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To spit on thee again, to spurn thee, too.
If thou wilt lend this money, lend it not° / don’t lend it
As to thy friend—for when did friendship make° {take}
61
Profit° on barren metal, +breeding it° / Interest //as if it
As if° the offspring of a living creature?, 62 / Just like / would / ‘twere
Nay,° lend it rather to thine enemy {But}
Who, if he breaks, thou may’st with better° face / sterner / rigid
Exact° the penalty. / Demand

—Shylock Look how you storm! 63
I would be friends with you and have your love,° / favor / grace
Forget the shames that you have stained me with,
Supply your present wants, and take no drop° {no doit} / no hint
64
Of interest° for my monies —and you’ll not hear me. 65 {usance} / profit

59. Antonio’s likely response, being that he is in need of Shylock’s help, is to apologize, pay Shylock the lip-service
he desires. But Antonio refuses to acknowledge his mistreatment of Shylock or apologize for it—even though such
an apology would better his chances to help Bassanio. Antonio is willing to give up his life for Bassanio, but he is
not willing to treat Shylock as an equal nor approve of any manner of usury or usurer.
As part of a staging, Bassanio could intervene (for his own benefit, to insure that the loan is not
jeopardized) and calm Antonio down.
60. Optional lines to add:
+And every usurer as well! You beguile° / deceive
And cozen men of their rightful possessions / out of their livelihood
Leaving them hapless° and in total ruin. / stricken / helpless
You call this ‘thrift,’ though it be none but theft.°, / I say it is thievery
+Your baneful°practice of usury affronts / harmful / sinful / wretched
All that is righteous in the eyes of God.,
These lines could be added here to explain Antonio’s loathsome attitude toward usury (which usually
involves trickery and deceit more so than simply loaning money which carries interest). Antonio’s attitude toward
usury was already made know in the revised opening lines and would not be necessary here (unless the production
wanted to emphasize this point).
This passage indicates the true grievance Antonio has against Shylock—which involves his ruinous
practice of usury, not his Jewishness. However, Shylock is quick to implicate Antonio’s hatred as being that against
Jews (as opposed to a usurers), saying: ‘He hates our sacred nation’[1.3.45]. Obviously Shylock is mistaken in this
regard. Usury was seen as an ‘ungodly’ practice, founded upon deception and exploitation, which often led to the
loss of all one’s wealth and property—and that is why the good Antonio was so adamantly set against it. [See
Additional Notes, 1.3.127]
61. {As to thy friends, for when did friendship take | A breed for barren metal of his friend?}
breed: offspring. Charging interest on a loan (i.e., making money from money, producing ‘offspring’ from
barren metal) was viewed as unnatural (and going against divine law); for money, made out of metal, cannot breed
and multiply (its own kind) like a living thing. Jews, at the time, could not own property and loaning of money, with
interest, was one of the few ways they could earn a profit. Some argue that the charging of a full seven days of
interest (per week) went against the laws of the Sabbath since one’s money was ‘working’ and ‘creating’ on the day
when man was commanded to rest.
62. / —for when did friendship breed | Barren metal +as ‘twere a living thing? | Such a perversion goes against
nature.,
/ —for when did friendship charge | Interest on barren metal +as if it were | The offspring of a living creature. ‘Tis
| A perversion which fouls divine law., / frustrates / offends
63. {Why look you how you storm} / Why how you storm
The line, as it appears in Q1, is somewhat awkward, as it repeats the term you twice, and contains 6 + 6
iambs (instead of 4 + 6). Both suggest some kind of error in the text or typesetting. The emended contains a
singular reference to you, and is made to fit the standard meter of 5 iambs (instead of 6).
64. {And take no doit | Of usance for my monies}
/ And take no drop | Of profit° for my monies / interest
65. What does it mean: ‘you’ll not hear me’? If could mean: and you will not hear my offer, my proposal (for the
loan). More deeply, it could mean: and you will not hear me, you will not accept me as a person, as an equal, as a
friend. Antonio never ‘sees’ or ‘hears’ Shylock as a person; likewise, when Shylock has power over Antonio, he