Act 1 Scene 1

Original Text with explanation

SCENE I. Venice. A street.

Enter ANTONIO, SALARINO, and SALANIO

ANTONIO
In sooth,(truly) I know not why I am so sad:
It wearies me; you say it wearies(this sadness makes me tired) you;
But how I caught it,(got it) found it, or came by it,(acquired it)
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;(I am yet to learn)
And such a want-wit(dim- witted, slow) sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado(trouble) to know myself.(this sadness makes me so
slow and dim- witted that I have trouble in understanding myself)

Antonio: Antonio is in a very melancholy mood and he says that

he truly does not understand why he feels so sad and unhappy.
This state of depression is very oppressive and so, weighs him
down and tires him out. Speaking of his depressed state of mind
as if it were an infection of some sort, he tells his friends that
despite their complaining that his depressed mood is tiresome
and so tires them out, he does not know how he acquired it. He
has yet to find out where he found it or came upon it, what it is
composed of, and what its source or origin is. He then laments
the fact that this sadness or melancholy makes him feel so
wanting or lacking in intelligence, it makes him feel like such a
fool that he does not feel himself. So much so that he has great
difficulty in recognising himself.
Note: - It was usual, at this time, to show a character as being
unaware of the reason for his melancholy, so perhaps
Shakespeare is simply following this practice.
- It could be, however, that he is using this particular
example of melancholy in order to give a sense of dramatic
foreboding, to point to the fact that something bad is about to
happen.

- It could also be that since Antonio already knows about

Portia, he knows that his friend Bassanio, his dear friend, is about
to leave him soon, and this is the reason for his sadness which he
does not wish to discuss with Salerio (Salarino) and Solanio
(Salanio). Friendship or ‘amity’ is an important theme in this play.

SALARINO
Your mind is tossing on the ocean;
There, where your argosies(big merchant ships) with portly(stately) sail,
Like signiors(Italian for 'gentlemen') and rich burghers(citizens) on the
flood,(sea)
Or, as it were, the pageants(exhibition carts in carnival processions) of the
sea,
Do overpeer(tower over) the petty traffickers,(small, commercial boats)
That curtsy to them, do them reverence,(that bob up and down as if
curtseying to show respect to the argosies that sail past them)
As they fly by them(speed past them) with their woven wings.(canvas sails)

Salerio (Salarino): Salerio (Salarino) tells Antonio that his mind is

troubled because it is occupied with thoughts of the ocean on
which are his large merchant ships with their sails swelling full
with the wind making the ships look stately or majestic in their
movement. So much so that they look like gentlemen and
respectable, rich citizens. (Note: This comparison is intended to
flatter Antonio by suggesting the superior and important air of the
ships and the people with whom they are being compared.)

Salerio (Salarino) goes on to say that Antonio’s merchant fleet

looks like an impressive procession of ships at sea.
However, many critics believe that the word ‘pageants’ is an
allusion (indirect reference) to the large wagons or machines
decorated or shaped like castles, ships, giants, Noah’s arks etc,
which used to be pulled about the streets, by horses or men. They
would stop at certain points in the town, village, or city, and shows
of some kind used to be performed on them.
Salerio (Salarino) says that Antonio’s merchant ships so tower
over the small, insignificant trading boats at sea that it seems as if
they look over or look down upon these small, unimportant boats
that bob and dip and rock about the water, as if making a curtsy
or bow of respect in the wash (waves caused when a ship or boat
moves through water) or swell ( rise and fall of the waves) made
by the larger ships when they speed past the smaller boats under
full sail with their canvas sails or finely woven and decorated sails.
Note: The figures of speech used in Salerio’s speech to describe
Antonio’s ships help set the scene of the glitter and affluence of
Venice.

SALANIO
Believe me, sir, had I such venture forth,(had I such merchandise at sea)
The better part of my affections(concern, thoughts) would
Be with my hopes abroad.(be with my ships at sea) I should be still(always)
Plucking the grass, to know where sits the wind,(holding up a blade of
grass to see in which direction the wind is blowing)
Peering in maps(looking at maps carefully) for ports and piers(a platform of
pillars) and roads;(harbours)
And every object that might make me fear
Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt(without any doubt)
Would make me sad.

Solanio (Salanio): Expressing his agreement with Salerio

(Salarino), Solanio (Salanio) says that if he had a commercial
enterprise abroad or at sea which involved a financial risk, most of
his thoughts would be focussed on his ships abroad and on his
hopes associated with those ships reaching their destinations
safely. He would always be holding up a blade of grass to see
which way the wind would blow it.

