The Merchant of Venice

Morocco’s Speech When Choosing the Caskets

Some god direct my judgement! Let me see	Some god control my choice. Let me see 	
I will survey th'inscriptions back again,-	I will read the writing on each casket again 	
What says this leaden casket?	What does the lead casket say? 	
"Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath,"	"Who chooses me must give up and risk everything he has" 	
Must give,- for what? For lead, hazard for lead!	Must give- what for? For lead, risk everything for lead? 	
This casket threatens- men that hazard all	This casket is dangerous- men that risk everything 	
Do it in hope of fair advantage:	Do it hoping to gain more: 	
A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross,	A golden mind does not stoop to promises of rubbish, 	
I'll then nor give nor hazard aught for lead.	I will not give or risk everything I have for lead. 	
What says the silver with her virgin hue?	What does the silver casket say with her pure colour? 	
"Who chooseth me, shall get as much as he deserves."	"Who chooses me will get as much as he deserves." 	
As much as he deserves, -pause there Morocco,	As much as he deserves, - stop there Morocco, 	
And weigh thy value with an even hand,-	And measure your worth with a fair hand (impartially), - 	
If thou be'st rated by thy estimation	If you are judged on your reputation 	
Thou dost deserve enough, and yet enough	You do deserve enough, and yet enough 	
May not extend so far as to the lady:	May not go as far as the lady: 	
And yet to be afeard of my deserving	And yet to doubt that I deserve her 	
Were but a weak disabling of myself.	Would be to put myself down. 	
As much as I deserve, -why that's the lady.	As much as I deserve, - why that's the lady. 	
I do in birth deserve her, and in fortunes,	I deserve her because of my noble birth and my wealth 	
In graces, and in qualities of breeding:		
In my behaviour and in the manner in which I have been brought up: 		
But more than these, in love I do deserve,-	But more than these, I deserve her in love,- 	
What if I stray'd no further, but chose here?	What if I went no further and stayed here? 	
Let's see once more this saying grav'd in gold:	Let me see the writing on the golden casket again: 	
"Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire": 	"Who chooses me shall get what many men want": 	
Why that's the lady, all the world deserves her.	Why that's the lady, all the world deserves her. 	
From the four corners of the earth they come	They come from the four corners of the earth 	
To kiss this shrine, this mortal breathing saint.	To kiss this temple, this human breathing saint. 	
The Hyrcanian deserts, and the vasty wilds	These deserts, south of the Caspian Sea, and the huge wilderness 	
Of wide Arabia are as thoroughfares now	Of Arabia are like roads now 	
For princes to come view fair Portia.	For the princes to come and look at beautiful Portia. 	
The watery kingdom, whose ambitious head	The sea, whose wave-tops try 	
Spets in the face of heaven, is no bar	To spit at the sky is no barrier 	
To stop the foreign spirits, but they come	To stop the courageous travellers from abroad but they come 	
As o'er a brook to see fair Portia.	As if they were crossing a stream to see the beautiful Portia. 	
One of these three contains her heavenly picture.	One of these three caskets contains her beautiful picture. 	
Is't like that lead contains her?-'twere damnation	Is it likely that the lead casket contains her? It is damnation 	
To think so base a thought, it were too gross	To think such a low and unworthy thought, it would be too gross 	
To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave,-		
To think that her burial sheet could be enclosed in a dark grave,-(comparing the lead casket to a grave) 		
Or shall I think in silver she's immur'd	Or shall I think she is trapped in silver 	
Being ten times undervalued to try'd gold?	Being ten times less valuable than gold? 	
O sinful thought! Never so rich a gem	O what a terrible thought! Never was such a precious object 	
Was set in worse than gold. They have in England	Set in anything worse than gold. They have in England 	
A coin that bears the figure of an angel	A coin that has on it the figure of an angel 	
Stamp'd in gold, but that's insculp'd upon:	Stamped into the gold, but it is engraved on the surface: 	
But here an angel in a golden bed	Here an angel in a golden bed 	
Lies all within. Deliver me the key:	Lies within the casket. Give me the key: 	
Here do I choose, and thrive I as I may.	I choose here and I hope I succeed. 	

Instructions

Match the original lines with the modern version. 

What does this speech tell us about appearance and reality?

What do we learn about the character of Morocco?

What do we learn about money and wealth?

