Page 34 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

For sufferance is the badge° of all my people.° 52 / mark, sign > hallmark {tribe}
54
53
You call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog,
And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,
And all for use of that which is mine own.
Well then,° it now appears you need my help— / Well, well
55
To hell with that!° You come to me and say: / Well spit on that
‘Shylock, we wish for° monies.’° You say so— {would have} / need some
You that did void your spit° upon my beard° {rheum} // face
And kick me as you’d spurn a worthless dog° {stranger cur} / ling’ring dog
Out from your doorway.° Now you ask for money: 56 {over your threshold}
What should I say to you? Should I not say,
‘Hath a dog money? Is it possible
A cur° can lend three thousand ducats?’ Or / dog / mutt
Shall I bend low, and in a servant’s voice,° 57 / lowly tone
With bated breath and whispering° humbleness, 58 / whimpering
Say this: ‘Fair° sir, you spat on me on Wednesday last— / kind
You spurned me such a day. Another time
You called me ‘dog’—and for these courtesies
I’ll lend you thus much monies’?

—Antonio
I am as like° to call thee so again, / And I am wont

52. {For suff’rance is the badge of all our tribe}
suff’rance: forbearance, patient endurance (of abuse), long-suffering.
the badge of our tribe: refers to the distinguishing trait of Jews which is their ability to endure the hardship
piled upon them by Christian oppression. It could also refer to the badge, a distinguishing yellow ‘O,’ that Venetian
Jews were compelled to wear. In 1.3, the term tribe, designating the nation of Jews, is used by Shylock three times:
cursèd be my tribe [1.3.48]; a wealthy Hebrew of my tribe [1.3.54]; sufferance is the badge of our tribe [1.3.107].
The term, however is misplaced and it is unlikely that a Jew would refer to the nation of Jew by that term.
53. misbeliever: infidel; one who believes in a mistaken God or path to salvation—as opposed to a ‘disbeliever’
which refers to one who has no belief in God.
54. cut-throat: one who cuts the throat of others. The terms would refer to the usurer who cuts the throat of, or
kills, the livelihood of others—and is therefore likened to a murderer.
55. {Go to, then; you come to me and you say}
go to: an expression of annoyance and disbelief which, in extreme cases, could mean ‘go to hell’ or ‘get lost.’ It
could be more vaguely, and less forcefully, expressed as: ‘come on now,’ ‘you must be kidding,’ or ‘what’s up with
that?’ The forceful expression of ‘go to hell’ (or ‘get lost’) serves to prompt Antonio into anger, into a storm—which
works to Shylock’s advantage—whereas ‘go to, then’ ‘come on now,’ is less prompting in its effect. ‘Spit on
that’—which means to reject something—relates to Antonio’s action of spitting on Shylock (which Shylock cites
later in his complaint).
56. {Over your threshold, monies is your suit.} / Outside your house; now money is your suit.
57. {in a bondman’s key}
bondman’s key: sounding like, with the voice of, in the feeble tone of a serf or servant (bondman).
58. / With a gentle breath, and a humble whisper