JV.7.
, ·--:3ec2,t1,, ·1,f' ·"' 11 - 111•
J. sassanio is told that his ch~ife has not been influenced by his outward appc:arance
2. on his true choice Bassan io stands a fair chance of s"c<:ess •
3_ This 'fortune' (Portia and he~ wealth) falls to him he should be happy and satisfied
4. sassanio's happiness should augur him well; his luck has and will fetch him happiness
s. He should tum to Portia and claim her with a loving kiss
A gentle scroll.. ........................... ratified by you
• Bassanio calls the scroll 'gentle' and turns to Portia to claim her as instructed
, He intends to accept her in marriage and asks her to accept him
, He uses a SI_MILE to convey that his state is like that of a contender who has impressed the general public but is not
quite able to believe that he has done so, although people have appreciated him
, Continuing the simile Bassanio says that such a contender is Giddy (nauseated/exhausted) in his response to the
crowd and dazed, not~ able to understand that the •peals of praise' (sound of applause) are meant for bim
• Bassanio calls Poyrice fair' and tells her th~t his confusion is as great as that of the above mentioned contender
, He asks her to confinn/ratify and signs his achievement for him ·
Portia:
You see me, Lord Bassanio. where I stand, (Porlia refers to lter 011111 co11ditio11 and .state lrere; aski11g Bassa11io
to look over /,er perspec_tive)
Such as I am (i11 he!r state "s Portia, tire lteiress of Be/1110111): though for rnysel f alone
I would not be ambitious in my wish (For tlte 111oma11 Portia, wllo has ifjeriled !,er fatl,er's estate, sl,e ,ioes not
1110111 a11ythi11g more from life), .
To wish myself much better (she /1as 110 11ee,l to 111a11t to be better); yet, for you
J would be trebled twenty times myself (For ltis sake/ so as Jo be wort/1y of him, she wa11ts tltlll she should be
slt/J' times her better i11 her aflifl1de a11d approac/1);
A thousand times more fai;· (a tltousa11d limes prettier), ten thousand limes more ricti(te11 tllo11sa11d times richer);
That only to stand high in your account (so that she could 111i11 l1is complete0 affectio11)1
I might in virtue, beauties, livings, friends, '
Exceed account (people migltt say that Portia is tl,e full of qualities/ pretty//,as frit11ds a11d i11l1 erita11ce); but
th-: full sum of me (/Jut i11 totality)
Is sum of something, which, to term in gross, (/,er value put cmdely)
Is an unlesson'd girl, unschool'd, unpractised; {is that she is a11 w1educatedl1mtaug/1t girl; 1mexposed ta society
mul cultures (she 1111derva/11es /1erse(l)J
Happy in this, she is not yet so old
J3u: she may learn (Her biggest happi11ess being that sl,e is 1101 so old that she may 11ot leam) and; happier than
this (str!I /tuppier thi11ki11g),
She is not bred so dull but she can learn (that Iler upbringing J,as give11 her tl,e means to learn);
Happiest of ali is that her gentle spirit
Commits itself to yours to be directed (am/ her greatest source of happi11ess is tlrat she aud lier essence is
Bassauio's to direct),
As from her lord, her governor, her king (tllat Bassa11io is her Lord, Govemor and King).
Myself and what is minc lo you and yours
Is now converted (Everytl1i11g that is hers is Bassanio's): but now I was the lord
Of this fair mansion, master of my servants (before Bassa11io succeeded Portia was tlte ow11er of the house,
s-ervams a11d Iler own Q11ee11)
Queen o'er myself: and even now, but now,
T11is house, these servants and this same myself
~::ki&Jt'W,i¥»ct4fr.SHMt~
W<ll J
.
