Page 25 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

Come Nerissa, ‘tis° just like before: 68 / it’s / it is
Whiles we shut the gate upon one° 69 / upon one more
70 71
Another now comes to knock at the° door. / on my

Exeunt

68. {Come Nerissa, sirrah, go before}
sirrah: a term used to address someone of low standing, such as a servant, or a boy
69. {Whiles we shut the gate upon one wooer}
wooer: in the original, wooer may have rhymed with before and door, and thereby provided for a triplicate rhyme
scheme. In modern pronunciation the rhyme is only between before and door.
/ Whiles one suitor leaves, and chances° no more, / Whiles one suitor leaves to depart my shore
/ We go and shut the gate upon one more
70. {Another knocks at the door} / While comes another to knock at the door
71. As mentioned (in a previous note), the original may have been pronounced with a triplicate rhyme scheme,
involving before, wooer, and door. The meter of the rhyming lines, however, is not certain, (and is not part of the
standard iambic meter): the first two lines have nine syllables and the third, has seven. If a triplicate rhyme was
intended, then the third line would contain nine syllable and could be emended as follows: ‘Another suitor knocks at
the door’ or ‘Another comes to knock at my door.’
The rectification above, contains three rhyming lines of ten syllables each, yet the meter does not conform
to the standard iambic pentameter. In the standard iambic pentameter, there is an emphasis on the fourth syllable, in
the above meter, the emphasis is on the fifth syllable.