Dramatis Personae
ACT I
SCENE I. A street in London.
Enter ANTONIO, SALANIO, and SALARINO.
ANTONIO
In sooth, I know not why I am so sad:
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn; and such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.
SALANIO
Your mind is tossing on the ocean;
There where your argosies with portly sail,
Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood,
Do curtsy to them, do them reverence,
As they fly by them with their woven wings.
SALARINO
Believe me, sir, had I such venture forth,
The better part of my affections would
Be with my hopes abroad. You are too much
In love with your own sorrow.
Enter BASSANIO.
ANTONIO
Here comes Bassanio, your noble kinsman.
We leave you to your conference.
Exeunt SALANIO and SALARINO.
BASSANIO
My most noble kinsman, good my lord Antonio.
ANTONIO
Good Bassanio, my hands are full of trouble.
What news with you? You look the best of men.
BASSANIO
I have a suit to you. A thing that touches
My heart and my ambition. There is a lady
In London here, a wealthy merchant's daughter,
Fair Portia. I would her dowry were not half
So great as her perfection.
ANTONIO
You speak of Portia, daughter of old Master Thomas?
BASSANIO
The very same. I need a loan of money,
To deck myself to court her with some show,
For in my mind, a suitor of her worth
Must come with pomp. My coffers are all empty.
ANTONIO
Thou know'st that all my fortunes are at sea;
Neither have I money nor commodity
To raise a present sum: therefore, go forth;
You shall have gold; go, try what my credit can do
In London. I will be bound to Shylock for you.
Go, presently inquire, and so will I,
Where money is, and I no whit will spare
To get you to my daughter.
Exit ANTONIO and BASSANIO separately
SCENE II. A room in Thomas's house.
Enter PORTIA and NERISSA.
PORTIA
By my troth, Nerissa, my little body is a-weary of this great world.
My father, in his will, has bound me to a test:
Three caskets, gold, silver, and the base lead.
Who chooses right, shall win my hand and heart.
But I like none of the suitors that have come.
NERISSA
Fear not, madam. The right man shall come.
I heard the name of young Bassanio once,
A London gentleman, a scholar and a soldier,
Of all the men that ever my foolish eyes looked upon,
He was the best deserving a fair lady.
PORTIA
I remember him well. The world is full of trickery.
But the will must be obeyed. I hope he comes.
Exeunt.
SCENE III. A public place in London.
Enter BASSANIO and SHYLOCK.
SHYLOCK
Three thousand pounds; well.
BASSANIO
Ay, sir, for three months.
SHYLOCK
For three months; well.
BASSANIO
For which, as I told you, Antonio shall be bound.
SHYLOCK
Antonio shall be bound; well. I like not that.
BASSANIO
May you pleasure me? Will you make the loan?
SHYLOCK
Three thousand pounds is a good round sum.
Antonio is a good man. His means are sufficient.
But ships are but boards, sailors but men;
There be land-rats and water-rats, water-thieves and land-thieves.
But I will lend the money.
BASSANIO
And Antonio is coming here to seal the bond.
Enter ANTONIO.
SHYLOCK
(Aside)
How like a fawning publican he looks!
I hate him for he is a Christian,
But more, for that in humble scorn he lends
Out money gratis and brings down the rate
Of usance here with us in London.
If I can catch him once upon the hip,
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.
ANTONIO
Shylock, albeit I neither lend nor borrow
By taking nor by giving of excess,
Yet, to supply the ripe wants of my friend,
I break my custom.
SHYLOCK
I would be friends with you and have your love,
Forget the shames that you have stain'd me with,
But you did spit upon my Jewish gabardine.
Here is the bond: Let the forfeit be nominated for
A pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off
And taken in what part of your body pleaseth me.
ANTONIO
A pound of flesh? 'Tis a merry bond! Content, I seal.
BASSANIO
Antonio, you shall not seal to such a bond.
ANTONIO
Fear not, Bassanio: my ships come home a month before the day.
I seal the bond. The money's yours. Go, court your love.
Exeunt.
The Merchant of London's Choice: ACT II
ACT II
SCENE I. A room in Thomas's house.
