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What, there’s a masque?° Hear you me, Jessica, {What, are there masques?} / A masquerade?
Lock up my doors, and when you hear the drum
13
And the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife,
Do not climb you up to the windows then, 14
Nor thrust your head into the public street
To gaze on Christian fools with varnished° faces:° / painted // colored masks
But plug° my house’s ears—I mean my casements;° {stop} // windows
Let not the sound of mindless° fopp’ry° enter {shallow} / folly
15
My somber house. . . . By Jacob’s staff I swear
I have no mind° of feasting forth° tonight, / I’ve no desire // going out
16
But I will go. [To Launcelet] Go you before me, then, 17
Say I will come.

—Launcelet I will go before, sir.
[aside to Jessica] Mistress, look out the window for all this:
There will come a Christian by / There a Christian will come by,
Will be worth a Jewess eye / Worthy of a Jewess’ eye.

Exit

—Shylock
What says that fool of Hagar’s offspring, ha? 18

—Jessica
His words were, ‘farewell mistress’—nothing more.

—Shylock

13. / And the vile squeals of the wry-necked fife-player
fife: a small, shrill-toned musical instrument resembling a flute and used mainly with drums to make music which
would accompany marching. Fife as well as drum (mentioned in the previous line) could refer to the instrument or
the musician playing the instrument. Hence, drum would be a reference to ‘a drummer’ and fife to ‘a fife-player.’
wry-necked fife: refers to the image of a flute player who twists his neck and hold his head awry (bent to one
side) while playing. McDonnell, however, believes that the squealing of the wry-necked fife might indicate the
sound of the wry neck, a bird with a high-pitched call which writhes its head and neck, though this interpretation is a
stretch. (In current literature, this line is often misquoted as: ‘the vile squeaking of the wry-necked fife.’)
14. {Clamber not you up top the casements then} / Do not arise and look ye out the window // Don’t climb you up to
the windows to look
15. {By Jacob’s staff} This is not a Jewish saying. Jacob’s thrift, however, is a characteristic admired by Shylock,
and Shylock often identifies with this biblical character. A Jacob’s staff referred to a pole which provided a firm
foundation for a compass or astronomical instrument. Thus, “by Jacob’s staff” would mean, “by that which supports
me,” or more loosely, “by my gut feeling.”
16. We find no clear reason as to why Shylock is invited to dinner—unless out of Bassanio’s gratitude for his having
generously loaned him the money, gratis. The feast may be in honor of Shylock. Moreover, we do not know why
Shylock consents to go, especially after having made the point, earlier that day, that he (as a Jew) would not eat with
a Christian. [1.3.9-30] [See Additional Notes, 2.6.38]
17. {Go you before me, sirrah}
sirrah: a low (though not disparaging) term which is often used in reference to a servant. Portia also uses the
term when addressing her servants [1.2.129]
18. Hagar’s offspring: a negative reference to Ishmael, the foolish son of Abrahams’s Egyptian concubine, Hagar.
Hagar (and her son) left Abraham’s house, complaining of his harsh treatment, and later they became outcasts.
[Genesis 21:9-21] [See Additional Note, 2.5.43]