Summary: Act II, scene v
Shylock warns Launcelot that Bassanio will not be as lenient
a master as Shylock himself has been, and that Launcelot will no
longer be at liberty to overeat and oversleep. Shylock calls for
Jessica and tells her that he has been summoned for dinner. Worried
by a premonition that trouble is brewing, Shylock asks Jessica to
keep the doors locked and not look out at the revelry taking place
in the streets. Launcelot whispers to Jessica that she must disobey
her father and look out the window for the Christian who “will be
worth a Jewës eye” (II.v.41). Shylock asks
Jessica about her furtive conversation with Launcelot, and says that,
though Launcelot is kind, he eats and sleeps too much to be an efficient,
worthwhile servant. After Shylock has left to see Bassanio, Jessica
bids him farewell, thinking that, if nothing goes wrong, Shylock
will soon have lost a daughter, and she, a father.
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Act II, scene v →
Summary: Act II, scene vi
As planned, Gratiano and Salarino meet in front of Shylock’s
house. They are especially anxious because Lorenzo is late, and
they think that lovers tend always to be early. The garrulous Gratiano expounds
on Salarino’s theory that love is at its best when the lover chases
the object of his affection, and that once the lover captures his
lady and consummates the relationship, he tends to tire and lose interest.
Lorenzo joins them, apologizes for his tardiness, and calls up to
Jessica, who appears on the balcony dressed as a page. Jessica tosses
him a casket of gold and jewels. Jessica descends and exits with
Lorenzo and Salarino. Just then, Antonio enters to report that Bassanio
is sailing for Belmont immediately. Gratiano is obliged to leave
the festivities and join Bassanio at once.
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Act II, scene vi →
Summary: Act II, scene vii
Back in Belmont, Portia shows the prince of Morocco to
the caskets, where he will attempt to win her hand by guessing which
chest contains her portrait. The first casket, made of gold, is
inscribed with the words, “Who chooseth me shall gain what many
men desire” (II.vii.37). The second, made
of silver, reads, “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves”
(II.vii.23). The third, a heavy leaden casket,
declares, “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath” (II.vii.16).
After much pondering, the prince chooses the gold casket, reasoning
that only the most precious metal could house the picture of such
a beautiful woman. He opens the chest to reveal a skull with a scroll
in its eye socket. After reading a short poem chastising him for
the folly of his choice, the prince makes a hasty departure. Portia
is glad to see him go and hopes that “[a]ll of his complexion choose
me so” (II.viii.79).
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Act II, scene vii →
Summary: Act II, scene viii
Having witnessed Shylock’s rage upon learning of Jessica’s
elopement, Solanio describes the scene to Salarino. Shylock, he reports, railed
against the loss of his daughter and his ducats, and he shouted a
loud, urgent appeal for justice and the law to prevail. Solanio hopes
that Antonio is able to pay his debt, but Salarino reminds him of
rumors that the long-awaited ships have capsized in the English Channel.
The two men warmly remember Bassanio’s departure from Antonio, wherein
the merchant insisted that his young friend not allow thoughts of
debt or danger to interfere with his courtship of Portia.
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Act II, scene viii →
Summary: Act II, scene ix
The prince of Arragon is in Belmont to try his luck at
winning Portia’s hand in marriage. When brought to the caskets,
he selects the silver one, confident that he “shall get as much
as he deserves” (II.ix.35). Inside, he finds
a portrait of a blinking idiot, and a poem that condemns him as
a fool. Soon after he departs, a messenger arrives to tell Portia
that a promising young Venetian, who seems like the perfect suitor,
has come to Belmont to try his luck at the casket game. Hoping that
it is Bassanio, Portia and Nerissa go out to greet the new suitor.
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Act II, scene ix →
Analysis: Act II, scenes v–ix
In these scenes, Shylock is again portrayed as a penny-pinching,
but not wicked, master. Indeed, he seems to think himself quite
lenient, and when he calls Launcelot lazy, this jibe seems likely
to be an accurate description of the buffoonish retainer. Shylock’s
fear for his daughter and his distaste for the Venetian revelry
paint him as a puritanical figure who respects order and the rule
of law above all else, and who refuses to have “shallow fopp’ry”
in his “sober house” (II.v.34–35).
Shylock’s rhetoric is distinctive: he tends to repeat himself and
avoids the digressions common to other characters. As more than
one critic has pointed out, he is characterized by a one-track mind.
