Page 85 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

34 35
To claim° my prize and my fortune to be. / And here’s

He opens the silver casket and pauses

—Portia
Too long a pause for that which you find there.° 36 / you do see / would agree

—Arragon
What’s here? The portrait of a blinking° idiot. / dull-eyed
Presenting me a schedule.° I will read it. / with a scroll
How much unlike art thou to Portia!
How much unlike my hopes and my deservings!
‘Who chooseth me shall have as much as he deserves.’ 37
Did I deserve no more than a fool’s head!
Is that my prize? Are my deserts° no better? > Is what I deserve

—Portia
38
By your own hand, O Prince, your choice is made;° / you made your choice
39 40
Can° I be judge of that?° / Need // I need not be the judge

—Arragon And what is here?

He reads

41 42
Five times fire did burn° this; {try} > purify

34. {I will assume desert. Give me a key for this, | And instantly unlock my fortunes here}
/ I will assume desert—give me the key | To claim my prize for all the world to see.
/ I will assume desert—the key for this | To instantly unlock my prize of bliss
35. Unlike Morocco’s soliloquy, Arragon makes no mention of Portia, only himself. Morocco mentions both
himself and the lady; Bassanio mentions neither himself nor the lady.
36. Here, as in 2.9.78, Portia’s subsequent line rhymes with Arragon’s previous line. The original reads:
Arr: And instantly unlock my fortunes here. Arr: Patiently to bear my wroth.
Por: Too long a pause for that which you find there. [52] Por: Thus hath the candle singed the moth. [78]
In this emendation (unlike the original) Arragon closes with a rhyming couplet. As such, the triplicate rhyme
added by Portia may not be necessary.
37. Arragon misquotes the inscription which suggests that he is recalling it, not actually reading it.
38. / By your own hand, you have rendered a verdict / By you own choice, O prince, you gave a verdict
39.{To offend and judge are distinct offices | And of opposèd natures.}
Portia is saying: One who offends (Arragon), due to lack of wisdom, cannot be in a position to judge or give
sentence (since this requires wisdom). In other words, an offender is in no position to judge himself; someone
qualified to judge would not have committed the offence in the first place. If Portia is being asked by Arragon to be
the judge (and overrule the verdict), she is politely excusing herself. She does not want to offend Arragon by
personally agreeing with the verdict; nor does she need be in the position of judge since Arragon’s own choice has
already rendered judgement. [See Additional Notes, 2.9.60]
40. / Need I be judge of that? / ‘Tis not my place to judge || And what is here?
/ I need not be the judge of that. || What’s here?
41. {The fire seven times tried this}
tried: refined, purified [See Morocco’s use of the term, 2.7.53]
42. Q1 reads as follows:
The fire seven times tried this
Seven times that judgement is,