This would help him determine whether or not the wind was
blowing in a favourable direction for his ships. He would always
be looking carefully at maps to figure out the best harbours,
wharfs and waterways or anchorages. Everything that would
make him anxious about some mishap taking place with regard to
his commercial enterprises would definitely make him unhappy.
Hence, what he is trying to say is that since Antonio’s merchant
ships are at sea, that must definitely be the reason for his feeling
sad.
SALARINO
My wind(breath) cooling my broth(soup)
Would blow me to an ague,(fit of shivering) when I thought
What harm a wind too great at sea might do.
I should not see the sandy hour-glass(an instrument for measuring time. It
has two glass receptacles joined together with a tiny hole in the centre that
allows the sand to pass through in just one hour.) run,
But I should think of shallows(shallow water) and of flats,(sand banks)
And see my wealthy Andrew (ship richly laden with cargo. Andrew was a
common name for a big ship during Shakespeare's time. Though the name
is masculine, it is referred to as 'her' in the subsequent lines as it was
customary for ships to be regarded as feminine.) dock'd in sand,(grounded
or stuck in sand)
Vailing her high-top(lowering her mast) lower than her ribs(the sides of the
ships)
To kiss her burial.(to touch the sandy bank where the ship has become
embedded- fixed firmly) Should I go to church
And see the holy edifice(building) of stone,
And not bethink me straight(immediately) of dangerous rocks,(and not think
immediately of dangerous rocks)
Which touching but(merely touching) my gentle vessel's(ship's) side,
Would scatter all her spices on the stream,(sea)
Enrobe(cover) the roaring waters with my silks,(the cargo of the ship)
And, in a word, but even now worth this,
And now worth nothing?(Just a moment ago, the cargo was so valuable,
and now it is worth nothing) Shall I have the thought
To think on this, and shall I lack the thought
That such a thing bechanced(happened) would make me sad?(if I can
picture all the misfortunes that can befall my ships, can I not also picture
the grief which the occurrence of such a disaster would cause me?)
But tell not me; I know, Antonio
Is sad to think upon his merchandise.(I know Antonio is sad thinking about
the misfortunes that can befall his cargo.)
Salerio (Salarino): Salerio (Salarino) then says that if his ships
were at sea, he would start to shiver and tremble as though he
had the ague ( a fever which makes one shiver) on blowing on his
soup to cool it because he would be reminded of the great
damage that a very strong wind can do to a ship at sea.

He would not look at sand in an hourglass run without being

reminded of shallow waters and sandbanks or shoals. On being
reminded of these, he would picture his splendid ship called the
Andrew (This was a well-known name for a big ship in
Shakespeare’s time, but was specifically the name of a large
Spanish ship that was captured at a place called Cadiz in 1596.)
having run ashore and so being stuck in the sand, bowing the top
of its mast even lower than the sides of the ship. Salerio pictures
the top of the mast (the topmost sail) touching the ground as
though kissing or paying homage and showing respect to the
place where the ship will be buried because it will eventually be
swallowed up by the sea.

He then says that if his ships were at sea, it would not be possible
for him to go to church, look at the sacred building made of stone
and not immediately be reminded of the dangerous rocks at sea
which simply by brushing against the side of his fine, fragile and
delicate ship, would pierce it and cause the spices being
transported by the ship to be scattered in the ocean or the sea.
The silk cloth on the ship would also fall in the water and spread
all over it as though clothing or covering the stormy water of the
sea.
To be put briefly, his goods that a moment ago, were very
valuable, would the very next moment, on falling into the sea, be
rendered worthless because they would be ruined. (It is ironic that
later on in the play, this is exactly the fate that will befall Antonio’s
ships. But Antonio, Salerio (Salarino) and Solanio (Salanio) of
course, do not know this at this moment.)
Salerio (Salarino) says that just as he has the ability to imagine
such a disaster, he can also imagine that if such a thing really did
happen, he would feel very depressed.
He then says that he does not need to be told why Antonio is sad
because he knows for a fact that Antonio is unhappy because he
is thinking of his goods at sea.

ANTONIO
Believe me, no: I thank my fortune for it,
My ventures(businesses) are not in one bottom(ship) trusted,
Nor to one place; (My business is not tied to one ship alone, nor is it
confined to one place) nor is my whole estate
Upon the fortune of this present year:(nor is my financial state dependent
on how well my business fares this year)
Therefore my merchandise makes me not sad.

