Merchant of

Venice
Trial scene
BY GROUP 4
 William Shakespeare (bapt.Tooltip baptised 26
April 1564 – 23 April 1616)was an English
playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as
the greatest writer in the English language and the
world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called
England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or
simply "the Bard") Shakespeare remains arguably
the most influential writer in the English language,
and his works continue to be studied and
reinterpreted.
 Introduction
The Merchant of Venice is a play by William
Shakespeare, believed to have been written between
1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio
defaults on a large loan on behalf of Bassanio, his
dear friend, provided by a Jewish moneylender,
Shylock.
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act iv
Scene 1: a court of justice in Venice
 Duke
Make room, and let him stand before our face.—
Shylock, the world thinks, and I think so too,That thou
but lead’st this fashion of thy malice20To the last hour
of act, and then ’tis thoughtThou'lt show thy mercy and
remorse more strangeThan is thy strange apparent
cruelty,And where thou now exacts the penalty—
Which is a pound of this poor merchant’s flesh—
25Thou wilt not only loose the forfeitureBut—touched
with human gentleness and love,—Forgive a moiety of
the principal,Glancing an eye of pity on his lossesThat
have of late so huddled on his back Eno' to press a
royal merchant downAnd pluck commiseration of his
stateFrom brassy bosoms and rough hearts of
flint,From stubborn Turks and Tartars never trainedTo
offices of tender courtesy.We all expect a gentle
 Shylock:
I have possessed your grace of what I purpose,And by our holy
Sabbath have I swornTo have the due and forfeit of my
bond.If you deny it, let the danger light40Upon your charter and
your city’s freedom.You’ll ask me why I rather choose to
haveA weight of carrion flesh than to receiveThree thousand
ducats. I’ll not answer thatBut say it is my humour. Is it
answered?45What if my house be troubled with a ratAnd I be
pleased to give ten thousand ducatsTo have it baned? What,
are you answered yet?Some men there are love not a gaping
pig,Some that are mad if they behold a cat,50And others, when
the bagpipe sings i' th' nose,Cannot contain their urine. For
affection,Mistress of passion, sways it to the moodOf what it
likes or loathes. Now, for your answer:As there is no firm reason
to be rendered55Why he cannot abide a gaping pig;Why
he, a harmless necessary cat;Why he, a woollen bagpipe, but of
forceMust yield to such inevitable shameAs to offend,
himself being offended—60So can I give no reason, nor I will
not(More than a lodged hate and a certain loathingI bear
Antonio), that I follow thusA losing suit against him. Are you
Antonio:
[to BASSANIO]I pray you, think you question
with the Jew?You may as well go stand upon the
beachAnd bid the main
flood bate his usual height.75You may as well use
question with the wolfWhy he hath made the ewe
bleat for the lamb.You
may as well forbid the mountain pinesTo wag their
high tops and to make no noiseWhen they are
fretten with the gusts of
heaven.80You may as well do anything most
hard,As seek to soften that—than which what’s
harder?—His Jewish
heart. Therefore I do beseech youMake no more
offers, use no farther means,But with all brief and
plain conveniency85Let
Shylock-
What judgment shall I dread, doing no
wrong?You have among you many a
purchased slave,Which—like your asses and
your dogs and mules—You use in abject and
in slavish parts95Because you bought them.
Shall I say to you,“Let them be
free! Marry them to your heirs!Why sweat
they under burdens? Let their bedsBe made
as soft as yours and let their
palatesBe seasoned with such viands”? You
will answer,100“The slaves are ours.” So do I
answer you.The pound of flesh
which I demand of himIs dearly bought. 'Tis
mine and I will have it.If you deny me, fie
upon your law—There is no force
in the decrees of Venice.105I stand for
judgment. Answer, shall I have it?
 .

