This house, these servants and this same myself Queen o’er myself: and even now, but now, Of this fair mansion, master of my servants, Happiest of all is that her gentle spiritĪs from her lord, her governor, her king. She is not bred so dull but she can learn Is an unlesson’d girl, unschool’d, unpractised
Is sum of something, which, to term in gross, I might in virtue, beauties, livings, friends, You see me, Lord Bassanio, where I stand,Ī thousand times more fair, ten thousand times more rich Let’s break down our scripts a little bit, I like to use the following symbols to beat my script: Bassanio says he is feeling overwhelmed and needs assurance from Portia that it’s true ‘So, thrice fair-lady, stand I even so, As doubtful whether what I see be true, Until confirmed, signed, ratified by you.’ She replies with this beautiful monologue. He opens it to find Portia’s portrait and a scroll inside that confirms he has won Portia’s hand in marriage. In the moments before this monologue Bassanio has just chosen the lead casket. When Bassanio finally raises the money to travel to Belmont to try his luck, Portia is excited and nervous about the outcome. Portia is in love with Bassanio, a young nobleman from Venice. When we meet our heroine, she is inundated with suitors from all over the world and lucky for her, none of them guess correctly. Whoever picks the correct casket can marry her. Inside one of the caskets is a picture of Portia. The test is this there are three caskets, one gold, one silver and one lead. Before his passing he set up a test by which men could compete to win Portia’s hand in marriage. Portia is an intelligent, wealthy young woman whose father has recently died. The play is set in Venice where all the men, business and danger takes place and Belmont beautiful, peaceful and home to Portia. The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays and Portia, certainly one of his most famous heroines.