On what occasion does Portia utter these words? What makes her beg for mercy from Shylock? What does Portia mean to say by," It is twice blessed."?
Answers
Answer:
merchant-of-venice-workbook-answers-act-4-scene-1 - 35
Paraphrase :
DUKE : Make room, and let him stand before us. Shylock, the world thinks, and I think so too, That you only carry this kind of malice To the very last hour of action; and then, it’s thought, You’ll show your mercy and remorse, more strangely Than your strange apparent cruelty is; And where you now exact the penalty,— Which is a pound of this poor merchant’s flesh, You will not only loose the default, But, touched with human gentleness and love, Forgive half of the borrowed amount, Glancing with an eye of pity on his losses, That have been so heaped on his back lately, Enough to press a royal merchant down, And get sympathy for his state From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of stone, From stubborn Turks and Tartars, never trained To uses of tender courtesy. We all expect a gentle answer, Jew.