Merchant of Venice - Summary
Bassanio needs three thousand ducats in order to travel to Belmont in hopes of wooing Portia. His close friend Antonio, a wealthy merchant, asks a Jewish moneylender named Shylock to loan him the money to give to Bassanio because his wealth is invested in ships that are currently out at sea. Shylock agrees to loan Antonio the money under the condition that if he forfeits on the loan, Antonio will owe him a pound of his flesh. After Bassanio successfully woos Portia, he learns that Antonio's ships have wrecked, and he will be forced to give a pound of flesh to Shylock. When Bassanio travels to Venice, Portia secretly follows him disguised as a young doctor named Balthazar and presents a clever argument that prevents Shylock from exacting the pound of flesh. At the end of the play, half of Shylock's fortune is taken, and he must convert to Christianity.
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| http://gaylesbardblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/quality-of-mercy.html |
The quality of mercy is not strained: it drops on to the world as the gentle rain does – from heaven. It’s doubly blessed. It blesses both the giver and the receiver. It’s most powerful when granted by those who hold power over others. It’s more important to a monarch than his crown. His sceptre shows the level of his temporal power – the symbol of awe and majesty in which lies the source of the dread and fear that kings command. But mercy is above that sceptred power. It’s enthroned in the hearts of kings. It is an attribute of God himself. And earthly power most closely resembles God’s power when justice is guided by mercy. Therefore Jew, although justice is your aim, think about this: none of us would be saved if we depended on justice alone. We pray for mercy and, in seeking it ourselves, we learn to be merciful. I’ve spoken about this to soften the justice of your plea. If you insist on pure justice, however, then this serious Venetian court has no alternative other than to pronounce sentence against the merchant there.
https://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/monologues/the-quality-of-mercy-is-not-straind
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