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I would give° all, I’d° sacrifice them all, {lose} / ay,
Here, to this devil, to deliver you.

—Portia [aside]
Your wife would give you little thanks for that,
If she were by° to hear you make the offer. / Were she nearby

—Gratziano
I have a wife whom, I declare,° I love. {protest}
I wish° she were in heaven, so she could {would}
Entreat some power to change this dogged° Jew. 138 {currish}

—Nerissa [aside]
‘Tis well you offer it behind her back,
For° such a wish would make a troubled° house. 139 / Else {unquiet} / noisy

—Shylock
These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter— 140
I’d prefer° any kin° of Barrabas 141 / rather {stock}
142
Had been° her husband, rather than a Christian. / Would be / To be
We trifle° time. I pray thee, pursue° sentence. 143 / squander / play with

—Portia
A pound of that same merchant’s flesh is thine,
The court awards it, and the law doth give it.

—Shylock
Most rightful° judge! / righteous > correct in judgement

—Portia
And you must cut this flesh from off his breast,
The law allows it, and the court awards it.

than thy life
138. Gratziano’s plea is a comic relief—his friendly love for Antonio would not give him cause to sacrifice his wife
on Antonio’s behalf. His comment serves to support the theme of his pairing with Bassanio, a theme that was seen
earlier (in the mutual wedding) and which we will see later (with the misplacement of rings). Gratziano’s plea,
though misplaced, also gives Shylock some fodder upon which to comment.
139. {The wish would make else an unquiet house}
unquiet: a) noisy—from all the screaming; b) restless, anxious, troubled
/ Else the wish ‘twould make an unquiet house. / Else the wish would bring yelling in the house
140. Shylock still claims that he has a daughter. He has not disowned her, nor stated, ‘she is dead to me’— which
would usually be the case where a daughter married a Christian (and betrayed her father in doing so).
141. Barrabas: a thief chosen to be released over Jesus. Shylock (after seeing the way that Christians treat their
wives) is saying that he would rather have the lowest of all Jews (a thief) marry his daughter rather than a) a
Christian (even the highest among Christians), or b) a Christian thief such as Lorenzo.
142. [See Additional Notes, 4.1.294]
143. / I pray, proceed to sentence