Gratiano-
O, be thou damned, inexecrable
dog,And for thy life let justice be
accused!Thou almost makest me waver
in my
faith135To hold opinion with
PythagorasThat souls of animals infuse
themselvesInto the trunks of men. Thy
currish
spiritGoverned a wolf who, hanged for
human slaughter,Even from the
gallows did his fell soul fleet,140And
whilst thou
layest in thy unhallowed damInfused
 .

Duke-
With all my heart.—Some three or four of youGo give
him courteous conduct to this place.—Meantime the
court shall hear
Bellario’s letter.155[reads]“Your grace shall understand
that at the receipt ofyour letter I am very sick, but in the
instant
that yourmessenger came, in loving visitation was with
me ayoung doctor of Rome. His name is Balthazar.
I160acquainted
him with the cause in controversy between theJew and
Antonio the merchant. We turned o'er many
bookstogether. He is
furnished with my opinion,which—bettered with his
own learning, the greatnesswhereof I cannot enough
commend—
comes with him at my165importunity to fill up your
grace’s request in my stead.I beseech you, let his lack of
years be no
 .

1
Portia-
The quality of mercy is not strained.It droppeth as the
gentle rain from heavenUpon the place beneath. It is
twice
blessed:195It blesseth him that gives and him that
takes.'Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomesThe
thronèd monarch
better than his crown.His scepter shows the force of
temporal power,The attribute to awe and
majesty200Wherein doth sit
the dread and fear of kings,But mercy is above this
sceptered sway.It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.It
is an attribute to
God himself.And earthly power doth then show likest
God’s205When mercy seasons justice. Therefore,
Jew,Though
justice be thy plea, consider this—That in the course of
justice none of usShould see salvation. We do pray for
 .
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1
Antonio
But little. I am armed and well prepared.—Give me
your hand, Bassanio. Fare you well.Grieve not that
I am fall'n to
this for you,For herein Fortune shows herself more
kindThan is her custom. It is still her useTo let the
wretched man outlive
his wealth,To view with hollow eye and wrinkled
browAn age of poverty— from which lingering
penanceOf such
misery doth she cut me off.Commend me to your
honorable wife.Tell her the process of Antonio’s
end.Say how I loved
you. Speak me fair in death.And when the tale is
told, bid her be judgeWhether Bassanio had not
once a love.Repent but
you that you shall lose your friend,And he repents
 .

Portia-
Tarry a little. There is something
else.This bond doth give thee here
no jot of blood.The words expressly
are “a pound of
flesh.”Take then thy bond, take thou
thy pound of flesh,But in the cutting
it if thou dost shedOne drop of
Christian
blood, thy lands and goodsAre by
the laws of Venice confiscateUnto
the state of Venice.
 .
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1

Portia-
Therefore prepare thee to cut off the
flesh.Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou less
nor moreBut just a pound of flesh. If thou
takest more345Or less than a just pound,
be it but so muchAs makes it light or heavy
in the substanceOr the division of the
twentieth partOf one poor scruple— nay, if
the scale do turnBut in the estimation of a
hair,350Thou diest and all thy goods
are confiscate.
 .
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1
Portia
Tarry, Jew.The law hath yet another hold on you.It
is enacted in the laws of Venice,If it be proved
against an alienThat
by direct or indirect attempts370He seek the life
of any citizen,The party 'gainst the which he doth
contriveShall seize one
half his goods. The other halfComes to the privy
coffer of the state,And the offender’s life lies in
the mercy375Of the Duke
only 'gainst all other voice.In which predicament I
say thou stand’st,For it appears by manifest
proceedingThat indirectly—
and directly too—Thou hast contrived against the
very life380Of the defendant, and thou hast
incurredThe danger formerly
by me rehearsed.Down, therefore, and beg mercy
of the Duke.
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1

Shylock
Nay, take my life and all. Pardon not that.You
take my house when you do take the
prop395That doth sustain my
house. You take my lifeWhen you do take the
means whereby I live.
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1

