Merchant of Venice

The story of the play/ drama is set in 5 Acts. Act 4 is the where the Trial Scene
unfolds. The story is such that a Venetian Bassanio has to borrow 3000
ducats(currency used in Venice at that time) from the Jewish userer Shylock to
woo or win the hand of Portia, the noble woman from Belmont he wishes to
marry. Antonio, Bassanio’s friend agrees to become the guarantor of the loan.
Shylock agrees to lend the amount and a bond is signed to the effect that the
loaners pay back the money loaned within 3months. If they are found to be
defaulters, Shylock will extract a pound of flesh of Antonio.

ACT IV- Venice, a Court of Justice

As is the case, Antonio and Bassanio are not able to return the money in time.
Antonio who had invested his money in the ships which were on voyage for trade
purposes learns that they are lost in sea. Thus he is now left with no option but to
give a pound of flesh to Shylock. The Duke calls for a trial for what is considered
to be an eventuality- a case decided in Shylock’s favour. Before the trial begins
both the Duke and Bassanio ask Shylock to show some mercy. However, the Duke
has called for a Doctor of Law to come and decide the case. A letter informs them
them that the original person will not be available as he is sick but has sent a very
learned person named Balthazar in his place. Balthazar is actually Portia in the
disguise of a young man. She begins the interrogation by asking Antonio if the
bond is correct and he agrees. Then she asks Shylock if he will show mercy to
Antonio and he is persistent in his denial of it(refuses to show any mercy). He says
that the laws of Venice are not strong enough if they do not give him justice at
this point and he only wants that the law be followed. Portia asks Shylock if a
doctor can be called to pay heed to the wound Antonio will suffer as a result of
the pound of flesh being taken and he denies even this act of humanity.

Portia renders what has since then become a popular speech. She says that Mercy
is twice blessed as it benefits not only the one who receives but also the one who
gives but also the giver as it is associated with god like divine qualities. It is also a
principle that the Christian religion advocates for very thoroughly. Remember the
line 'Twere good you do so much for charity, indicating that mercy is something you
can show for the welfare of those who are not powerful enough to seek it. In any case,
it is a good quality. However, Shylock is unmoved/ unfazed.

Portia then goes ahead to agree with the legal bond and directs Shylock to take his
due. Since he wishes the law should be followed, she states that
Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh;
But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate(Statute of Aliens)
Unto the state of Venice

Of one poor scruple, nay, if the scale do turn

But in the estimation of a hair,(of the pound of flesh)
Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate.

Thus Portia delights Shylock sufficiently by following the word of law but makes
sure that there is nothing more to it- not another drop of blood(Christian), nor a
weight greater than a pound; not even a strand of hair and by further invoking the
Statute of Aliens against the Jewish Shylock.

At the beginning of the trial, Bassanio had asked Portia to help him in showing
Shylock some mercy -And I beseech you,
Wrest once the law to your authority:
To do a great right, do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will. By the end, Portia as Balthazaar has been
successful in taming the devil (misrepresentation of the Jew). After the case is turned
in the favour of Antonio as it is not possible for Shylock to cut a pound of flesh
without shedding a drop of blood and he had retreated, Bassanio is ready to make the
payment and settle the case. Portia however, shows no mercy which she herself had
sought all through and in fact raises further complications while completely
demolishing the dignity of Shylock. In fact, not once did she take his name but called
him Jew, all the way. Law is taking away the essence of its being by the functional
existence of such laws. According to Statute of Aliens, Shylock was supposed to
forgo half his property to the King and half to the person he had wronged i.e Antonio.
The king shows compassion and allows Shylock to keep the share but Antonio wishes
that the property goes to Lorenzo, his friend who has married Shylock’s daughter
Jessica, upon his death. Antonio also desires that Shylock converts to Christianity thus
taking away from this man his very identity he had been fighting for. However,
finding himself defeated and bewildered at the pronouncement of the judge, Shylock
agrees to the decision and leaves the court.

The reason Shylock was not ready to take back the money(10000ducats offered by
Bassanio at the beginning) is possibly to depict that a person is found in the position
of subjugation or a slavish position on the basis of human constructions and whims.
The Jews are in lower positions or lower bodies owned by their Christian lords
because of human rules. He had despite being a Jew, gained access to the pound of
flesh of a Venetian by their very laws. Thus Shylock was representative of an effort to
show the equal position each community could be stationed at, if biased perceptions,
viewpoints, myths and laws were non-existent.

