Page 117 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

Bassanio opens the letter and reads it.

—Gratziano
28
Nerissa cheer our guest, [Jessica] entreat° her welcome. {bid} / beseech
29
Your note,° Salerio. What news from Venice? {hand}
30
How is° that royal merchant, good Antonio? {doth} / does / goes
I know he will be glad of our success:
Like Jason, we have won the golden fleece. 31

—Salerio
32
I would you had won the fleece that he hath lost.
jI loathe to say,° but all his ships are gone.k 33 / I tell you now

—Portia [seeing Bassanio]
Yon paper must display° some cursèd° content° 34 / dispatch // evil / baleful
To steal the color° from Bassanio’s cheek. / roses
Some dear friend dead?—else nothing in the world
35
Could turn to such° extent the disposition° 36 / full // steady nature
37
Of so constant a man.° {Of any constant man}
Bassanio looks worse than before
What, worse and worse? 38
With leave° Bassanio, I am half yourself, / O please
And I must freely have the half of all° {anything} / whate’er

28. {cheer yon stranger} Jessica, who was previously called ‘infidel’ is here referred to as ‘stranger’—meaning an
outsider, i.e., non-Christian. Thus Gratziano wants to make a special effort to welcome her.
29. hand: > the note or news you carry in your hand
30. that royal merchant: This address is somewhat aloof. Had Salerio been a friend of Antonio (as is Salarino and
Salanio), Gratziano might have said, “How is our good friend, Antonio?” Royal, in this context, is a superlative
meaning, ‘princely,’ ‘grand,’ ‘great,’ etc.
31. {We are the Jasons, we have won the fleece.}
32. Fleece is a pun on fleets: I wish you had won the fleece [fleets] that he has lost, i.e., Antonio has lost all his
fleets, and I wish the fleets that you had won could make up for his losses.
33. / I’m loathe to say it: all his ships are gone
Grat: We are the Jasons: both of us have won / We are the Argonauts, and we have won
The golden fleece.
Sal: O had you won the fleece / I wish you’d won
That he hath lost: jfor all his ships are gone.k / Alas, his ships are gone.
34. {There are some shrewd contents in yon same paper}
/ It seems yon paper holds some cursèd content / carries cursèd news / carries news afoul
shrewd: often interpreted to mean, ‘evil,’ ‘cursed,’ ‘unfortunate,’ ‘harmful, ‘grievous’ etc. but the term is more
likely taken at face value, to mean, ‘clever,’ or ‘crafty’ (or ‘sharp’) in that the words are able to steal away (by some
clever or tricky means) the color from Bassanio’s face. We often see the word ‘Beshrew’ which is mild scold or
swear.
35. / Could turn with such resolve / Could move with such extent / Could so completely turn
36. {Could turn so much the constitution}
/ Could turn with such precision,° the nature / dreadfulness
/ Could so fully reverse° the disposition / alter
37. constant man: steady, unwavering, self-controlled
Portia is describing Bassanio as a constant, steadfast, reliable, and steady man. Clearly she is not aware of
Bassanio’s true character—as a irresponsible spendthrift and risk-taker. (But this is something she is going to soon
learn about). Here she is judging him on her idealized and imagined version of him.
38. / Of such a self-controlled man. What, and worse?