Page 100 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

One half of me is yours, the other half yours—
Mine own I would say—but if mine, then yours,
And so all yours. O, these wicked° times {naughty} / woeful / awful
Put bars° between the owners and their rights. 10 / walls
11
And so, though yours, still not yours. Make your choice
And prove +that I am yours. In this, I’ve sworn
12 13
To give no help.° And so, should you choose wrong ,
Let fortune go° to hell for it, not I. 14 / My fortune goes
I speak too long; but ‘tis to slow° the time, 15 {pieze / piece} / weigh
To eke° it and to draw it out in length, 16 {ech / etch}
To stay you° from your choice.° / To hold you {election}

—Bassanio Nay, let me choose,
17 18
For as I am, I live° upon the rack. / I’m stretched

—Portia
Upon the rack, Bassanio? Then confess

b) Your eyes have overlooked me and see me as two
10. / Puts barriers ‘tween the owners and their rights / Bars us from claiming what we rightly own. / Has people
barred from what they rightly own / Puts walls between an owner and his rights
bars: barriers, obstacles; bars, as in the bars of a prison
11. / And so, though yours, not yours. So make your choice
12. / To offer thee no help. If you choose wrong / To give no help. And so, should you choose wrong
13. And so, though yours, still not yours. Prove it so,
+By your own choice, that I am truly yours.,
+In this, I cannot help. Should you choose wrong, / +And should it be you fate to choose the wrong,
14. / My hopes and dreams go to hell but not I.
15. {I speak too long, but ‘tis to peize the time}
peize: to weigh down, load, burden; hang weights upon
peize the time: add weights to the (pendulum of the) clock so as to make time move more slowly.
piece the time: draw out, elongate, add pieces to the time (as in seconds, minutes, hours, etc.)
Q1 has peize which means, ‘to weigh down, and may refer to the slowing of the clock, which is
accomplished by hanging weights upon the pendulum. It could also refer to the weighing (making more meaningful)
the time. (‘Weigh with deliberation each precious moment.’ — Clarendon). Many editors dismiss this image and
take peize to be a misspelling of peise, meaning to piece, augment, or add to. Piece the time would mean to add
pieces to it, so as to make the time longer. In both cases the meaning is the same: it relates to slowing, prolonging, or
adding to the time. Portia, not confident that Bassanio will choose the right casket—which would force him to leave
at once—wants to enjoy his company for as long as she can.
The image of hanging weight upon the clock to slow down the time, could be depicted more literally:
/ I speak too long; but ‘tis to hang more weight | Upon the clock, in hopes of slowing time,
16. {To ech it and to draw it out in length} / To try and eke it and draw out its length / To draw and eke out every
last moment
ech (eke): to prolong, extend, protract, augment, increase. Often used with out, as in ‘eke out the time.’
17. {For as I am, I live upon the rack} / For I now live as stretched upon the rack
upon the rack: refers to the image of a person being painfully stretched upon the rack (a common instrument of
torture in Medieval times). This method of torture was commonly used to extract confessions from accused
criminals and traitors (those who were accused of treason). The term rack, means ‘to painfully stretch.’ [Antonio
uses this term in 1.1:181-82: Try what my credit can in Venice do; | That shall be racked, even to the utmost.]
Bassanio is saying, ‘For as I am (having to wait until I can make my choice) I feel as if I am being stretched
upon the rack (and cannot bear to be tortured thus a minute longer). stretched upon the rack as a metaphor to signify
his patience being stretched, i.e., his having to wait for Portia. The wait is tortuous and, as such, he cannot wait the
additional month or two which Portia suggests, even though it could increase his chances of winning her. He cannot
even wait another minute and proceeds directly to the caskets. Bassanio’s being stretched may also be in terms of his
finances which are low and at their breaking point.
18. Option: add a line here for clarification: +Like one who’s been stretched to the breaking point.,