Important Extracts from the Merchant of Venice

Important Extracts from the Merchant of Venice

According to the list:

Extract 1. Act I Scene (I)

In Belmont is a lady richly left,
And she is fair, and, fairer than that word,
Of wondrous virtues. Sometimes from her eyes
I did receive fair speechless messages:
Her name is Portia; nothing undervalued(170)

To Cato's daughter, Brutus'  Portia.
Reference to the Context: These lines occur/have been taken from ‘The Merchant of Venice’, Act I, Scene(i) written by William Shakespeare. Bassanio is speaking to Antonio, his friend. We already know that both are very good friends. Bassanio needs money, so he is making the background to borrow it from Antonio. He wants to go to Belmont to impress Portia to make his life-partner. Antonio had also asked Bassanio to tell about the lady he was so much interested in.

Explanation: In the above lines, Bassanio is trying to explain the qualities that Portia possessed. First, he tells him about a ‘huge amount’ she had inherited from his father. Second, Bassanio appreciates her beauty by calling her ‘fairer’ than the word ‘fair’. Third, she is a virtuous lady. After that, Bassanio tries to prove his point that it was not his one-sided infatuation. He had received ‘speechless messages’ from her. It means that her facial expression also show that she also likes Bassanio. Lastly, he tells Antonio her name. He says that she is Portia. He also adds that one cannot undervalue her to Cato’s daughter and Brutus’ wife Portia of antique, who was the Roman heroine. By referring to the Roman Portia, he brings about the point that Portia of Belmont is no less rich and virtuous than Portia of the antique world.

  

Extract 2: Act 1, scene III

Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek;
A goodly apple rotten at the heart;(100)
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

Reference to the Context: The above lines occur in Act I scene III of the Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare. These lines  are spoken by Antonio to Bassanio. Both of them are in Shylock’s house. They are talking about loan of three thousand ducats to be taken from Shylock. But Shylock demands a very high rate of interest. To justify this, he, he quotes (gives) an example from the Bible he says that profit is a blessing as long as one does not steal it.

Explanation: Antonio tells Bassanio that a devil-like person can also cite (quote/give) an example from a religious book like the Bible to gain profit. He wants to serve his selfish motive of convincing others to show that he is not doing any wrong by charging high rate of interest. An evil-minded person using holy books to justify his wrong action is like a villain with a smiling face. He is like an attractive apple that is rotten at the very core. Antonio expresses his surprise as to how people, to quote Hamlet, ‘may smile and smile’ and are villains from inside.

Extract 3. Act II, Scene VII

All that glitters is not gold,
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold,
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.(70)
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Reference to the Context: These lines have been taken from The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene VII. The Prince of Morocco decides to open the gold casket. He demands the key from Portia. She gives it to the Prince.

Explanation: The Prince of Morocco opens the gold casket. He is terribly shocked to see a human skull inside it. There is also a scroll of paper in the empty socket of its one eye. Then he reads that ‘All that glitters is not gold…’. It means that the outward shine of things may be misguiding. Many men may become slave to the shine on a human face. They do not care for their own voice of conscience. They do not try to find the truth at the deeper level of the things or human beings. People are impressed by the gilded (covered with gold plate) tombs. In reality, inside the shiny tombs, there may be worms in thousands. A shiny apple may be rotten at the very core.

This applies in real life also. People may be attractive outwardly, but they may be villains from inside.

The human skull farther tells the Prince of Morocco that if he had been as wise as he was bold, young in body and wise in his judgment, he had not got the answer written on a scroll of paper. Rather he would have received the portrait of beautiful Portia instead of the human skull with a scroll of paper.