Summary: Act III, scene i
Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions,
senses, affections, passions . . . ? If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?
And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?
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Salarino and Solanio discuss the rumors that yet another
of Antonio’s ships has been wrecked. They are joined by Shylock,
who accuses them of having helped Jessica escape. The two Venetians
proudly take credit for their role in Jessica’s elopement. Shylock
curses his daughter’s rebellion, to which Salarino responds, “There
is more difference between thy flesh and hers than between jet and
ivory” (III.i.32–33).
Salarino then asks Shylock whether he can confirm the rumors of Antonio’s
lost vessels. Shylock replies that Antonio will soon be bankrupt
and swears to collect his bond. Salarino doubts Shylock’s resolve,
wondering what the old man will do with a pound of flesh, to which
Shylock chillingly replies that Antonio’s flesh will at least feed
his revenge. In a short monologue, Shylock says Antonio has mistreated
him solely because Shylock is a Jew, but now Shylock is determined
to apply the lessons of hatred and revenge that Christian intolerance
has taught him so well.
Salarino and Solanio head off to meet with Antonio, just
as Tubal, a friend of Shylock’s and a Jew, enters. Tubal announces
that he cannot find Jessica. Shylock rants against his daughter,
and he wishes her dead as he bemoans his losses. He is especially
embittered when Tubal reports that Jessica has taken a ring—given
to Shylock in his bachelor days by a woman named Leah, presumably
Jessica’s mother—and has traded that ring for a monkey. Shylock’s
spirits brighten, however, when Tubal reports that Antonio’s ships
have run into trouble and that Antonio’s creditors are certain Antonio
is ruined.
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Act III, scene i →
Summary: Act III, scene ii
In Belmont, Portia begs Bassanio to delay choosing between
the caskets for a day or two. If Bassanio chooses incorrectly, Portia
reasons, she will lose his company. Bassanio insists that he make
his choice now, to avoid prolonging the torment of living without
Portia as his wife. Portia orders that music be played while her
love makes his choice, and she compares Bassanio to the Greek hero
and demigod Hercules. Like the suitors who have come before him,
Bassanio carefully examines the three caskets and puzzles over their inscriptions.
He rejects the gold casket, saying that “[t]he world is still deceived
with ornament” (III.ii.74), while the silver
he deems a “pale and common drudge / ’Tween man and man” (III.ii.103–104).
After much debate, Bassanio picks the lead casket, which he opens
to reveal Portia’s portrait, along with a poem congratulating him
on his choice and confirming that he has won Portia’s hand.
The happy couple promises one another love and devotion,
and Portia gives Bassanio a ring that he must never part with, as
his removal of it will signify the end of his love for her. Nerissa
and Gratiano congratulate them and confess that they too have fallen
in love with one another. They suggest a double wedding. Lorenzo
and Jessica arrive in the midst of this rejoicing, along with Salarino,
who gives a letter to Bassanio. In the letter, Antonio writes that
all of his ships are lost, and that Shylock plans to collect his
pound of flesh. The news provokes a fit of guilt in Bassanio, which
in turn prompts Portia to offer to pay twenty times the sum. Jessica,
however, worries that her father is more interested in revenge than
in money. Bassanio reads out loud the letter from Antonio, who asks
only for a brief reunion before he dies. Portia urges her husband
to rush to his friend’s aid, and Bassanio leaves for Venice.
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Act III, scene ii →
Analysis: Act III, scenes i–ii
The passage of time in The Merchant of Venice is
peculiar. In Venice, the three months that Antonio has to pay the
debt go by quickly, while only days seem to pass in Belmont. Shakespeare
juggles these differing chronologies by using Salarino and Solanio
to fill in the missing Venetian weeks.
As Antonio’s losses mount, Shylock’s villainous plan becomes apparent.
“[L]et him look to his bond,” he repeats single-mindedly (III.i.39–40).
Despite his mounting obsession with the pound of Antonio’s flesh,
however, he maintains his dramatic dignity. In his scene with the
pair of Venetians, he delivers the celebrated speech in which he
cries, “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions,
senses, affections, passions . . . ? If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die?”
(III.i.49–55). We
are not meant to sympathize entirely with Shylock: he may have been
wronged, but he lacks both mercy and a sense of proportion. His
refusal to take pity on Antonio is later contrasted with the mercy
shown him by the Christians. But even as we recognize that Shylock’s
plans are terribly wrong, we can appreciate the angry logic of his
speech. By asserting his own humanity, he lays waste to the pretensions
of the Christian characters to value mercy, charity, and love above
self-interest.