gave his ring to the judge's clerk. Both wives pretend shock and anger, and they vow never to sleep with their husbands until they see their wedding rings again. Bassanio pleads in vain that he gave his ring for good reason to the lawyer who saved Antonio's life. Well, says Portia, since you have been so generous to him, if that lawyer comes here, "I'll have [him] for my bedfellow." "And," adds Nerissa,"I his clerk."
Antonio is terribly disturbed as he witnesses Portia's fury; he feels that he is "the unhappy subject of these quarrels." Bassanio then swears that if Portia will forgive him this time, he will never break a promise to her again. Antonio speaks up and offers his soul as forfeit, as before he offered his body, in support of Bassanio. Portia accepts Antonio's soul as security for Bassanio's word. "Give him this [ring]," she tells Antonio, "and bid him keep it better than the other." In amazement, Bassanio recognizes it as the same ring which he gave the lawyer. Nerissa then returns Gratiano's ring to her husband, who receives it in similar amazement.
Portia then explains that it was she who was the lawyer Balthasar at the trial of Antonio, and Nerissa was her clerk; they have just returned from Venice. For Antonio, she has a letter containing good news—three of Antonio's ships have safely come into port. Antonio reads the letter himself and is ecstatic: "Sweet lady, you have given me life and living," he says. Nerissa then presents Shylock's deed to Lorenzo and Jessica, bequeathing them all of his possessions.
"It is almost morning," Portia observes, and it will take time to explain how all these things happened. "Let us go in," she says, and she and Nerissa will answer all questions.