Question

The duke cannot deny the course of law. For the commodity that strangers have With us in Venice, if it be denied, Will much impeach the justice of his state, Since that the trade and profit of the city Consisteth of all nations. Who are the strangers in the extract? What commodity do they have in Venice?

Answer 1

The duke cannot deny the course of law.

Explanation:

The above lines are said by Antonio in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

• Antonio says that the Duke can’t deny the law because that would threaten the security of all foreign merchants in Venice. This would destabilize the economy of Venice as that’s how the city makes its money. The government has to uphold the law and avoid being discredited by the public at all cost.
• Saying so, he asks Bassanio to go. Antonia also explains that he has lost so much weight worrying about his losses, such that he would hardly have anything to spare for his creditors the next day.  

The dialogue involves the argument between Antonio and Bassanio regarding the commodity, which is a pound of flesh, that needs to be settled in case they fail to pay their creditors.

Answer 2

These lines have been delivered by Antonio in response to Solanio's belief that the Duke cannot possibly let Shylock go ahead with his plans. In these lines, Antonio talks about why the Duke is also helpless at this stage and how the judgement affects all of Venice.

1. The strangers that Antonio refers to in the extract are business men hailing from outside of Venice. However, here, Antonio is specifically referring to Jews. Sadly, at that time, Jews were not accepted as a part of society and were considered strangers, which is another word for foreigners.

2. 'Commodity' is a word that refers to items or services in business terms. Though Jews were not involved in direct trading, they were still an important part of the economic activity of those times. They were the moneylenders, who financed business ventures. Hence their commodity is really money that has been lent. It means that they had commodity/money invested in Venice.