Merchant of Venice. - Repositories
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Merchant of Venice. - Repositories

Merchant of Venice. - Repositories Merchant of Venice. - Repositories

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120 THE MERCHANT OF VENICE [ACT V Than you expect: unseal this letter soon; There you shall find three of your argosies Are richly come to harbour suddenly: You shall not know by what strange accident 260 I chanced on this letter. Ant. I am dumb. Bass. Were you the doctor and I knew you not? Ant. Sweet lady, you have given me life and living; For here I read for certain that my ships Are safely come to road. Por. How now, Lorenzo! My clerk hath some good comforts too for you. Ner. Ay, and I'll give them him without a fee. There do I give to you and Jessica, From the rich Jew, a special deed of gift, After his death, of all he dies possess'd of. 2/0 Lor. Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way Of starved people. Por. It is almost morning, And yet I am sure you are not satisfied Of these events at full. Let us go in; And charge us there upon inter'gatories,® And we will answer all things faithfully. Gra. Well, while I live I'll fear no other thing So sore as keeping safe Nerissa's ring. [Exeunt.

NOTES ACT L SCENE I. Venice. Although in the Elizabethan age in England there was almost no scenery on the rude stages of the London theatres, yet to Shakespeare, and to the people who saw his plays, the very mention of Venice must have suggested everything most brilliant and magnificent. Travellers who had recently returned to England gave almost incredible descriptions of the fair " Bride of the Adriatic," as Venice was called. The audience assembled in the theatre could easily picture the wondrously built Italian city; in the sunlight they could see the glow of white marble and gold from the walls of her palaces, and could catch the iridescent rays of color reflected from the mosaics that ornamented her churches, or at night they could hear the cry of the gondolier, as he pushed his boat around the winding canals. The colored photographs of Venice, now comparatively inexpensive even in America, are very helpful in gaining some conception of this city. See, especially, the views of the Grand Canal, of the Eialto, of the Ducal Palace, and of St. Mark's. However insufificient the scenery of the Elizabethan stage may have been, the actors were not failing in splendor of costume. We do not need to know the exact fashions at Venice in the sixteenth century, but we must imagine them as rich and picturesque. Antonio, Godwin thinks, would wear a doublet, 121

120 THE MERCHANT OF VENICE [ACT V<br />

Than you expect: unseal this letter soon;<br />

There you shall find three <strong>of</strong> your argosies<br />

Are richly come to harbour suddenly:<br />

You shall not know by what strange accident 260<br />

I chanced on this letter.<br />

Ant.<br />

I am dumb.<br />

Bass. Were you the doctor and I knew you not?<br />

Ant. Sweet lady, you have given me life and living;<br />

For here I read for certain that my ships<br />

Are safely come to road.<br />

Por.<br />

How now, Lorenzo!<br />

My clerk hath some good comforts too for you.<br />

Ner. Ay, and I'll give them him without a fee.<br />

There do I give to you and Jessica,<br />

From the rich Jew, a special deed <strong>of</strong> gift,<br />

After his death, <strong>of</strong> all he dies possess'd <strong>of</strong>. 2/0<br />

Lor. Fair ladies, you drop manna in the way<br />

Of starved people.<br />

Por.<br />

It is almost morning,<br />

And yet I am sure you are not satisfied<br />

Of these events at full. Let us go in;<br />

And charge us there upon inter'gatories,®<br />

And we will answer all things faithfully.<br />

Gra. Well, while I live I'll fear no other thing<br />

So sore as keeping safe Nerissa's ring. [Exeunt.

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