Antonio: Antonio then assures his friends that he is not sad

because he is thinking of his goods at sea. This is because his
goods on which his business depends have not been placed in
one ship alone. Also, his ships are not all sailing towards the
same destination. Also, his entire financial condition does not
depend on how his business fares in the present year. Hence, his
business ventures do not make him unhappy.

SALARINO
Why, then you are in love.

(Salarino): Salerio (Salarino) then teases Antonio and says that in

that case, the reason for his being sad is that he is in love.

ANTONIO
Fie, fie! (Nonsense)

Antonio: Antonio reacts by calling Salerio’s (Salarino’s) words,

nonsense.

SALARINO
Not in love neither? Then let us say you are sad,
Because you are not merry: and 'twere as easy
For you to laugh and leap and say you are merry,
Because you are not sad. Now, by two-headed Janus,(The Roman god of
beginnings and transitions, and also of gates and doors, Janus was always
placed above doorways, with one head looking inwards and the other
looking outwards. Janus is referred to here to show that Nature has created
people with very different outlooks.)
Nature hath framed strange fellows in her time:
Some that will evermore(always) peep through their eyes(laugh so much
that the eyes seem to peep through the fold of the eyelids.)
And laugh like parrots at a bag-piper,(laugh even at the drone of a bagpipe,
like a parrot that mindlessly laughs at anything and everything)
And other of such vinegar aspect(sour expression)
That they'll not show their teeth in way of smile,
Though Nestor(the oldest and wisest of the Greek heroes who fought in the
Trojan War) swear the jest(joke) be laughable.(they will not laugh even
though Nestor swore that the joke was funny)

(Salarino): Salerio (Salarino) says that if Antonio is not in love

either, then they could say that he is unhappy because he is not
happy. To say this would be as easy as it would be for Antonio to
laugh and jump about and say that he is happy because he is not
unhappy.
Salerio (Salarino) then swears by the Roman god of doors and of
beginnings and transitions, Janus because the subject of his
speech is two contrasting moods of sadness and happiness.
Janus is an appropriate god by whom to swear because he had
one smiling face and the other frowning. One head looked
inwards and the other looked out.
So, swearing by this god, Salerio (Salarino) says that Nature has,
during all the time that she has been around, made odd
companions. Some people made by her, are so cheerful that they
are always laughing and so always peer through half-closed eyes
because they wrinkle their faces when they laugh. So, their eyes
seem to be peeping through the folds. They are so cheerful that
they even laugh foolishly at things that are not regarded as funny
like brainless parrots laughing at the sad sound of a bagpipe.

The other category of people have such a sour expression or

appearance that they will not show their teeth while smiling even
at a joke that Nestor, an old and wise Greek general who seldom
smiled, would regard as worthy of being laughed at. If Nestor
would regard as joke as funny, it meant it was extremely funny but
there are some people who are so serious that they would not
even laugh at such a joke.
(Note: Salerio (Salarino) has been unable to find the cause of
Antonio’s sadness. He has also been unable to cheer him up. So,
he now half-seriously scolds Antonio for being in such a
melancholy mood without any obvious reason for being so.)

Enter BASSANIO, LORENZO, and GRATIANO

SALANIO
Here comes Bassanio, your most noble kinsman,(probably 'friend', and not
'relative')
Gratiano and Lorenzo. Fare ye well:
We leave you now with better company.

Salanio (Solanio) :On seeing these three, Solanio (Salanio) draws

Antonio’s attention to the fact that Bassanio, his most valued
friend is coming towards them along with Gratiano and Lorenzo.
He bids Antonio goodbye and tells him that he and Salerio
(Salarino) will leave him with worthier friends or friends whose
company he finds more pleasant than that of Salerio (Salarino)
and Solanio (Salanio).
(Note: Antonio probably smiles in anticipation of greeting
Bassanio and so, Solanio teases him by jokingly accusing him of
regarding Bassanio, Gratiano and Lorenzo as worthier friends.)

SALARINO
I would have stay'd till I had made you merry,
If worthier friends had not prevented me.

(Salarino): Salerio (Salarino) tells Antonio that he would have

stayed until he had cheered Antonio up if better friends than
himself, meaning Bassanio, Lorenzo and Gratiano (but mainly
Bassanio) had not forestalled him.
(meaning of forestall: to prevent something from happening or to
prevent somebody from doing something by doing it first)

ANTONIO
Your worth is very dear in my regard.(esteem)
I take it, your own business calls on you
And you embrace the occasion(take the opportunity) to depart.(You have
your own business to attend to, and are taking this opportunity to leave)

Antonio: Antonio tells Salerio (Salarino) that he values his

friendship very highly. He assumes that Salerio (Salarino)has his
own affairs to attend to and he is seizing this opportunity to leave.

