The Merchant of Venice (32 page)

¹¹²
use
employment (puns on sense of “financial interest”)

¹¹⁴
Go to
expression of impatient dismissal

¹¹⁶
void
discharge, empty
rheum
spittle

¹¹⁷
foot
kick
spurn
despise/reject/strike
stranger cur
unknown dog

¹¹⁸
suit
request

¹²²
bondman’s key
serf’s tone

¹²³
bated
subdued

¹²⁸
like
likely

¹³²
A … metal
an unnatural increase of money—i.e. interest
barren
unable to reproduce naturally
of
from

¹³⁴
break
i.e. fail to repay the sum
better
more willing

¹³⁹
doit
small coin (i.e. tiny amount)

¹⁴¹
kind
kindness/natural behavior

¹⁴²
were
would be (indeed)

¹⁴⁴
notary
person authorized to draw up contracts

¹⁴⁵
single
particular/
bond
that specifies that a sum of money must be paid on an appointed day

¹⁴⁸
condition
contract

¹⁴⁹
nominated for
named as
equal
exact

¹⁵⁵
dwell
remain/exist
necessity
need

¹⁶¹
suspect
i.e. to doubt

¹⁶³
break his day
miss the appointed date (for repayment)

¹⁶⁴
exaction
enforcement

¹⁶⁶
estimable
valuable

¹⁶⁹
so
so be it

¹⁷²
forthwith
at once

¹⁷³
direction
instruction

¹⁷⁴
purse
bag up

¹⁷⁵
See
attend
fearful
fear-inducing

¹⁷⁶
unthrifty
profligate/careless
knave
scoundrel/servant
presently
soon

¹⁷⁸
Hie
hurry
gentle
courteous (may pun on “gentile”)

¹⁷⁹
kind
agreeable/generous/natural

tawny
dark-skinned/of yellowish-brown skin
Moor
person of either African or Middle Eastern origin
Flourish
fanfare

²
livery
uniform/badge
burnished
shining like polished metal

³
near bred
closely related

⁵
Phoebus
Roman sun god

⁶
make incision
i.e. to let blood

⁷
reddest
suggestive of courage and vigor

⁸
aspect
face

⁹
feared
frightened

¹⁰
clime
land

¹¹
hue
color/appearance

¹⁴
nice
scrupulous/whimsical
direction
guidance

¹⁷
scanted
limited

¹⁸
hedged
protected/confined
wit
wisdom

¹⁹
His
as his

²⁰
then
would then have
fair
i.e. fair a chance (puns on the sense of “fair-skinned/attractive”)

²²
For
of gaining/hoping for

²⁵
scimitar
short, curved sword

²⁶
Sophy
ruler (shah) of Persia

²⁷
fields
battles
of
from/against
Solyman
Suleiman, sultan who fought against Persia

²⁸
o’erstare
outstare

³³
Hercules
Greek hero
Lichas
Hercules’ companion

³⁶
Alcides
another name for Hercules

⁴⁴
advised
warned

⁴⁵
Nor will not
break my word, i.e. speak to a woman

⁴⁷
hazard
risk/choice/fortune

Clown
a rustic, and/or comic character
Lancelet
i.e. “little lance” (type of spear/penis); Sir Lancelot was famous for adultery with King Arthur’s wife; a “lance” was also a surgeon’s instrument for piercing an abscess

¹
serve
allow

³
Gobbo
hunchback (Italian)

⁵
start
advantage

⁷
with thy heels
firmly (plays on literal sense)

⁸
courageous
purposeful/forceful/lusty
pack
depart
Fia!
Via
! i.e. away (Italian)

⁹
For the heavens
i.e. in heaven’s name

¹²
honest
honorable (sense then shifts to “chaste”)

¹³
something
somewhat/some thing (i.e. vagina)

¹⁴
smack
have a taste for/taste literally/have sex with
grow to
become one with/tend toward/become erect
taste
preference/literal taste

¹⁹
God … mark
i.e. excuse my language

²⁰
saving your reverence
i.e. begging your pardon

²²
incarnation
slip for “incarnate” (ironic, given that the Incarnation refers to the making of Christ into flesh)

²⁸
true-begotten
honestly conceived (Lancelet means “real, true”)

²⁹
sand-blind
half-blind (from “sam-blind,” but Lancelet thinks “as if with
sand
in the eyes”)
high-gravel-blind
completely blind

