Merchant of Venice Act 2 Scenes 1 to 9 summary

Act 2 - Scene 1

Act 2 opens with the arrival of the Prince of Morocco. The prince introduces himself to Portia by asking her not to judge him harshly by the colour of his skin. He says that he will do anything to prove that he is as good as a man with paler skin than him.   Portia reminds the prince that her own tastes do not matter, since it is her father's scheme that will choose her suitor, making the prince as worthy as any other suitor. With a lengthy proclamation of his own heroism, the prince asks Portia to lead him to the caskets, so he can pass her father's test. She reminds him that the penalty for guessing incorrectly is that he can't get married.   The prince still asks to be led to the caskets and Portia first tells him to join her for dinner.   Analysis: The excuse the prince of Morocco makes for his dark skin serves to call attention to it and to his cultural difference from Portia. His praise of his own heroism also makes him seem both less well-mannered and less attractive. Moreover, his assertion that the best virgins of his own kingdom have loved him seems calculated to make him less, rather than more, attractive to Portia. The sonorous poetry which Shakespeare gives him to speak suggests that the prince also possesses a large, imposing physical presence.    Despite clearly not wanting to marry the prince, Portia is still kind and welcoming to him. Her response to his protestations is polite, even courtly, showing her good breeding and her virtuous acquiescence to her dead father’s wishes.   Important Quotes: "Mislike me not for my complexion, The shadowed livery of the burnished sun, To whom I am a neighbor and near bred. Bring me the fairest creature northward born, Where Phoebus' fire scarce thaws the icicles, And let us make incision for your love To prove whose blood is reddest, his or mine." - Prince of Morocco

Act 2 - Scene 2

This scene opens with Launcelot Gobbo, Shylock's servant, deciding whether he should run away from his master. The comedy builds when Launcelot's father, Old Gobbo, comes onstage. Gobbo is almost blind and doesn't recognise his son, allowing Launcelot to pull a prank on him. He hides his true identity and playfully confuses the old man by telling him that his son has died, before revealing who he really is and kneeling to receive his father's blessing.   Bassanio enters and the two plead with him to accept Launcelot as his new servant. Bassanio takes several moments to understand their proposition, but he accepts the offer, telling his other servants to get him a uniform. Launcelot and Gobbo exit to tell Shylock of the news.   Gratiano enters and asks Bassanio if he can accompany him on his trip to Belmont. Bassanio agrees on the condition that Gratiano will control his usual wild behaviour.    Analysis: The interaction between Launcelot and his father is typical in Shakespeare plays; servants and members of the working class are frequently used to provide slapstick interludes in both his comedies and tragedies. The type of humour seen here is comedy at its simplest, where laughs are derived not from quick wit but from confusion and foolery.   There is even more visual comedy when the pair meet Bassanio. It is suggested by the lines that Launcelot bends down behind his father, popping up to interrupt him at every other line and finishing his sentences for him. Particularly characteristic of this clowning is the confusion of word meanings. For example, Launcelot uses "infection" for affection, "frutify" for certify, "defect" for effect.   Although Shylock does not appear in this scene, our view of him is further shaped by the opinions of those closest to him. It is clear from Launcelot's speeches that he is not treated well by Shylock.   Important Quotes: "To be ruled by my conscience I should stay with the Jew my master, who, God bless the mark, is a kind of devil. And to run away from the Jew I should be ruled by the fiend, who, saving your reverence, is the devil himself. " - Launcelot   "Pray thee, take pain To allay with some cold drops of modesty Thy skipping spirit, lest through thy wild behavior I be misconst’red in the place I go to, And lose my hopes." - Bassanio

Act 2 - Scene 3

In this scene the audience is introduced to Jessica, Shylock's daughter. We see her say goodbye to Launcelot and she tells him that he made life with her father more bearable.   Jessica gives Launcelot a letter to carry to Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo, and Launcelot leaves for Bassanio's house.   Jessica confesses that she feels guilty about her plan to elope with Lorenzo, saying that she is related to her father only by blood and nothing else. She reveals that she is planning to renounce her father's faith and become a Christian.   Analysis: Jessica voices no real complaint about her father, other than that life is tedious with him, but she seems eager to escape her Jewish heritage. Jessica brings the morality of her own actions into question when she calls her shame at being Shylock’s daughter a sin, and she feels enormous guilt at her own sentiments.   Jessica's desire to convert to Christianity would have been applauded by Elizabethan audiences, but here it is expressed as a kind of young recklessness that borders on selfishness.   It is important that the audience in this scene and in the next scene be aware of Jessica's elopement with Lorenzo, since it adds very heavy irony to Shylock's multiple warnings to his daughter in Scene 5 to guard his house well.   Important Quotes: "Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil, Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness." - Jessica   "Alack, what heinous sin is it in me To be ashamed to be my father’s child! But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners. O Lorenzo, If thou keep promise, I shall end this strife, Become a Christian and thy loving wife." - Jessica

