The following study material is a translation of Act 2 Scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice in

modern English. This is not an explanation. This needs to be studied side by side with the
original text of the drama from the text book.

Act 2 Scene 1

Trumpets play. The Prince of Morocco, a brown-skinned man dressed in all white, enters,
followed by three or four servants dressed in costumes like his. PORTIA, NERISSA, and their
ATTENDANTS enter.

MOROCCO

Don’t hold my skin color against me. I was born and raised in the sun, which is why I’m dark-
skinned. But I’m as red-blooded as any man. Show me the best-looking person born in the
freezing north, where the sun barely thaws the icicles. I’ll win your love by cutting myself to
prove to you I have redder blood than he does. I’m telling you, madam, my skin color has made
brave men fear me and Moroccan girls love me. I wouldn’t change it except to make you think of
me, my darling queen.

PORTIA

Being good-looking isn’t the only way to my heart, you know. I have other criteria for choosing
a husband. Not that it matters, because the box test takes away my free choice anyway. But if my
father hadn’t restricted me like this—forcing me to marry whoever wins his test—then you’d
have had as good a chance to marry me as any of the suitors I’ve met so far, prince.

MOROCCO

Thank you for saying that. Show me the caskets and let me try my luck. I swear by my sword,
which killed the Shah of Persia and a Persian prince and defeated the Sultan Suleiman three
times, that I would face the meanest-looking warriors on earth. I would act braver than the
bravest man on earth. I would grab bear cubs from a ferocious mother bear, or tease a hungry
lion—all of this in order to win your love, lady. But this is bad! If the hero Hercules and his
servant Lychas rolled the dice, which would win? Not the greater hero. Just the one who
happened to be luckier that time. And just as Hercules could be beaten by his servant, blind luck
could make me lose this test and make someone worse than me win. If that happened, I’d die of
sadness.

PORTIA

You have to take your chances. Either don’t choose at all, or swear beforehand that if you choose
incorrectly you’ll never talk about marriage to any woman again. Think about it carefully.
MOROCCO

Fine, I swear I won’t ever get married if I choose incorrectly. Let me take my chances.

PORTIA

Let’s go to the temple first. You can take your chances after dinner.

I’ll try my luck then. I’ll either be the luckiest or the unluckiest man alive.

Trumpets play.

They exit.