No I mean into modern English ....
The Merchant Of Venice ... Portia's Speech On Mercy . . .Does Anyone Have A Translation To Modern English ? ?
Portia’s speech in Act IV, Scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice, which begins “The quality of mercy is not strained,” is one of Shakespeare’s most famous passages. Though often described as a soliloquy, it is in fact not one, since part of the soliloquy convention involves other characters onstage not being able to hear it, and Portia would be unlikely to make a moving plea for mitigation of Antonio’s contract to herself. The correct genre for this passage is “forensic oratory”, a persuasive speech made as part of a court cass.
Though we might think of the courtroom, (and its spin-off the courtroom drama) as a modern invention, many of the great Classical orators began their careers as lawyers. Cicero, for example, made his name by defending a notorious murder case, of a young man accused of killing his father. There are still books available which reprint Cicero’s most famous speeches in court. Then, as now, the legal profession was a frequent route to the skills and connections necessary for a career in politics.
Portia’s pleas are aimed at a specific element of English law: The fact that the Court of Chancery could mitigate the strictness of the application of Common Law (“when mercy seasons justice”) She applies a common rhetorical technique to this issue, however, by generalising the specific point, and making it seem far more important than the individual case she is trying to win.
She expands the individual call for “mercy” in the case between Shylock and Antonio into a general speech on the nature of mercy itself. Her opening line “The quality of mercy is not strain’d” is frequently misinterpreted. It seems to mean that mercy comes easily to those who are naturally merciful, or that mercy can spread far without becoming thin, but I would suggest that “strain’d” here is being used in the archaic sense which survives in our modern word “restraint”. It comes immediately after her exchange with Shylock:
Portia: Then must the Jew be merciful
Though we might think of the courtroom, (and its spin-off the courtroom drama) as a modern invention, many of the great Classical orators began their careers as lawyers. Cicero, for example, made his name by defending a notorious murder case, of a young man accused of killing his father. There are still books available which reprint Cicero’s most famous speeches in court. Then, as now, the legal profession was a frequent route to the skills and connections necessary for a career in politics.
Portia’s pleas are aimed at a specific element of English law: The fact that the Court of Chancery could mitigate the strictness of the application of Common Law (“when mercy seasons justice”) She applies a common rhetorical technique to this issue, however, by generalising the specific point, and making it seem far more important than the individual case she is trying to win.
She expands the individual call for “mercy” in the case between Shylock and Antonio into a general speech on the nature of mercy itself. Her opening line “The quality of mercy is not strain’d” is frequently misinterpreted. It seems to mean that mercy comes easily to those who are naturally merciful, or that mercy can spread far without becoming thin, but I would suggest that “strain’d” here is being used in the archaic sense which survives in our modern word “restraint”. It comes immediately after her exchange with Shylock:
Portia: Then must the Jew be merciful