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If you be well-pleased with this, / pleasèd
Hold your fortune for° your bliss, / with
Turn ye toward your loving miss {Turn you where your lady is}
And claim her with a loving kiss. 95

A gentle° scroll! Fair lady, by your leave, / kindly
96
I come by note, to give and to receive.
Just like a fighter who obtains the prize, 97
Who seems triumphant in the people’s eyes, 98
Hearing applause and the echoing° shout 99 {universal}
Giddy in spirit, yet gazing° in doubt, / ling’ring
Whether those clam’ring cheers° be his or no,° {peals of praise} // not
So, thrice-fair lady, I stand even so,° / on the spot
As doubtful° whether what I see be true, / Still doubting
100 101
Until confirmed, signed, ratified by you.

—Portia
You see me, Lord Bassanio, where I stand,
Such as I am. Though, for myself alone,° / when it comes to me
I would not be so daring° in my wish {ambitious}
To wish myself much better, yet for you 102

95. It is not clear as to when—if ever—Bassanio claims Portia with a loving kiss. Some productions, concurring
th
with Rowe (a foremost commentator of the early18 century), have Bassanio claim Portia (with a loving kiss) at the
end of this line (I come by note, to give and to receive) after handing her the note. This timing is doubtful since
(later in the same passage) Bassanio tells of his confusion, his unsureness, and so he would not be in a position to
claim Portia. Others have the loving kiss come after line 148 (Until confirmed, signed, ratified by you)—which is
still somewhat early. The kiss can also come after Portia’s line [167], Myself and what is mine to you and yours | Is
now converted. It can also occur after Portia gives him the ring, in line 174 (And be my vantage to exclaim on you).
In the original there is no stage direction for the kiss, nor any clear pause or indication as to when such a kiss would
be planted. We cannot say for sure that one is even given. We see throughout the play that Bassanio is never able
to ‘claim’ Portia; she is always in charge and never acts as the docile princess eager to be claimed by her gallant
prince—save for a few sentimental lines [108-113] which she is eager to dismiss (Scant this excess—make it less) or
a few stray lines wherein she fully gives herself to Bassanio [149-175] which, however, end with a condition ( Let it
presage the ruin of your love | And be my vantage to exclaim on you.) [See Additional Notes, 3.2.138]
96. To coincide with the words, ‘I come by note,’ Bassanio could offer Portia the scroll.
97. {Like one of two contending in a prize} / Like one who fights and comes to win the prize
98. / Who° thinks he’s done well in the people’s eyes, {That}
99. / Amidst a great applause and thun’drous shout
100. What confirmation does Bassanio seek?—that he has won the lottery (which is apparent) or that he has won the
true fortune of the lottery, i.e., Portia’s love. Bassanio is doubtful (unsure) about the truth of what he sees; he sees
Portia smiling at him (and seemingly pleased with the outcome) but he wants assurance, he wants her to affirm not
only that he has won the lottery (which is apparent) but also that he has indeed won her heart and the fullness of her
love (which is not, in his mind, assured by the lottery). [See Additional Notes, 3.2.148]
101. Bassanio talks only of his confusion—when, in fact, there really should be no confusion at all. In the first
soliloquy, after opening the casket, he describes the picture of Portia (but not her) with glowing words; after reading
the scroll, he talks of his uncertainty; after his uncertainty is pacified, he talks about his joyful bodily confusion—but
not once does he actually speak of Portia, nor her beauty, nor his love for her, nor his assumed state of joy. All his
talk is indirect, metaphorical, speaking of a picture, of winning a fight, of buzzing cheers—but never once of Portia.
Not once, in all his talk, does he even mention her name.
Is this the way a true hero would approach it?—winning without even recognizing it? Being confused and
unsure? Or would a hero take hold of this triumphant moment and use it as a glorified opportunity to now give full
expression to his (previously bridled) love?
102. / I am content and would not dare to wish | That I, myself, be better, yet for you