Merchant of Venice Act 2 Part 2

8/17/2019 Merchant of Venice Act 2 Part 2

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ACT 2, SCENE 6 SUMMARY

Gratiano and Salarino,masked and costumed for

Bassanio's party, wait forLorenzo under theoverhanging roof (the

"penthouse" of Shylock'shouse! Gratiano is puzzledthat Lorenzo is late for hisrendezvous with essica# he

knows that lovers usually"run $efore the dock!"Lorenzo's delay is certainlyuncharacteristic of most

young lovers!


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Suddenly, Lorenzo rushesonstage, apologizes for his

lateness, and calls to essica!She appears a$ove, dressedas a $oy, and tosses down acasket of money and %ewels to

Lorenzo! Shyly, she says thatshe is ashamed to $e elopingwith her $eloved while she isso un$ecomingly dressed as a

$oy! "&upid himself," she tellsLorenzo, "would $lush!"Lorenzo tells her that shemust play her part well# notonly must she successfully $econvincing as a $oy, $ut she


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he idea of "hold)ing* a candle to )her* shames" isfrightening! She is certain that what Lorenzo is asking of her

will lead to discovery, and she feels that she "should $eo$scured!" Lorenzo is +nally a$le to reassure her, however,and essica turns $ack to do two last things $efore theyelope! She wants to "make fast the doors" (as her fatherinstructed her to do, and she wants to get "some more

ducats!"Gratiano praises her, and Lorenzo rearms that he will loveher in his "constant soul," for she is "wise, fair, and true!"

essica then enters $elow, and the lovers and Salarino e-it!.ntonio enters and, +nding Gratiano, tells him that there will

$e "no mas/ue tonight!" he wind has changed, andBassanio and his men must sail for Belmont! Gratianoadmits that he is relieved that there will $e no feasting andno mas/ue! 0e is an-ious to $e "under sail and gonetonight!"


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ACT 2, SCENE 6 ANALYSIS

here is no real $reak $etween this scene and thepreceding one! .s Shylock e-its, and essica e-its only

moments later, Gratiano and Salarino enter, costumedfor the mas/ue and carrying torches! Gratiano, as wemight e-pect, does most of the talking as the two chapswait $eneath the overhanging roof of Shylock's house!1hen Lorenzo arrives onstage and essica appears a$ove

him, a modern audience would almost certainly think ofthe lovers 2omeo and uliet! hus the romantic mood isimmediately set e-cept that this romantic heroine isdressed in "the lovely garnish of a $oy!" his was a

popular and recurrent 3liza$ethan stage convention, anda very convenient one, since all the girls' roles wereplayed $y $oys! Shakespeare uses this disguiseconvention later in this same play with 4ortia and 5erissadisguised as a lawyer and his clerk!

.t this point, since essica is $oth deserting her father's


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.t Belmont, in a room in4ortia's house, the 4rince

of 8orocco surveys thethree caskets one ofgold, one of silver, and one

of lead! 0e must chooseone, and if he chooses thecorrect one, his reward will$e the "fair 4ortia!" .s he

reads the words engravedon the top of each casket,he ponders each of thecryptic inscriptions!


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6n the leaden casket, hereads, "1ho chooseth me

must give and hazard allhe hath"# on the silvercasket, he reads, "1hochooseth me shall get asmuch as he deserves"# andon the golden casket, hereads, "1ho chooseth me

shall gain what many mendesire!" 4ortia informs himthat the correct casketcontains her picture!


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8orocco reviews theinscriptions again and re%ects

the lead casket as $eing notworth the high stakes for whichhe gam$les! 0e ponders a longtime over the silver casket! hewords "get as much as hedeserves" intrigue him! 0e is/uite sure thathe deserves 4ortia# he deservesher "in $irth," "in fortune," "in

grace," "in /ualities of$reeding," and most of all, "inlove!" :et, ultimately, he re%ectsthe silver casket $ecause he

refuses to $elieve that 4ortia'sfather would "immure" a


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he prince reasons that aportrait of 4ortia a "mortal,

$reathing saint," a womanwhom "all the world desires" could $e only within the goldencasket! 0e chooses, therefore,the golden casket, hoping to

+nd "an angel in a golden $ed!"1hen he unlocks the casketand looks inside, he discoversonly a skull ("carrion ;eath"

and a scroll rolled up andinserted within the skull's"empty eye!" 0e takes it outand reads the message< ".llthat glisters is not gold# ! ! !Gilded tom$s do worms infold!"