SALARINO
Good morrow, my good lords.

(Salarino): Salerio(Salarino) greets Bassanio, Lorenzo and

Gratiano.

BASSANIO
Good signiors both, when shall we laugh?(when shall we meet and have a
good time?) say, when?
You grow exceeding strange:(you are rarely seen) must it be so?

Bassanio: Bassanio also greets Salerio(Salarino) and Solanio

(Salanio). He asks them when they shall meet to have a good
time together. He then playfully teases them by accusing them of
having become extremely distant, aloof and unfriendly and asks
them if things have to be this way between them.
(Note: Bassanio and his friends spend a good deal of time
enjoying themselves. Their evening’s entertainment is already
arranged. It is not difficult to see how Bassanio has got into debt,
as he reveals to his friend Antonio shortly after this.)

SALARINO
We'll make our leisures to attend on yours.(we will be with you whenever
you are free)

(Salarino): Salerio assures Bassanio that he and Solanio will

place their free time at his disposal so that when it is mutually
convenient, they can get together.

Exeunt Salarino and Salanio

LORENZO
My Lord Bassanio, since you have found Antonio,
We two will leave you: but at dinner-time,
I pray you, have in mind(remember) where we must meet.

Lorenzo: Lorenzo tells Bassanio that since he has found Antonio

(apparently, Bassanio was looking for Antonio and Lorenzo and
Gratiano were helping him to do so) , he and Gratiano will leave
him. However, he requests him to remember the place where they
are to meet at dinner time.
(Note: Lorenzo is perhaps giving Gratiano a broad hint that they
should go and let Bassanio talk to Antonio, but Gratiano either
does not get the hint, or chooses to ignore it.)

BASSANIO
I will not fail you.

Bassanio: Bassanio assures Lorenzo that he will not disappoint

him or let him down.

GRATIANO
You look not well, Signior Antonio;
You have too much respect upon the world:(You take life too seriously)
They lose it that do buy it with much care:(those who worry too much about
worldly matters are never really happy)
Believe me, you are marvellously changed.(you have changed a lot)

Gratiano: Gratiano tells Antonio that he looks unwell. He says that

Antonio is too concerned about the affairs of the world. Those
who attempt to acquire the respect of others and success and
happiness associated with this by worrying too much about
worldly affairs end up losing their chances of gaining respect,
success and happiness.
(A Biblical proverb is possibly being referred to here: ‘For
whomsoever will save his life shall lose it.’ – Mathew, Chapter 16,
verse 25)
Gratiano then tells Antonio that he has changed greatly. He wants
to emphasise how unbelievably miserable Antonio looks.
Note: Gratiano makes more or less the same charge as Salerio
(Salarino) and Solanio (Salanio).

ANTONIO
I hold the world but as the world,(I think of the world for what it is) Gratiano;
A stage where every man must play a part,
And mine a sad one.(My part is sad)

Antonio: Antonio says that he regards the world as what it is –

transitory ( temporary) and a stage on which every person has a
specific role to carry out that has been set down for him by fate.
His role or part happens to be that of a sad man.
(Note: Regarding the world as a stage and human beings as
actors was a very common way of thinking about and describing
the world in Shakespeare’s time.)

GRATIANO
Let me play the fool:(let me play a comic role)
With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles(folds of the skin when we laugh)
come,
And let my liver(The Elizabethans believed that there are four types of
characters associated with four body fluids or humours- sanguine (blood),
phlegmatic(phlegm), choleric(yellow bile), and melancholic(black bile), and
that these were partly determined by the digestion of food in the liver.)
rather heat with wine(A liver heated with wine would produce rich blood,
and so a 'sanguine', cheerful personality)
Than my heart cool with mortifying(causing death) groans.(it was thought
that sighing and groaning drained the heart from blood)
Why should a man, whose blood is warm within,
Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?(smooth white stone; gypsum) (sit
cold and lifeless like his grandfather's statue)
Sleep when he wakes and creep into the jaundice (a disease that turns the
skin yellow)
By being peevish?(work himself into a jaundice by being sullen and
irritable. The Elizabethans believed that ill humour and surliness brought on
jaundice) I tell thee what, Antonio--
I love thee, and it is my love that speaks--(I say this to you because I love
you.)
There are a sort of men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pond,(whose faces are overcast with
a set expression that is as unchanging as the scum that sits on the surface
of a stagnant pond)
And do a wilful stillness entertain,(deliberately put on an air of solemnity)
With purpose to be dress'd in an opinion(in order to gain a reputation)
Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit,(great intellect)
As who should say(as if he were to say) 'I am Sir Oracle,(In ancient
Greece, an oracle was a person who conveyed messages from Gods.)(I
speak with the authority of an oracle.)
And when I ope(open) my lips let no dog bark!'(When I speak, there should
be complete silence)
O my Antonio, I do know of these
That therefore only are reputed wise
For saying nothing;(who gain the reputation of being wise solely by being
silent) when, I am very sure,
If they should speak, would almost damn those ears,
Which, hearing them, would call their brothers fools.(If they would speak,
their listeners would call them fools, and so be damned)
I'll tell thee more of this another time:
But fish not, with this melancholy(sad) bait,(a lure, such as a worm, placed
on a hook to catch fish)
For this fool gudgeon,(small worthless fish that is easy to catch) this
opinion.(Do not use this cheap bait of melancholic silence to acquire the
reputation of being wise.)
Come, good Lorenzo. Fare ye well awhile:
I'll end my exhortation(good advice) after dinner.

