Madam, although I speak it in your presence,
You have a noble and a true conceit
Of godlike amity, which appears most strongly
In bearing thus the absence of your lord.
But if you knew to whom you show this honour,
How true a gentleman you send relief,
How dear a lover of my lord your husband,
I know you would be prouder of the work
Than customary bounty can enforce you.
My lady, even though I'm saying this while you're here, You show a noble and genuine kind Of godlike friendship, which shows most clearly In how you're handling your husband's absence. But if you knew exactly who you're helping, What a true gentleman you're supporting, How much my lord's husband loves you, I know you'd feel prouder of this act Than normal kindness could make you feel.
My lady, I'm going to say this straight up— you're showing real, genuine friendship, the kind that's almost divine. The way you're handling being apart from your husband shows it best. But if you really knew who you're helping, how good a person he really is, how much he loves your husband, I know you'd feel even prouder of what you're doing than you already do.
you're noble your friendship is godlike if you knew who you're helping you'd be even prouder
I never did repent for doing good,
Nor shall not now; for in companions
That do converse and waste the time together,
Whose souls do bear an equal yoke of love,
There must be needs a like proportion
Of lineaments, of manners, and of spirit;
Which makes me think that this Antonio,
Being the bosom lover of my lord,
Must needs be like my lord. If it be so,
How little is the cost I have bestowed
In purchasing the semblance of my soul
From out the state of hellish cruelty!
This comes too near the praising of myself;
Therefore no more of it. Hear other things.
Lorenzo, I commit into your hands
The husbandry and manage of my house
Until my lord’s return. For mine own part,
I have toward heaven breath’d a secret vow
To live in prayer and contemplation,
Only attended by Nerissa here,
Until her husband and my lord’s return.
There is a monastery two miles off,
And there we will abide. I do desire you
Not to deny this imposition,
The which my love and some necessity
Now lays upon you.
I've never regretted doing good, And I won't start now; because when people Spend time together and enjoy each other's company, When their souls carry the same weight of love, There must be the same kind of match In their faces, their behavior, and their spirits. Which makes me believe that this Antonio, Being my lord's closest friend, Must be like my lord. If that's true, Then I've barely spent anything To save from hellish cruelty Someone like my own soul! But I'm coming close to bragging about myself— So I'll stop. Let's talk about other things. Lorenzo, I'm putting into your hands The running and management of my house Until my lord returns. As for me, I've made a private promise to heaven To spend my time in prayer and thinking, With only Nerissa here to keep me company, Until her husband and my lord come home. There's a convent two miles away, And that's where we'll stay. I'm asking you Please don't refuse this responsibility, Which my love for Bassanio and what I need Now put on your shoulders.
I've never felt bad about doing something good, and I'm not going to start. When people who are close spend time together, they have to match in how they look, how they act, who they are inside. So this Antonio, being my lord's best friend, hasa to be like him. If that's the case, then I'm just saving someone like a copy of my own soul from being destroyed. Pretty amazing for the cost. But I'm basically bragging now, so never mind. Let's move on. Lorenzo, I'm leaving my house in your hands. Run it for me while Bassanio's gone. As for me, I've made a promise to God that I'm going to spend my time praying and just thinking, with Nerissa. Until both guys come back. There's a convent place two miles from here, and we're going to stay there. I'm asking you not to turn me down— Bassanio needs this, and so do I.
never regretted doing good antonio must be like bassanio he's like my own soul i promised heaven i'd pray with nerissa we're going to a convent please run my house
Madam, with all my heart
I shall obey you in all fair commands.
My lady, with all my heart I will obey every fair command you give.
My lady, absolutely. I'll do everything you ask, no problem.
i'll obey whatever you want
My people do already know my mind,
And will acknowledge you and Jessica
In place of Lord Bassanio and myself.
So fare you well till we shall meet again.
My servants already know what I want, And they'll treat you and Jessica As if you were Lord Bassanio and myself. So goodbye until we see each other again.
