Portia’s speech
“The mercy speech”
In this famous speech, Portia is dressed as a doctor of law, and has taken the identity of a young lawyer named “Balthazar” She tries to plead with the Jew (Shylock) to have mercy on Antonio, however she says that mercy cannot be forced, that it must come freely, and compares it to a drop of rain falling from the sky. She explains to Shylock, that mercy is something so beautiful and pure that it is really its own reward, she goes on to say that mercy is not only a blessing on the person receiving it, but also a blessing on he who shows mercy. Portia then tries to convince Shylock that it is a mighty symbol that could be shared by him and king’s alike, that mercy suits a king even better than his crown. This is something very powerful to say, as a king’s crown is the very symbol of his power and respect. She explains the power of the king’s sceptre, that it is the symbol of his authority over all, that it is the most prized symbol of kings, that it is so special it leaves all in awe of the monarch’s strength and authority. However she adds that mercy is in itself more powerful even than this awesome symbol of strength. She says that mercy is something cherished by all king’s and that it is the one true symbol of strength. By saying all of this she hopes to give Shylock the impression that he will show true inner strength and will be respected just by showing mercy. She then goes a level above that of kings, by saying that it is an attribute shared with God. She is basically telling him that it is the only thing that a mortal could do that mimics the power of God himself. Also mentioning God is a particularly controversial subject due to the fact that Shylock was a Jew and the rest of the court was Christian. She was trying to tell Shylock that although they may not have the same religious views, that they still believed in the same God and if he would have mercy on Antonio it would show the world that a Jew has had mercy on a Christian which would have been something truly great at the time with the situation between the two religions. Portia explains that there is a difference between justice and mercy, that the court would deliver justice but that it was up to him to show mercy and the court could not force anything on him, however this hints that if things were turned around he would be hoping for someone to have mercy on him and that the court would be unable to help him.