Page 72 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

And fair she is—if that mine eyes be true;
And true she is—as she hath proved herself;
And therefore, like herself—wise, fair, and true—
28
Shall she be carried° in my constant° soul. {placèd} / faithful / deepest

Enter Jessica

30
29
What, beauty art thou! Gentlemen, away, {What, art thou come!}
31 32
Let us make ground° awhile the maskers play. / make haste / depart / be gone
Exeunt Lorenzo, Jessica, Salarino, and Salanio

Enter Antonio 33

—Antonio
Who’s there?

—Gratziano
Signior Antonio?

—Antonio

28. / Shall she be carried, always, in my soul.
29. {What, are thou come! On gentlemen, away.}
What, art thou come!: / How beautiful! > How beautifully thou art come!
/ What beauty has come! Gentlemen away
30. on gentlemen away: Q1 has {What, art thou come, on gentleman away} which many editions emend in the
form of a question: ‘What, are thou come? On, gentleman, away!’ But to whom does the term gentleman refer?
(Jessica is disguised as a boy and not a gentleman). F1 has: ‘On gentlemen, away’ which is more likely and more
fitting the scene (and this is a term which could refer to Salarino and Salanio, and it could include Jessica in jest).
Thus we can suspect that the original term may have been gentlemen which may have been changed to gentleman by
a well-meaning typesetter (the same one who ‘corrected’ the stage heading by adding the name Salerino to it). This
likelihood also supports the notion that both Salarino and Salanio are present in this scene.
31. {What, art thou come! On, gentlemen, away | Our masquing mates by this time for us stay.}
/ . . . On gentlemen, away | Let’s go before we cause too much dismay
/ . . . On gentlemen, let’s go | Let us get far before our friend’s e’er know.
masquing mates: fellow party-goers who will be at Bassanio’s masquerade party. The masqing mates may be
waiting for this group to arrive—yet it is unlikely that Lorenzo is going to the ball to meet them. The command ‘on
gentlemen’ is more likely a prompting (along with ‘For the close of night doth play the runaway’) that they make
their getaway before their masquing mates notice they are not at the feast (and go out looking for them). Despite
Lorenzo’s excitement about having a torchbearer (someone to herald his entrance) the masque is the last place they
want to be seen; the plan is to exit the city, under cover of night, while everyone in distracted with the masque.
[See Additional Notes, 2.6.59]
32. In 2.8 Salarino tells Salanio of Bassanio’s departure and so he must have gotten off the gondola and proceeded to
the masque (where he might have been employed as a distraction or to offer an excuse as to Lorenzo’s whereabouts).
Meanwhile Salanio helped Lorenzo and Jessica steal away from Venice (while everyone was busy with the masque).
Lorenzo’s last line, ‘Our masquing mates by this time for us stay,’ should be taken as an indication to make haste,
since ‘by this time’ their masquing mates (friends at the party) are waiting for their arrival and, as the hour grows
late, they might get ancy and go out looking for them, which might draw notice and suspicion. As it turns out,
everyone at the masque became acutely aware that Gratziano (and likely Lorenzo) was missing, because 20 men
were sent out in search of him.
33. The timing of Antonio’s arrival, and his meeting with Gratziano near Shylock’s house, is amiss. Antonio would
not be going out in search of Gratziano with Bassanio’s departure so immanent (for Antonio had already sent out 20
men to find him). Rather, Antonio would be eking out his time with Bassanio. [See Additional Notes, 2.6.60]