Scene 1 Belmont.

A room in Portia's house

Flourish of cornets. Enter the Prince of MOROCCO, and his Train;

PORTIA, NERISSA, and other of her Attendants

MOROCCO (1 to 12)

Mislike(dislike) me not for my complexion,

The shadow'd(dark) livery(uniform) of the burnish'd(shining) sun,

To whom I am a neighbour and near bred.

Bring me the fairest creature northward born,(born in the northern regions)

Where Phoebus'(sun God in classical mythology) fire (heat)scarce(hardly) thaws(melts) the

And let us make incision(cut) for your love,

To prove whose blood is reddest,(the Elizabethans believed that a rich red colour of blood is the
sign of a courageous man) his or mine.

I tell thee, lady, this aspect(appearance) of mine

Hath fear'd(frightened) the valiant(courageous). By my love I swear

The best-regarded(most esteemed) virgins of our clime(land; country) (10)

Have loved it too. I would not change this hue, (colour; complexion)

Except to steal your thoughts,(win your affections) my gentle queen.

Line no 1-12

Morocco: The Prince of Morocco, who is aware of the possibilities of racial prejudice, urges
Portia not to dislike him due to the dark colour of his skin. The colour of his skin is the shaded or
darkened uniform or distinguishing mark of the brightly shining sun that Morocco is a neighbour
of and has been brought up near. This is because Morocco comes from North Western Africa
that is naturally very near the equator. He then issues a kind of challenge. He asks for the most
light-skinned man born in the north to be brought before him, a man who is from a country which
is so far away from the sun that the heat of Phoebus, the classical sun god can hardly melt the
icicles or long pointed spikes of ice there. Morocco then asks for a cut to be made in the skin of
both men in order to prove whose blood is redder in colour, his or that of the man born in the
north. He says this because the Elizabethans believed that the richer one’s blood was, the more
courageous one was. He then tells Portia that his face has made brave men tremble with fear.
He then swears by his love for Portia that the most respected and valued young maidens of his
country have loved his physical appearance. Hence, he will not exchange the colour of his skin
for anything except to occupy Portia’s thoughts and win her affection. He address Portia as his
‘gentle queen.’

PORTIA (13 to 22)

In terms of choice(in the matter of choosing) I am not solely led

By nice direction(astute- sharp guidance) of a maiden’s eyes;

Besides, the lottery of my destiny (15)

Bars (prohibits)me the right of voluntary choosing.(choosing on my own)

But if my father had not scanted me(deprived me)

And hedged me(restricted me) by his wit(wisdom) to yield myself

His wife who wins me by that means I told you,

Yourself, renownèd Prince, then stood as fair (20)

As any comer I have look'd on yet

For my affection.

line no 13-22

Portia: Very tactfully, Portia conceals her true feelings about Morocco. She says that if she had
the freedom to choose her own husband, she would not primarily be guided by the tendency of
young girls to be pleased only with a young man’s looks or external appearance. Apart from
this, the trial of chance or the lottery on which her fate depends disallows her to exercise the
freedom to choose what or who she wants. If, however, her father had not limited or deprived
her of free choice, if he had not left her with scanty or little choice, and had not restrained and
bound her with restrictions imposed by his wisdom according to which she had to submit to
being the wife of whoever won her hand through the manner she had already informed the
famous prince of, then, the Prince of Morocco would have stood as good a chance or seemed
as light-skinned as any other suitor Portia has regarded with the view of being able to place her
affection on.

MOROCCO (23- 39)

Even for that I thank you.

Therefore, I pray you, lead me to the caskets,

To try my fortune. By this scimitar,(short, curved sword) (25)

That slew the Sophy(Emperor of Persia. In Elizabethan times, the term Sophy or Sophi was
equivalent to the term 'Shah' (of Persia) in modern English) and a Persian prince

That won three fields of Sultan Solyman, (Suleiman the Magnificient, the Turkish sultan who
conquered much of Persia)

I would outstare the sternest eyes that look, (look defiantly into the boldest eyes)

Outbrave the heart most daring on the earth,

Pluck the young sucking cubs from the she-bear, (30)

Yea, mock the lion when he roars for prey, (tease the lion when he is hungry for prey)

To win the lady.(14th August) But, alas the while!

