Merchant of venice 7,8,9

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51. The meeting Lorenzo is referring to involves the planning to steal Jessica [2.4]. This meeting involves the two
Sals, not Bassanio. Hence, Lorenzo’s reminder of such a meeting to Bassanio—and the assurance made in the next
line by Bassanio [I will not fail you]—as found in the original, is amiss. [See next note].
52. In the original, this line is attributed to Bassanio, and reads: ‘I will not fail you’ and is spoken after Salarino and
Salanio have already exited. Thus Bassanio is telling Lorenzo that he (Bassanio) will not fail him (Lorenzo) and that
he will be there as planned. However, there is no future plan involving Lorenzo and Bassanio. [See Additional
Notes, 1.1.72]
53. Some commentators suggest that the play may have initially opened here, at line 73. Gratziano’s opening
statement resembles that of Antonio’s opening, and the discourse that follows is similar in tone to the previous
conversation had with Salarino and Salanio. [See Additional Notes, 1.1.73] [See Appendix: The Three Sallies]
54. {You have too much respect upon the world}
55. {They lose it that do buy it with much care}
/ When too concerned about what can go wrong | You can’t enjoy all the things that are right.
/ All this concern with loss does have a cost: | You can’t enjoy all the great things that you have.
Gratziano is saying that one who buys life with too much care (i.e., spends too much time in worry and sadness),
cannot enjoy life. In other words, things usually turn out poorly for one who is too concerned about how things will
turn out.
56. {Believe me, you are marvellously changed}
/ Believe me, you are decidedly different / Believe me you look nothing like yourself / Believe me when I
say, you’re not yourself / Believe me, friend, you are completely changed
57. {Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster}

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58. {Sleep when he wakes, and creep into the jaundice} / creep into an illness
/ Sleep when awake and give himself an illness
jaundice: a disease related to the liver and caused by an excess of yellow bile; as such, it brings a yellowish
complexion to the skin and whites of the eyes. Up until the 19 century, this disease was thought to have a th
psychosomatic origin. Hence, Gratziano is saying that Antonio is going to get jaundice as a result his depressed
disposition (which makes him appear as though he is asleep when awake).
59. {I tell the what, Antonio— | I love thee, and ‘tis my love that speaks:}
60. {There are a sort of men whose visages | Do cream and mantle like a standing pond | And do a willful stillness
entertain}
cream and mantle: cover over and mask; become pale and mask-like. This image suggests a) the algae that floats
upon the surface of a stagnant pond (covering the interior of the pond), or b) the covering of cream on milk. [See
Additional Notes, 1.1.90]
61. {With purpose to be dressed in an opinion}
62. {Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit} / As men of profound wisdom and insight.
gravity: authority, seriousness, weight
profound conceit: deep thinking; those who deeply contemplate the matter
63. {If they should speak, would almost dam those ears}
dam: dam, clog up, block, stop damn: damn, curse, foul
64. {But fish not with this melancholy bait | For this fool gudgeon, this opinion.}
fool gudgeon: gudgeon are fish which were thought to be gullible, easy believers in the bait, (and which would
bite and anything). Thus they were easy to catch. Some editions use Pope’s emendation of: fool’s gudgeon.
opinion: the opinion that others will think you are wise because you look sad and do not open your mouth.
65. There are three direct references that the parties are going meet later for dinner [70, 104, 105], plus a response to
those references [72]. Is dinner in these references the same as the supper which Bassanio has the night he leaves for
Belmont or is there some other meeting indicated?

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66. {Fare you well. I’ll grow a talker for this gear} / Farewell, I’ll grow more of a talker next time
gear: a) discourse, talk. ‘Farewell, I’ll take your advice and become more of a talker (next time we meet);
b) matter, affair. ‘Farewell, now that you’re gone, and I’m with Bassanio, I’ll become a talker—for this
matter, now that there is something relevant to speak about.’
c) reason ‘Farewell, ‘I’ll talk more (with respect to your advice) so that others do not think that I silent (for
the reason you mentioned) to try and get others to think I am full of wisdom and profound understanding—which is
not the case.’
67. {Thanks, i’faith, for silence is only commendable | In a neat’s tongue dried and a maid not vendible.}
/ Please do, for silence is best in ox-tongue, | And in craggy old maids no longer young.
/ Please do, for silence’s best in ox-tongue dried, | And in a maid too old to be a bride.
neat’s tongue dried: the dried tongue of an ox, which is commendable precisely because one does not want this
kind of tongue to talk—one wants it to be dead, dried, and ready to eat. (Some commentators suggest that this
reference to neat’s tongue dried may be a bawdy a reference to the dried up penis of an old man which cannot
become erect—but why Gratziano would find this commendable is unclear).
not vendible: not saleable. Refers to a maid who cannot be sold (with a dowry) in the way of marriage—and
thus a maid who is worthless and unsaleable. The implication is that someone who is old and unwed (and whom
nobody wants) would speak with bitter and complaining words—so her silence would be welcomed. Some interpret
not vendible as referring to a maid who is too young and not yet saleable (in the marketplace of marriage)—and
whose talk might be witless. It seems more likely that Gratziano would commend silence in a craggy old maid (who
is wont to complain) rather than in a young maid who is not yet of a marriageable age. [See Additional Notes,
1.1.112]
68. {It is that any thing now.}
/ He speaks and speaks, and yet says not a thing / He speaks a lot, yet says a lot of nothing.
This line, as it appears in Q1, is missing three syllables and does not fit the standard meter. Editors have treated
this anomalous line in several ways: A) Left it as is. B) Deleted the opening ‘It’ and posited that the line as a
question: ‘Is that anything now?’—which means: ‘What was all that talk about?’ This renders the line somewhat
intelligible, but does not correct the line structure. (This emendation was first proposed by Rowe). C) Changed It to
Yet:‘Yet is that anything now?’ With this emendation, Antonio is apparently referring to the newfound silence
(which is being enjoyed since Gratziano, the talker, has just left). This emendation is based upon the supposition
that ‘Yet’ was found in the original manuscript, and somehow became ‘Yt’ and then ‘It.’) All these textual
contortions do not improve the line. It is most likely that the original contained a full five iambs and part of the line
had become unreadable. Thus, the typesetter did his best in setting what part of the line he could read.
We find that the lines of Bassanio, which follow this one, are also corrupt in that they do not adhere to the
standard meter. Hence, one possibility is that the name Gratziano was originally intended to be part of Antonio’s
line, and somehow got shifted to Bassanio. If so, the lines might have appeared as follows:
Ant. Did Gratziano say anything now?
Bass. He speaks an infinite deal of nothing,
Ay, more than any man in all of Venice . . .
[See Additional Notes, 1.1.113.]

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Tags-


William Shakespeare.


Merchant Of Venice.

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