Page 81 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

To courtship and° such fair ostents° of love 15 / To win her with // displays
As shall most fittingly° become° you there.’ 16 {conveniently} // come to
And then, right there,° his eyes aflow with tears, 17 {And even there} / And on the spot
He turned his face and put his arms around him, 18
19
And with affection, so fully displayed,° expressed / apparent / evident
20 21
He kissed Bassanio’s cheek, and so° they parted. / thus

—Salanio
22
His only love in this world is for him.
I pray thee, let us go and find Antonio° {find him out}
To quicken° his embracèd heaviness 23 / lighten
With some delight or other.° / and laughter

—Salarino So we shall.° {Do we so} / Let us go

Exeunt

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15. {To courtship and such fair ostents of love}
fair ostents of love: / fair displays of love / fair showings of love
ostent: a shortened form of ostentation. Ostents, as used here, means to show or display, whereas the term
ostentation carries the meaning of a grand, pompous, or even pretentious display.
16./ As shall arise in your heart when you’re there
At this point, Antonio still believes that Bassanio is going to Belmont in order to win Portia in a
conventional scenario, which would involve wooing and courtship, and ‘fair ostents of love.’ This is the scenario
that was first presented to Antonio in 1.1 and the one he still believes to be true. Antonio has not been told of the true
nature of Bassanio’s hazardous venture which involves a chance drawing of caskets. [See Essays: The Lottery]
17. And then, right there, his eyes abound° with tears / afresh / adorned / aflow // filled / bursting
18. {Turning his face, he put his hand behind him}
This image painted by Salarino suggests that Antonio says ‘good-bye’ to Bassanio and then puts his hand
behind him (Bassanio) in an affectionate, half-embrace. Alternatively, it might indicate that Antonio says ‘good-bye’
to Bassanio, turns his face to go, but wanting one final touch, Antonio (without looking back) puts his hand behind
himself, and reaches back to touch Bassanio. The first image suggests that Antonio half-embraces Bassanio and then
wrings his hand; the second image suggests that Antonio reaches back and wrings Bassanio’s hand.
19. {And with affection wondrous sensible} / And with his love so fully evident
wondrous sensible: amazingly evident (to the senses)
20. {He wrung Bassanio’s hand, and so they parted}
It seems unlikely that this ‘amazingly evident display of affection’ would culminate with a regular handshake,
after such displays as hugging and kissing were over. More likely, it indicates one, last desperate attempt to touch
Bassanio, however so slight, by Antonio. To simplify this image, the handshake was replaced with a kiss.
21. / And even there, among the onlookers,
His eyes were big with tears. Turning his face,
He put his arms around him, then with great
Affection, showing wondrous emotion
22. {I think he only loves the world for him}
/ I think his only love in life is him. / I think Bassanio is the world to him. / I think he liveth only for
Bassanio.
23. / And steal the sorrow he doth now embrace