Gratiano: Gratiano replies that if the world is indeed a stage on

which every man has a specific part to play, and Antonio has
chosen to play a tragic part, he would like to choose a comic part
by taking up the role of the fool or the clown. He would prefer to
have wrinkles usually associated with old form on his face
because of having screwed up his face too much due to engaging
in a great deal of merriment, laughter and good cheer. He would
prefer this to having his blood get drained from his heart due to
excessive sighing and moaning that deadens life.
(Note: Sighs and groans were believed to drain blood from the
heart, and thus to deaden life.)
Gratiano does not understand why a man who has warm, life-
sustaining blood flowing through him, should behave in such a
dull, lifeless, lethargic manner as to make him resemble his
grandfather’s statue carved in white stone.

Gratiano does not understand why a man should remain so silent,

still and solemn that he seems asleep when he is awake and
should be enjoying his being alive with enthusiasm and energy.
Gratiano further says that he does not understand why a man
should gradually work himself up to a jaundiced condition
because of being irritable and fretful.

(Note: The Elizabethans believed that jaundice, a disease that

turns the skin yellow, was caused due to jealousy and irritability.)
Gratiano then perhaps realises that his suggestion is rather
impudent and so, before speaking further on the subject, he tries
to soothe Antonio’s feelings in advance by telling him that what he
is about to say now is out of his affection for Antonio.

He then goes on to say that there is a category of people or a

great number of people who wish to be thought serious and wise
and so have such a rigid and unchanging expression on their
faces that they resemble the frothy scum and algae covered
surface of a stagnant pond.
They deliberately cultivate an excessively solemn manner
because they want other people to think that they are very wise,
serious and deep-thinking – as if what they are saying to the
world is that they are as wise as an oracle or Greek priest through
whom the voice of God was believed to be uttered. Hence, when
they speak, they demand absolute silence and complete
attention, so much so that not even a dog should bark.
Gratiano then tells Antonio that he knows of such people who only
have a reputation for being wise because they do not say
anything. ( A reference to the Old Testament Book of Proverbs,
chapter 17, verse 28: ‘Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is
counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of
understanding.” )
He is very sure that if these supposedly wise, silent people were
to actually speak, they would utter such nonsense that they would
‘damn’ the ears of those who would hear them. There is probably
a pun on the word ‘damn’ which could either mean ‘dam’ or block
up, or it could refer to ‘damnation’ or the state of being in hell.
Hence, when these supposedly wise but silent men speak, they
stuff their hearer’s ears with nonsense. The listeners then call
these supposedly wise men, fools because of which, they are
condemned to hell in accordance with the New Testament of the
Bible which states that anyone who calls a fellow human being a
fool will go to hell.
Gratiano says that he will tell Antonio about this at some other
time. He urges Antonio not to attempt to use a sad, serious mood
as a bait to acquire the good opinion of others which is as
worthless as a small, cheap fish called a gudgeon.

He then tells Lorenzo to come along and says goodbye to Antonio

for a little while. He assures him that he will end his speech after
dinner.

LORENZO
Well, we will leave you then till dinner-time:
I must be one of these same dumb wise men,(men who seem wise but are
actually fools)
For Gratiano never lets me speak.

Lorenzo: Lorenzo tells Antonio and Bassanio that he and Gratiano

will leave them until dinner-time. He then jokingly says that he
must be one those silent, supposedly wise men that Gratiano has
spoken of because Gratiano never gives him an opportunity to
speak.