Act 2 - Scene 4

Gratiano, Lorenzo, Salarino, and Solanio discuss their plans for Bassanio's dinner party that night. Not everything is yet prepared, but Lorenzo assures the men that they have enough time to gather the necessary disguises and torchbearers.    While they are talking, Launcelot enters, on his way to invite Shylock to the party, and he delivers Jessica's letter to Lorenzo. Lorenzo bids Launcelot to return to Shylock’s house in order to assure Jessica, secretly, that he will not let her down.   Lorenzo then tells his friends that he has found a torchbearer for the evening, and tells Gratiano that Jessica is going to disguise herself as a page tonight and elope with him, stealing a dowry from her father before she leaves.    Analysis: This scene builds up the romantic tension between Jessica and Lorenzo. The dinner party doesn't actually occur in the play. However, the anticipation of the dinner party causes the audience to envision it, and thus it suggests a youthful and romantic background to the Jessica-Lorenzo development.   Important Quotes: "I know the hand. In faith, ’tis a fair hand, And whiter than the paper it writ on Is the fair hand that writ." - Lorenzo   "She hath directed How I shall take her from her father’s house, What gold and jewels she is furnished with, What page’s suit she hath in readiness." - Lorenzo

Act 2 - Scene 5

Preparing to leave for Bassanio's dinner party, Shylock encounters Launcelot, who has come to deliver Lorenzo's reply to Jessica. Shylock warns Launcelot that Bassanio will not be as lenient a master as him and that Launcelot will no longer be at liberty to overeat and oversleep.   Shylock calls Jessica and tells her that he is going to dinner. Because he has a bad feeling about the night, he tells her to lock everything up until he returns. Launcelot tells them that Bassanio may be planning a masquerade for that night. Shylock is horrified at the idea of the bawdy, showy heresies of a Christian masque and tells Jessica not to look out her window at it.   Shylock exits then, not realizing that Launcelot was able to whisper a quick word of advice to Jessica before he left: she is to be on watch for a Christian who will be "worth a Jewess' eye", Lorenzo. Jessica bids them farewell, thinking that Shylock will soon have lost a daughter, and she, a father.   Analysis: This scene continues to elaborate on the character of Shylock.  Shylock is again portrayed as a penny-pinching, but not wicked, master. He sees himself as quite lenient and fair to Launcelot.   We see Shylock become overly concerned with his possessions in this scene, emphasis is put on the protection of his wealth, rather than his daughter. The great irony of the scene lies in the audience's knowledge that while Shylock is concerned with his valuables, it is his daughter that he is about to lose, and it is to her that he entrusts his possessions.   Important Quotes: "Jessica, my girl, Look to my house. I am right loath to go. There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest, For I did dream of money bags tonight." - Shylock   "Lock up my doors, and when you hear the drum And the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife, Clamber not you up to the casements then, Nor thrust your head into the public street To gaze on Christian fools with varnished faces. But stop my house’s ears—I mean my casements— Let not the sound of shallow foppery enter My sober house. " - Shylock   "Mistress, look out at window, for all this. There will come a Christian by Will be worth a Jewess' eye." - Launcelot

Act 2 - Scene 6

Gratiano and Salarino meet in front of Shylock’s house, anxious because Lorenzo is late. Lorenzo's delay is certainly uncharacteristic of most young lovers.   Lorenzo rushes onstage and calls to Jessica. She appears above, dressed as a boy, and tosses down a casket of money and jewels to Lorenzo. She says that she is ashamed to be eloping with her beloved while she is dressed as a boy. Lorenzo tells her that she must play her part as a boy well and that she must also be his torchbearer at Bassanio's dinner party, a fact which she is unhappy about.   Jessica descends and exits with Lorenzo and Salarino. Just then, Antonio enters to report that there will be no party and that Bassanio is sailing for Belmont immediately. Gratiano is obliged to leave the festivities and join Bassanio at once.   Analysis: When Lorenzo arrives onstage and Jessica appears above him, a modern audience would almost certainly think of Romeo and Juliet setting the romantic mood. The only problem is that the romantic heroine is dressed as a boy, a popular  Elizabethan stage convention, and a convenient one, since all the girls' roles were played by boys at this time.    Jessica’s determination to bring her father's reminds us that she is still a Jew among Christians. Her shame at her boy’s costume may reflect a deeper concern for her place in her husband’s Christian society. Later, at Belmont, she will be all but ignored by everyone except Lorenzo, suggesting that despite her husband and her conversion, she remains a Jew in others’ eyes.   Important Quotes: "Here, catch this casket. It is worth the pains. I am glad ’tis night, you do not look on me, For I am much ashamed of my exchange. But love is blind, and lovers cannot see The pretty follies that themselves commit, For if they could Cupid himself would blush To see me thus transformèd to a boy." - Jessica   "No masque tonight. The wind is come about. Bassanio presently will go aboard." - Antonio

