- Shylock’s malice
- overwhelm
- twist/bend
- a fair outcome
- manipulate the law; in this line, Bassanio believes that even though the law is manipulated, it is for the fairer or greater outcome. However, it should be noted here that this fairness is for Antonio’s (a Christian’s) fairness, which is prioritized over Shylock’s (a Jew’s) situation. Meanwhile, Bassanio’s plea for mercy and leniency here showcases his compassion for his Christian friend as opposed to Shylock’s Jewish mercilessness.
- “Devil” here serves as the same function as malice in the lines above. Note that here Bassanio uses “malice” and “devil” to describe Shylock, which express Bassanio’s (a Christian’s) feeling of hatred for Shylock, a Jew. Bassanio’s lines here is the continuation of the previous page in which he claims that he is willing to pay ten times the sum of money or give up his hands, his head, and his heart as long as Shylock accepts them. If Shylock is still not satisfied, he will be thought of malicious by Bassanio. It can be implied from these words and lines that compassion and benevolence only exist between Christians and serve as a weapon to discriminate against Jewish people.
- “Must”, according to OED, is used to say that something is necessary or very important, sometimes involving a rule or a law. Here the word can imply that what Portia (disguised as Balthazar) says is equal to the law, which also indicates the authority and fairness of Christianity.
- Here Portia is emphasizing incapability of Venice’s legal system to overturn an established law, which again demonstrates the fairness of what Portia, the white Christian says.
- Portia fears that changing the law based on personal feelings will lead to chaos—many an error, inciting others to challenge the law within the state’s legal system. Portia’s fear demonstrates the necessary of a stable Christian society as well as the Christian humanity because no chaos or errors are allowed to cause unfairness to any one in Venice.
- Daniel in the Apocrypha refers to the youth Daniel who is known for his wisdom and fairness in judgement. Here it implicitly equates Portia—white Christian—with fairness and wisdom. However, as “Daniel” is quoted from Apocrypha, which, though a Christian religious text and related to the Bible, is not officially considered as part of it, it may undermine Shylock’s qualification as a Jew of the quotation of Bible.
- Honor means to show great respect for someone. Here the dramatic irony, where Portia, while not having knowledge about law, displays her intelligence and sophisticated understanding of the law, which later influences the trial’s outcome in an unexpected way, indicates how gullible and unintelligent Jewish people are because Shylock can easily be manipulated by Portia.
- “Pray” here means please. Portia wishes to examine the terms of the bond/agreement, which, on the one hand, indicates the friendship and compassion between white Christians, on the other hand, shows Portia’ wisdom as she needs to examine it carefully
- The way Shylock presents the bond—saying “Here it is” twice and referring Portia to the most reverend doctor—indicates that Shylock believes in Portia’s (a white Christian’s) knowledge. This is also a crucial moment in which Portia plays a significant role in delivering the judgement that ultimately resolves the conflict. It demonstrates Christian power in making the final judgement.
- After carefully examining the bond, Portia confirms that Shylock will be given three times the money he is owed and attempts to persuade him to show mercy to Antonio. This highlights the theme of Christian compassion, appealing to Shylock’s sense of humanity, which conversely may indicate Shylock’s (Jewish people’s) inhumanity.
- Shylock is facing a moral dilemma, questioning whether he should break his oath and commit perjury to avoid the damnation of his soul. It is ironic here because it is now Shylock who is treated unfairly who should be guilty.
- However, Shylock refuses to break his oath, even for the sake of Venice. This indicates Shylock’s (Jewish people’s) strong adherence to the term of the contract and his commitment. But such adherence and commitment, in Christians’ eyes, will cause cruel, merciless, and malicious result. In a sense, Jewish faith is denigrated by Christian faith.
- Flesh is brought up here to indicate that it is Shylock (the Jew) who is so cruel that even a pound of flesh can be cut off. On stage, this can reinforce the merciless image of Jewish people.
- Portia still continues to plead for Shylock’s mercy, which presents the image that it is the merciful, compassionate, and white Christian here that try to avoid the extreme and cruel penalty committed by the Jew.
- It reinforces Shylock’s strong faith.
- After praising Portia’s legal knowledge and interpretation of the law—referring to “worthy” and “sound” above—Shylock asserts that nothing can change his determination to claim his legal entitlement according to the terms of the bond. This line again reinforce the disastrousness of Shylock’s (Jewish) faith.
- This word showcases Antonio’s willingness to accept the court’s judgement, which evokes the audience’s empathy for him, a Christian, and their hatred for Shylock, a Jew.
- The definition and connotation of bosom here is noteworthy. Bosom can mean a situation in which you are with people who love and protect you. Here that Antonio’s bosom will be cut by Shylock’s knife may indicate that Antonio may no longer be under Christian protection and he will lose Christian friendship because of Jew’s revenge and cruelty.
- Together with to the word “noble” in this line, the world “excellent” is the sixth times that Shylock praises Portia as a great lawyer. The repetition of praise play an important role in reinforcing Christian’s nobility, excellence, and fairness.
- From the blue part, we can see Shylock's speeches either praise Portia's wisdom, nobility, and excellence, or display his cruelty and mercilessness, while the red lines stand exactly the opposite side, perfectly either proving Portia's qualifies Shylock praises or showing compassion, empathy, and humanity as apposed to Shylock's malice. Such comparison and contrast further reinforce the discrimination set against Jewish people by Christians.