“Some god direct my judgment! Let me see.”
Explanation: Morocco prays to a god for guidance in making the right choice.
Analysis: He acknowledges that this decision is beyond human understanding—it needs divine help.
Language Technique: Exclamatory sentence shows tension and excitement. Religious imagery (“god”) suggests fate and divine intervention.
Theme: Fate vs free will, decision-making, risk.
“I will survey th’ inscriptions back again.”
Explanation: He decides to reread the messages on the caskets before choosing.
Analysis: This shows he’s trying to be thoughtful and logical—not impulsive. He wants to make sure he fully understands what each casket means.
Language Technique: Metaphor – “survey” suggests he’s examining carefully like a map or battlefield, treating it like a strategy game.
Theme: Appearance vs reality, wisdom vs pride.
“What says this leaden casket?”
Explanation: He starts with the lead casket and reads its message.
Analysis: He gives it a chance but is skeptical from the beginning—just the fact that it’s made of cheap lead puts him off.
Language Technique: Rhetorical question – used to challenge or test its value.
Theme: Value vs appearance, inner worth vs outer beauty.
“‘Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.’”
Explanation: The lead casket’s message says: “Anyone who picks me must risk everything they have.”
Analysis: This casket demands sacrifice without giving any clues about the reward. It’s asking for faith and trust—not greed or pride.
Theme: Sacrifice, love as risk, true commitment.
“Must give—for what? For lead? Hazard for lead?”
Explanation: Morocco questions—Why should I give everything up for something that looks worthless like lead?
Analysis: He is equating the outside appearance (lead = cheap) with the inner value. He doubts that something valuable could be hidden in something so unattractive.
Language Technique: Repetition and rhetorical questions – shows disbelief and sarcasm.
Theme: Judgment based on appearances, materialism, pride.
“This casket threatens. Men that hazard all / Do it in hope of fair advantages.”
Explanation: He thinks the lead casket sounds dangerous—it’s a threat. People who risk everything only do so when they think there’s a big reward.
Analysis: Morocco is calculating. He’s not the kind of person who would take a risk unless he sees obvious benefit. He lacks the selflessness the lead casket calls for.
Language Technique: Contrast – “hazard all” vs “fair advantages” shows the tension between risk and reward.
Theme: Greed vs love, self-interest vs sacrifice.
“A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross.”
Explanation: A noble mind would never go for something so cheap-looking like dross (waste metal, trash).
Analysis: He flatters himself, saying he has a “golden mind” – meaning he’s wise or high-status. He believes people like him deserve something more refined, not lead.
Language Technique: Metaphor – “golden mind” implies superiority, self-worth. Alliteration in “stoops…shows” for emphasis.
Theme: Pride, class, vanity, misjudgment.
“I’ll then nor give nor hazard aught for lead.”
Explanation: He refuses to risk anything for something made of lead.
Analysis: He’s making his decision based on surface-level judgments. His refusal shows his desire for certainty, status, and beauty—he’s unwilling to trust the unknown.
Theme: Appearance vs reality, lack of true love’s sacrifice.
“What says the silver with her virgin hue?”
Explanation: He moves on to the silver casket, describing its “virgin hue”—a pure, untouched color.
Analysis: Silver seems more appealing than lead, and he emphasizes its purity and beauty, personifying it as feminine (“her”).
Language Technique: Personification – silver as a woman; imagery – “virgin hue” evokes innocence and desirability.
Theme: Purity, beauty, surface attraction.
“‘Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.’”
Explanation: The silver casket says: the chooser will get what he deserves.
Analysis: This is a test of self-worth. Morocco is now asked to judge himself and decide how much he thinks he deserves.
Theme: Self-worth, merit, justice, entitlement.
“As much as he deserves—pause there, Morocco,”
Explanation: He tells himself to stop and think carefully about that statement.
Analysis: This shows a rare moment of introspection. He is actually reflecting on his own value.
Theme: Self-awareness, reflection, judgment.
