Shakespeare

By King Meera -
SHAKESPEARE

Portia: (to Shylock:) Of a strange nature is the suit you follow;
Yet in such rule that the Venetian law
Cannot impugn you as you do proceed.
(To Antonio:) You stand within his danger, do you not?
Antonio: Ay, so he says.
Portia: Do you confess the bond?
Antonio: I do.
Portia: Then must the Jew be merciful.
Shylock: On what compulsion must I? Tell me that.
Portia:

The quality of mercy is not strained;
Not forced – comes from within
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Shown as a “higher’ quality, coming from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
Heaven, blest = religious references
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
Twice – he who is merciful, and the one shown mercy
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
Strongest quality in the greatest of men
The throned monarch better than his crown;
Becomes=suits (shobha deta hai) mercy suits monarch better than crown
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
Scepter+throne+crown = earthly power
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Also       Scepter+throne+crown are attributes to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
Also, J Scepter+throne+crown inspire fear, cause common ppl to dread kings
But mercy is above this sceptred sway,
Remember “higher quality”. Sceptred sway is effect or influence of the symbol(s) of power (sceptre+throne+crown)
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
Self-explanatory
It is an attribute to God himself;
Mercy attribute to god, s+t+c attributes to awe and majesty
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
Earthly power (of kings and monarchs) becomes godly when (king/monarch) is merciful (see below)
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Addressing a person as “Jew” <tsk tsk tsk>
Though justice be thy plea, consider this-
Implies that justice is not Shylock final motive – it is revenge
That in the course of justice none of us
If your demands are met, none of us will see salvation, because theoretically, salvation is the final motive of justice
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy,
When we pray for mercy we remind ourselves that we must also be merciful
And in that same prayer doth teach us all to render
One of many religious references  - from Christianity
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
I have said all this to make your punishment, your “justice” less severe
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Plea, here, is Shylock’s demand that Antonio honors his end of the contract
Which, if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
If you stick to this demand, this strict course of Venice will be forced to grant it to you, yet I ask you to be merciful with Antonio (the merchant there)
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.


In Brit Lit, the focus is on context and form, rather than content so although I have explained the content of this monologue, remember that in a five-marker, the most you should write about it is a paragraph, instead focusing on the humanistic and Renaissance-inspired elements or rather tone of the monologue, as well as the form – monologue, allowing the playwright to express the opinions of his characters more eloquently.
_____________________________________________


“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds
Or bends with the remover to remove:”

First quatrain in Shakespearean sonnet – two more will follow, then suddenly the voltur or turn in the last two lines – the couplet
Unconventional approach to typical topics of poetry – here, redefines love
“marriage of true minds” – Renaissance man’s ideal of love
True – honest
Eternal passion is all very nice but what about restraints of time
When two minds “love” each other then it is eternal
Love is constant
No outsider can affect it
Love is a sensible, thought-out transaction
Unshakeable
Love not just a quality but a force
Love with a capital “L” is the marriage of true minds (unshakeable, constant, yada yada); love with a normal “l” is prone to alteration

“O no; it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken”

Love compared to North Star
Metaphors of explorers – Renaissance time – “go find new places!” mindset
Worth’s unknown – constant, taken for granted or not even noticed except by those who use it
Love gives you a road map for the stormy weathers of life
Extend metaphor to sea, “bark” = boat, star, wanderers, tempest…
Star has highest position in the sky yet worth not known or acknowledged

“Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out, even to the edge of doom.”

Even though the usual lovers’ tale is centred around the lady’s good looks, true “Love” is unaffected by time
Extend metaphor of Time and his sickle to the Grim Reaper and his scythe

“If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”

Yeh sach nahi to apna naam badal dalunga
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na reference
Basically Shakespeare daring us to prove him wrong.

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