Page 167 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

ACT FOUR - Scene 2

A street in Venice. Enter Portia and Nerissa, still in disguise 1

—Portia
Inquire the way unto the Jew’s abode, 2 / Find out
And have him sign the deed. We’ll then away 3 / We’ll leave tonight
And be at home a day before our husbands.
This deed will be a blessing° to Lorenzo. {well welcome}

Enter Gratziano

—Gratziano
4
Fair sir, at last, I have ov’rtaken you.° / I have caught up with you
My Lord Bassanio, upon more advice,° / reflection > consideration
Hath sent you here this ring, and doth entreat / request
Your company at dinner.

—Portia
That cannot be . . . 5
+For we must leave for Padua tonight.°, / at once
But I accept his ring° most thankfully, {His ring I do accept}
And so° I pray you tell him. Furthermore, / thus
I pray you show my youth old Shylock’s house.

—Gratziano
That I will do.

1. Of course, Portia, who was called in to settle the matter between Shylock and Antonio, would not be involved in
the tedious administration of drafting the deed of gifts nor would she be sent to Shylock’s house to have it signed by
him—especially not after she brought him to ruin. In addition, the fact that Portia has no legal experience would be
revealed had she anything to do with the drafting of Shylock’s deed of gift. All the more unlikely that Portia would
be involved with the drafting and execution of the deed of gift, since she was not of Venice and she was keen on
returning to Padua. Yet, despite the unlikelihood of the scene, it is needed to allow time for Nerissa to obtain her
ring from Gratziano, and also allow her time to get hold of the deed of gift to give to Lorenzo.
2. / Inquire directions unto the Jew’s house / Have someone show you the way to the Jew’s house
3. {Inquire the Jew’s house out, give him the deed | And let him sign it. We’ll away tonight.}
4. {Fair sir, you are well o’erta’en} o’erta’en: overtaken. Q1: ore-tane
Some editors feel that this line was truncated so that Gratziano had a chance to regain his breath, after a
chase. The pause, however, is not warranted, and the shortened line (along with the awkward contraction,
‘o’erta’en, —may be a result of an unreadable portion of text. Since this truncated line add no appreciable meaning
to the iambic pentameter has been restored.
/ Fair sir, I have at last, caught up with you. / Fair sir, I’ve come upon you at last. Hence,
5. The subject of Portia’s negation (‘that cannot be’) is unclear: it could refer to her disbelief that Bassanio gave up
his ring and/or to the impossibility of her joining Bassanio for dinner (though, if this be her intent, then the response
‘I cannot’ would bring more clarity. (The Duke had already entreated her to join him for dinner—which she humbly
pardoned herself [397-400] so there would be no way for her accept Bassanio’s invitation. Obviously Bassanio did
not near the Duke’s prior invitation nor Portia’s reply).
The most likely playing of this line is for Portia to speak the words in disbelief (to others or bemuseingly to
herself)—it referring to Bassanio having given up his ring. But then she catches herself, pauses, and qualifies her
previous line as a reference to her not being able to meet Bassanio for dinner. In the original, the reference of ‘that
cannot be’ is uncertain, though it later seems to refer to the dinner invitation. In the rectification, a clarifying line has
been added to make her intent more explicit— and to support the staging which is suggested above.