If Hercules and Lichas play at dice (Hercules was a hero of superhuman strength in Greek
mythology. Lichas was his servant)

Which is the better man, the greater throw

of the dice may come by luck from the hand of the weaker man. Morocco means to say that in
a lottery, the weak have an equal chance of winning with the strong)

So is Alcides beaten by his page; (Alcides is another name for Hercules)

And so may I, blind Fortune leading me, (Fortune was commonly represented as a blindfolded
goddess to symbolize the wayward, seemingly blind way in which she dispensed fortune- good
and bad- to mankind)

Miss that which one unworthier may attain,

And die with grieving. (die of grief)

line number 23- 39

Morocco: The Prince of Morocco says that he is thankful to Portia for her kind words even
though he realises that they are mere words and cannot become a reality. He then requests her
to lead him to where the caskets have been placed so that he can test his luck. He then perhaps
grips his scimitar, which is a short curved sword, and the sword with which he says he killed the
Shah or Emperor of Persia. This Sophy symbolised great wealth and magnificence. Hence, if
Morocco had defeated him, he was undoubtedly a man of great courage. Morocco had also
used the sword to kill a Persian prince who had defeated a Turkish Sultan, Sultan Solyman,
thrice in battle. Swearing by this sword, Morocco says that in order to win the hand of Portia, he
would be willing to look defiantly into the most intimidating or boldest of eyes, he would display
greater courage than the bravest man on the earth, he would pull away the young cubs of a
female bear while she was feeding them, and he would challenge a lion while it was roaring as it
went in search of prey to feed on.

Morocco then laments the way things are at present. He now realises with foreboding that he
can be beaten in the lottery of the caskets. His self-confidence is shaken for a moment,
particularly at the thought of losing to someone he regards as his inferior. In this context he
mentions the mythical Greek hero, Hercules who was possessed of enormous strength and
vigour and says that if he and his servant , Lichas were to play a game of dice in order to see
which of the two is superior as a man, it would be possible for the winning throw to be made by
the weaker man simply because of a stroke of luck or chance. Thus, Alcides ( another name for
Hercules) could end up being defeated by his servant despite being the stronger of the two. In
the same way, Morocco, being led on or directed by fortune which is referred to as blind
because she bestows good luck on men in a very random manner and without following any
specific criteria or reasons for doing so, may choose the wrong casket due to a stroke of bad
luck, and then, would lose the opportunity of winning Portia while someone far less deserving of
her, would win her hand simply due to a favourable stroke of luck. If this were to happen,
Morocco would die of extreme sorrow.

PORTIA (line 40 to 44)

You must take your chance, (40)

And either not attempt to choose at all,

Or swear before you choose, if you choose wrong,

Never to speak to lady afterward

In way of marriage: therefore be advised. (be warned)

line no 40-44

Portia: Portia tells Morocco that he will have to engage in the trial of luck involving the lottery of
the caskets. He must either not venture to choose any casket or he must take a solemn oath
before he makes his choice. According to this oath or pledge, he can never speak to any lady
on the subject of getting married if he chooses the wrong casket. He is therefore warned about
the need to be careful with regard to deciding what he would like to do, go ahead with the trial of
chance, or turn back without choosing any casket.

MOROCCO (45-46)

Nor will not. Come, bring me unto (45)

my chance.

PORTIA (47-48)

First, forward to the temple.(Portia means the private chapel, such as is attached to large
country houses in Italy, but uses the word 'temple' as it is more likely to be understood by
Morocco, a non- Christian, and perhaps be more agreeable to him.) after dinner
Your hazard(gamble)shall be made.

MOROCCO (49- 50)

    Good fortune then!—

To make me blest or cursed’st among men. (the most blessed or the most cursed of men)

[Cornets, and exeunt]

line no 45- 46

Morocco: Morocco says that he will never ask any other lady to be his wife if he chooses the
wrong casket. He then asks Portia to lead him to where the caskets are so that he can engage
in a trial of luck.

line no 47- 48

Portia: Portia tells Morocco that they must first go forward to the chapel where he is to swear his
oath of never speaking to a lady about marriage if he chooses the wrong casket. After dinner,
he shall have to make his choice and face the risk of having to bear the consequences if he
makes the wrong choice.

line no 49-50

Morocco: Morocco expresses the wish that good luck will be with him because it is fortune or
luck that will make him the most blessed and fortunate of men if he makes the right choice; and
the most cursed or unfortunate of men if he makes the wrong choice.