“And weigh thy value with an even hand.”
Explanation: He tells himself to be fair and honest in judging his own worth.
Analysis: This line adds depth—he’s not just arrogant. He wants to be fair, but he still overestimates himself.
Language Technique: Metaphor – “weigh thy value” likens self-worth to a scale, suggesting a balanced judgment.
Theme: Ego, self-perception, justice.
“If thou beest rated by thy estimation, / Thou dost deserve enough;”
Explanation: If his worth is measured by how he sees himself, then he deserves a lot.
Analysis: He flatters himself again. His confidence borders on arrogance.
Theme: Vanity, pride, illusion of self-worth.
“And yet enough / May not extend so far as to the lady.”
Explanation: But even if he thinks he deserves a lot, that still might not be enough to win Portia.
Analysis: Despite his confidence, he shows a flicker of doubt here. This adds complexity to his character—he’s proud but not completely blind.
Theme: Love as a prize, human limitations, ideal vs reality.
“And yet to be afeard of my deserving / Were but a weak disabling of myself.”
Explanation: He says that being afraid that he doesn’t deserve Portia would be like insulting himself—it would show weakness.
Analysis: Morocco pushes away the small doubt he had before. He sees self-doubt as unmanly or weak.
Language Technique: Antithesis – fear vs pride, doubt vs confidence.
Theme: Pride, masculinity, self-worth.
“As much as I deserve—why, that’s the lady!”
Explanation: He concludes that he does deserve Portia.
Analysis: His self-confidence turns into entitlement. He believes that his worth is equal to Portia’s.
Theme: Love as reward, self-entitlement.
“I do in birth deserve her, and in fortunes, / In graces, and in qualities of breeding,”
Explanation: He says he’s of noble birth, he’s wealthy, and has refined manners—so he deserves her.
Analysis: He judges worth based on status and appearance, not emotional or moral depth.
Language Technique: List of three – emphasizes his perceived qualifications.
Theme: Social hierarchy, external values vs internal values.
“But more than these, in love I do deserve.”
Explanation: He claims he deserves Portia more than others because he loves her deeply.
Analysis: He appeals to emotion, though we never see deep affection—it’s more about winning her.
Theme: Love vs possession, emotional justification.
“What if I strayed no farther, but chose here?”
Explanation: He wonders—what if I just pick the silver casket now?
Analysis: This line shows a moment of temptation to choose silver, but he quickly dismisses it.
Language Technique: Rhetorical question, dramatic pause.
Theme: Choice, free will.
“Let’s see once more this saying graved in gold: / ‘Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.’”
Explanation: He rereads the message on the gold casket: choosing it means gaining what many desire.
Analysis: This line captures his fatal flaw—he’s lured by what everyone wants, not by what’s right.
Language Technique: Repetition for emphasis; irony, since this desire leads to failure.
Theme: Desire, materialism, universal temptation.
“Why, that’s the lady! All the world desires her.”
Explanation: He assumes Portia is “what many men desire”—so she must be in the gold casket.
Analysis: He takes the message literally and makes a surface-level connection.
Theme: Appearance vs reality, misinterpretation, objectification of women.
“From the four corners of the Earth they come / To kiss this shrine, this mortal, breathing saint.”
Explanation: He says men from everywhere come just to see Portia—she’s like a saint.
Analysis: This metaphor elevates Portia to a sacred, goddess-like figure. He’s idolizing her.
Language Technique: Religious imagery, hyperbole, metaphor (“shrine”, “saint”).
Theme: Idealization, femininity, worship of beauty.
“The Hyrcanian deserts and the vasty wilds / Of wide Arabia are as throughfares now / For princes to come view fair Portia.”
Explanation: Even remote, harsh deserts have become highways for princes to reach Portia.
Analysis: He exaggerates her fame, suggesting the whole world is obsessed with her.
Language Technique: Imagery of distance and difficulty, alliteration “vasty wilds”, exaggeration.
Theme: Global desire, romantic competition, Portia as a prize.
