Question

I have possess'd your grace of what I purpose:And by our holy Sabbath have I swornTo have the due and forfeit of my bond.If you deny it, let the danger lightUpon your charter and your city's freedom !You'll ask me, why I rather choose to haveA weight of carrion flesh than to receiveThree thousand ducats : I'll not answer that:But, say, it is my humour(1) Whom are these lines addressed to? What is the context in which theselines are spoken?(ii) What has Shylock sworn on oath ?​

Answer 1

1. These lines are addressed to Duke.

2. These lines show that Shylock is not willing to forgive the debt a merchant owes him, nor is he willing to justify why he demands that debt be paid, even if it seems cruel.

3. He swore by the Holy Sabbath, which is a holy day for him, who is a Jew. He swore he would get the debt money or a piece of the debtor's flesh.

Step-by-step explanation:

The lines shown in the question above refer to "The Merchant of Venice" written by Shakespeare. In this story we are introduced to Antonio, a commercial who is very prejudiced against Jews, but when he needs money, he borrows from another merchant, Shylock, who is Jewish. Shylock agrees to lend money to Antonio, but determines the date that this money must be returned, in addition, Shylock states that he will lend the money if Antonio agrees that if this money is not paid by the specified date, Antonio will have to pay with half a kilo of flesh from his own body. Antonio agrees, but doesn't pay the money so Shylock goes after the flesh of Antonio's body and Duke tries to intervene because he thinks this is too cruel. At this point, Shylock speaks the lines shown in the question above, showing that he is not willing to change his mind.