GRATIANO
Well, keep me company but(only) two years moe,(more)
Thou shalt not know the sound of thine own tongue.(you will have forgotten
the sound of your own tongue)

Gratiano: Gratiano tells Lorenzo that if he remains in his company

for only two years more, he will forget the sound of his own voice.

ANTONIO
Farewell: I'll grow a talker for this gear.(for this advice)

Antonio: Antonio says goodbye to Gratiano and Lorenzo and

jokingly says that he will become a talkative person on this
particular occasion in return for Gratiano’s load of idle chatter.

GRATIANO
Thanks, i' faith,(indeed) for silence is only commendable(praiseworthy)
In a neat's tongue dried (dried ox- tongue)

Gratiano: Gratiano earnestly thanks Antonio for agreeing to

become talkative at that particular moment because silence is
only praiseworthy in the case of the dried and preserved tongue
of an ox.

Exeunt GRATIANO and LORENZO

ANTONIO
Is that any thing now?(does that make any sense)

Antonio: Antonio asks Bassanio if what Gratiano has just said

amounts to anything or has any sense in it.
BASSANIO
Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing,(great deal of nonsense) more
than any man in all Venice. His reasons are as two
grains of wheat hid in two bushels(a unit of measurement) of chaff(the husk
of grain) (his speech is like two bushels of nonsense with only two grains
worth of good sense): you
shall seek all day ere(before) you find them, and when you
have them, they are not worth the search.

Bassanio: Bassanio replies that Gratiano utters a great deal of

nonsense, he speaks more nonsense than any other man in the
whole of Venice. To find any sense or any intelligent points in all
that he says is like looking for two grains of wheat in two heaps of
husk. It would take all day to search for them and when one finds
them, one realises that they are not worth the trouble one took to
search for them.

Gratiano enjoys ‘chaffing’ or teasing his friends and in the

process, speaks a great deal. However, it is not worth searching
for any sense in all that he says because most of what he says is
quite meaningless and hardly of any significance.

ANTONIO
Well, tell me now what lady is the same(which lady is she)
To whom you swore a secret pilgrimage,(promised to visit secretly)
That you to-day promised to tell me of?

Antonio: Antonio now changes the subject and asks Bassanio to

tell him who the lady is that he is determined to visit secretly and
about whom Bassanio had promised to tell Antonio this present
day.
(Note: These words of Antonio clearly reveal two things:
- Bassano has already informed Antonio that he is in love
and that he is planning to go away on a ‘pilgrimage’ or visit to
the lady he loves. Perhaps it is this knowledge that has made
Antonio sad.
- The use of the word ‘pilgrimage’ indicates that Bassanio
almost worships Portia like a goddess.)

BASSANIO
'Tis not unknown to you, Antonio,
How much I have disabled mine estate,(squandered my means)
By something showing a more swelling port(grand lifestyle)
Than my faint means(modest means) would grant continuance:(permit) (I
have squandered my wealth living far more extravagantly than my modest
means would allow)
Nor do I now make moan(complain) to be abridged(to be curtailed)
From such a noble rate;(extravagant living) but my chief care(main worry)
Is to come fairly off(to be honourably cleared of) from the great debts
Wherein my time something too prodigal(extravagant)
Hath left me gaged.(pledged)(to be cleared honourably of the debts which I
have incurred in my recklessly extravagant youth) To you, Antonio,
I owe the most, in money and in love,
And from your love I have a warranty(assurance)
To unburden all my plots and purposes(to confide in you all my plans)(Your
love gives me the assurance that I can confide in you all my plans.)
How to get clear(free myself) of all the debts I owe.

Bassanio: Bassanio says that Antonio is not unaware of the

extent to which he has damaged or wasted his financial resources
by adopting a rather imposing life-style that was far too grand for
his limited financial resources to enable him to keep up. Neither
does he complain about being compelled to give up or cut down
on his grand style of living. However, his main concern is to get
honourably cleared of the huge amounts of debt by which he is
bound because of having been too extravagant in his youth.
He then tells Antonio that he is the most indebted to him in terms
of the amount of money and love that he has received from him. It
is the love that he knows that Antonio has for him that makes him
feel assured that he has the permission to and the right to
disclose to him all his plans and intentions by which he will be
able to be free of all the debts that he owes to others, and
especially to Antonio.

