Original: But little: I am arm’d and well prepared.
Modern: Not much more to say: I’m ready and prepared for what’s coming.

Original: Give me your hand, Bassanio: fare you well!
Modern: Give me your hand, Bassanio: goodbye and good luck!

Original: Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you;
Modern: Don’t feel sad that I’ve come to this situation because of you;

Original: For herein Fortune shows herself more kind
Modern: Because in this, Fortune is actually being more merciful

Original: Than is her custom: it is still her use
Modern: Than she usually is: it’s typically her way

Original: To let the wretched man outlive his wealth,
Modern: To let a ruined man live on after losing his money,

Original: To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow
Modern: To look out with sunken eyes and a worried, aged face

Original: An age of poverty; from which lingering penance
Modern: At years of being poor; from this drawn-out punishment

Original: Of such misery doth she cut me off.
Modern: Of such suffering, she’s now cutting me free.

Original: Commend me to your honourable wife:
Modern: Give my regards to your honorable wife:

Original: Tell her the process of Antonio’s end;
Modern: Tell her the story of how Antonio died;

Original: Say how I loved you, speak me fair in death;
Modern: Tell her how much I loved you, and speak well of me after I’m gone;

Original: And, when the tale is told, bid her be judge
Modern: And when you’ve finished the story, ask her to decide

Original: Whether Bassanio had not once a love.
Modern: Whether Bassanio didn’t once have a true friend who loved him.

Original: Repent but you that you shall lose your friend,
Modern: You should only regret that you’re losing your friend,

Original: And he repents not that he pays your debt;
Modern: And I don’t regret that I’m paying your debt;

Original: For if the Jew do cut but deep enough,
Modern: Because if Shylock cuts deep enough,

Original: I’ll pay it presently with all my heart.
Modern: I’ll pay it immediately with my whole heart.

In Act IV, Scene 1 of “The Merchant of Venice,” the court scene unfolds in Venice with the Duke presiding over the legal dispute between Antonio and Shylock. Antonio has defaulted on his bond to Shylock, and the Jewish moneylender demands his pound of flesh as specified in their contract. Despite pleas from the Duke and Bassanio, who offers to pay double or even ten times the original debt, Shylock refuses all monetary compensation and insists on the exact terms of the bond. The Duke explains that he cannot dismiss the case without undermining Venice’s legal system and its reputation for upholding contracts with foreign merchants.

The scene takes a dramatic turn when Portia arrives disguised as a young lawyer named Balthazar, sent supposedly by the learned Doctor Bellario. After Shylock sharpens his knife and Antonio prepares for death with a farewell speech to Bassanio, Portia delivers her famous “quality of mercy” speech, urging Shylock to show compassion. When he continues to demand justice according to the law, Portia appears to support his right to the bond but then reveals the legal trap: Shylock may take his pound of flesh, but he must not shed a single drop of blood, as blood was not mentioned in the contract. Furthermore, as an alien plotting against a Venetian citizen’s life, Shylock’s goods are forfeit. The scene concludes with Shylock’s forced conversion to Christianity and the transfer of his wealth, while Portia and Nerissa (disguised as her clerk) depart after obtaining rings from their husbands as payment.

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.