³⁰
confusions
(appropriate) malapropism for “conclusions”—i.e. “experiment”

³⁵
of no hand
i.e. neither left or right
indirectly
along a winding route (perhaps plays on the sense of “moral crookedness”)

³⁷
sonties
saints
hit
get right, find

⁴¹
raise the waters
provoke tears

⁴³
master
gentleman or professional tradesperson

⁴⁵
well to live
well-to-do/managing satisfactorily/healthy

⁴⁶
a
he

⁴⁸
friend and Lancelet
Old Gobbo’s polite way of rejecting the title “master” for Lancelet

⁴⁹
ergo
“therefore” (Latin)

⁵¹
an’t
if it

⁵³
father
respectful form of address for an old man

⁵⁴
Sisters Three
three Fates, goddesses who spin, measure, and cut the thread of a person’s life

⁵⁹
hovel-post
doorpost of a hovel

⁶⁶
of the knowing
to recognize

⁶⁷
it … child
reversal of the proverb “it is a wise child that knows its own father”

⁷⁴
your boy … be
comic paraphrase of the Gloria from the Book of Common Prayer: “As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be”

⁸⁰
Margery
sometimes used as slang term for a whore, or vagina

⁸³
fill-horse
carthorse (“fills” were the shafts of a cart)

⁸⁶
backward
inward (i.e. is shorter)
of
on

⁸⁹
agree
get on

⁹¹
set … rest
staked all

⁹²
rest
pause, stop

⁹³
very
thorough

⁹⁴
halter
hangman’s noose
tell
count

⁹⁵
finger … ribs
Lancelet reverses
ribs
and
finger

⁹⁶
Give me
give for me/give (
me
is emphatic)

⁹⁷
rare
splendid
liveries
uniforms (for servants)

⁹⁹
Jew
i.e. villain

¹⁰⁰
hasted
hastened

¹⁰¹
farthest
latest

¹⁰³
anon
shortly

¹⁰⁶
Gramercy
many thanks
aught
anything

¹⁰⁸
poor
shifts sense from “unfortunate/humble” to “penniless”

¹¹⁰
infection
malapropism for “affection” (i.e. desire)

¹¹⁵
scarce
scarcely
cater-cousins
good friends, close

¹¹⁸
frutify
malapropism for “certify”

¹²¹
impertinent
malapropism for “pertinent”

¹²⁶
defect
malapropism for “effect” (i.e. meaning, purport)

¹²⁹
preferred
recommended/promoted

¹³²
old proverb
“the grace of God is gear enough” (i.e. sufficient)
parted
divided

¹³⁶
inquire … out
find out where my house is

¹³⁸
guarded
ornamented by braid trimmings

¹⁴¹
table
part of the palm
book
i.e. Bible (on which oaths are sworn)

¹⁴²
simple
ordinary/unremarkable
line of life
the life-line on the palm supposedly records the length and nature of a person’s life

¹⁴³
trifle
insignificant amount

¹⁴⁴
simple
humble
coming-in
income (puns on the sense of “having sex”)

¹⁴⁵
scape
escape

¹⁴⁶
edge … feather-bed
perhaps refers to the dangers of marriage (i.e. a wife’s infidelity)

¹⁴⁷
scapes
escapes/adventures/wrongdoings

¹⁴⁸
gear
matter
the
i.e. a

¹⁵¹
bestowed
stowed away (on the ship bound for Belmont)

¹⁵²
feast
lay on a feast for

¹⁵⁴
herein
in this matter

¹⁶⁰
obtained it
i.e. been granted your request

¹⁶⁴
rude
raucous/coarse

¹⁶⁵
Parts
qualities
become
suit

¹⁶⁷
show
appear

¹⁶⁸
liberal
licentious
take pain
make an effort

¹⁶⁹
allay
diminish
modesty
restraint/ propriety

¹⁷⁰
skipping
frivolous

¹⁷¹
misconstered
misconstrued, misunderstood

¹⁷⁴
habit
demeanor/behavior/clothing

¹⁷⁵
but
only

¹⁷⁷
saying
being said

¹⁸⁰
studied … ostent
practiced in a solemn appearance

¹⁸¹
grandam
grandmother

¹⁸³
bar
exclude
gauge
assess

¹⁸⁸
purpose
intend