Shakespeare's Comedy of The Merchant of Venice |
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Common terms and phrases
1st folio Antonio Bassanio Bellario Belmont Ben Jonson better bond caskets choose chooseth Christian Cymb daughter deny doth ducats Duke early eds edition EDWARD Dowden ellipsis Enter Exeunt Exit eyes fair father fear flesh folio fool forfeit fortune Francis Meres gentle give Gobbo gold grace Gratiano hath hear heart heaven honour husband Jessica Jew's John Shakespeare Julius Cæsar lady Launcelot lord Bassanio Lorenzo lovers Macb madam master means Merchant of Venice mercy merry mind Morocco Nerissa never night Ovid Padua passion Peize play Portia pray thee prince R.'s quarto reading revenge Rialto Rich ring Salanio Salarino Salerio SCENE sense Shakespeare Shakspere shalt Shylock Signior soul speak spirit STRATFORD swear sweet tell Temp thou three thousand ducats Tubal WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE word writers young
Popular passages
Page 116 - The reason is, your spirits are attentive ; For do but note a wild and wanton herd, Or race of youthful and unhandled colts, Fetching mad bounds, bellowing, and neighing loud, Which is the hot condition of their blood; If they but hear perchance a trumpet sound, Or any air of music touch their ears, You shall perceive them make a mutual stand, Their savage eyes turned to a modest gaze, By the sweet power of music.
Page 116 - How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank ! Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears ; soft stillness, and the night, Become the touches of swedt harmony.
Page 84 - In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt But, being season'd with a gracious voice, Obscures the show of evil ? In religion, What damned error, but some sober brow Will bless it and approve it with a text...
Page 101 - Which, like your asses and your dogs and mules, You use in abject and in slavish parts, Because you bought them : — shall I say to you, Let them be free, marry them to your heirs ? Why sweat they under burdens ? let their beds Be made as soft as yours, and let their palates Be season'd with such viands ? You will answer, The slaves are ours...
Page 117 - Since nought so stockish, hard and full of rage, But music for the time doth change his nature. The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night And his affections dark as Erebus: Let no such man be trusted.
Page 45 - Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Venice. His reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff : you shall seek all day ere you find them, and when you have them, they are not worth the search.
Page 51 - I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following; but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you.
Page 108 - Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the flesh. Shed thou no blood ; nor cut thou less, nor more, But just a pound of flesh : if thou tak'st more, Or less, than a just pound, — be it but so much As makes it light, or heavy, in the substance, Or the division of the twentieth part Of one poor scruple ; nay, if the scale do turn But in the estimation of a hair, — Thou diest, and all thy goods are confiscate.
Page 44 - There are a sort of men, whose visages Do cream and mantle, like a standing pond ; And do a wilful stillness entertain, With purpose to be dress'd in an opinion Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit; As who should say, I am Sir Oracle, And, when I ope my lips, let no dog bark...
Page 52 - How like a fawning publican he looks ! I hate him for he is a Christian; But more for that in low simplicity He lends out money gratis, and brings down The rate of usance here with us in Venice. If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him. He hates our sacred nation, and he rails, Even there where merchants most do congregate, On me, my bargains, and my well-won thrift, Which he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe, If I forgive him ! Bass.