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  • Portia's Plea for Mercy in The Merchant of Venice

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    Manoj1508Aravind
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    Portia tries to convince Shylock to show mercy to Antonio by accepting monetary compensation instead of extracting a pound of flesh. She explains that mercy is a divine quality that makes humans more godly. However, Shylock remains greedy and intent on enforcing the bond strictly. When Portia points out that spilling any blood would mean death for Shylock, he quickly agrees to accept triple the monetary sum instead, showing his true motivation was greed rather than justice. The play shows the difference between mercy and strict justice, and advocates for showing compassion.

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    A summary of Portia's speecj in Merchant of Venice!

    Original Title

    Mercy and Justice

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    Portia tries to convince Shylock to show mercy to Antonio by accepting monetary compensation instead of extracting a pound of flesh. She explains that mercy is a divine quality that makes humans more godly. However, Shylock remains greedy and intent on enforcing the bond strictly. When Portia points out that spilling any blood would mean death for Shylock, he quickly agrees to accept triple the monetary sum instead, showing his true motivation was greed rather than justice. The play shows the difference between mercy and strict justice, and advocates for showing compassion.

    Copyright:

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    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    73 views2 pages

    Portia's Plea for Mercy in The Merchant of Venice

    Uploaded by

    Manoj1508Aravind
    Portia tries to convince Shylock to show mercy to Antonio by accepting monetary compensation instead of extracting a pound of flesh. She explains that mercy is a divine quality that makes humans more godly. However, Shylock remains greedy and intent on enforcing the bond strictly. When Portia points out that spilling any blood would mean death for Shylock, he quickly agrees to accept triple the monetary sum instead, showing his true motivation was greed rather than justice. The play shows the difference between mercy and strict justice, and advocates for showing compassion.

    Copyright:

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    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 2

    INTRODUCTION:The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare. In life, things are not always what they seem.

    People may appear to be one way but turn out to be an entirely different. Deception is a tool that is used for many purposes. The purposes can be harmful, protective or for personal gain. The Merchant Of Venice:

    [ Paper ] The Quality Of Mercy:


    Portia tries to explain the quality of mercy to the Jew. Mercy is natural. Portia says that the mercy is not a forced effort but something that one already possesses. Portia says man can only become like God when he is merciful. Mercy is something that is more powerful than mere symbols of earthly power, i.e. the crown and the scepter. Mercy is forgiving. Portia points out that God is merciful, and forgives us for our sins. Mercy is reciprocal, and "twice blessed", bringing good tidings to both the giver and the taker. Portia says that mercy is divine.Mercy is a heavenly quality, a sacred virtue and he who has this characteristic becomes like the God. Portia asks Shylock to "mitigate...thy plea", exemplifying how justice is indeed harsh.

    Shylocks Greediness:
    Portia asks whether Antonio is able to pay the money, and Bassanio offers Shylock twice the sum owed. Bassanio begs the court to bend the law slightly in order to exonerate Antonio, reasoning that such a small infraction is a little wrong for a great right. Portia too bids Shylock to be merciful. Shylock remains deaf to reason. He is on the verge of cutting into Antonio when Portia suddenly reminds him that the bond stipulates a pound of flesh only, and makes no allowances for blood. She urges Shylock to continue collecting his pound of flesh, but reminds him that if a drop of blood is spilled, then he will be guilty of conspiring against the life of a Venetian citizen and all his lands and goods will be confiscated by the state. Stunned, Shylock hastily backpedals, agreeing to accept three times the sum, but Portia disallows him to do so.

    Conclusion:Mercy is compassionate treatment, while justice is the administration of law. Justice may need not include mercy. Thus, William Shakespeare ,thru this play, makes known to the world Never to be bad soul.

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