Some god direct my judgement! Let me see 	
I will survey th'inscriptions back again,- 	
What says this leaden casket? 	
"Who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath," 	
Must give,- for what? For lead, hazard for lead! 	
This casket threatens- men that hazard all 	
Do it in hope of fair advantage: 	
A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross, 	
I'll then nor give nor hazard aught for lead. 	
What says the silver with her virgin hue? 	
"Who chooseth me, shall get as much as he deserves." 	
As much as he deserves, -pause there Morocco, 	
And weigh thy value with an even hand,- 	
If thou be'st rated by thy estimation 	
Thou dost deserve enough, and yet enough 	
May not extend so far as to the lady: 	
And yet to be afeard of my deserving 	
Were but a weak disabling of myself. 	
As much as I deserve, -why that's the lady. 	
I do in birth deserve her, and in fortunes, 	
In graces, and in qualities of breeding: 	
But more than these, in love I do deserve,- 	
What if I stray'd no further, but chose here? 	
Let's see once more this saying grav'd in gold: 	
"Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire": 	
Why that's the lady, all the world deserves her. 	
From the four corners of the earth they come 	
To kiss this shrine, this mortal breathing saint. 	
The Hyrcanian deserts, and the vasty wilds 	
Of wide Arabia are as thoroughfares now 	
For princes to come view fair Portia. 	
The watery kingdom, whose ambitious head 	
Spets in the face of heaven, is no bar 	
To stop the foreign spirits, but they come 	
As o'er a brook to see fair Portia. 	
One of these three contains her heavenly picture. 	
Is't like that lead contains her?-'twere damnation 	
To think so base a thought, it were too gross 	
To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave,- 	
Or shall I think in silver she's immur'd 	
Being ten times undervalued to try'd gold? 	
O sinful thought! Never so rich a gem 	
Was set in worse than gold. They have in England 	
A coin that bears the figure of an angel 	
Stamp'd in gold, but that's insculp'd upon: 	
But here an angel in a golden bed 	
Lies all within. Deliver me the key: 	
Here do I choose, and thrive I as I may. 	
Some god control my choice. Let me see 	
I will read the writing on each casket again 	
What does the lead casket say? 	
"Who chooses me must give up and risk everything he has" 	
Must give- what for? For lead, risk everything for lead? 	
This casket is dangerous- men that risk everything 	
Do it hoping to gain more: 	
A golden mind does not stoop to promises of rubbish, 	
I will not give or risk everything I have for lead. 	
What does the silver casket say with her pure colour? 	
"Who chooses me will get as much as he deserves." 	
	
As much as he deserves, - stop there Morocco, 	
And measure your worth with a fair hand (impartially), - 	
You do deserve enough, and yet enough 	
May not go as far as the lady: 	
And yet to doubt that I deserve her 	
Would be to put myself down. 	
As much as I deserve, - why that's the lady. 	
I deserve her because of my noble birth and my wealth 	
In my behaviour and in the manner in which I have been brought up: 	
But more than these, I deserve her in love,- 	
What if I went no further and stayed here? 	
Let me see the writing on the golden casket again: 	
"Who chooses me shall get what many men want": 	
Why that's the lady, all the world deserves her. 	
They come from the four corners of the earth 	
To kiss this temple, this human breathing saint. 	
These deserts, south of the Caspian Sea, and the huge wilderness 	
Of Arabia are like roads now 	
For the princes to come and look at beautiful Portia. 	
The sea, whose wave-tops try 	
To spit at the sky is no barrier 	
To stop the courageous travellers from abroad but they come 	
As if they were crossing a stream to see the beautiful Portia. 	
One of these three caskets contains her beautiful picture. 	
Is it likely that the lead casket contains her? It is damnation 	
To think such a low and unworthy thought, it would be too gross 	
To think that her burial sheet could be enclosed in a dark grave,-(comparing the lead casket to a grave) 	
Or shall I think she is trapped in silver 	
Being ten times less valuable than gold? 	
O what a terrible thought! Never was such a precious object 	
Set in anything worse than gold. They have in England 	
A coin that has on it the figure of an angel 	
Stamped into the gold, but it is engraved on the surface: 	
Here an angel in a golden bed 	
Lies within the casket. Give me the key: 	
I choose here and I hope I succeed. 	

Instructions

Match the original lines with the modern version. 

What does this speech tell us about appearance and reality?

What do we learn about the character of Morocco?

What do we learn about money and wealth?

© Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand (First published 1998)