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—Portia
In terms of choice, I am not solely led 15
By that which gratifies° a maiden’s eye. 16 / By what is pleasing to
Besides the contest rendered° by my father 17 / devised / designed
Bars me the right° of voluntary choosing. 18 / Prevents my right
But if my father had not scanted° me, / thwarted / shorted
And hedged° me by his wit° to yield° myself, 19 / bound / forced // will /// give
As wife, to he who chooses° the right casket 20 / whom so chooses / whom doth choose
Then you great prince, would stand as fair a chance 21

chance, like the roll of a dice.
In terms of the three suitors, Morocco represents the physical dimension and its superior position (in terms
of strength over others). This is the exterior or outermost garment; thus, according to his own disposition, he
chooses the gold chest. Arragon, represents the mind and its superior position (in terms of intellect). This is still
exterior to the true essence or the heart of a man, but more internal than the body. Accordingly, he chooses the silver
casket, which represents the shine of the mind. Bassanio, represents the heart, the innermost being of a man—and
that which is not swayed by outer show—and, accordingly, chooses the lead. Bassanio’s speech, however, belies the
true sentiment of the heart; it appears critical, riddled with discordant images, and it makes not one reference to
Portia (or her attributes) which does not seem consistent with a true-hearted hero. Morocco is true to himself, and
chooses accordingly; Aragon is true to himself, and chooses accordingly. With Bassanio, however, these seems to be
a mismatch between himself (and what we know of him) and his outer presentation (presenting himself as a rich man)
and his choosing the lead casket (and not being prompted by outer show). [See Additional Notes, 3.2.73]
14. to steal your thoughts: to gain access to, or win. your thoughts; to ‘win your affection,’ to have you think highly
of me. (In other words, I would give up my dark appearance, which is my dearest possession, to win your affection).
A literal interpretation might be that Morocco wants to steal Portia’s thoughts (to know what she is thinking) so he
could know which casket to choose—but this is not in keeping with his noble character.
15. soley: The word is somewhat askew in this context. In normal usage, this would read, “I am not exclusively led,”
but in this context would better read, “I am not at all led” in terms of choice. Nothing has a bearing on Portia’s
choice (of a husband) so she is here referring to her personal choice, her affection.
16. {By nice direction of}
/ By that which oft’ persuades / By sights that often sway / By what is pleasing to / By sights that oft’ allure / By
that which captivates / By every fancy of
nice direction: attraction toward what is nice. It is surmised by Morocco that Portia (being a maiden) has the
same sense of beauty as a maiden—which is usually directed toward (in the nice or pleasant direction of) those who
are light-skinned (as opposed to Morocco, who is dark-skinned). However, Portia tells Morocco that she is not
solely swayed by outer appearance (which he assumes to mean that his looks are acceptable to her). Then she refutes
all relevance to this line by adding a caveat: that her opinion bears no value in terms of her choice, nor does it have
any bearing on the outcome of the lottery. Morocco, however, is not so much concerned with winning Portia as a
prize but wants to know (before he chooses) if she finds him attractive—so that if he does wins her, he will have a
wife who loves him (and not someone who despises the way he looks). Clearly Portia dislikes the way he looks—his
dark skin being in such contrast to her light skin—but she does not reveal this. She allows Morocco to interpret her
leading (yet not definitive) remarks in the way which most suits him.
17. {Besides, the lott’ry of my destiny}
/ Besides, the lott’ry of my father’s will / Besides, the lottery that deems my fate
18. / Prevents me from effecting mine own choice / Prevents me from a voluntary choosing / Denies me from the
right of mine own choice
19. {And hedged me by his wit to yield myself}
hedged: hedged me in, restricted me, bound me (by oath)
his wit: his wisdom, his ingenuity (by which this lottery was devised)
to yield myself: to give myself as wife (in way of marriage)—but not necessarily give in way of love
20. {His wife who wins me by that means I told you} / As wife to he who chooses the right casket / As wife who
wins me by the means described
21. {Yourself, renownéd prince, then stood as fair} / Then you, renownéd prince, would stand as fair
then stood as fair: a) stood as favored, worthy; occupied an equally favorable position b) were as appealing,
attractive, c) stood as fair a chance
Portia tells Morocco that he stands as fair (a chance) as any suitor she has looked upon (for her affection).
Morocco ingenuously assumes this as a high complement. What Portia does not tell Morocco is that she has found
all the previous suitors to be deplorable—Morocco, looking like a devil to her, stands equal to the German ‘sponge,’
the French ‘no man,’ the dreadfully sad Count, the self-promoting Neopolitan, and the ill-suited Englishman. In the
instance where fair refers to Morocco’s equal chances of winning her, she is not saying anything either: she is saying