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—Tubal
But Antonio is certainly undone. 64

—Shylock
65
Nay, that’s true, that’s very true. Go Tubal, get me° an officer, and give him a two-week notice.
I will have the heart of him if he forfeit—for were he out of Venice I can do what business I
66
67 68 69
will. Go, Tubal, and meet me at the Rialto. Go, good Tubal; at the Rialto Tubal.
get me: {fee me} / find me / hire me
Exeunt. They go separate ways

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64. Tubal, again, is trying to divert Shylock from his grief (over the loss of his daughter) to something Shylock will
be glad of—Antonio’s losses.
65. {Bespeak him a fortnight before}. > Tell the officer to arrest Antonio in a fortnight (when the bond is due) if
Antonio does not pay the full amount due. This securing of an officer in two weeks (when the bond is due) defies the
time frame of the play: Bassanio is now in Belmont with plenty of time to win Portia, return to Venice, and pay off
the debt—as planned—before it is due. (Bassanio set sail for Belmont at the end of 2.6). [See: Essays, Time Warp]
66. This line is somewhat out of place. Shylock’s plan to kill Antonio, to get him out of the way, no longer makes
sense since Antonio is a bankrupt and would no longer have sufficient money to loan out. [See Additional Notes:
3.1.121]
67. {Go, Tubal, and meet me at our synagogue. Go, good Tubal; at our synagogue, Tubal.} The likely intention here
is to show the Elizabethan audience that Jews use their synagogue as a place to do business—which is the very thing
that Jesus revolted against. Tubal has just arrived back from a long trip; Shylock had spent a good amount of money
to pay for Tubal’s trip, but he does not know how much the trip cost (And I don’t know what’s spent in the search.
Why, thou—loss upon loss! [86-87]). Hence, Shylock must go and meet with Tubal to work out the finances and
settle the balance for Tubal’s trip (and to give Tubal the fee so that he may secure an officer in two weeks time). But
why Shylock directs Tubal to meet him at the synagogue is unclear, unless there is an open area in front of the
synagogue where it is convenient to meet. Some commentators interpret this meeting at the synagogue to suggest that
Shylock needs Tubal to meet with him at the synagogue so that Shylock can take a vow before God—a vow to kill
Antonio (if he should forfeit). However, there is no support that Shylock needs Tubal in order to take such a vow,
and Shylock’s taking a vow before God (which we hear about in 4.1) has no tangible relationship to Shylock meeting
with Tubal at the synagogue. [See Additional Notes, 3.1.123]
68. This line marks the end of a series of somewhat odd lines, spoken by Shylock, where he needlessly repeats his
words. Such lines include:
What, what, what? Ill luck? Ill luck? [94]
I thank God, I thank God. Is it true? Is it true? [96]
I thank thee good Tubal. Good news, good news! Ha, ha, here in Genoa. [99]
Four score ducats at a sitting! Four score ducats! [104]
I am glad of it. I’ll plague him, I’ll torture him. I am glad of it. [109]
Go Tubal and meet me at out synagogue. Go, good Tubal, at our synagogue, Tubal. [121]
69. For a discussion of Shylock’s emotional state, and how his sadness has been displaced by rage, see Additional
Notes, 3.1.124