Page 136 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

—Duke
Make room, and let him stand before our face. . . . 8
9
Shylock, the world thinks—and I think so too—
That thou but leadest° this fashion of thy malice / lead / forward
To the last hour of act° and then, ‘tis thought, / Until the final hour
Thou’lt show thy mercy and remorse; and yet
This ill-conceived° action is e’er more strange° 10 / ill-advisèd / queer / baffling
Than is the strangeness of thy feignéd° cruelty. 11 {apparent} / open / obvious
12
And where thou now exact’st° the penalty, / demand / exact
Which is a pound of this poor merchant’s flesh,
Thou wilt not only lose the forfeiture° / pardon all the fees
But, touched with human° gentleness and love,° {humane} // kindness and compassion
Forgive a portion° of the principal,° {moiety}
13
And glance° an eye° of pity on his losses {Glancing} / Showing // Shedding a tear
That have, of late, so huddled on his back—
Enough to press a royal merchant down. 14 / burden a royal merchant
And such a loss° should pluck a strain of pathos 15 / A loss so great
From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint,
16
From stubborn° brutes and warriors° never trained / faithless {Turks and Tartars}
In such demeanor that were soft or tender. 17

Shy: [180— On what compulsion must I?,203, 220, 223, 225, 232,243]
Iew (or Jew): [247—‘Tis very true, O wise and upright judge, 249, 253, 256, 259, 292, 298, 301]
Shy: [311— Is that the law?]
Iew: [315— I take this offer then, pay the bond thrice]
Shy: [332— Give me my principal and let me go, 338, 341, 370, 389, 391, 394] Note: the speech heading of line
394—In christening shalt thou have two Godfathers—attributes the line to Shylock {Shy.} which is clearly in
error—the line belongs to Gratziano.
8. > have him stand in such a way that we can clearly see him
9. Though the Duke is partial to Antonio’s plight (as evidenced in the opening lines of the scene) here he is showing
deference to Shylock (and giving him the opportunity to change his position) by asking others to make room for him
and by calling him by his name.
10. {Thou’lt show thy mercy and remorse more strange}
/ This ill-conceived course is even more strange / And yet this course conceived is e’en more strange / Yet
this recourse is even more bizarre / Yet such an ill-bred action is e’en more queer
/ That thou wilt show thy mercy and remorse; | Yet such a course is even more bizarre
11. {Than is thy strange apparent cruelty}
apparent: a) obvious, visible, b) show of, what appears to be
12. / Thou’lt show thy mercy; yet such course is stranger | Than is the strangeness of thy apparent |
/ Yet this conceived course is even more strange | Then is the strangeness of thy apparent |
/ Cruelty. And where you now demand the forfeit,
13. / And looking on his losses with some pity
14. {Enough to press a royal merchant down} / And now do burden a royal merchant
It is odd that the Duke is calling for Shylock to take pity on Antonio and forgive some portion of the principal (in
light of Shylock’s overtly merciless intentions). Having the Duke call on Shylock to forgive the forfeiture (and then
have Antonio pay him back when he was able) would be more likely an appeal. [See Additional Notes, 4.1.28]
15. {And pluck commiseration of his state}
/ Such loss would pluck a strain of pathos, e’en / a requiem of pity / a dirge of remorse
> And bring about some pity (in your heart) as a result of his (unfortunate) condition
16. {From stubborn Turks and Tartars never trained | To offices of tender courtesy}
Turks: generally classed with Jews, infidels, and heretics—i.e., those in need of redemption
Tartars: the brutal and bellicose warriors who made up the hordes of Ghengis Khan
17. {From stubborn Turks and Tartars never trained | To offices of tender courtesy}
/ From stubborn brutes and vicious fighters ne’er | Trained in demeanor that were soft or tender