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That this same paper brings you.

—Bassanio O sweet Portia,
Here are a few of the most dreadful° words, {unpleasant’st} / dreaded
That ever blotted° paper. Gentle lady, 39 / tarnished / stained / ruined
When I did first impart my love to you,
I freely told you all the wealth I had
Came from my bloodline, from my favored status
40
Of having so been born a gentleman.
41
And what I spoke was true.° And yet, dear lady, {And then I told you true}
Rating myself at nothing,° you shall see, / as worthless
How much I was a braggart.° When I said° / overstated {told you}
My state was nothing, I should then have said° {told you}
That I was less° than nothing, for indeed {worse}
I have indebted myself to’a dear friend° 42 {engaged myself to a dear friend}
+And out of love for me, he was enforced°, / generosity for me
43 44
To debt° himself to a dear enemy. / bind
What have I done? Here is the letter, lady, {To feed my means} / It was for me
The paper is the body of my friend 45
And every word in it a gaping wound
46
Issuing life-blood. But it is true, Salerio,
Hath all his ventures failed? What,° not one hit?° 47 / With // Not one return
From Tripolis, from Mexico, and England,

39. blotted: marred. Blotted in this context may also suggest words that are also “tear-blotted”—smeared or blotted
by tears (either Antonio’s or Bassanio’s).
40. { . . . all the wealth I had}
{Ran in my veins: I was a gentleman.}
/ Ran in my veins, that I had nothing but° | The social status of a gentleman. / no more than
/ Came from the favored status (/social standing) of my birth, | From my position as a gentleman.
/ Came from the societal benefits of birth / Came from my favorable status of birth
41. In the brief time that they spent together, Bassanio told Portia that the only wealth he had ran in his veins (i.e.
was due to his social standing as a gentleman). yet, in the context of Bassanio’s appearing to have substantial
wealth, Portia would not have taken this humble claim literally. Such a comment would have conveyed the sense
that Bassanio held his true wealth (and thing of most value) to be his bloodline and opposed to outer wealth. (It
could also mean—though unlikely—that the only wealth Bassanio had ran in his veins, i.e., that the only wealth he
considered of value was the love he held for Portia. [See Additional Notes, 3.2.254]
42. / I am indebted much to a dear friend / I borrowed money from my dearest friend / I have indebted myself to a
dear friend
43. / To borrow funds from his dearest enemy.
44. {I have engaged myself to a dear friend, | Engaged my friend to his mere enemy}
mere: worst, fullest; stark, singular, unconditioned
45. A shift of lines could yield the following:
. . . for indeed
To feed my means, jso as to make this journey,k
I bound myself in debt to a dear friend
Who bound himself to a dear enemy.
Here is the letter, lady; the paper
Is but the lifeless body of my friend,
46. A rude and awakening image (of death) in stark contrast to the pristine and anew surroundings of Belmont.
47. Bassanio, having left Venice two days ago, was well aware of the status of Antonio’s ships at that time, and he
was aware that some of Antonio’s ventures had failed and that none of his ships (as of two days ago) had come home
to port. [See Additional Notes, 3.2.265]