Page 181 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

—Bassanio [aside]
Why, I were best to sunder° my left hand,° / cut off {cut my left hand off}
And swear I lost the ring defending it.

—Gratziano
77
My Lord Bassanio gave his ring away
Unto the judge who begged it, and indeed
Deserved it too; and then the boy, his clerk 78
Who° took some pains in writing, he begged mine— {That}
And neither man nor master would take aught° 79
But the two rings.

—Portia What ring gave you, my lord?
Not that, I hope, which you received from me.

—Bassanio
If I could add a lie unto a fault,
I would deny it, but you see my finger
Hath not the ring upon it—it is gone.

—Portia
80
Even so void is your false heart of truth
By heaven, I will ne’er come to° your bed 81 {in}
Until I see the ring! 82

—Nerissa Nor I in yours
Till I again see mine.

—Bassanio Sweet Portia, 83

/ Had you done this to me, I’d be fuming / And were it me, I would be fuming mad. / If this were done to
me I’d be incensed (/indignant / outraged) / If you did this to me, I’d be incensed
77./ Yet your man, too, did give away his ring
78. / Who was deserving of it; then his clerk,
79. / And man nor master would take nothing else
80. / And ever gone is the truth from your heart / And e’er so void of all truth is your false heart / And so your
heart, too, is bereft of truth
81. / By heaven, I swear, I’ll ne’er lay° with you / bed / sleep
82. /And gone from your false heart, is all semblance
Of truth! I swear, I’ll ne’er come to your bed
Until I see the ring!
83. Most modern editions set the previous two lines in the standard iambic pentameter, which suggests no significant
pause in the dialogue. Q1 sets the verse as four half lines (6-4-6-4 syllables) whereas F1 sets it with two half lines
and one full line. (6-10-4 syllables). Q1 could be read with our without a pause in the dialogue, whereas the F1
setting demands two pauses:
Q1 Until I see the ring! F1 Until I see the Ring.
Ner. Nor I in yours Ner. Nor I in yours, til I again see mine.
Till I again see mine! Bas. Sweet Portia,
Bass. Sweet Portia If you did know . . .
If you did know . . .