Term 1 Week 4 Learning log

Shylock has Antonio arrested and brought before court.The Jew wants Shylock refuses Bassanio's offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of the loan. He demands his pound of flesh from Antonio. The Duke, wishing to save Antonio but unwilling to set a dangerous legal precedent of nullifying a contract, refers the case to a visitor, bearing a letter of recommendation to the Duke from the learned lawyer Bellario. The "doctor" is actually Portia in disguise, and the "law clerk" who accompanies her is actually Nerissa, also in disguise. Portia,asks Shylock to show mercy in a famous speech,but Shylock refuses. Thus the court must allow Shylock to extract the pound of flesh. Shylock tells Antonio to "prepare". At that very moment, Portia points out a flaw in the contract:the bond only allows Shylock to remove the flesh, not the "blood", of Antonio. Thus, if Shylock were to shed any drop of Antonio's blood, his "lands and goods" would be forfeited under Venetian laws.

Defeated,Shylock concedes to accepting Bassanio's offer of money for the defaulted bond,but Portia prevents him from taking the money on the ground that he has already refused it.She then cites a law under which Shylock,as a Jew and therefore an "alien",having attempted to take the life of a citizen,has forfeited his property, half to the government and half to Antonio, leaving his life at the mercy of the Duke.The Duke immediately pardons the Jew's life.Antonio asks for his share(that is, reserving the principal amount while taking only the income) until the Jew's death, when the principal will be given to Lorenzo and Jessica. At Antonio's request, the Duke grants permissin of the state's half of forfeiture, but in return, Shylock is forced to convert to Christianity and to make a will bequeathing his entire estate to Lorenzo and Jessica.