Act 2 - Scene 7

Back in Belmont, Portia allows the Prince of Morocco to choose a casket to open. The first casket, made of gold, reads, “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire”. The second, made of silver, reads, “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves”. The third, made of lead, reads, “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath”.   As he reads the words engraved on the top of each casket, the prince thinks about each of the cryptic inscriptions. The prince chooses the gold casket, assuring himself that only the most precious metal could house the picture of such a beautiful woman. When he unlocks the casket and looks inside, he discovers only a skull and a scroll rolled up and inserted within the skull's eye.    After reading a short poem chastising him for the folly of his choice, the prince makes a hasty departure and Portia is glad to see him go.   Analysis: There is something cruel about Portia’s unwillingness to spare even a moment’s pity for the prince after choosing the wrong casket. While Portia's independence is often appealing, at other times she can seem terribly self-centered. She wants Bassanio as a husband and seems to have no regrets in seeing other men sentenced to a life of celibacy.   Morocco's long speech was no doubt inserted by Shakespeare to allow the actor plenty of time to move back and forth with much hesitation between the caskets.  The prince is postponing the moment of choice and prolonging the suspense of this dramatic moment. We know that the prince is proud and powerful, rich in his dress and in his language, and therefore it is no surprise to watch him move from the least beautiful of the caskets to the most beautiful.   Important Quotes: “All that glisters is not gold— Often have you heard that told. Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold. Gilded tombs do worms enfold. Had you been as wise as bold, Young in limbs, in judgment old, Your answer had not been inscrolled. Fare you well. Your suit is cold— Cold, indeed, and labor lost.” - Prince of Morocco   "A gentle riddance.—Draw the curtains, go.— Let all of his complexion choose me so." - Jessica

Act 2 - Scene 8

Salarino and Solanio open the scene, discussing developments in Venice. They reveal that Shylock was enraged at the loss of his daughter and his wealth, and he shouted a loud, urgent appeal for justice and the law to prevail. He insisted that the Duke of Venice have Bassanio's ship searched. This proved to be impossible because Bassanio had already left for Bellona.   Solanio hopes that Antonio is able to pay his debt, but Salarino reminds him of rumors that the long-awaited ships have capsized in the English Channel. Realising that Antonio may need cheering up about the matter, Solanio and Salarino decide to pay him a visit.   Analysis: Throughout the play, Salarino and Solanio act similarly to a Chorus, making the audience aware of what has happened off-stage but not being part of the plot themselves.   Shylock's reaction to Jessica's elopement shows his greed and dismissal of his daughter. The audience now have a reason for Shylock wanting revenge later in the play. At the beginning of the play, he has only two real reasons for hating Antonio: a commercial hatred and a religious hatred. Now he has lost his daughter to a Christian. This allows the audience understand his desire for revenge against all Venetian Christians.   The audience cannot be sure that Shylock really reacted in this way, since we hear the story secondhand. Salarino and Solanio poke fun at the Jew regularly, and we must also take into consideration the concern that Shylock expresses for his daughter in the earlier scenes.   Important Quotes: "As the dog Jew did utter in the streets. “My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter, Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice, the law, my ducats, and my daughter! A sealèd bag, two sealèd bags of ducats, Of double ducats, stol'n from me by my daughter!" - Solanio

Act 2 - Scene 9

The Prince of Arragon arrives and asks to see the caskets. He confidently chooses the silver one, ready to get "as much as he deserves".   He opens the casket to find a portrait of a blinking idiot, and a poem that condemns him as a fool. He is upset and leaves straight away.   A servant arrives telling Portia that Venetian will be arriving shortly and seems like the perfect suitor. Portia and Nerissa become excited that it might be Bassanio and rush to meet him.   Analysis: The Prince of Arragon's choice of casket is slightly more prudent than that of the Prince of Morocco. The Prince of Arragon is a proud man. He seems older than the Prince of Morocco and contrasts Morocco's charismatic bearing. Shakespeare often makes his characters' names suggest their qualities: "Arragon" is similar to "arrogant". The Prince of Arragon is arrogant in nature, a temperament matching Spanish stereotypes during the Elizabethan era.   At this point, the love plot in the play becomes very much like a fairy tale; the princess is won by love, not by wealth or rank. We are reminded of Nerissa's comment earlier in the play: the correct casket will "Never be chosen by any rightly but one who you shall rightly love".    Important Quotes: "I will not choose what many men desire Because I will not jump with common spirits And rank me with the barbarous multitudes." - Prince of Arragon   "“Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.” I will assume desert." - Prince of Arragon   "Thus hath the candle singed the moth. O these deliberate fools! When they do choose, They have the wisdom by their wit to lose." - Portia