Marc Ong 2i218

I feel that in the play, while there are examples of mercy being shown, it is too often due to selfish motives to be considered "real" mercy. As Portia said in her speech about mercy in Act 4 Scene 1, "The quality of Mercy is not strain'd". This means that real mercy is not forced, it is done purely out of one's will to show mercy to the offending party.

For example, when the Duke spared Shylock's life in Act 4 Scene 1, "I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it", he has his own motives: he wants to prove himself better than what he considers "an inhuman wretch". As shown later in the scene, he is not really showing mercy to Shylock, as Shylock says "You take my house when you do take the prop/ That doth sustain my house. You take my life,/ When you do take the means whereby I live." This shows how the Duke is not killing Shylock outright but leaving him to die- a far more cruel fate. Shylock, alone in the world after his daughter abandoned him, is left an old bankrupt Christian, preventing him from practicing money lending.

Another example of how "false" mercy is shown in the play is how Portia toys with Shylock in the court scene. She leads him along, making him believe that his case is solid and giving him chances to show mercy-not because she wants him to take them, but rather to make sure that he contradicts himself when she tells him of the loophole in his bond. Portia has no right to be an actual Judge, but still administers the penalty of forfeiting all his goods to the state. This shows how "false" mercy is often merely to lead others into traps.

In Elizabethan times, the anti-Semitic audience would probably have believed that Shylock was shown pure mercy and justice due to their belief that he was a generic villain. However, now in modern times Shylock is seen as a morally grey character, thus showing how some characters are hypocritical in their treatment of him.