Merchant of Venice Questions Act 4

The Merchant of Venice
Questions Act IV

Before the trial proper begins, what does Antonio say the Duke has already tried to do (4.1.1-12)?
Antonio says he knows the duke has done all that he can to lawfully counter Shylock’s malicious intentions, and that since nothing else can be done, Antonio will respond to Shylock’s rage “with a quietness of spirit”.
What does the Duke assume Shylock will do (4.1.15-33)? What is Shylock's response? Why is Shylock unwilling to show mercy? How does he respond to the Venetians and their call for mercy (4.1.88-99)? What is his ultimate claim (even "threat") in demanding justice (4.1.100-101)? The duke summons Shylock into the courtroom and addresses him, saying that he believes that Shylock means only to frighten Antonio by extending this drama to the brink of performance. No one, the duke says, believes that Shylock actually means to inflict such a horrible penalty on Antonio, who has already suffered the loss of his ships. Shylock reiterates his intentions and says that should the court deny him his right, the city’s very laws and freedoms will be forfeit. Shylock offers no explanation for his insistence other than to say that certain hatreds, like certain passions, are lodged deep within a person’s heart. Shylock hates Antonio, and for him that is reason enough.
Who is Bellario (4.1.103-106)? Why is he coming?
Bellario is a wealthy Paduan lawyer and Portia’s cousin. Doctor Bellario never appears in the play, but he gives Portia’s servant the letters of introduction needed for her to make her appearance in court. He comes to the court because Duke wants him to decide the matter.
While the Duke is reading the letter from Bellario (see 4.1.109), why does Antonio say he is fit to die?
Because Antonio knows that Shylock wont back down and that the deal was what it was, and that the judge is going to go with justice and that a deal is a deal.
What is Shylock doing while the Duke and Nerissa are talking (4.1.120-123)?
When Nerissa enters and gives the Duke the letter Shylock whets his knife, anticipating a judgment in his favor, and Gratiano accuses him of having the soul of a wolf. Shylock ignores these slurs and states resolutely, “I stand here for law”.
What is the message of Bellario's letter (4.1.149-161)? Who is Balthazar?
In league in trickery with Portia, Bellario writes to the Duke that he is ill and unable to attend the Duke's court. He also writes that at the time of receiving the Duke's letter, he was being visited by a young lawyer named Balthasar from Rome. Bellario goes on to say that he and Balthasar discussed the case and examined may law books to find the legal precedents that apply to Shylock's case against Antonio and that Bellario sent young Balthasar to the Duke instead of making the trip himself. Balthasar the young legal doctor from Rome, of course, is a made up person who doesn't exist and was not visting Bellario who was not sick, Portia impersonates Balthasar in the court.
As readers we have stage directions telling us that Nerissa and Portia enter in disguise? Does an audience seeing the play for the first time know who they are? Why or why not?
Yes, the audience would know that Nerissa and Portia are men because Act 3 Scene 4 shows the two women planning to dress and behave as men to help Bassanio help his friend. In fact, they brag how easy it will be for them to pass as men, Portia saying "When we are both accoutred like young men / I'll prove the prettier fellow of the two, / And wear my dagger with the braver grace . . . and turn two mincing steps / Into a manly stride . . . .I have within my mind / a thousand raw ricks of these bragging jacks, Which I will practise" (65-77).
What, if anything, is significant about Portia's first question (4.1.169)? How might one use this line as the key to an interpretation of the play?
Portia tells the Duke that she has thoroughly studied the case and then asks, "Which is the merchant here, and which the Jew?". Antonio and Shylock both step forward, and Portia asks Antonio if he confesses to signing the contract. He does, and Portia then says that Shylock therefore must be merciful. She delivers a short speech on mercy, but Shylock ignores it and demands the contract be fulfilled. Portia then asks if no one has been able to repay the amount, but since Shylock has refused the money there is nothing she can do to make him take it. She comments that she must therefore side with Shylock.
What is Portia's first judgment about the bond (4.1.172-177)? Why must Shylock then be merciful (4.1.177)? How does this discussion help us see the purpose and focus of the "quality of mercy" speech (4.1.179-200)? What religious message does the speech contain? What religion does the message come from? How likely is Shylock to respond favorably to it?