Antonio-
So please my lord the duke and all the
court,To quit the fine for one half of his
goodsI am content, so he will let me
haveThe other half in use to render itUpon
his death unto the gentlemanThat lately
stole his daughter.Two things
provided more: that for this favorHe
presently become a Christian;The other,
that he do record a giftHere in the court, of
all
he dies possessed,Unto his son Lorenzo
and his daughter
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1
Duke
He shall do this, or else I do recantThe
pardon that I late pronouncèd here.
Portia
Art thou contented, Jew? What dost
thou say?
Shylock
I am content.
I pray you, give me leave to go
from hence.I am not well. Send
the deed after me,And I will sign
it.
 .
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EXITS The DUKE, the magnificoes,

ANTONIO, BASSANIO, GRATIANO,
SALERIO, and others
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1

After The Trial Scene

Portia and Nerissa, her servant, ask for the
rings that they had given to their husbands
as a token of their love. Both Bassanio and
Gratiano had promised to never part with
the rings, but Portia and Nerissa trick them
into giving them up by pretending to be the
bathlazar and asking for the ring as gift for
saving bassanio’s life . The scene ends with
Portia revealing the truth and forgiving her
husband and his friend.
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1
Conclusion
In the conclusion of the trial scene in "The Merchant of Venice,"
Portia skillfully outwits Shylock, the vengeful moneylender, by
finding a loophole in the bond. She insists that Shylock is entitled to
his pound of flesh but without shedding a single drop of blood. This
clever twist exposes the absurdity of Shylock's demand and turns the
tables in favor of mercy and compassion.

Additionally, Portia emphasizes the importance of mercy and

implores Shylock to extend forgiveness. Shylock is forced to relent
and agrees to give up his pursuit of Antonio's flesh in exchange for
monetary penalties. The trial scene concludes with a victory for
mercy over strict justice, leaving a lasting moral lesson about the
power of forgiveness and compassion.
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1

Message
The trail scene is symbolic of the divide between justice and evil.
It shows how greedy and thoughtless Shylock has become and
how no amount of reason is able to sooth his thirst for a fellow
human's blood.
The scene has great dramatic significance. It is the climax and
conclusion of the Bond story it develops with continuous interest
and keeps the audience and readers breathless. Moreover there is
an encounter of two great characters—Shylock a cunning Jew and
Portia a great hero of law. Thus Portia saved Antonio's life.

The structure of The Merchant of Venice is based in part on the

difference between idealistic and realistic ideas about relationships
and society. On the one hand, the play tells us that love is more
important than money, that mercy is better than revenge, and that
love lasts forever.
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1
Poem on Mercy
In the court of justice, where Shylock, stern and fueled by vengeance's Portia's words, a poetic decree,
shadows fall, flame, A call for mercy to set hearts free.
A trial unfolds, fate's relentless call. Demands his bond, unmoved by mercy's For in mercy, the essence of
In Venice's heart, with scales held claim. humanity,
high, Yet Portia, with words as sharp as a A balm for wounds, a cure for
A story of mercy, let me imply. knife, vanity.
Implores Shylock to spare Antonio's life.
Antonio, a merchant, debts did bind, As the trial concludes, the lesson is
His pound of flesh, a cruel design. "The quality of mercy is not strained," clear,
Portia, disguised, with wisdom In Portia's speech, the truth is gained. Mercy triumphs, casting out fear.
profound, It droppeth as the gentle rain from In the Merchant's tale, a timeless
A plea for mercy in Venice's ground. heaven, song,
A force more powerful than vengeance, Of mercy prevailing, righting the
Mercy, a virtue, in the trial's light, given. wrong.
Shakespeare's pen weaves, a
dramatic sight. The trial's climax, a moment to decide,
Thank
YOu!
Credits:-
• shashvat
• shaurya
• Shivansh
• PRACHI
• SHAILJA
• SATYAM
• RYTHM
• SATAKSHI
• SATYARTH