My servants already know the plan, and they'll treat you and Jessica like you're Bassanio and me. So goodbye—see you when we get back.
servants know the plan tey'll listen to you two see you soon
Fair thoughts and happy hours attend on you!
May pleasant thoughts and happiness be with you!
May everything go well for you!
good luck
The 'woman disguised as man' plot is one of the most common devices in Elizabethan and Jacobean comedy — Shakespeare uses it in Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and here. It had a specific theatrical logic: on the Elizabethan stage, female roles were played by boy actors, so a 'woman dressed as a man' was actually a boy actor playing a woman playing a man — three layers of performance. The comedy for the original audience came from this layering: they saw the boy, the woman, and the man all at once. For modern audiences, the device's interest shifts toward what it reveals about gender performance itself. Portia's speech in this scene is especially sophisticated: she isn't just putting on a costume, she is analysing the specific behaviours she needs to replicate, which suggests that gender performance is something she has studied from the outside.
I wish your ladyship all heart’s content.
I wish your ladyship complete happiness.
I hope everything works out perfectly for you.
best wishes to you
I thank you for your wish, and am well pleas’d
To wish it back on you. Fare you well, Jessica.
I'm grateful for your wish, and I'm happy To wish it back to you. Goodbye, Jessica.
Thanks for that, and I wish the same for you. Goodbye, Jessica.
thanks thank you too
Now, Balthazar,
As I have ever found thee honest-true,
So let me find thee still. Take this same letter,
And use thou all th’ endeavour of a man
In speed to Padua, see thou render this
Into my cousin’s hands, Doctor Bellario;
And look what notes and garments he doth give thee,
Bring them, I pray thee, with imagin’d speed
Unto the traject, to the common ferry
Which trades to Venice. Waste no time in words,
But get thee gone. I shall be there before thee.
Now, Balthazar, Since I have always found you honest and true, I hope to continue finding you so. Take this letter And use all the effort of a man to speed to Padua; Deliver it to my cousin's hands, Doctor Bellario. Whatever notes and clothes he gives you, Bring them to me with all possible speed To the crossing point, to the common ferry Which travels to Venice. Don't waste time talking, But go quickly. I will be there before you.
Listen Balthazar—you've always been straight with me, and I need you to stay that way. Take this letter and get to Padua as fast as you can. Give it to my cousin Doctor Bellario. Whatever he gives you—letters, clothes, whatever—bring it to the ferry dock that goes to Venice. Don't chat, just move. I'll get there before you do.
balthazar move fast to padua deliver letter to my cousin bellario get what he gives u take it to the ferry no time for talking go now i'll beat u there
Madam, I go with all convenient speed.
My lady, I'll go as fast as I can.
My lady, I'm on it right away.
on it
Doctor Bellario — Portia's cousin in Padua, the legal expert she writes to — never appears in the play. He is mentioned only in 3-4, and his letter is read in 4-1. But he is structurally essential: he provides the legal credentials (notes and clothing) that allow Portia to enter the court as a lawyer, and his letter to the Duke establishes 'Balthasar's' reputation before she speaks a word. The irony is that Bellario, the qualified expert, yields completely to Portia in his letter — he says this young lawyer is 'better equipped than I am.' Shakespeare stages the scene so that legal authority is transmitted from a known expert to a disguised woman, which is both a comment on how expertise circulates in male institutions and a reminder of what Portia has that Bellario, for all his credentials, lacks: she knows exactly what's at stake.
Come on, Nerissa, I have work in hand
That you yet know not of; we’ll see our husbands
Before they think of us.
Come on, Nerissa, I have something to do That you don't know about yet; we'll see our husbands Before they expect to see us.
Come on, Nerissa, I've got a plan that you haven't heard about yet. We're going to see our guys before they even know we're coming.
come on nerissa i have a plan we'll see them first
Shall they see us?
Will they see us?
