Solanio and Salarino joke about Jessica running away “My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice! The Law! My ducats and my daughter!” They twist Shylock’s words making fun of him at the same time, Shylock says “My own flesh and blood to rebel!” and Solanio says “rebel it at these years?” asking if he can’t get an erection. When she ran away with a Christian, she stole money, jewels “A diamond gone cost me two thousand ducats, in Frankfurt” “and precious, precious jewels!” and the ring Shylock’s wife gave him “it was my turquoise, I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor.” Shylock is very angry at this “I would my daughter were dead at me foot, and the jewels in her ear: would she were hearse at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin.” He’s angry enough to want her daughter to be dead; this anger is caused by the ring “I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys.” The ring had a lot of sentimental value to him; I think Shylock is very surprised at his daughter “My own flesh and blood to rebel!” Shylock is just getting through the agony of his daughter running away and he has to put up with other people’s stupid remarks. The reader would feel sympathetic towards Shylock for all that he has lost, but straight away we regret felling sympathetic because he seems to worry about his money more than his daughter, he even wants her dead. I think Jessica is a bit too rebellious; she shouldn’t have run away in the first place, even if she did run away she shouldn’t have stolen from her own father, needless to say she has no respect for her father.
Shylock gives an antiracial speech in Act 3 Scene 1 “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer a Christian is?” Shylock is saying this speech about Jews and Christians being the same; we feel much sympathy for him because his people are badly treated and he thinks they deserve the same rights. The audience must feel a sudden sympathy for all the Jews and more dislike for the Christians, why should human beings be treated differently because of their religion?
One of Antonio’s ships had sunk in the English Channel “Antonio hath a ship of rich lading wrecked on the Narrow Seas”. He also had a ship wrecked in Tripolis “hath an argosy cast away coming from Tripolis.”
Antonio isn’t able to pay the money back because of news that all of his ships had sunk. It turns out that his ships didn’t all sink; but they still came too late.
Finally Antonio and Shylock go to court, or the Dukes palace, to proceed with the bond, Act 4 Scene 1. The Duke reveals prejudices by calling Shylock names “A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch, uncapable of pity, void and empty from any dram of mercy.” and he calls him “Jew” rather than by his name.
Shylock still keeps to the bond, even after Bassanio offers him twice the original money and more “twice the sum, if that will not suffice, I will be bound to pay it ten times o’er on forfeit of my hands, my head, my heart.” Bassanio is willing to die for Antonio.
Portia comes disguised as Balthazar and Nerissa (Her maid and friend) disguised as a clerk. Portia talks of the qualities of mercy “It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
Portia agrees with the bond and the law “A pound of that same merchant’s flesh is thine, the court awards it, and the law doth give it.” She then says, “This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood.” “if thou dost shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are by the law of Venice confiscate unto the state of Venice.” Portia has found a loophole in the bond; Shylock was so close to having his revenge; Shylock doesn’t have much choice “Pay the bond thrice and let the Christian go.” Shylock wants three times the original sum. Portia then finds another loophole “Shed no blood, nor cut thou less nor more but just a pound of flesh.” She’s saying he can’t cut more or less than a pound of flesh and he can’t shed blood. If he did cut more or less than pound then the consequences would be the same as shedding blood “Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.” Shylock has even less choice and asks for his original sum and to leave “Give me my principal and let me go.” Shylock is really getting beaten here and he has no one on his side defending him. I think Shylock deserves to be helped at this point; the reader would feel very sympathetic towards Shylock.
Portia doesn’t even let him have his money “He hath refused it in the open court. He shall have merely justice and his bond.” She expects him to have nothing; I feel very sorry for Shylock because he won’t have even his money.
It seems like it’s all over, but Portia reads something that could lead to Shylock’s death, “proved against an alien that by direct or indirect attempts he seeks the life of any citizen, the party ’gainst the which he doth contrive shall seize one half of his goods, the other half comes to the privy coffer of the state” And Shylock’s life lies in the “mercy of the Duke only, ’gainst all other voice.” She has taken from him everything, and maybe even his life; half his money is Antonio’s. I feel very much sympathy for Shylock; he not only didn’t get his revenge, but also has lost everything, his daughter, and his money to his worst enemy and maybe his life. The Duke shows some mercy and spares his life “I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.” The reader might of thought that no one would show Shylock any mercy. Every time Portia strikes she gets worse and worse, I think Shylock deserves a lot of sympathy and I think the reader would also give a lot of sympathy.
Antonio doesn’t want Shylocks money, but gives him a punishment “He presently becomes a Christian; the other, that he do record a gift, here in this court, of all he dies possessed unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.” The Duke refuses to let him live if he didn’t accept it “He shall do this, or else I do recant the pardon that I late pronouncèd here” I think the punishment Antonio said was a bit severe and sudden, he’s asking someone to change his religion and what he has believed all his life, and to give his money to his daughter who ran away from him.
Shylock leaves a broken man; he doesn’t feel well after all that has happened “I am not well.”
Throughout the story we feel sympathy for Shylock, but straight away he does something that we don’t like. The court scene seemed to confirm my sympathy for Shylock; it stands because everyone is against him, he has lost a lot; although killing someone is wrong, he still can’t even get revenge, all because he is a Jew.
