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I will make haste, but I go in dismay 68
69
All beds that beckon,° I’ll solemnly spurn, / E’er bed that beckons
70
And slumber ne’er° a wink, til I° return. / And shall not sleep // ere my
Exeunt 71

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68. / And now that I have your good leave to part | I will make haste but I’ll make a sad start;
/ Now that I have your good leave to depart / And as I have your permission to part
/ I go in haste, yet with a saddened heart;
69. / E’er bed that beckons, that bed I will spurn / All beds that call, I will solemnly spurn
70. {Since I have your good leave to go away,
I will make haste, but till I come again,
No bed shall e’er be guilty of my stay,
Nor rest be interposed ‘twixt us twain.}
Here Bassanio makes the customary vow of the romantic hero—which is that he will not sleep until the task is
completed and he returns to his beloved. This passage remains a vestige of the fairy tale qualities of a romantic hero
and not a vow one would take at face value. [See Additional Notes, 3.2.324]
71. A comical stage direction could be as follows: Bassanio rushes to make a hasty exit, stage right—toward
Venice—but is caught by the elbow, and swung do-see-do, to stage left by Portia—toward the church.