ANTONIO
I pray you, good Bassanio, let me know it;(your plans)
And if it stand, as you yourself still do,
Within the eye of honour,(if your plans are as honourable as you are) be
assured,
My purse, my person, my extremest means,(every resource down to the
last)
Lie all unlock'd to your occasions.(are available to meet your needs)

Antonio: Antonio requests Bassanio to tell him how he plans to

clear himself of his debts and if his plan or proposal is honourable
as Bassanio himself has always been, he can be assured of the
fact that Antonio’s money, he himself and all that he possesses
will be placed at Bassanio’s disposal to cater to his needs.

BASSANIO
In my school-days, when I had lost one shaft,(arrow)
I shot his fellow(similar arrow) of the self-same flight(of the same length,
weight, and design. Such identical arrows, when shot in a certain direction
under the same conditions, would land at the same place.)
The self-same way(in the same way) with more advised watch,(greater
carefulness)
To find the other forth,(to find the other out) and by adventuring(risking)
both
I oft found both:(by risking the second arrow after losing the first, often
found both.) I urge this childhood proof,(example from my childhood)
Because what follows is pure innocence.(mere foolishness) (Bassanio jests
at his own expense to cover up for the embarrassment he feels in asking a
fresh favour of Antonio)
I owe you much, and, like a wilful youth,
That which I owe is lost; but if you please
To shoot another arrow (give me another loan) that self way
Which you did shoot the first, I do not doubt,
As I will watch the aim, or to find both
Or bring your latter hazard(second loan) back again
And thankfully rest debtor for the first.(be in debt only for the first loan)
(I owe you a lot, and like a rash young man, I have lost it all. But if you lend
me some money again, I will use it carefully, and either repay all the money
I owe you, or repay the amount you lend me now, so that I stand in debt
only for what I already owe you.)

Bassanio: Bassanio tells Antonio that when he would lose an

arrow during his school-days, he would shoot another arrow that
was exactly like the first arrow in terms of size and weight
because being identical to the first one, it would be able to cover
the same distance as the first arrow. Bassanio would also shoot
the second arrow in exactly the same direction as the first one
and by watching it more carefully, he would be able to find the
other arrow or the earlier arrow. The second arrow would lead him
to the first one.
So, by risking losing both arrows, he would very often find both
the arrows.

He then explains to Antonio that he puts forth or offers this

experiment carried out in his childhood because what he is now
about to say could be regarded as childish foolishness but the fact
of the matter is that it is free from any moral fault and completely
sincere in its intent and purpose.
(Note: Bassanio is not trying to disguise the fact that he wants to
borrow more money. Naturally, he wants to lead up to his request
in the proper manner, showing that he recognizes his past
mistakes and that he is now determined to live more wisely. He is
extremely anxious to woo Portia in the proper style, and it is
anxiety that makes him take rather a long time to get to the point.)
Bassanio then acknowledges to Antonio that he owes him a great
deal of money and in the manner of a headstrong young man, he
has squandered away all the money that he had borrowed from
Antonio. However, just as Bassanio would shoot a second arrow
to find the first, if Antonio would be willing to lend him another
sum of money just as he had lent him an earlier sum of money,
Bassanio is very sure that he will be very careful about how he
uses this second sum of money. He will thereby either be able to
return both the earlier sum of money borrowed as well as the
second sum, or, he will at least be able to return the latter amount
risked by Antonio and gratefully continue to remain indebted to
Antonio for the earlier sum of money lent to him.

ANTONIO
You know me well, and herein spend but time(only waste time)
To wind about my love(to appeal to my love in this roundabout way) with
circumstance;(with examples and proofs)
And out of doubt(undoubtedly) you do me now more wrong
In making question of(in doubting) my uttermost(all that I can do for you)
Than if you had made waste of all I have:(squandered all I have)
Then do but say to me(just tell me) what I should do
That in your knowledge may by me be done,(that according to you can be
done by me)
And I am prest unto it:(I will be at once ready to do it) therefore, speak.

Antonio: Antonio replies by telling Bassanio that he understands

Antonio well and is simply wasting time by adopting this way of
appealing to his love for him by using a roundabout, indirect
course of argument. He says that Bassanio is undoubtedly doing
him an even greater injustice by doubting that he would do
everything in his power to help him than he would have if he had
squandered away everything that Antonio had.
He then urges Bassanio to simply tell him what he needs to do
that Bassanio knows can be done by Antonio and he will be ready
and willing to do it. Thus, Basssanio needs to tell him what needs
to be done.

