The appearances of these may be deceiving. Jessica, the daughter of Shylock, meets with Lancelot and tells him that she will miss him after he leaves to go work for Bassanio. Pause a day or two Before you hazard, for in choosing wrong I lose your company. How many cowards whose hearts are all as false As stairs of sand wear yet upon their chins The beards of Hercules and frowning Mars, Who, inward searched, have livers white as milk, And these assume but valor’s excrement To render them redoubted. Ere I ope his letter,I pray you tell me how my good friend doth. My purpose was not to have seen you here. Best of all for you, you are getting a girl whose gentle spirit is fully committed to yours and is willing to be directed by you as if by her lord, her governor, or her king. My Lord Bassanio and my gentle lady, I wish you all the joy that I can wish you, so that there's none left for you to wish for from me. My maid Nerissa and I will be as chaste as maids and widows while you are gone. Although I am yours, I am not yet officially yours. Shylock's house isn't a good place to live, and Launcelot made it interesting, at least. “You that choose not by the view, Chance as fair, and choose as true: Since this fortune falls to you, Be content, and seek no new. But now let me try my luck and go to the caskets. Merchant of Venice Act 3, Scene 1 Modern English Translation Meaning Annotations – ICSE Class 10 & 9 English. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Have all of his business ventures failed? More detail: 3 minute read. And yet, dear lady, My state was nothing, I should then have told you, That I was worse than nothing, for indeed. But the full sum of me Is sum of something which, to term in gross, Is an unlessoned girl, unschooled, unpracticèd; Happy in this—she is not yet so old But she may learn. Or in the heart or in the head? But thou, thou meagre lead, Which rather threaten’st than dost promise aught, Thy paleness moves me more than eloquence, And here choose I. Joy be the consequence! For the first time, everyone, including Bassanio, seems to process the horrible reality of the revenge plot. I don't have much money. I pray you tell me how my good friend doth. When you see this ring off my finger, feel free to say that Bassanio is dead! But you, humble lead, you who threaten more than you promise, your paleness moves me more than I can say, and I choose you. There are some serious matters in that letter that are making Bassanio's face go pale. Therefore, you gold, the solid metal that Midas couldn't eat, I will have nothing to do with you. In torture, Bassanio? If your love do not persuade you to come, let not my letter.”, [Reading the letter aloud] "Sweet Bassanio, all my ships have been wrecked. Analysis: Act III, scenes i–ii The passage of time in The Merchant of Venice is peculiar. Sweet Portia, these are some of the most unpleasant words that were ever written on paper. [He reads aloud] "You who choose not based on appearances have good luck and chose correct! Fair lady, by your leave. So wait a while. Some close friend of his must have died. And when you have your wedding ceremony to solidify your union, I beg that I may be married at the same time. Pay him six thousand and deface the bond! I am much more troubled here watching you than you are, doing the deed. So wait a while. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. BACKBENCHERS ACADEMY #MAYANK SIR. How doth that royal merchant, good Antonio? Students love them!”. If you be well pleased with this And hold your fortune for your bliss, Turn you where your lady is And claim her with a loving kiss.” A gentle scroll. Oh, it's wrong that you are kept from what is yours! My estate is very low. I wish I were twenty times better than myself. he makes the wrong choice. Oh, it's wrong that you are kept from what is yours! Portia is so strictly bound by the legal rules in her father's will, that she must abide by whatever happens even if it means that she loses the man she loves. [To Portia] With your permission, I bid my friends and countrymen welcome, Sweet Portia. I won't rest at all until we are reunited. And so do I, my lord. Enter LORENZO, JESSICA, and SALERIO, a messenger from Venice. Many cowards with disloyal hearts have beards like brave Hercules and Mars, the god of war, even though they have no guts and are easily frightened. Since you have gained this fortune, be content and don't seek anything more. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. You will never lie by my side with a troubled soul. Your fortune depended on the casket there, and so did mine, as it turns out. About “The Merchant of Venice Act 3 Scene 2” Portia confesses her love to Bassanio and asks him to put off taking her father’s challenge so that he can’t lose at it. And I spoke truly then. There’s something tells me (but it is not love) I would not lose you; and you know yourself, Hate counsels not in such a quality. Well, if that half of me is mine, then it is yours, too, so all of me is yours. Jessica's comment implies that Shylock is consumed by the desire for revenge. And are you being sincere and honest, Gratiano? This letter here is like the body of my friend, and every word on it is like a gaping wound, spilling out blood. What, not one hit? And when your honors mean to solemnize The bargain of your faith, I do beseech you Even at that time I may be married too. “Sweet Bassanio, my ships have all miscarried. With all my heart, I say yes, if you can find a wife. Since I have your permission to go away, I will hurry. I could teach you How to choose right, but I am then forsworn. We are like the hero Jason after retrieving the golden fleece. Jessica feels sad that Launcelot is going to quit. Act III Scene II PORTIA : Please wait; wait a day or two before you choose; because, in choosing wrong, I lose your company; so wait a while. That thinks he hath done well in people’s eyes, Whether these pearls of praise be his or no—. Though for myself alone I would not be ambitious in my wish To wish myself much better, yet for you I would be trebled twenty times myself— A thousand times more fair, ten thousand times more rich— That only to stand high in your account I might in virtue, beauties, livings, friends Exceed account. Which when you part from, lose, or give away. I am much more troubled here watching you than you are, doing the deed. Here are severed lips, Parted with sugar breath. I must rejoice within good measure and not too much. If you truly love me, you will find it. The last word of every line in the song rhymes with "lead." In short, appearances can be tricky and often deceive even the wisest. Is sum of something which, to term in gross. Let music sound while he doth make his choice. Lorenzo and Salerio, welcome, if I can welcome you here so soon after winning ownership of this place. Read the full text of The Merchant of Venice Act 3 Scene 2 with a side-by-side translation HERE. For never shall you lie by Portia’s side With an unquiet soul. Jessica, Shylock's daughter, is talking to Launcelot.She is unhappy that he's leaving. One half of me is yours, and the other half is yours—I mean mine. Bassanio speaks directly to the audience and tells them that to… This introduces the sub-plot of Lorenzo- Jessica love story. Go, my Hercules! Lorenzo and Salerio, welcome hither, If that the youth of my new interest here Have power to bid you welcome. Then confess what treason you have committed out of your love. You see me as I am, standing here, Lord Bassanio. Some dear friend dead, else nothing in the world, Of any constant man. And if he wins, what will be the point of the music? SCENE 2. My Lord Bassanio and my gentle lady, I wish you all the joy that you can wish, For I am sure you can wish none from me. This letter here is like the body of my friend, and every word on it is like a gaping wound, spilling out blood. With much, much more dismay I view the fight than thou that makest the fray. Video study guide of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. His last request—to see Bassanio before he dies—sounds like that of a lover, rather than that of a friend. His letter there will show you how he is faring. To make him really like a swan, I'll cry a river for him to swim and drown in. It will be our honor to celebrate your marriage, as well, at our wedding feast. Shakespeare juggles these differing chronologies by using Salarino and Solanio to … Act III: Scene 2. But first let me hear the letter from your friend. Gentle lady, When I did first impart my love to you, I freely told you, all the wealth I had Ran in my veins. I wish you had won enough to replace what Antonio has lost. He pleads his case to the Duke every morning and every night, and says that if he is denied justice it would be a disgrace to the state. Let's go, then. I thank your lordship, you have got me one. With his metaphor of speaking to Portia with the blood in his veins, Bassanio connects love to the description of humans as animals that Shylock used to define human beings in 3.1. All Acts and Scenes are listed on the The Merchant of Venice text page, or linked to from the bottom of this page.. ACT 3. My lord and lady, it is now our time,That have stood by and seen our wishes prosper,To cry, “Good joy, good joy, my lord and lady!”, My lord and lady, it is now time for those of us who have stood by here and seen our wishes come true, to cry out, "Good joy, good joy, my lord and lady!". Who, inward searched, have livers white as milk. Speak too long, but for you I would wish I had been the sum! 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