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=n contrast to the scene preceding this one, now wehave another colorful and theatrical spectacle of yet

another rich suitor who has come to try and outwitfortune and claim 4ortia for his $ride!.s 8orocco inspects the caskets, Shakespeare is a$leto inform the audience more fully of the details of thecasket competition for 4ortia's hand! he casket thatwill win her contains a miniature portrait of her, and allof the caskets have inscriptions upon them, which8orocco reads for us! hese inscriptions are important#each succeeding suitor will re7ect upon them, and as

he does so, he will reveal the truth a$out his owncharacter! he inscriptions are, of course, intentionallyam$iguous# they can $e interpreted in more than oneway! 2emem$ering that this is a romantic comedy, we

e-pect that 8orocco will misinterpret them, as will.rra on later, and that +nall Bassanio will read the


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1e should remem$er as we read this scene that 4ortiaherself, at this point, does not know which of the

caskets will win her! .s 8orocco moves from one to thene-t, 4ortia will $e reacting on stage, silently revealingher thoughts, for she cannot guide 8orocco, and wehave some evidence for $elieving that 4ortia is notusually a /uiet woman!8orocco's long speech, $eginning at line >?, was nodou$t inserted $y Shakespeare to allow the actorplenty of time to move $ack and forth with muchhesitation $etween the caskets! alking to himself, he

says, "4ause there, 8orocco! ! ! ! 1hat if = strayed nofurther, $ut chose here@" 0e is postponing the momentof choice and prolonging the suspense of this dramaticmoment! 1e have already seen 8orocco and know

that he is a proud and powerful prince, rich in his dressand in his lan ua e, and therefore it is no sur rise to


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hus he makes the most straightforward and o$viouschoice for him< the golden casket, for "5ever so rich

a gem A 1as set in worse than gold!" 1hen he opens itand +nds the skull and the scroll, Shakespeare's moralis clear that is, wealth and sensory $eauty,sym$olized here $y gold, are merely transitory< "8anya man his life hath sold A But my outside to $ehold!"1e shall see later that the test of the caskets containsa theme that occurs elsewhere in the play< thedierence $etween what merely seems and whatreally is — that is, the dierence $etween appearance

and reality! he caskets also suggest another elementin the play namely, the illusion that material wealth(gold and silver is of value, when, in reality, it is ofultimately little value! :et material wealth is Shylock's

o$session# gold is his real god, and therein is his tragic7aw!


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Salarino and Salanio discussdevelopments in Cenice! 1hen

Shylock discovered that essicawas gone, he demanded thatthe ;uke of Cenice haveBassanio's ship searched# thisproved to $e impossi$le

$ecause Bassanio had alreadysailed! .ntonio, however,assured the duke that Lorenzoand essica were not on $oard

Bassanio's ship!


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Salanio then descri$es howShylock raved in the streets,

crying, "8y daughterD 6 myducatsD 6 my daughterD A Eledwith a &hristian," while "all the$oys in Cenice" followed him,mocking him, his daughter, and

his ducats!

Salanio worries a$out what willhappen to .ntonio< 0e knows

Shylock's temper! essica'selopement and .ntonio'sswearing that Bassanio had nopart in her escape "$ade nogood" for .ntonio!


