The Trial:Act 4, scene 1The Merchant of Venice

Part 1: pages 141-161

For each quotation, answer

•Who said it?

• What does it reveal about the character?

Lines 3-6

“I am sorry for thee. Thou art come to answerA stony adversary, an inhuman wretch,Uncapable of pity, void and emptyFrom any dram of mercy.”

Lines 60-63

“So I can give no reason, nor I will not,More than a lodged hate and a certain loathingI bear Antonio, that I follow thusA losing suit against him. Are you answered?”

Line 70

“What, wouldst thou have a serpent sting thee twice?”

Lines 79-84

“You may as well do anything most hardAs seek to soften that than which what’s harder?—His Jewish heart. Therefore I do beseech youMake no more offers, use no farther means,But with all brief and plain conveniencyLet me have judgment and the Jew his will.”

Lines 130-133, 139-140

“O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog,And for thy life let justice be accused;Thou almost mak’st me waver in my faith…For thy desires Are wolfish, bloody, starved, and ravenous.”

Lines 189-193

“The quality of mercy* is not strained.It droppeth as the gentle rain fro heavenUpon the place beneath. It is twice blest:It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”

*Mercy = compassion or forgiveness shown to someone whom it’s within one’s power to punish or harm.

Lines 260-261

“O wise and upright judge,How much more elder art thou than thy looks!”

Lines 290-293

“Repent but you that you shall lose your friendAnd he repents not that he pays your debt.For if the Jew do cut but deep enough,I’ll pay it instantly with all my heart.”

Lines 296-299

“But life itself, my wife, and all the worldAre not with me esteemed above thy life.I would lose all, ay, sacrifice them allHere to this devil, to deliver you.”

Lines 303-304

“I have a wife who I protest to love.I would she were in heaven, so she couldEntreat some power to change this currish Jew.”

Part 2: pages 163-175

For the following quotations,

1. Who said it?2. Paraphrase it in your own words.3. Answer, why are the lines so important? • What character trait does it reveal, or what important plot

moment does it represent?

Lines 319-325

“This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood.The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.”Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh,But in the cutting it, if thou dost shedOne drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goodsAre by the laws of Venice confiscateUnto the state of Venice.”

Lines 352-353

“He has refused it [the money] in the open court.He shall have merely justice and his bond.”

Lines 367-371

“The party ‘gainst the which he doth contriveShall seize one half of his goods; the other halfComes to the privy coffer of the state,And the offender’s life lies in the mercyOf the Duke only…”

Lines 384-385

“Thou shalt see the difference of our spirit,I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.”

Lines 402-406

“Two things provided more: that for this favorHe presently become a Christian;The other, that he do record a gift,Here in the court, of all he dies possessedUnto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.”

Lines 416-418

“In christ’ning shalt thou have two godfathers.Had I been judge, thou shouldst have had ten more,To bring thee to the gallows, not to the font.”

Lines 443-447

“You press me far, and therefore I will yield.Give me your gloves; I’ll wear them for your sake—And for your love I’ll take this ring from you.Do not draw back your hand; I’ll take no more,And you in love shall not deny me this.”

Lines 467-469

“My Lord Bassanio, let him have the ring.Let his deservings and my love withalBe valued ‘gainst your wife’s commandment.”

Essential Questions from 4.1• How does Portia save Antonio’s life? Ultimately, what role do

women play in this scene?

• How are Antonio and the Duke merciful towards Shylock?

• What new insights about their husbands do Nerissa and Portia have?

• Is Shylock’s trial a fair one? Why or why not?