What would happen if merit became the sole criterion according to the prince?
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If merit were the only criterion, the humblest would occupy the most eminent positions and the men, in them would be reduced to nothing. - People should get what they deserve and as Arragon thinks he deserves Portia, he chooses the silver casket.
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Summary
At Belmont, the Prince of Arragon has arrived to try his luck at choosing the correct casket, and before he decides on one, he promises Portia that he will abide by her father's rules. First, if he fails to choose the casket containing her portrait, he will never reveal which casket he chose; second, he promises never to court another woman; and last, he will leave Belmont immediately.
Reviewing the inscriptions, he rejects the lead casket immediately because he thinks that it is not beautiful enough to give and risk all his possessions for. He also rejects the gold casket because "what many men desire" may place him on the same level with "the barbarous multitudes." He thus chooses the silver casket, which bears the inscription, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves." Arragon reviews his worth and decides that he "will assume desert" — that is, he feels that he rightfully deserves Portia. When he opens the silver casket, he finds within "the portrait of a blinking idiot" — a picture of a fool's head. He protests the contents; he chose according to what he felt that he deserved: "Did I deserve no more than a fool's head?" Portia reminds him that no man is permitted to judge his own cause. The scroll in the silver casket reads, "There be fools alive, I wis [know], / Silver'd o'er; and so was this." Arragon departs then with his followers, promising to keep his oath.
Portia is dearly relieved and sums up the reason for the prince's failure: "O, these deliberate fools! When they do choose, / They have their wisdom by their wit to lose." In other words, even fools choose deliberately and believe that they are wise to deliberate; in fact, it is their excessive deliberation which ultimately defeats them.
A servant announces the arrival of a Venetian ambassador from another suitor and adds that he brings gifts; in fact, in the messenger's estimation, the man who accompanies this latest suitor is "so likely an ambassador of love" that "a day in April never came so sweet." Portia is neither impressed nor optimistic, yet she urges Nerissa to bring the man to her so that she can see for herself this "quick Cupid's post [messenger] that comes so mannerly." Nerissa sighs; "Lord Love," she prays, "if thy will it be," let this suitor be Bassanio!
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At Belmont, the Prince of Arragon has arrived to try his luck at choosing the correct casket, and before he decides on one, he promises Portia that he will abide by her father's rules. First, if he fails to choose the casket containing her portrait, he will never reveal which casket he chose; second, he promises never to court another woman; and last, he will leave Belmont immediately.
Reviewing the inscriptions, he rejects the lead casket immediately because he thinks that it is not beautiful enough to give and risk all his possessions for. He also rejects the gold casket because "what many men desire" may place him on the same level with "the barbarous multitudes." He thus chooses the silver casket, which bears the inscription, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves." Arragon reviews his worth and decides that he "will assume desert" — that is, he feels that he rightfully deserves Portia. When he opens the silver casket, he finds within "the portrait of a blinking idiot" — a picture of a fool's head. He protests the contents; he chose according to what he felt that he deserved: "Did I deserve no more than a fool's head?" Portia reminds him that no man is permitted to judge his own cause. The scroll in the silver casket reads, "There be fools alive, I wis [know], / Silver'd o'er; and so was this." Arragon departs then with his followers, promising to keep his oath.
Portia is dearly relieved and sums up the reason for the prince's failure: "O, these deliberate fools! When they do choose, / They have their wisdom by their wit to lose." In other words, even fools choose deliberately and believe that they are wise to deliberate; in fact, it is their excessive deliberation which ultimately defeats them.
A servant announces the arrival of a Venetian ambassador from another suitor and adds that he brings gifts; in fact, in the messenger's estimation, the man who accompanies this latest suitor is "so likely an ambassador of love" that "a day in April never came so sweet." Portia is neither impressed nor optimistic, yet she urges Nerissa to bring the man to her so that she can see for herself this "quick Cupid's post [messenger] that comes so mannerly." Nerissa sighs; "Lord Love," she prays, "if thy will it be," let this suitor be Bassanio!
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