Gaoler, look to him. Tell not me of mercy.
This is the fool that lent out money gratis.
Gaoler, look to him.
Jailer, keep watch over him. Don't bother talking to me about mercy. This is the idiot who lent out money for free. Jailer, keep watch over him.
Guard, keep an eye on him. And don't waste your time asking me for mercy. This is the idiot who gives money away for nothing. Guard, watch him carefully.
watch him no mercy he gave money away for free
Hear me yet, good Shylock.
Listen to me, good Shylock.
Shylock, just listen to me for a second.
hear me out shylock
I’ll have my bond, speak not against my bond.
I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond.
Thou call’dst me dog before thou hadst a cause,
But since I am a dog, beware my fangs;
The Duke shall grant me justice. I do wonder,
Thou naughty gaoler, that thou art so fond
To come abroad with him at his request.
I want my contract, don't speak against my contract. I've sworn by everything I believe that I will get my contract. You called me a dog before you had any reason to, But since I'm a dog now, watch out for my bite; The Duke will give me justice. I'm amazed, You terrible jailer, that you're foolish enough To go out with him just because he asked.
I'm getting my contract, period. Don't try to convince me otherwise. I've sworn I will get what's written in this bond. You called me a dog when I hadn't done anything to you, But now that I'm a dog, you better be careful of my teeth. The Duke is going to rule in my favor. And I'm shocked, you stupid guard, that you're dumb enough to let him out just because he wanted to come see you.
i want my contract i swore an oath you called me dog first now watch my fangs duke will help me
Shylock says some version of 'I'll have my bond' six times in this scene. It is not rhetoric — it is deliberate closure. He has nothing left to argue, and he knows it: his position is legally correct, morally defensible within his own framework, and emotionally necessary after everything that has been taken from him. The repetition functions as a kind of prayer — or perhaps its opposite, an anti-prayer — a sentence that forecloses all conversation by removing the possibility of exchange. Shylock doesn't engage with Antonio's words because engaging would mean the situation could still change. He cannot afford that. The bond is the last thing he controls, and he will not relinquish control of it by speaking.
I pray thee hear me speak.
I'm asking you to listen to what I have to say.
Just let me say something, would you?
just listen
I’ll have my bond. I will not hear thee speak.
I’ll have my bond, and therefore speak no more.
I’ll not be made a soft and dull-eyed fool,
To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield
To Christian intercessors. Follow not,
I’ll have no speaking, I will have my bond.
I'm getting my contract. I won't listen to you speak. I'm getting my contract, so don't say another word. I won't let myself become a soft and pathetic fool, Who shakes his head, feels sorry, sighs, and gives in To Christian people trying to change my mind. Stop following me, I won't listen to any talk, I will get my contract.
I'm taking my bond. I'm not listening to anything you have to say. I want my bond, so just shut up. I'm not going to become some weak, stupid man who backs down and cries and lets Christian people talk him out of justice. Stop following me around. I'm done listening. I'm taking what's mine.
i want my bond shut up i won't be weak no more talking i'm taking it
It is the most impenetrable cur
That ever kept with men.
He's the most stubborn, unmoveable dog That has ever lived among people.
He's the most impossible, stubborn jerk I've ever seen walk this earth.
he's impossible most stubborn guy ever
Antonio's explanation of the legal situation is accurate and important for understanding the play's architecture. Venice in the sixteenth century was one of the world's great commercial republics, and its prosperity depended on a reputation for contract enforcement. Merchants from across Europe and the Mediterranean did business in Venice precisely because the legal system was reliable. If the Duke voided a valid contract — even a grotesque one — on the grounds that the terms were cruel, he would send a signal to every foreign merchant that Venetian contracts could be overridden by ducal discretion. Trade would move elsewhere. This is not a theoretical concern; it is the constitutional logic that keeps Shylock legally empowered until someone finds a loophole. The play's resolution in 4-1 depends on finding that loophole rather than simply ignoring the law.
Let him alone.
I’ll follow him no more with bootless prayers.
He seeks my life, his reason well I know:
I oft deliver’d from his forfeitures
Many that have at times made moan to me.
Therefore he hates me.
Leave him alone. I won't follow him around with useless prayers anymore. He wants my life, and I understand his reason well: I've often saved many people from losing their money to him, People who came to me crying and begging. Because of that, he hates me.
Let him go. I'm not going to waste my breath asking him for anything. He wants me dead, and I know exactly why: I've saved tons of people from him, gotten them out of debt. People would come crying to me, and I'd help them. That's why he hates me.
let him go he wants my life i've helped people he was going to destroy that's why he hates me
I am sure the Duke
Will never grant this forfeiture to hold.
I'm sure the Duke Will never let this forfeiture happen.
Look, I'm positive the Duke won't let him actually take what the bond says.
the duke won't allow this
The Duke cannot deny the course of law,
For the commodity that strangers have
With us in Venice, if it be denied,
’Twill much impeach the justice of the state,
Since that the trade and profit of the city
Consisteth of all nations. Therefore, go.
These griefs and losses have so bated me
That I shall hardly spare a pound of flesh
Tomorrow to my bloody creditor.
Well, gaoler, on, pray God Bassanio come
To see me pay his debt, and then I care not.
The Duke can't go around the law, Because foreigners do business With us in Venice, and if he breaks the law, It will damage Venice's reputation for justice, Since the wealth and success of the city Comes from trade with all different nations. So go. These sorrows and losses have weakened me so much That I'm not sure I even have a full pound of flesh left Tomorrow to pay my bloody creditor. Well, jailer, let's go. I just hope Bassanio comes To see me pay his debt, and then I won't care.
The Duke can't just ignore the law— foreigners do business in Venice, and if he breaks his own rules, it'll destroy Venice's reputation for being fair. The whole city depends on trade from all different countries. So go on. I've been torn apart by grief and losses so much that I'm not even sure I have a full pound of flesh left to give to my bloody creditor tomorrow. Guard, let's move. I just want Bassanio to show up to see me pay his debt, and then I'm at peace.
duke can't break the law foreigners do business here grief's weakened me i might not have enough flesh just hope bassanio sees me pay
The Reckoning
The shortest and perhaps most formally claustrophobic scene in the play. Shylock appears and disappears without any real dialogue — he speaks past Antonio, not to him. His 'I'll have my bond' becomes a kind of chant: the words of a man who has turned his grief into procedure, and who will not be talked back out of it. Antonio's concluding speech is one of the most resigned in the play — his dignity is intact, but his hope is essentially gone.
If this happened today…
A debtor tries to stop the repo man at his door. The repo man won't engage — he just repeats: 'I have a court order. I'm not here to talk.' A bystander tells the debtor to calm down. The repo man says: 'You called me a dog. You knew the terms.' And leaves. The debtor turns to his friend: 'There's nothing we can do legally. The system protects contracts or trade dies. I just want to see my person before this is over.'