Page 99 - William_Shakespeare_-_The_Merchant_of_Venice_191

ACT THREE — Scene Two 3.2.0

Belmont.
Enter Bassanio, Portia, Gratziano, Nerissa, and attendants. 1

—Portia [to Bassanio]
I pray you, tarry.° Pause a day or two > spend some more time
2
Before you choose, for if your choice is wrong
I lose your company. Thus, forbear° awhile. / hold back / remain
There’s° something tells me—and I dare not° say / Now // cannot
It’s love—that I could not endure° to lose you / bear
And you know that indifference° counsels not {hate} / disfavor
3
In such a way —+so hear° what goes° unsaid. , / heed // what’s left
4
But lest you should not understand me well°— / fully
And yet a maiden hath no tongue but thought— 5
I would detain° you here some month or two / I want to keep
Before you venture for me. I could teach you
How to choose right, but then I break my oath,° {I am forsworn} 6
And that will° never be—so° you may miss me. {That will I} / thus
But if you do,° you’ll make me wish a sin, > miss me / choose wrong
8
7
That I did break my oath.° So blame your eyes; / vow
They° have bewitched me and divided° me: 9 That // bewildered / confused

1. The theory that Bassanio received some kind of indirect help from Nerissa, in determining the right casket, is
supported by the text. To indicate this to the audience, he and Nerissa could be seen conversing, or conspicuously
together, before the scene opens.
2. {Before you hazard, for in choosing wrong }
3. {There’s something tells me—but it is not love— | I would not lose you; and you know yourself | Hate counsels
not in such a quality.} / Disfavor counsels not in such a manner.
> My heart is telling me—but (because I am not allowed to show any favoritism) I cannot say that I am speaking
out of love, but (what I want to say) is that I could not bear to lose you—and you know yourself, that love, not hate,
speaks in such a way.
4. / so hear what is unspoken / so hear what I have not said / so hear what I cannot say / so hear the words unspoken /
so hear what’s left unsaid
5. / And yet a maiden’s only voice is thought / A maiden’s thoughts move but not her tongue
> a woman is not allowed to truly speak her mind (but is only allowed to think such thoughts)
6. I am forsworn: I have sworn falsely, I have failed to keep my oath. Forsworn is repeated later in the passage
but at no other place in the text. It is interesting to note that a few lines later [53-62] Portia references a story about
Hercules from Ovid’s Metamorphoses wherein, in the English translation (by Golding) the same word forsworne
appears—and this is the only place in the 15 books of the Metamorphoses that the word is used. The likely
implication is that the author referenced a copy of Golding’s Metamorphoses while composing this portion of the
text (as opposed to simply recalling the story from a past reading).
7. {That I had been forsworn}
8. {Beshrew your eyes}
9. {They have o’erlooked me and divided me}
o’erlooked: a) bewitched, as in being amazed and charmed, b) bewitched, as in altering one’s vision, as in
confusion or with eyes looking but not seeing, c) overlooked me, not seen me as I am
divided me: divided my attention, confused me, divided my sentiments (for I must keep my vows with respect to
my father’s wishes, but I also find myself wanting to break that vow and help you win)
This sentence may refer to the effect that Bassanio’s eyes have on Portia (i.e.,they bewitch and bewilder her) or to
what Bassanio sees with his eyes (i.e., he overlooks and divides Portia in his sight).
a) When looking into your eyes I’m bewitched and confused (as to whom I belong to, for I am lost in your eyes)
b) When looking into your eyes I see beyond the narrow scope of my vow, and I am divided (one part is
obligated to keep my vow and the other part wants to break it)