BASSANIO
In Belmont is a lady richly left;(who has inherited great wealth)
And she is fair,(beautiful) and, fairer than that word,
Of wondrous virtues:(She is beautiful, and her virtues make her even more
so.) sometimes(once) from her eyes
I did receive fair speechless(unspoken) messages:
Her name is Portia, nothing undervalued
To Cato's daughter, Brutus' Portia:(in no way inferior to; Portia is compared
here to Portia, daughter of the Roman statesman Cato and wife of Brutus,
the Roman general and conspirator in the assassination of Julius Caesar.
She was known to be beautiful and courageous.)
Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth,
For the four winds blow in from every coast
Renowned suitors,(men who seek her hand in marriage) and her sunny
locks(golden hair)
Hang on her temples like a golden fleece;(According to Greek legend,
Jason and his companions, called the Argonauts, set out on a dangerous
voyage in search of the elusive fleece of the golden ram as the price for the
throne of Iolcus, to which he was the rightful heir. Jason found the fleece in
Colchos in grove guarded by a dragon. Before Jason, many had tried to
take the fleece and had failed.)
Which makes her seat(house) of Belmont Colchos' strand,(shore)
And many Jasons come in quest(search) of her.(Just as many adventurers
came in search of the golden fleece, too many suitors come from the four
corners of the world to win Portia's hand , making Belmont resemble
Colchos.)
O my Antonio, had I but the means
To hold a rival place with one of them,(if only I had the means to be a rival
to these suitors)
I have a mind(feeling) presages(foretells) me such thrift,(success)
That I should questionless(without a doubt) be fortunate!

Bassanio: Bassanio then tells Antonio that there lives in Belmont,

a lady who has inherited great wealth. She is also beautiful and
better still. She has amazingly good qualities in terms of talents,
abilities and moral strengths. Formerly or at some earlier point in
time, she had communicated to him, silent, unspoken words of
encouragement through her eyes.
Bassanio tells Antonio that this lady’s name is Portia and she is
no less in worth than that Portia who was the daughter of Cato
and the wife of the brave Roman general, Brutus. She was
celebrated for her intelligence, courage and devotion to her
husband.

Bassanio also makes it clear that the widespread world is not

unaware of the worth of the Portia who lives in Belmont. He says
this suitors of repute are helped by the wind to sail to Belmont
from coasts and shores from all the four directions of the world.

Portia’s golden curls of hair that fall over the sides of her head
look like the beautiful and valuable golden fleece that according to
Greek mythology, was guarded by a dragon in Colchis ( a region
on the east coast of the Black Sea and to the south of the
Caucasus Mountains) and was acquired with great difficulty by
the celebrated hero, Jason.
It is because Portia’s golden hair resembles this golden fleece
and just as the golden fleece was difficult to acquire, the hand in
marriage of the golden-haired Portia is very difficult to win, her
home in Belmont can be compared with the shore of Colchis
where many suitors who can be compared with Jason, come in
search of her.
(Note: Belmont is a fictitious place.)
Bassanio then tells Antonio that if he were to have the financial
resources to place himself on an equal footing with the other
suitors, he has feeling in his mind that foretells or predicts that he
will gain such profitable success that he will undoubtedly be lucky.
(Obviously, Bassanio does not yet know about the ‘lottery’ of the
caskets devised by Portia’s father.)

ANTONIO
Thou know'st that all my fortunes(wealth, the ships richly laden with cargo)
are at sea;
Neither have I money nor commodity(goods that can be used as security
for a loan)
To raise a present sum:(an immediate loan) therefore go forth;
Try what my credit can in Venice do:(see how much you can borrow in
Venice by presenting me as your security)
That shall be rack'd,(strained) even to the uttermost,(to the extreme)
To furnish thee to Belmont,(to provide you with all that is required to go to
Belmont, to set you out in appropriate style to Belmont.) to fair Portia.
Go, presently(at once) inquire, and so will I,
Where money is, and I no question make
To have it of my trust or for my sake.(I have no doubt but that you will be
able to borrow money either formally on my credit, or for the friendship that
people bear towards me.)

Antonio: Antonio reminds Bassanio that he is aware of the fact

that his wealth and financial investments are at present on ships
at sea. He has neither money nor any merchandise that he could
use as security for a loan to be able to arrange for money
immediately. Hence, he tells Bassanio to go around and attempt
to get as much money as he can by using Antonio’s name as
security. He says that the possibility of borrowing money by using
his name as security shall be stretched and strained as much as
it can to equip Bassanio with all that he needs to go to Belmont, to
the beautiful Portia.
He urges Bassanio to go immediately to all those places where
money could be borrowed and so will he. He says that he has no
doubt about being able to get the required money on credit either
on the basis of his reputation as a successful merchant, or
because of his personal friendship.

Exeunt