“The watery kingdom, whose ambitious head / Spets in the face of heaven, is no bar / To stop the foreign spirits,”
Explanation: Even oceans (which reach the sky with their waves) don’t stop foreigners from coming to see her.
Analysis: This is a poetic way of saying that even the seas can’t stop people’s desire for Portia.
Language Technique: Personification of the sea (“spets in the face of heaven”), metaphor.
Theme: Obsession, romantic pursuit.
“But they come / As o’er a brook to see fair Portia.”
Explanation: To those men, crossing oceans is like crossing a stream—it’s easy if it means seeing her.
Analysis: He emphasizes her immense allure and the extreme efforts made to reach her.
Theme: Desire, beauty as power.
“One of these three contains her heavenly picture.”
Explanation: He knows that only one casket has her portrait.
Analysis: Again, “heavenly picture” reinforces how he sees her as divine and precious.
Theme: Appearance vs reality, idealization.
“Is ’t like that lead contains her? ’Twere damnation / To think so base a thought.”
Explanation: Could she really be hidden in the lead casket? No way—it would be a sin to even think it!
Analysis: He shows prejudice against simplicity. He equates value with appearance.
Language Technique: Diction – “damnation” and “base” show disgust.
Theme: Judgment, value vs appearance, false confidence.
“It were too gross / To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave.”
Explanation: He says it would be disgusting to hide someone like Portia (her beauty) in something as ugly as lead—like wrapping her in a burial cloth in a dark grave.
Analysis: Comparing the lead casket to a tomb—he sees it as unworthy of beauty or life.
Language Technique: Grim imagery, metaphor – “cerecloth”, “grave” = death and darkness.
Theme: Life vs death, value of beauty, surface judgments.
“Or shall I think in silver she’s immured, / Being ten times undervalued to tried gold?”
Explanation: He doubts she’s in silver either—it’s still worth less than gold.
Analysis: Again, he makes decisions based on monetary value, not wisdom or character.
Language Technique: Comparison, diction – “immured” (trapped), “undervalued”.
Theme: Wealth, misplaced judgment.
“O, sinful thought! Never so rich a gem / Was set in worse than gold.”
Explanation: He insists a treasure like Portia could never be hidden in anything but gold.
Analysis: He fully commits to the illusion that outer beauty = inner value.
Language Technique: Metaphor – Portia as a “rich gem”, exclamatory phrase shows emotion.
Theme: Materialism, idealization, value perception.
“They have in England / A coin that bears the figure of an angel / Stamped in gold, but that’s insculped upon;”
Explanation: In England, coins have angels engraved in gold—but that’s just the surface.
Analysis: He compares Portia to a divine being, more real and valuable than an image on a coin.
Language Technique: Symbolism – the coin = fake beauty, Portia = real angel.
Theme: Surface vs substance, idolization.
“But here an angel in a golden bed / Lies all within.”
Explanation: Unlike the coin, this angel (Portia) lies inside gold, not just printed on top.
Analysis: He’s convinced now—gold must hold her. It fits both the literal and symbolic meaning for him.
Language Technique: Metaphor, imagery, symbolism – gold as purity, angel as perfection.
Theme: Deception, misreading signs, desire.
“—Deliver me the key. / Here do I choose, and thrive I as I may.”
Explanation: He asks for the key to the gold casket and declares his final choice. He accepts whatever outcome it brings.
Analysis: He’s confident but unaware that his reliance on appearances will lead to failure.
Language Technique: Declarative tone, foreshadowing.
Theme: Free will, fate, illusion vs truth.
PORTIA: “There, take it, prince. And if my form lie there, / Then I am yours.”
Explanation: Portia gives him the key and says if her picture is in the casket, he wins her.
Analysis: Portia remains neutral and formal—her fate is tied to the choice.
Theme: Obedience, women’s roles, marriage as a prize.
MOROCCO
“O hell! What have we here?”