• B ·
eauty ts not always natural; it is created and purchased in the fonn of cosmetics (by t I1,.• weight}
1i , ht of character
• The out\ d •
var appearance could be miraculo ·fi I
us if beautiful and those who are beaut, u '" · this way are 1:,
(not serious people)
rnay actually
• Th · / ak
,. e ~nspy ~n y/golden locks (the blonde hair) that sway in the wind on the heads O fb ea utiful women
be arltficial; their true possessor might be dead with her head in the tomb (sepulcher)
. ally stonny sea·
• In th1 ~ manner ornament (fake show) is very like (simile) the peaceful and misleading shore t0 an actu •
the beautiful scarf on the face of an Indian beauty ( ordinary looking woman)
• Outward charm is the falsehood that cunning people assume to befool the wise.
. e touch wou Id
• Gold should therefore be rejected as it was once the curse for king Midas (allusion . 11
J(ing w110s
tot e
convert everything to Gold) .
• Silver should also be rejected as it is a common metal that exchanges hands in the form of
. coins . . ti
• Lead, which threatens instead of promising anything, with its lackluster appearance .unpres~es Bassanio mo1 e 1an
the fine words written on the gold and silver
• He chooses lead and wishes him joy.
Portia: How...................................surfeit
Portia says that:
• All her feelings except those leading to love have vanished
• Feelings such as those that led her to doubt Bassani0, become rashly hopeless, shiver in fear
and harbor jealousy have
all fled away
• She wants her love to be moderate and not drive her into excessive ecstasy (Figure of speech
ApoSlropl,e: love
is addressed here directly)
• The joy of love should be like gentle rain upon her (figure of speech, metaphor: joy of love
is to fall on her like son
rain)
• She has fell the blessing of love in excess; it must be less or she will be surfeited (too full
with it).
Bassanio: What find I here..........................ratified by you
Points:
• Bassanio finds Portia's picture in the casket
• He calls the artist who has drawn Portia's sketch 'a·demi God'
• He calls the artist 'a demi God' as the artist has succeeded in capturing Portia very closely
in the image (tllal
Bassanio has found)
I . Bassanio wonders if Portia's eyes are moving
2. Or whether he feels that they are moving (Bassanio comments upon liveliness in the picture.
The picture is so fi:11 of
life that its stillness is gone.)
• Portia's lips in the picture are p.arted only by her. sweet breath; s.uch a barrier is welcom
e c:·.-~n between two . we•:\
friends (metaphor again: the upper hp and the lower hp are the two fnends that are separated by
Poitia'. 1•
.
• Bassanio compares the parnter (who has done the portrait) with the spider
. . . s ragrant b, eatl)1
• hair · to capture t he h (metaphor aoa·in)
golden web in Portia's earts (fiee1·mgs) o f men. .
0
, w1 10 has woven a
.
• Portia's golden hair thus capture the feelings of men faster than gnats (insects trapped inc b
.
• Bassanio wonders how the pamter could have done the eyes; how he was able to resist the o webs)
· •·
b .11.
In Bassan io's love stricken assessment, P ort1a s one eyeshou ldhave had t Ile power to steal both n the
ianceof )~ 1· 's 0 aze
v1 ia ~ .
and, thus, the painting should have had only one eye.
eyes of the painter
., Finally R assanio says that he is far from able to convey the beauty of the portrait much as
the . . ·
to convey Portia's beauty: the degree by which he cant c-:>nvey the beauty of the portrait cor PClrtra1t 1s far from able
whi~h the portrait cant convey Portia's . responds . h by
beauty. Wit the degree
• He picks up the scroll and reads it -finally, calling it the essence and gist of his destiny
The Scroll:
11
[.psE ·JC 10,~s~ •eyes' (his gaze) should be 'beshrewed' (treated as the culprit) as ll half'
nas casl :.11c: vu • v, "" ·
i:I
to Bassanio and the other half
• Bas~ . . • h • ne
• declares openly that she 1s not her own mistress now. She gives er o .
• Po rt 1a . p . . . • .
mes to her goes to him too. ort1a 1s entire1y his. , d 'their rights' {between Bassanio
that co
• She curses the time (the naughty times) that puts barriers between 'the owners an
~~~}
• Despite ~er declaration, if Portia and Bassanio can't get together, the blame should lie on Fortune not on Portia
..
