Here is the line-by-line modern paraphrase of Portia’s monologue from The Merchant of Venice (Act 3, Scene 2):

Original: Away, then! I am lock’d in one of them:
Modern: Go ahead, then! I am hidden inside one of the caskets.

Original: If you do love me, you will find me out.
Modern: If you truly love me, you’ll choose the right one and find me.

Original: Nerissa and the rest, stand all aloof.
Modern: Nerissa and everyone else, please stand back and keep your distance.

Original: Let music sound while he doth make his choice;
Modern: Let the music play while he makes his decision.

Original: Then, if he lose, he makes a swan-like end,
Modern: If he chooses wrong, he’ll fade away like a swan singing its final song before death,

Original: Fading in music: that the comparison
Modern: Drifting away with the music playing — and to make that comparison even more fitting,

Original: May stand more proper, my eye shall be the stream
Modern: My tears will become the river,

Original: And watery death-bed for him. He may win;
Modern: And a watery deathbed for him. But he might win;

Original: And what is music then? Then music is
Modern: And if he does win, what will the music mean? It will be

Original: Even as the flourish when true subjects bow
Modern: Like the triumphant fanfare that plays when loyal subjects bow down

Original: To a new-crowned monarch: such it is
Modern: Before a newly crowned king. It will also be

Original: As are those dulcet sounds in break of day
Modern: Like those sweet sounds at the break of dawn

Original: That creep into the dreaming bridegroom’s ear,
Modern: That gently drift into the ear of a sleeping groom,

Original: And summon him to marriage. Now he goes,
Modern: Calling him to his wedding day. Now Bassanio approaches the caskets,

Original: With no less presence, but with much more love,
Modern: With just as much dignity, but with far more love,

Original: Than young Alcides, when he did redeem
Modern: Than the young hero Hercules had when he rescued

Original: The virgin tribute paid by howling Troy
Modern: The young maiden that the weeping people of Troy were forced to offer up

Original: To the sea-monster: I stand for sacrifice
Modern: As a sacrifice to the sea-monster. I am like that maiden being sacrificed,

Original: The rest aloof are the Dardanian wives,
Modern: And the people standing apart from me are like the Trojan women,

Original: With bleared visages, come forth to view
Modern: With tear-streaked faces, who came out to watch

Original: The issue of the exploit. Go, Hercules!
Modern: How the deed would turn out. Go, my Hercules!

Original: Live thou, I live: with much, much more dismay
Modern: If you survive, I survive. But I am watching this contest with far greater fear and anxiety

Original: I view the fight than thou that makest the fray.
Modern: Than you feel as the one actually fighting the battle.

Original: Tell me where is fancy bred,
Modern: Tell me, where is infatuation born?

Original: Or in the heart, or in the head?
Modern: Is it in the heart, or is it in the mind?

Original: How begot, how nourished?
Modern: How is it created, and how does it grow?

Original: Reply, reply.
Modern: Answer me, answer me.

Original: It is engender’d in the eyes,
Modern: It is created in the eyes,

Original: With gazing fed; and fancy dies
Modern: Fed by staring at someone — and infatuation dies

Original: In the cradle where it lies.
Modern: Right where it began, almost before it has a chance to grow.

Original: Let us all ring fancy’s knell
Modern: Let us all ring the funeral bell for infatuation —

Original: I’ll begin it, Ding, dong, bell.
Modern: I’ll start it — ding, dong, bell.

In Act III, Scene 2 of “The Merchant of Venice,” Bassanio arrives at Belmont to attempt the casket test that will determine whether he can marry Portia. Portia, who has fallen in love with Bassanio, expresses her anxiety about the trial, fearing that if he chooses incorrectly, she will lose him forever. She asks him to wait before making his choice, wanting to spend more time with him, but Bassanio insists on proceeding immediately, as the suspense is torture for him. Portia then orders music to be played while he makes his selection, comparing the moment to various dramatic scenarios.

Bassanio examines the three caskets - gold, silver, and lead - and deliberates aloud about their meanings and his choice. He rejects the gold casket, associating it with superficial ornamentation and false appearances, and similarly dismisses the silver casket. He selects the lead casket, reasoning that its plain appearance may contain the greatest treasure, and discovers Portia’s portrait inside along with a scroll declaring his success. Portia joyfully gives herself and all her possessions to Bassanio, and they exchange rings as tokens of their commitment. Gratiano then reveals that he has won the love of Portia’s maid Nerissa, and the two couples celebrate their engagements together.

The Merchant of Venice centers on Bassanio, a young Venetian gentleman who needs money to court the wealthy heiress Portia in Belmont. His friend Antonio, a merchant, agrees to help but has no ready cash since his ships are at sea. Antonio borrows 3,000 ducats from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, with the unusual condition that if the loan isn’t repaid within three months, Shylock may take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Meanwhile, Shylock’s daughter Jessica elopes with the Christian Lorenzo, taking her father’s money and jewels.

In Belmont, Portia’s deceased father has decreed that her suitors must choose correctly among three caskets—gold, silver, and lead—to win her hand. The Prince of Morocco and the Prince of Arragon both choose incorrectly and depart. When Bassanio arrives and selects the lead casket, he wins Portia, while his friend Gratiano wins her maid Nerissa. Their celebrations are interrupted by news that Antonio’s ships have been lost and Shylock demands his pound of flesh.

Portia and Nerissa disguise themselves as a lawyer and clerk and travel to Venice for Antonio’s trial. In court, Portia grants Shylock his legal right to the flesh but warns he may take no blood and must cut exactly one pound—an impossible task. Defeated, Shylock loses his bond and, under Venetian law, must forfeit half his wealth and convert to Christianity. The disguised Portia requests Bassanio’s wedding ring as payment, which he reluctantly gives. Back in Belmont, Portia playfully scolds her husband for giving away his ring before revealing her disguise. The play concludes with news that Antonio’s ships have safely returned, restoring his fortune.