Enter PORTIA and NERISSA.
PORTIA
The Prince of Morocco comes to try his chance
With the three caskets. I pray God he choose the right!
My heart is with Bassanio, not this sun-burnt lord.
NERISSA
The will is clear. The gold, the silver, and the lead.
The one who chooses right shall win your hand.
Enter a SERVANT.
SERVANT
The Prince of Morocco waits without, madam.
PORTIA
I shall receive him. Lead him to the caskets.
Exeunt.
SCENE II. A street in London.
Enter SHYLOCK and BASSANIO.
SHYLOCK
Antonio's ships, I hear, are lost at sea.
His ventures all are shipwrecked. The bond is due.
The day is come, the money is not paid.
BASSANIO
Fear not, the news is but a rumour.
My love, sweet Portia, I go to court her now.
I pray you, hold the bond for one more day.
SHYLOCK
A pound of flesh is my demand, no less!
He mocked my nation, he spat upon my beard.
I shall have my bond! Justice! The law of London!
Exit SHYLOCK in a rage.
BASSANIO
The villain means to have his cruel purpose.
I must make haste to Portia, win her hand,
And use her wealth to save my noble friend.
Exit BASSANIO.
SCENE III. A room in Thomas's house. The caskets are set out.
Enter PORTIA, NERISSA, and the PRINCE OF MOROCCO.
MOROCCO
Which casket will you have? Your father's will
Doth bind you, Princess, and it binds me too.
PORTIA
The will is my guide, the law my only master.
MOROCCO
The golden one says: "Who chooseth me shall gain
What many men desire." The silver: "Who chooseth me shall get
As much as he deserves." The lead: "Who chooseth me
Must give and hazard all he hath."
MOROCCO
I choose the gold, for many men desire you,
And who deserves you but a prince of power?
He opens the gold casket, finds a skull.
A carrion Death! So much for gilded show!
Farewell, sweet lady, my venture is in vain.
Exit MOROCCO.
PORTIA
A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross.
Now for the next.
The Merchant of London's Choice: ACT III
ACT III
SCENE I. A room in Thomas's house.
Enter PORTIA and NERISSA.
PORTIA
The Prince of Arragon did choose the silver,
And found a fool's head in the box. O, these men!
They judge by show and not by inner worth.
NERISSA
But here comes one, the very man you love,
Bassanio! O, let him choose the right!
Enter BASSANIO.
PORTIA
Bassanio! Welcome! O, I fear to have you choose,
For if you choose amiss, I lose your company.
BASSANIO
Let me choose, for I am tormented
With doubts and fears. My friend's life is at stake
On London's 'Change.
PORTIA
Choose then the lead, my love. Think not on gold or silver.
Gilded tombs do worms enclose. The plain and humble lead
Doth promise hazard, and that is love's true test.
BASSANIO
I choose the lead!
(He opens the lead casket and finds Portia's picture and a scroll.)
PORTIA
A song of joy! You have the right! You are mine,
And I am yours, and all that I have is yours!
The wealth of Thomas's house, the ships, the land,
All is in your command!
BASSANIO
My love, my wife! But a dire message comes.
Antonio is lost, his ships all wrecked,
The Jew doth claim the pound of flesh!
Three thousand pounds becomes six thousand now.
PORTIA
Ten thousand, twenty, fifty thousand ducats!
We shall not let my lord Antonio bleed.
I have a plan. Nerissa, give me your hand,
We shall to London, in the guise of men of law,
And save the merchant's life.
BASSANIO
A lawyer? You, my love?
PORTIA
You shall see my wit on trial in the court.
But first, we must be married, for I am yours
And all my wealth is yours to fight this evil Jew!
Exeunt, full of purpose.
ACT IV
ACT IV
SCENE I. A court of law in London.
Enter the DUKE OF LONDON, the MAGISTRATE, ANTONIO, BASSANIO, SHYLOCK, and officers.
DUKE
What, is Antonio here?
ANTONIO
Ready, so please your Grace.
DUKE
I am sorry for thee, thou art come to answer
A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch,
Uncapable of pity, void and empty
From every dram of mercy.
