Page 146 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

85
You stand within his danger, do you not?

—Antonio
Ay, so he says.

—Portia Do you confess the bond?

—Antonio
I do.

—Portia Then the Jew must be merciful.

—Shylock
On what compulsion must I? Tell me that.

—Portia
86
The quality of mercy is not strained° / forced
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the earth below.° It is twice blessed: {the place beneath}
It blesseth him° who gives and him who gets.° 87 / one {takes}
88 89
‘Tis mightiest when rendered° by the mighty / given
+Upon the° weak and hopeless., Thus, a monarch° 90 / To those who’re // For a king
It makes more worthy of a kingdom’s rule / to rule a kingdom
Than all the power vested by his crown. 91
92
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,

85. within his danger: within his power to harm you; within the reaches of his bond and the danger of its
consequence; within harm’s way.
86. strained: forced, compelled. By the reference to rain, it implies that mercy cannot be ‘squeezed’ out of a
person.
/ The quality of our mercy is such | That it can not be forced. It drops as heaven’s | Gentle rain, falling ‘pon
the earth below. | Thus, it is twice blessed.
87. {It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.} / him who gives and who receives
that takes: the imagery of him that takes is somewhat inferior to that him who receives, as the former suggest a
willful action rather than a passive reception. Taking thus implies the acquisition of some benefit which comes from
personal action (without the need of a giver), whereas receiving implies a benefit bestowed by a giver. One need not
take rain, it falls from the sky freely—all one need do is receive it.
88. / ‘Tis mightiest in the mighty, when rendered
89. Much of Shylock’s action relates to power (or lack thereof): his power before the court (backed by the laws of
Venice), his power over Antonio (whose life he holds in his hands), as well as the previous sense of powerless that
he felt in regard to Antonio’s oppression. Here Portia is telling Shylock that mercy is mightiest in the mightiest—a
lesson which is irrelevant to Shylock station as a dehumanized Jew, but something she hopes will resonate with
Shylock’s legally assigned position of power (which is the power he seemingly has to grant or to take away
Antonio’s life).
90. / +To those found helpless and weak., A monarch / +To those who’re powerless and weak., A king
91. {It becomes | the throned monarch better than his crown.}
The image is that a kingdom is better ruled by mercy than by power; that (a disposition of) mercy makes a king
better fit to rule than the authority vested in him by his crown.
92. temporal: worldly, material, assigned; temporary and passing
Portia is suggesting that the king’s power is temporal, whereas the quality of mercy, which reflects God’s
attributes, is ever-lasting—it is above this sceptered sway. “By the greatest fate a powerful king may rule the earth
for a hundred years; but through the power of love, he may rule the earth forever.” (Adopted from the Tao Te
Ching)