The Quality of Mercy

“The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” Shakespeare - The Merchant of Venice

In Act IV, Scene I of The Merchant of Venice, we find Shakespeare's Portia disguised as a young lawyer nobly and eloquently pleading the case of Antonio against Shylock. Portia, a young heiress from the fictional city of Belmont, has traveled to Venice to plead the case disguised as the lawyer Balthazar. Shylock, a Jewish money lender, has refused Antonio's offer of 6,000 ducats, twice the amount of the defaulted loan. Shylock insists on taking his pound of flesh from Antonio described in Venetian law. In this beautiful speech, we find Shakespeare at his most transcendent, and from this beautiful word crafting, we could all receive an earnest lesson about the power found in a philosophy, or a doctrine, of mercy. Mercy is the transcendent power that allows us to rise above our baser nature that, if we are honest with ourselves, seeks our pounds of flesh from everyone who does us wrong or falls short of our expectations.

Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The thronèd monarch better than his crown. His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

Mercy and forgiveness are powerful themes that Shakespeare explores throughout his writings. Here, Portia is extolling Shylock that mercy becomes those with great power, and Shylock certainly holds great power over Antonio. Virtue's importance is keenly felt by those blessed with noble positions. Beyond the temporal power that Shylock has over Antonio, there is something higher, something nobler to attain and enact. The true beauty of this scene is that every single human being can empathize with each involved party. We can feel the wounded pride of Shylock, the pleas for grace from Portia for her friend, and the fear of damnation from Antonio himself. From this objective third perspective, we can acknowledge which route is the proverbial high road with far more clarity than we can when we are in the heat of our own trials.

But mercy is above this sceptered sway. It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings; It is an attribute to God Himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons justice.

Portia acknowledges that though justice is what Shylock is seeking, this justice must be tempered by mercy. She acknowledges the divine quality of mercy, and we are reminded of Alexander Pope's powerful aphorism that to err is human and to forgive is divine. She calls forth that noble part in all of us that seeks to elevate ourselves above our pride and egotism, to prove worthy of the proverbial throne. How tragically often are we blinded by our wounded emotions to this more noble character in each of us. How often do we all choose to take our pound of flesh through physical violence, harsh words, or even legal recourse in some of the most extreme cases.

Therefore, Jew, Though justice be thy plea, consider this: That in the course of justice none of us Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy, And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy.

Finally, Shylock is exhorted to remember his own humanity. We so often judge the actions of others through some lens of unrealistic and unrealizable perfection. We are harsh in our criticisms of others and soft on ourselves. The inverse approach would serve us far better. Be strict in our estimation of ourselves and merciful in our appraisal of others. Through this lens, we acknowledge how often we fall short of our own moral and ethical measurements, and we can offer more grace to others and ultimately even ourselves. This is the call to a now-infamous Christian aphorism to remove the log from our own eyes before we seek to remove the speck from the eyes of others. To paraphrase the famous stoic Seneca, we are eager to point out the blemishes of others when we have our own mass of sores.

I have spoke thus much To mitigate the justice of thy plea, Which, if thou follow, this strict court of Venice Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

Though Portia's plea in Act IV ultimately fails to sway the pride-wounded Shylock, they eventually convince him through Venetian law's legal intricacies. As Antonio awaits Shylock's blade, Portia concedes that though the Venetian law allows him the pound of flesh he so desperately desires, it does not allow him to spill any of Antonio's blood. If he cuts him and causes him to bleed, his pound of flesh will cause him to forfeit his rewards and all of his holdings and possessions. Finally, Shylock concedes and accepts Antonio's original offer.

We often regret the harsh words spoken out of anger and passion. There is no Lethe, or forgetfulness, for the words we say when driven by passion and bruised egos. We acknowledge that through our quests for petty vengeance, we have fallen short of our own noble conceptions of ourselves, and we realize the harm we have caused another in retaliation has wounded both parties unnecessarily. Ultimately, this scene from the Merchant of Venice is a powerful reminder that if we acknowledge that we require some form of mercy, we must render these self-same acts of mercy in equal measure.