SHYLOCK
I have possessed your Grace of what I purpose;
And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn
To have the due and forfeit of my bond:
If you deny it, let the danger light
Upon your charter and your city's freedom.
BASSANIO
For thy three thousand ducats here is six.
SHYLOCK
If every ducat in that box were yours,
I would not draw the bond. I want my pound of flesh!
DUKE
There is a learned doctor in the court,
A youth, whom I have sent for to determine
This case.
Enter PORTIA, disguised as the doctor of laws, and NERISSA, her clerk.
PORTIA
PORTIA
Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?
DUKE
Antonio and old Shylock, both stand forth.
PORTIA
Is your name Shylock?
SHYLOCK
Shylock is my name.
PORTIA
A pound of flesh is thine; the court awards it,
And the law doth give it.
SHYLOCK
O, noble judge! O, excellent young man!
PORTIA
Tarry a little; there is something else.
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 shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are by the laws of London, to the state
Confiscated.
SHYLOCK
Is that the law?
SHYLOCK
I take this offer then; pay the bond thrice
And let the Christian go.
BASSANIO
Here is the money.
PORTIA
Soft! The Jew shall have all justice; soft! no haste:
He shall have nothing but the penalty.
He hath refused the money in the open court:
He now shall have but justice and his bond.
He also sought the life of a citizen, which by law
Doth cost him half his goods, the other half
Goes to the man whose life he sought, Antonio.
DUKE
The Jew is judged. Confiscate all his wealth.
ANTONIO
I ask not for his wealth, I ask for a conversion.
He shall become a Christian, and upon his death
His wealth goes to his daughter and her new husband.
SHYLOCK
I am content.
Exit SHYLOCK, broken.
DUKE
You, doctor, have done a noble thing this day.
Go home, my friends, and celebrate this justice.
Exeunt.
ACT V
SCENE I. A room in Thomas's house.
PORTIA
We played our parts most well. Bassanio knows not
That 'twas his wife who saved his dearest friend.
NERISSA
My husband also knows not it was I
Who served as your small clerk. Here they come now.
Enter ANTONIO and BASSANIO.
BASSANIO
My dearest Portia, my heart, my life, my all!
The news is good! Antonio's ships are found,
Not wrecked! They sail into the Thames this very morn,
Laden with riches! And the Jew is humbled!
ANTONIO
A glorious end to all our fears and woes!
PORTIA
A glorious end, indeed! My dear Bassanio,
I know the doctor of the law was a great expense to you,
So here is a small token I did obtain from him.
She gives Bassanio his ring, which he had given to the 'doctor'.
BASSANIO
My ring! How did you get it?
PORTIA
I am the doctor, the lawyer, and your wife!
She reveals the truth. A moment of surprise and then great joy.
ANTONIO
A miracle of wit!
PORTIA
The merchant's life is saved, the Jew is done,
The ships are home, the caskets all are won.
All's well that ends well, and our hearts are light,
We'll feast and dance and love with all our might.
The story's over, the comedy is done.
May joy and peace reign in the London sun!
A flourish of trumpets.
Curtain.
PORTIA
Thy bond's in force; take what thou dost desire.
You must be merciful.
Enter PORTIA and NERISSA in their women's clothes.
.......
BASSANIO
I choose the lead!
(He opens the lead casket and finds Portia's picture and a scroll.)
PORTIA
A song of joy! You have the right! You are mine,
And I am yours, and all that I have is yours!
The wealth of Thomas's house, the ships, the land,
All is in your command!
BASSANIO
My love, my wife! But a dire message comes.
Antonio is lost, his ships all wrecked,
The Jew doth claim the pound of flesh!
Three thousand pounds becomes six thousand now.
PORTIA
Ten thousand, twenty, fifty thousand ducats!
We shall not let my lord Antonio bleed.
I have a plan. Nerissa, give me your hand,
We shall to London, in the guise of men of law,
And save the merchant's life.
BASSANIO
A lawyer? You, my love?
PORTIA
You shall see my wit on trial in the court.
But first, we must be married, for I am yours
And all my wealth is yours to fight this evil Jew!
Exeunt, full of purpose.
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