Page 137 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

We all expect a gentle answer, Jew.

—Shylock
I have informed° your grace of my intention,° {possessed} {of what I purpose}
18 19
And by our holy God of Hosts° I’ve sworn {Sabaoth}
20
To have the due° and forfeit of my bond. / debt > the amount owed
If you deny it, let disaster fall° {the danger light} / the doubt be cast
Upon your charter and your city’s freedom. 21 / fall ‘pon / alight
You’ll ask me why I rather choose to have
A pound° of carrion° flesh than to receive {weight} // lifeless
Three thousand ducats? I’ll not answer that
22
But say it is my bent°— +The way my nature {humour}
Has come to fashion me., Now is it answered?
What if my house be troubled with° a rat / by
And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats
To have it banned?° Well,° are you answered yet? / killed {What}/ Now

18. / And by God’s holy army have I sworn
/ And by our trust in God’s holy° army, / righteous
19. {And by our holy Sabaoth have I sworn}
Many commentators have transposed the term found in Q1, Sabaoth—which is a reference to Yahweh
Sabaoth, God of Hosts or God’s armies—into Sabbath (the holy seventh day). Thus, with this change, Shylock is
made to say: And by our holy Sabbath I have sworn. Such a statement makes little sense in this context. It becomes
even more problematic, as Shylock swears upon our holy Sabbath (and the commandment of God which demands
that a Jew keep the Sabbath holy) in order to break another of God’s commandments: “thou shall not kill.” Hence,
Shylock has swore himself into a predicament. What this shows, moreover, is Shylock’s imperfect brand of Judaism
and his foul understanding of his own tradition. Here he making an oath to the God of the Jews as a device to further
his own personal and ungodly aims and defy the commandments of his own God. [See Additional Notes, 4.1.35]
20. {To have the due and forfeit of my bond}.
The contract that usurers entered into usually had two parts: a) the amount due, which is the principle of the
bond, the amount actually loaned out (plus any interest which accrued), plus b) the forfeit or forfeiture, which is the
penalty that must be paid if the amount due is not paid back on time. Usually the forfeit was a person’s land or other
great expense. Here the forfeit is one pound of flesh. Present usury laws in most countries render such contracts
illegal (especially between individuals). These include loan contracts which carry too high an interest rate and/or
contracts which contain some kind of penalty. For instance, the usury rate in New York is 18%, which means that a
loan between individuals cannot carry an interest rate higher than 18%. In New Jersey, the rate is 30%. Hence,
contracts that charge a interest rate above a state’s usury rate is illegal. In most states, the loaning party would lose
all rights to collect interest on such a loan; in New York, such a contract being illegal, would be null and void and
the borrowing party would not be required to pay back any of the money borrowed
21. / If you deny it, let the consequence | Befall° your charter and your city’s freedom
/ defame / debase / debauch / besmirch / destroy
/ If you deny it, let all doubt alight | Upon the charter that grants your city | It’s renown freedom of commerce and
trade.° / It’s reputation of fair trade and commerce.
22. {But say it is my humour; it is answered?}
my humour: my particular, inborn disposition or nature. This refers to the unchanging bent of ones character or
disposition which is determined by the balance of the four main humours or fluids of the body—i.e., blood, phlegm,
clear or yellow bile [choler], and dark bile. Blood is associated with the liver (and a lack thereof produces
cowardice); phlegm with the lungs / brain; yellow bile with the spleen (producing anger or one who is choleric or
splenetic); and dark bile with the gall bladder (producing one who has a gall or choler). [See 3.5.58, for Launcelot’s
use of the term].
Shylock’s point is that a person cannot give reason as to why he has a particular dominance of humour (and
why he acts in a particular way), as that is simply the way he was born—it is his unchangeable nature. Thus, again,
with imperfect logic, Shylock is saying that he is really not responsible for his actions, that he cannot change them,
that he is prompted by his nature. (This goes against the central Jewish doctrine of man’s free choice). Shylock then
goes on to describe—with limited success—the various actions of persons who are inclined toward one particular
humour or the other: those who are sad, fearful, sluggish, etc. [See Additional Notes, 4.1.42]
The term humour can also refer to one’s whim, one’s wish, one’s liking—and this is the way that most
people would hear this line: ‘why do you want the pound of flesh?’ Shylock is asked—and he replies: ‘it is my
humour, it is my whim, it pleases me (and that is the reason).’