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0e knows that.ntonio must "keep his day"

(repay his de$t when it comesdue or else "he shall pay forthis!" Salanio is likewise worrieda$out .ntonio's future! 6nlyyesterday, a Erenchman told

him a$out an =talian ship thathad sunk in the 3nglish&hannel! 0e immediatelythought of .ntonio, hoping that

the ship was not one of his! henews a$out the shipwreck must$e $roken gently to .ntonio$ecause .ntonio is a sensitiveman! 2ealizing that .ntoniomay need cheering up, Salanio


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Salarino's and Salanio's opening lines are hurried ande-cited! 0ere and elsewhere in the play, nota$ly in .ct

=, Scene >, these two act more or less like a chorus#that is to say, they discuss developments of the plotnot shown on the stage so that the audience will $eaware of them and also of their importance! 0ere, theyare concerned a$out .ntonio's fate, since Shylock is ina terri$le temper, and the once "merry $ond" is nolonger "merry!"Salanio's speech, $eginning at line >F, is introducedhere for two reasons< Eirst, Shylock's rage must $e

descri$ed before it is shown so that we can anticipatehis state of mind at his ne-t entrance! Second,Shylock's loss of $oth his daughter and much of hismoney are important for our understanding the e-tent

of Shylock's desire for revenge!


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.t the $eginning of the play, he has only two realreasons for hating .ntonio a commercial hatred and

a religious hatred! o these is now added a shatteringpersonal loss he has lost his daughter, his only child,to a &hristian, a friend of .ntonio making plausi$lehis implaca$le desire for revenge against all Cenetian&hristians in the person of a man whom he has legallycornered< .ntonio! =n a very real sense, our sympathygoes out to Shylock, yet Shakespeare keeps us frompitying the man $y having Salanio enact a sort ofe-aggerated parody of Shylock's greedy, histrionic

$ehavior as he tells his friend Salarino how Shylockwas chased in the streets $y young $oys, howling afterhim! Shylock's repetitions of "6 my ducatsD 6 mydaughterD ! ! ! my ducats and my daughter" indicate

that essica is simply, at this point, another possession,like his coins! hus we are revented from $ein too


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.t the $eginning of the play, he has only two realreasons for hating .ntonio a commercial hatred and

a religious hatred! o these is now added a shatteringpersonal loss he has lost his daughter, his only child,to a &hristian, a friend of .ntonio making plausi$lehis implaca$le desire for revenge against all Cenetian&hristians in the person of a man whom he has legallycornered< .ntonio! =n a very real sense, our sympathygoes out to Shylock, yet Shakespeare keeps us frompitying the man $y having Salanio enact a sort ofe-aggerated parody of Shylock's greedy, histrionic

$ehavior as he tells his friend Salarino how Shylockwas chased in the streets $y young $oys, howling afterhim! Shylock's repetitions of "6 my ducatsD 6 mydaughterD ! ! ! my ducats and my daughter" indicate

that essica is simply, at this point, another possession,like his coins! hus we are revented from $ein too


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.t Belmont, the 4rince of

.rragon has arrived to try his

luck at choosing the correctcasket, and $efore he decideson one, he promises 4ortia thathe will a$ide $y her father'srules! Eirst, if he fails to choose

the casket containing herportrait, he will never revealwhich casket he chose# second,he promises never to court

another woman# and last, hewill leave Belmont immediately!

C 2 SC 9


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2eviewing the inscriptions, he re%ects the lead casketimmediately $ecause he thinks that it is not $eautiful

enough to give and risk all his possessions for! 0e alsore%ects the gold casket $ecause "what many mendesire" may place him on the same level with "the$ar$arous multitudes!" 0e thus chooses the silvercasket, which $ears the inscription, "1ho chooseth me

shall get as much as he deserves!" .rragon reviews hisworth and decides that he "will assume desert" thatis, he feels that he rightfully deserves 4ortia! 1hen heopens the silver casket, he +nds within "the portrait of a

$linking idiot" a picture of a fool's head! 0e proteststhe contents# he chose according to what he felt that hedeserved< ";id = deserve no more than a fool's head@"4ortia reminds him that no man is permitted to %udgehis own cause! he scroll in the silver casket reads,"here $e fools alive, = wis )know*, A Silver'd o'er# and so

ACT 2 SCENE 9


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4ortia is dearly relieved andsums up the reason for the

prince's failure< "6, thesedeli$erate foolsD 1hen they dochoose, A hey have theirwisdom $y their wit to lose!" =nother words, even fools choose

deli$erately and $elieve thatthey are wise to deli$erate# infact, it is their e-cessivedeli$eration which ultimately

defeats them!