But won't they recognize us?
they'll see us
They shall, Nerissa, but in such a habit
That they shall think we are accomplished
With that we lack. I’ll hold thee any wager,
When we are both accoutered like young men,
I’ll prove the prettier fellow of the two,
And wear my dagger with the braver grace,
And speak between the change of man and boy
With a reed voice; and turn two mincing steps
Into a manly stride; and speak of frays
Like a fine bragging youth; and tell quaint lies
How honourable ladies sought my love,
Which I denying, they fell sick and died;
I could not do withal. Then I’ll repent,
And wish for all that, that I had not kill’d them.
And twenty of these puny lies I’ll tell,
That men shall swear I have discontinued school
About a twelvemonth. I have within my mind
A thousand raw tricks of these bragging Jacks,
Which I will practise.
They will, Nerissa, but dressed in such a way That they'll think we have what we're lacking. I'll bet you anything, When we're both dressed as young men, I'll be the better-looking fellow of the two, And I'll wear my dagger with more style, And speak in between a man's voice and a boy's voice With a thin voice; and turn my dainty steps Into a man's stride; and talk about fights Like a young man who brags; and tell clever lies About how noble women wanted my love, But since I refused them, they got sick and died. I couldn't help it. Then I'll act regretful And wish I hadn't done that, that I hadn't killed them. I'll tell twenty of these ridiculous lies That men will swear I've been away from school For about a year. I have in my head A thousand young trick-plays from these bragging young men That I'll act out.
Yes, Nerissa, but dressed as young men— they'll think we actually ARE young men, I promise. I'll make you a bet: when we're both in men's clothes, I'll be the prettier-looking guy of the two. I'll wear my sword with so much better style. I'll talk in this voice between a boy and a man— all thin and high; I'll make my fancy steps into a real man's walk; I'll brag about fights like some arrogant kid; I'll tell fake stories about how beautiful ladies wanted to be with me, and when I said no, they got depressed and died. I couldn't help it. Then I'll act sorry and say I wish that hadn't happened, that I hadn't gotten them killed. I could tell about twenty dumb lies like that and guys would think I'd been gone from school for like a year. I've got all these tricks stored up from watching these cocky young guys, and I'm going to try them all out.
yes but as young men they'll think we're boys i'll be prettier i'll brag about fights tell fake stories about ladies dying for me i'll act all sorry i know a thousand tricks
Why, shall we turn to men?
So, we're going to turn into men?
Wait, we're going to dress up as men?
we're dressing as men
Fie, what a question’s that,
If thou wert near a lewd interpreter!
But come, I’ll tell thee all my whole device
When I am in my coach, which stays for us
At the park gate; and therefore haste away,
For we must measure twenty miles today.
Wow, that's quite a question— If you were around someone with a crude sense of humor! But come on, I'll tell you my whole plan When we're in my carriage, which is waiting for us At the park gate; so let's hurry, Because we have to travel twenty miles today.
Ha! That's a wild question, especially if someone nasty was listening! But listen, I'll explain my whole plan when we get in my carriage—it's waiting for us at the park gate. So let's go, we've got twenty miles to cover today.
careful who hears that i'll explain in the carriage we have twenty miles to go
The Reckoning
The scene that sets up Portia's most extraordinary transformation — and does it in two registers simultaneously. The first half (with Lorenzo) is formal and decorous, full of her rationale for helping Antonio. The second half (dispatching Balthazar, revealing the plan to Nerissa) is where Portia the strategist emerges fully. Her speech about dressing as a young man, lying about loves and frays — it's hilarious, and it's also a precise inventory of what male performance involves. Portia has been studying.
If this happened today…
A woman whose husband has just left on an emergency gives her house keys to a trusted friend couple, tells them to keep things running. Then, once they've gone, she turns to her best friend: 'We're going to Venice.' 'What?' 'As men. I'm going to be better at it than you.' She's already looked up the law firm her husband's friend uses. She's got a contact who can get her the right documents and the right outfit. She leaves in a car she barely fits in. Her friend is still processing.