The points to be considered within the play are:

1.The dichotomy(Divide) between Common Law Courts(King’s Court) and Court of

Equity. Clearly, the court in the play Merchant of Venice is biased. Even before the
trial begins, the king himself is seeking mercy from Shylock, showing which side he
is on. If it is not clear here, then at the end of the play when Antonio asks Shylock to
be converted, he says that this order must be accepted or he will take back his
compassionate decision to pardon Shylock’s life.

He(Shylock) shall do this(as Antonio asks), or else I do recant

The pardon that I late pronounced here

The Court of Equity is not subject to the will of an individual and pays attention to
arguments of both sides. Shylock is bewildered when he says- Is that the law? In
response to Portia’s judgement of confiscation of his property. The question he wants
to raise is if the bond can be extended to mean that another law can be invoked or if it
isn’t a given that blood is to be shed in acquiring a pound of flesh. However, there is
no one to take up his puzzled and confused state of mind and he has to accept what is
pronounced by Portia.

2. Positive Law versus Natural law

Positive laws are those made by man and his institutions. In Merchant of Venice,
these are the laws against a non-native like Shylock and also the deed/legal bond on
the basis of which the trial is initiated. Richard Devlin identifies three central themes to
Natural Law, or lex naturalis which are that it is “universal, immutable, eternal, objective, and
beyond any particularized political or historical context.” Second, the validity of a law depends
on its content, and not just its form. Third, Natural Law is “superior to human law.
Natural Law can be contrasted with human laws, which are apt to frequent variation and
arbitrariness in substance and procedure. The two limbs of natural justice are audi alteram
pertem (the right to be heard) and nemo judex in parte sua (no person may judge his or her own
cause). The second tenet of natural justice, nemo judex, has particular significance to The
Merchant of Venice.

Shylock’s seeking of revenge further polarizes the Jew from principles of Natural Law by
offending Christian morality and forgiveness. Shylock himself is also implicated in denying the
Natural Law ideals but he is more a sufferer than one who has made the Venetians suffer. While
Portia could have yielded the instant she defeated Shylock’s bond, she goes on to punish him.
The second principle, nemo judex, further requires that the decision maker be unbiased and
independent, and this is of particular significance to the trial in The Merchant of Venice.
Considering the trial in its procedural
totality, one can hardly conclude that Shylock has received a fair hearing.

What began as a civil hearing to resolve the enforcement of a private bond transforms into a
criminal trial, whereby Shylock is tried as an alien and found guilty before the court. While this
multiplicity of roles and the dramatic turn in the trial were
obviously literary imperatives, there is no question that Shylock’s right to procedural fairness is
violated.

In the same vein, Portia’s involvement in the trial renders it impossible

to regard her as an impartial decision maker. To use a legal term, there is a
“reasonable apprehension of bias” raised by her participation.

You can also read further by looking into the Oxford handbook available online

3.Justice seasoned with mercy to render the true essence of law

Shakespeare focuses on the fountain from which justice flows: the human soul, the birthplace of
conscience. Shakespeare's language is a window into our hearts. This window offers lawyers an
opportunity to see how "mercy" aids the cause of justice. As Alexis De Tocqueville wrote, "The best
possible laws cannot maintain a constitution in spite of the manners of a country; whilst the latter
[morals] may turn to some advantage the most unfavorable positions and the worst laws."' Shakespeare's
ideas about justice help lawyers understand the interplay between "mercy" and "justice." For a "lawyer
without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of
these, he may venture to call himself an architect."2

The medieval Christian tradition taught that man's four virtues of Truth, Justice, Peace, and Mercy were
lost when he fell from grace. Consequently, Truth and Justice stood as man's accusers, while Peace and
Mercy were his advocates. 2 Only Christ's agency allowed for the four virtues' reconciliation, and
Shakespeare has Portia represent the reconciliation of Justice and Mercy.'
Shylock wants his bond, his revenge, his justice. Deeply troubled by Shylock's rejection of mercy, the
Duke asks, "How shalt thou hope for mercy, rend'ring none?"'
Also, invoke Portia’s famous speech on mercy: Mercy is twice blest…. The core of this speech
emphasizes on the virtue of mercy as capable of benefitting not just the receiver but the giver as a
blessing received from heaven being under God’s protection.