ACT 2 SCENE 9


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. servant announces the arrivalof a Cenetian am$assador from

another suitor and adds that he$rings gifts# in fact, in themessenger's estimation, theman who accompanies thislatest suitor is "so likely an

am$assador of love" that "aday in .pril never came sosweet!" 4ortia is neitherimpressed nor optimistic, yet

she urges 5erissa to $ring theman to her so that she can seefor herself this "/uick &upid'spost )messenger* that comesso mannerly!" 5erissa sighs#"Lord Love," she prays, "if thy

ACT 2 SCENE 9 S S


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his scene focuses on the 4rince of .rragon's choice ofthe three caskets! he 4rince of 8orocco's choice was

straightforward and simple! 0e chose the gold casket#it seemed to $e the most o$vious, most desira$lechoice! =n contrast, the 4rince of .rragon's choice isdone with more prudence! he prince is a proud man#he seems older than 8orocco and almost $loodless,compared to 8orocco's +ery charismatic $earing!6ften, Shakespeare makes his characters' namessuggest their primary /ualities# here, ".rragon" waspro$a$ly chosen for its resem$lance to "arrogant!" .t

any rate, .rragon is arrogant, a temperament $e+ttinga Spanish grandee of no$le $lood, a familiar andconventional +gure on the 3liza$ethan stage!6nce again, we hear the am$iguous inscriptions read

for us, and we ourselves puzzle over the enigma of themetals and their relationshi to the inscri tions!

ACT 2 SCENE 9 ANALYSIS


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=f gold represents "what many men desire," then.rragon's powerful $elief in his own superiority to "the

fool multitude that choose $y show" makes him re%ectit! 1e can agree with that logic, $ut we have to re%ecthis reasoning ultimately $ecause it is $ased on hisa$solute assumption of his own superiority to themultitude!

he silver inscription, "1ho chooseth me shall get asmuch as he deserves," has an immediate appeal for.rragon! =t prompts his o$servations on "merit" (?HIJ, in which he laments the fact that there is so much

"undeserved dignity" in the world# he means thosewho are given honor without coming $y it legitimately,through the "true seed" of no$le inheritance! he manis a sno$# he has a$solutely no dou$ts a$out

what he deserves, and since his no$ility is inheritedno$ilit , he can safel (he thinks choose the silver



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. factor that we should $e aware of in this entire sceneis an a$sence of any evidence that .rragon has any

love, or even any aection, for 4ortia! 4ortia is"deserved!" 5owhere can we discern even an inkling ofany craving for her! .s was noted, the prince is rather$loodless!=n the suitors' choice of the caskets, we have yetanother variation of the illusionHreality theme< Goldand silver appear to $e the o$vious choices to the +rsttwo suitors, whose motives for choosing are in someway 7awed# neither of them is truly in love with 4ortia,

for e-ample! :et Bassanio, who does love 4ortia, willchoose the casket which appears to $e the leastvalua$le# in reality, it will turn out to $e the mostvalua$le! hus the a$ility to choose and to distinguish

$etween what appears to $e valua$le and what reallyis valua$le de ends not so much on intelli ence



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=n this play, that certain intangi$le something is love#it is not glory (8orocco, nor no$ility of social position

(.rragon, nor wealth (Shylock, $ut love for anotherhuman $eing, which Bassanio and 4ortia clearly oerto one another!.t this point, the love plot in the play $ecomes verymuch like a fairy tale the $eautiful princess is won$y love, not $y wealth or rank or $y calculation# we arereminded of 5erissa's comment in .ct =, Scene F< heproper casket will "5ever $e chosen $y any rightly $utone who you shall rightly love!" 1e now know which

casket is the right one, and thus we can rela- anden%oy the drama of Bassanio's momentous choice! 0isapproach (preceded $y "an am$assador of love" isnow announced $y a messenger, and the ful+llment of

the play's love story is clearly anticipated in 5erissa'scomment ". da in . ril never came so sweet A o

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Merchant of Venice Act 2 Part 2

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