Page 33 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

But hear° me, signor— 46 {note}

—Antonio Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness° 47 / that cites the holy books
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
48
A goodly° apple rotten at the heart.° / shiny // to the core
49 50
O, what a godly° outside falsehood hath! {goodly} / tempting
+ [aside] Of all the men in Venice, good Bassanio,,
+Could ye not find a one but this vile usurer? , 51

—Shylock
Three thousand ducats. ‘Tis a good round sum.
Three months from twelve; now,° let me see the rate. . . . {then}

—Antonio
Well, Shylock, shall we be indebted° to you? {beholding} / beholden

—Shylock
Signior Antonio, many a time and oft
In the Rialto you berated° me, {have rated}
About my monies° and my usances— / business
Yet° I have borne it with a patient shrug, {still} > always

46. What was Shylock going to say before he was interrupted? Clearly he is derailed by Antonio’s harsh
comments—or perhaps by some extraneous distraction, such as the knocking over of some money or some paper on
his table. In the next line, Shylock composes himself by stating something obvious and bland {Three thousand
ducats, ‘tis a nice round sum} then he regains his previous line of thought—where he expresses his deep resentment
at the way Antonio has treated him. [See Additional Notes, 1.3.93]
47. witness: accounts, testaments, evidence (to support his evil views)
48. {goodly} > appearing good on the outside
49. Antonio’s harsh words—if spoken directly to Shylock—reflect his true feelings (which he is not able to hold
back) even though such an outburst jeopardizes Bassanio’s chances of getting the loan. To paint Antonio in a more
sensitive light, these words could be spoken as an ‘aside’ to Bassanio.
If Shylock is meant to hear these words it would come as a frontal attack, referring to him as a devil, an evil
soul, a rotten apple, and a villain. Antonio says this unabashedly, with impunity, as if somehow he is entitled to
speak to Shylock in such a way—even when he is in the situation of disadvantage and in need of Shylock’s help.
(Later in the conversation Antonio continues his stance by saying, I am as like to call thee so again, to spit on thee
again, to spurn thee, too. [126-27]) Shylock never speaks to Antonio in this way as he does not feel the same kind
of entitlement or superiority as does Antonio. Even later, when the tables turn and Shylock has full power over
Antonio, he does not attack him with words, nor does he use any disparaging terms. He only refers back to what
Antonio has called him, thou called’st me dog, yet he does not attack Antonio nor call him a dog. What Shylock does
when in a position of power, rather than attack and abuse, is to retreat, to refuse Antonio the right to speak
[3.3.12;13;17]. [See Additional Notes, 1.3.99]
50. / O, how these lies are wrapped in good appearance. / Oh what a good appearance falsehood wears!
51. These lines could be added to reveal Antonio’s discomfort at being in the presence of a usurer—and tangentially
show that his hatred is toward the vile practice of usurers, not Jews (otherwise the line might have read: ‘Could ye
not find a one but this vile Jew?’)
To more forcefully show Antonio’s position, and specifically show that his hatred against Shylock is in regard to
his practice of usury and not his Jewishness, Antonio could praise the Jews while pointing out that Shylock’s actions
are at odds with those of his own people. Thus, the following lines could be added instead:
+Now here is one who serves his own interest,
+And thus befouls the honor of his own people. , / And fouls the righteousness of his own people