Impatient, Shylock prepares to begin, but before he can carry out the sentence, Portia stops him. «There`s something else,» she says. Shylock has the legal right to take a pound of Antonio`s flesh – but no more. This means that Shylock is not allowed to take even one «iot of blood». She then gives Shylock permission to begin her operation and warns him that if «a drop of Christian blood» is shed, Shylock`s «lands and property» will be confiscated by the «State of Venice.» This doubling of Shylock and Antonio is done by the way they use money and family. Antonio starts the game unable to raise his money because he has no interest. He still has no wife or children and therefore appears as a helpless character. Antonio reveals in the fourth act what kind of person he represents: «I am a man filthy for the flock» (4.1.113). The «Wether» is a castrated male sheep, which directly indicates that Antonio cannot reproduce. Shylock starts the game at the opposite extreme, able to generate her money with interest and raise her family thanks to Jessica. However, it is Antonio who convinces him not to be interested in this particular connection, and it is later Antonio whom Shylock accuses of letting Jessica escape. For Shylock, Antonio also represents the man who made him powerless.
His hatred of Antonio can be explained by this. It is another irony that in this act Antonio converted Shylock to Christianity, even removing this distinction between the two men. In essence, the destroyed Shylock at the end of the play is very similar to the melancholic Antonio at the beginning. The trial against Antonio in a Venetian court begins. The Duke of Venice warns Antonio, the defendant, that the plaintiff (Shylock) «is an adversary of stone. incapable of pity. [and] null and void. of mercy. Antonio explains that he is ready to suffer in silence.
He knows that «no legal means» can save him now. Shylock is then called, and when he enters, the Duke says that everyone – «the world thinks, and I think too» – thinks he should give in at the last moment and spare Antonio in order to have «mercy on his losses». But Shylock is persistent; He preferred the penalty of one pound of meat to the reimbursement of three thousand ducats. What for? «Say,» said Shylock, «that`s my humor.» In other words, Shylock wants the pound of meat for no rational reason. He only wants it because of a «hasty hatred and a certain disgust» for Antonio. Bellario`s letter recommended a young, educated doctor to settle the matter. The duke asks where the young doctor is, and Nerissa tells him that he is waiting outside to be accepted into the court. The duke orders him to be brought, and Portia enters disguised as a man, pretending to be a doctor named Balthasar. One of the great ironies of this play is when Shylock calls Portia: «A Daniel comes to judgment, yes, a Daniel!» (4.1.218). Daniel was the biblical judge of Suzanne, a woman accused of lack of chastity by the elders. The story is famous because Daniel rules in favor of Susanna and saves her.
Not only does he set them free, but he also condemns the elders. Shylock`s mistake is that he prematurely refers to Portia as Daniel because he is the one who represents the elders, and Antonio means Susanna. This reversal comes only a few lines later, when Portia not only frees Antonio, but convicts Shylock of attempted murder. Antonio, an anti-Semitic merchant, takes out a loan from the Jew Shylock to help his friend woo Portia. Antonio is unable to repay the loan, and mercilessly, Shylock demands a pound of his flesh. The heiress Portia, now the wife of Antonio`s friend, disguises herself as a lawyer and saves Antonio. At that moment, Nerissa enters the courtroom, dressed like a lawyer`s clerk, and gives the Duke a letter from Bellario. While the Duke reads the letter, Shylock strikes the sole of his knife on the sole of his shoe, much to the horror of Antonio`s friends. The clerk then reads Bellario`s letter. The doctor is ill, but he has sent in his place «a young doctor from Rome» named Balthasar, whose wisdom in the law belies his youth. Bellario says he has never known «such a young body with such an old head,» and he asks the duke for his «gracious acceptance» of Balthasar instead of Bellario. Although Shylock is the villain of a 16th century comedy, he doesn`t quite fit the Jewish stereotypes of the time.
That`s what makes him such a strong and different character. At the court of Venice, Shylock claimed his pound of meat. The duke, who presides over the court, seeks legal advice from the lawyer «Balthazar», who is Portia in disguise. Portia begs Shylock to have mercy on Antonio. Bassanio offers his wife`s money, which would pay more than the debt, but Shylock refuses. Antonio`s death is averted only when Balthazar explains that the compound is intended for meat, but not for a single drop of blood. So Shylock can`t pick up a pound of meat. Shylock replies that he had already sworn on his Sabbath that he would take his pound of flesh from Antonio. He is not able to provide a good reason for wanting to punish Antonio in this way, except to say, «Therefore I cannot give any reason, and I will not, / More than hasty hatred and some disgust / I bear Antonio» (4:1, 58-60). The duke declares that he is waiting for the arrival of a certain «Bellario, a learned physician» from Padua before making a final decision in this case. This question is too heavy for a man to give a single opinion on the subject; therefore, Shylock`s request for a verdict will have to wait, and he will have to drop his request – otherwise the Duke may «send this court back».
The relationship between Antonio and Bassanio is highlighted in this section.