🔹 Meaning: He’s shocked and horrified by what he sees inside the casket.
🔹 Tone: Exclamatory, full of disbelief.
🔹 Language device: Exclamation conveys emotional intensity.
🔹 Theme: Appearances vs Reality—his assumption was wrong.
“A carrion death within whose empty eye / There is a written scroll.”
🔹 Meaning: He sees a decayed skull (carrion = dead flesh), and in its eye socket is a message.
🔹 Symbolism: The skull represents death, the truth behind the golden exterior.
🔹 Theme: Mortality, illusion, wisdom hidden in ugly truths.
“I’ll read the writing:”
🔹 Transition line into the scroll’s message.
📜 The Scroll Reads:
“All that glisters is not gold—”
🔹 Meaning: Not everything that shines is valuable.
🔹 Famous proverb.
🔹 Device: Metaphor, moral aphorism.
🔹 Theme: Deception of appearances.
“Often have you heard that told.”
🔹 Meaning: You’ve heard this saying before.
🔹 Irony: He ignored wisdom for charm.
🔹 Theme: Lack of insight, pride.
“Many a man his life hath sold / But my outside to behold.”
🔹 Meaning: Many people have risked or ruined themselves chasing beauty or wealth.
🔹 Device: Personification—the casket “speaks” as if it’s alive.
🔹 Theme: Vanity, misguided ambition.
“Gilded tombs do worms infold.”
🔹 Meaning: Even beautifully decorated graves contain rotting corpses.
🔹 Metaphor: Appearance vs hidden truth.
🔹 Imagery: Morbid, disturbing—contrasts beauty with death.
🔹 Theme: Decay under beauty, illusion.
“Had you been as wise as bold,”
🔹 Meaning: If you were as smart as you are brave…
🔹 Theme: Wisdom vs rashness.
“Young in limbs, in judgment old,”
🔹 Meaning: If you had youthful strength and mature judgment…
🔹 Contrast: Youth vs wisdom.
🔹 Technique: Parallelism—balanced phrasing.
“Your answer had not been enscrolled.”
🔹 Meaning: You wouldn’t be reading this scroll—you would’ve made a better choice.
🔹 Theme: Consequences of poor judgment.
“Fare you well, your suit is cold.”
🔹 Meaning: Goodbye, your attempt to marry Portia has failed.
🔹 Device: Wordplay—“cold” means both emotionless and unsuccessful.
🔹 Theme: Rejection, failed ambition.
MOROCCO (continued):
“Cold indeed and labor lost!”
🔹 Meaning: Yes, I’ve failed and all my efforts were wasted.
🔹 Tone: Bitter resignation.
🔹 Theme: Disappointment, misjudgment.
“Then, farewell, heat, and welcome, frost.”
🔹 Meaning: Goodbye passion and hope; welcome defeat and sadness.
🔹 Metaphor: Warmth = love, frost = rejection.
🔹 Technique: Juxtaposition, personification.
“Portia, adieu. I have too grieved a heart / To take a tedious leave. Thus losers part.”
🔹 Meaning: Farewell, Portia. I’m too heartbroken to say more. This is how losers go.
🔹 Tone: Poetic sadness.
🔹 Device: Alliteration (“too…tedious”), rhyme (“heart/part”).
🔹 Theme: Pride in loss, stoic exit.
PORTIA
“A gentle riddance! Draw the curtains, go.”
🔹 Meaning: Good riddance! Let’s move on.
🔹 Tone: Sarcastic, relieved.
🔹 Theme: Choice and agency—Portia wants suitors like him gone.
🔹 Device: Irony—she pretended to be passive, but now reveals her true opinion.
“Let all of his complexion choose me so.”
🔹 Meaning: Hopefully all men of his race will choose the wrong casket.
🔹 Theme: Prejudice—this line reveals Portia’s racism.
🔹 Language technique: Aside—she says this privately.
🔹 Analysis: Shakespeare shows even virtuous characters like Portia can have flaws shaped by societal attitudes.
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