Portia's words appear to carry only one meaning, but E.M.W. Tillyard asserts her statements
have an additional meaning. Portia is entreating Shylock to be merciful because her law clerk, Bellario,
has discovered a legal interpretation of the bond that will free Antonio from the forfeiture penalty. 2 4
Thus, Portia, as a true Christian, must attempt to save Shylock from his own evil because justice alone is
not the way to salvation. Christ's merciful love holds the key to eternal life. Therefore, Portia is
understandably horrified when Shylock refuses to grant Antonio mercy and says, "My deeds upon my
head! I crave the law, [t]he penalty and forfeit of my bond."'" Shylock seems prepared to damn his eternal
soul for one fleeting moment of revenge.

In either case of Portia or Antonio, mercy could have been shown and practiced to a larger extent.
Shylock would have been saved from his disreputable end and loss of everything dear whereas Portia
could have put an end to the case when Shylock withdrew and to bring in the Alien Statute was uncalled
for.
Mercy is a quality shown by people who hold a superior position, by those who wield or hold greater
power than the other party or pleader. This play raises the question of responsible action from a position
of power.

4. Who will judge the judge? The judge(Portia/) is deciding a case which is very much her own can be
implicated for judicial overreach not just in deciding the case but in extending it further by violating the
other laws to take away human dignity of Shylock, stripping him off his religion, arguments and asking
him to beg mercy from the duke. Down therefore and beg mercy of the duke.

The important questions within the play are:

1.The beginning of the Act IV describes Venice as a Court of Justice. Do you agree?
Discuss with suitable arguments.

2. However, as Ziolkowski states, “the fourth act comes closer to a

travesty(representation in a false way) than to a representation of a trial.”DISCUSS.
3. Do you think that ‘the Jew’ would have had a pleasant ending if he had not been merciless?
Was his stubbornness justified against Antonio and his friends?

4. What does the play Merchant of Venice depict about the legal system and administration of
justice in England in the sixteenth century? You may also refer to the socio-economic setup and
the historical background of communities in attempting this answer.

5.Explain the stark contrast between Common Law Courts and Courts of Equity in delivery of a
case in England with respect to the play Merchant of Venice. This can (and must) include the
concepts of positive and natural law.
6. The play Merchant of Venice challenges identities in every which way. What are these and
how do you think that Shakespeare is carving an investigation upon set beliefs and standards of
the society in England?
The very essence of law cannot be merely justice but has to be accompanied with mercy and
compassion wherever possible
Questioning the slavery of Jews and superiority of Christians
Challenging the wit of men
Is the King really a representation of the Divine Being on Earth?
The set standards/ perceptions of all religion and communities as well as genders and
relationships are explored.

7. How can you elucidate that Jurisprudence of the law is if not completely, at least partially
violated in the play?
You have to talk about the Mercy and Justice and how clearly it is demonstrated(by Portia) that
if only the word of law is followed then every creature is questionable in terms of gaining their
interests. There can’t be a law created for every single thing but if the Natural Law is kept as an
ideal then the perversion(corruption of meaning and function) of the access to justice can be
avoided.
Mercy+Justice is imp if possible.
Law is meant to empower the people without power. It is the means through which they can gain
liberty because they do not have access at higher levels or money or proximity to powerful
people. Law is their deliverance and their tool and hope. At least a fair trial and hearing must be
given in one forum that claims to do so.
Law is acceded to by consent and you can see in the play that Portia first makes Shylock believe
that she is in favour of the word of law thereby generating consent and then goes ahead to
discredit it. That is why Shylock who has been refuting all claims and arguments from the king,
Antonio, Bassanio, Gratiano is left speechless in front of Portia. If there is no consent then there
will be violence and lack of order leading to revolt, thus Law must work with compassion or it
will lose its followers. There is a selfish interest of the state in this or the state will be in
mayhem.
Mercy is defined as kindness or forgiveness to somebody you have authority over while justice
is impartiality in law with sound reasoning. While Shylock is in no mood to show any,
eventually even though it is not without threats of retreating the mercy, the Duke and Antonio do
grant Shylock mercy by letting him own his estate and giving it up only upon his death and by
sparing his life under the Aliens law. So, this play very cleverly works within the ideas of what it
also questions and leaves the audience thinking.