• If it is proved so Portia blames Fortune, not herself (as she has dedicated herself to Bassanio already)
nd s to
• She blames her desire of keeping Bassanio .with her for extended period of time for her long speech as she inte
hold him back from choosing the casket for as long as she can
• In resp~nse to Portia Bassanio says that he is Jiving on the ' rack', a torture bed, hinting at his emotiona
l torture (he is
desperate to make the selection)
love
• Portia plays along the torture bed metaphor and asks Bassanio what treason (crime) has been mixed with his
He
• Bassanio answers that the only treason (crime) there has ever been is that he has doubted his success in love.
in Bassanio 's love
argues that much as there will never be friendship between fire and ice, there will never be treason
save
• Portia still playfully refers to the Rack. She says that as men on the rack will say anything to ensure their life and
them from torture so will Bassanio say anything to save himself
• Playing the rack metaphor further Bassanio asks Portia to 'promise me life' (tell him the ~ecret of the caskets)
Portia: Away then.........................................makest the fray
in
• Portia asks Bassanio to proceed for casket selection and says that he must choose the one that she is locked
• She tells Bassanio that he will find her ifhe loves her
in the
• She asks for music while Bassanio makes the casket selection saying that music will bring about romance
~r:ort:
I . If Bassanio lose.,; he will be like th~ dying swan whose grave will be Portia's tears (simile)
2. lfBassanio wins he will be like a new crowned monarch before whom his subjects will bow
the
J. Music will be like the sound oft he drums into the ears of the dreaming bridegroom summoning him to marriage on
day of the wedding, ifBassani o wins
cides)
• :;he remarks on how Bassanio !"oves towards the caskets, comparing Bassanio with Hercules (the youngAl
At
when he saved the Trojan Princess, Hesione, from virgin sacrifice to the Sea Monster (she uses a cla:;sical allusion).
ma, time \~;•.: wi1ole ofTroy gathered to mourn (hC1wl) at the spectacle.
and
• Presently Portia compares herself with the virgin who is about to be sacrificed and people around her (Neris.sa
others) with the Dardinian (Trojan) wives who are so tense and miserable that their faces are tear-streaked.
• She asks Bi:.sar.io to approach the caskets in the manner of Hercules and conveys to him that she is much more
anxious thar, h~ is considering that she is merely a spectator and not a participant in the exercise.
Nnler nn the song
.. Tl•: song guides Ba~:.anio towards the right selection of the casket. It tells him that 'Fancy' (attraction
) is false and
dies ve1y much in the cradle where it is born. Therefore, they should not pay attention to Fancy (attraction). {Bassanio
~hould not pay any attention to the charm and the fancy of the gold and the silver caskets}
Bassanio: So may......................... .Joy be the consequence
Bassanio says:
• What appears does not always become true
• The world (society) is misled hy outward embellishments (decoration)
conceal
• The most corrupt plea (request) in law is that which is uttered smoothly and presented in a melodious voice to
the evil intent .
• . ,n religion errors arc sanctioned by pious looking men who justify them citing the text (religious books)
The most plain vice (sin) is that which appears as virtue on the outside
..
•
Cowards with scarv he;ins i:inrl temneraments try to look brave sporting the beard of Hercules and Mars (the God
of
ACT ID SCENE Il
Point~
Portia: I pray you.............. .......................stay you from election.
• In Belmont , Portia begs Bassanio to delay choosing the casket for a day or two.
• lfBassan io chooses incorrectly, Portia reasons, she will lose his company.
• She tells him that she feels that she will not lose him (although she stops initially short of confessing love)
• He.r instincts that Bassanio will make the right selection cannot be said to be guided by hate, if not love
herself: c:ily
• She confesse s that a maiden in the affairs of love and marriage has no speech ' tongue' to express
' thought'
• She would like to detain Basaanio for a month or two before he risks his chances in casket selection
heroa1h
• She wishes she could teach Bassanio how to choose right but expresses her helplessness as she will break
to the will of her father
the wish 81Ji
• If Bassanio moves towards making the wrong casket selection and fails to get Portia, Portia will have
(sin ofbreaki~
the desire of breaking the oath she has been under. Thus Bassanio's failure will 'make' Portia wish a sin
