The Merchant of The court room

The Merchant of Venice The Court Room

Act 3 scene 5

In Act 4 scene 1 and Act 4 scene 2 we see some of the most important bits in this book, the courtroom. Here Portia disguised

In his jokey conversation with Jessica, why is Launcelot against the conversion of Jews to Christianity?

Jews are against eating pork but Christians are not. He loves pork so he thinks that if there are more Christians the prices of pork will go up.

What is Jessica’s opinion of Portia?

Jessica definitely seems to respect her a lot from their brief conversations so far.

Act 4 scene 1

What does the Duke believe Shylock intends to do?

In the Duke's eyes, Shylock is evil, he shows no mercy so the Duke believes he will kill Antonio when taking the pound of flesh.

What does Shylock intend to do, and what reasons does he give for his decision?

He intends to not show mercy and to take his pound of flesh from Antonio's body even if it kills him. He believes nothing can convince him to stop.

Why must the law be allowed to stand (why can’t the judge dismiss this case)

Because if he dismisses this case it sets an example to everyone else. Everyone will not worry about contracts since they won't get affected if they don't give the money back since the law can be bent by the duke. This could fracture the economy in Venice which would result in an economic crisis this would be bad for a money dependant state/country.

Shylock is very clear about the restrictions in the wording of the deed, how does Portia use these loopholes?

The bond only says a pound of flesh nothing else no less no more. If it wasn't for this bond taking Antonio's flesh would be illegal so going outside of the bond is illegal wich making blood spill, taking a tiny bit more or less or killing him is outside of the bond agreement. This is the loophole he used at first but then was used against him.

What penalties does Shylock now have to pay? Are they fair? Why/why not.

He has to give a lot of his money to Antonio and the Duke. He also must convert to Christianity and write in his will that all of his money will go to his daughter are her new husband, Lorenzo. It is sort of fair he did basically attempt to murder Antonio, but being forced to change his religion is a bit harsh.

How do Lorenzo and Jessica gain by the result?

Shylock has to give them all of his money when he dies.

What reward has Portia claimed and why is this significant?

She claimed the ring of Bassanio while disguised as a guy even though he claimed that it would go with him to the grave and that he would never take it off.

Portia tells Shylock ‘The quality of mercy is not strained’. How does she try to persuade Shylock to show mercy, how much mercy is she willing to show him (line 345-362)

He refuses to show mercy before and even says that he will not get a doctor to stop Antonio bleeding since that is not in the contract. Because of this Portia shows no mercy even when asked to she refuses to show mercy.

A4S1 L 70-80. Antonio gives us three short images of how useless any attempt by Bassanio to save his life will be

What are they?

You may as well tell the ocean to lower

You may as well tell the wolf to not eat the lamb

You may as well tell the pine trees to stop growing tall on the mountains and making noise when the wind blows

What do they tell us about one of Shakespeare's interests?

They tell us that he is interested in the Christian Bible

Do you think this is an effective way of demonstrating the problem? 

Yes, it does explain his situation perfectly. Trying to convince Shylock is like trying to do one of those.

Each example is an extreme and impossible, what influence does this have on how you expect the rest of the scene to develop.

This makes people suspect Antonio will lose a pound of flesh since it would seem impossible to convince him to show mercy.

A4S1 L90-100, Shylock uses vivid comparisons when he wants to make a point.
What example does he use to illustrate the fact that the pound of flesh is his: ‘tis mine and I will have it’
It is much longer comparison than the three used by Antonio but do you think it is more striking/effective/convincing?

Act 4 scene 2


What invitation does Portia refuse and why?

She refuses an invitation to dinner with Bassanio and his friends since she needs to get back and if she went to the dinner she might be discovered.

What does Nerissa plan to get, why do you think this is important?

She plans to get the ring she gave to Gratiano that he said he would never take off his finger and would take to the grave. Doing exactly what Portia did.

Do you admire Portia after these scenes, or do you find her actions cruel? Use examples to support your thinking.

Not completely I admire the judge bit but not the convincing Bassanio to give her the ring. That was a bit messed up since it would be incredibly hard in that situation.