The 'Quality of Mercy' Speech With Emphasis On Certain Words...

When you listen to Portia's famous speech in Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" (Act IV, Scene 1: 184-202), it's interesting to see which words she puts emphasis on. They usually show the writer's true intent. For example, Portia emphasizes "pray" in "pray for mercy" in the end, because she is referring the the Lord's Prayer and "give us this day our daily bread".

And when she puts emphasis on "twice" in twice blest, she's telling the audience that acts of mercy make you feel good. I recently read that on the internet. And it makes you a better person too. And she put emphasis on "above" in "above this sceptred sway" because in Shakespeare's time, people thought power was the most attractive thing of being a ruler. But mercy will always be above that, because power is fleeting. Mercy is what history always remembers you for (I also heard).

Here are all the words she puts emphasis on. And at the end is a link to the full speech in the movie with Al Pacino (2004):

The quality of mercy is not stràin'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from hèaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twìce blest,—
It blesseth him that gìves and him that tàkes:
‘Tis mìghtiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The thronèd monarch bètter than his crown,—
His scèptre shows the force of tèmporal power,
The attribute to àwe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fèar of kings,—
But mèrcy is abòve this scèptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hèarts of kings,
It is an attribute to Gòd himself,—
And earthly power doth then show likèst God's
When mercy sèasons justice. Therefore, Jèw,
Though jùstice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the còurse of justice, nòne of us
Should see salvation: we do prày for mercy,—
And that sàme prayer doth teach us àll to render
The dèeds of mercy.

 

Also some people are offended by the antisemitism in this play. And they should be. It was different time. But that doesn't mean that we need to censor everthing from the past. Because we can still learn somethings from it.

Portia puts emphasis on "Jew" because she's explaining that Shylock feels apart from Christian culture. (I have heard people substitute a word for Jew when the read this quote BTW. Words like "sinner" for example.) But she's explaining even Jews are part God's creation. Because like she says in the opening, the gentle rain comes from God, whether it is a storm or it waters your fields. And she goes onto say that even though he feels that he was wronged by Antonio because he often berated him on the Rialto for being a Jew and charging interest, this is just a court of human justice. And no one is worthy of, or should expect, salvation here. She then makes a reference to the Lord's prayer. Probably because at that point she is talking to the larger Christian audience too.