Shakespeare home > Shakespeare quotes > Signior Antonio, Many A Time And Oft soliloquy analysis

“Signior Antonio, Many A Time And Oft” Merchant of Venice Soliloquy Analysis

Read The Merchant of Venice’s Signior Antonio, Many A Time And Oft soliloquy below with modern English translation & analysis:

Spoken by Shylock, The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 3

Signior Antonio, many a time and oft
In the Rialto you have rated me
About my moneys and my usances:
Still have I borne it with a patient shrug,
For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe.
You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,
And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,
And all for use of that which is mine own.
Well then, it now appears you need my help:
Go to, then; you come to me, and you say
‘Shylock, we would have moneys:’ you say so;
You, that did void your rheum upon my beard
And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur
Over your threshold: moneys is your suit
What should I say to you? Should I not say
‘Hath a dog money? is it possible
A cur can lend three thousand ducats?’ Or
Shall I bend low and in a bondman’s key,
With bated breath and whispering humbleness, Say this;
‘Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last;
You spurn’d me such a day; another time
You call’d me dog; and for these courtesies
I’ll lend you thus much moneys’?

“Signior Antonio, Many A Time And Oft” Soliloquy Translation:

Signior Antonio. So manytimes on the Rialto, you have berated me about money and my money-lending. I’ve always responded with a patient shrug because enduring such things is the badge of all our race. You call me an unbeliever, a cut-throat dog, and spit on my Jewish gabardine. And all for using what belongs to me. Well then, it now seems that you need my help. Alright then: you come to me and you say, “Shylock, we want some money.”

That’s what you say. You, who spat on my beard and kicked me as you would kick a stray dog from your house. Now you want money. What am I supposed to say to you? Shouldn’t I say, “Has a dog got money? Could a mongrel possibly lend three thousand ducats?” Or shall I bend low and in the fawning tone of a servant, softly, in a small humble voice, say this: ‘Good sir, you spat on me last Wednesday; you kicked me on such and such a day: another time you called me ‘dog’. And for these courtesies I’ll lend you so much money?

 

See other Merchant of Venice soliloquies >>

Read The Merchant of Venice in modern English >>

• Shakespeare Wins Gold at the Olympic Games!

  Happy New Year to all our readers. This is a big year for Shakespeare. It’s not a very well known fact, but Shakespeare played a role in winning the... more »

• New Years Resolutions for Shakespeare’s Characters

  As we open our eyes to 2012 and the new year, custom dictates we make the odd new year’s resolution to try and keep (at least until the end... more »

• Shakespeare and Christmas

  I often come across the question ‘Why is there so little of Christmas in the works of Shakespeare?’. In all of his works, Shakespeare uses the word ‘Christmas’ only... more »

• The Twelve Days of Shakespeare’s Christmas

  Full festive marks to the American Shakespeare Centre for their inspirational “12 Days of Christmas” with a Shakespeare twist! They ran a poll over a few weeks to get... more »

• Yet Another Social Media No Sweat Shakespeare Site!

  That’s right folks, along with our Facebook page and twitter presence, No Sweat Shakespeare has now launched a Google+ page! It’s early days – and we’re really only just... more »

• 10 Things To Do In Shakespeare’s London

  London is the world’s top tourist destination, and so it should be. There are far more beautiful great cities, regarding their natural settings – Cape Town, Sydney, Rio –... more »

• Shakespeare Tube Map

  Wow, how did we miss this one first time round? Apparently the Royal Shakespeare Company had this version of the London Underground map made up many years ago, showing... more »

• Shakespeare’s Theatrical Props

  Last week I went to the theatre to see a contemporary play set in an English stately home. When the stage lights came up the audience was confronted with... more »

• A Prayer Before Dying – A Favorite Shakespeare Moment

  We’ve teamed up with the most excellent Master of Verona (aka David Blixt) to trade blog posts this week. Here’s his take on one of his all time favorite... more »

• Tony Blair, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the Emperor Nero

  What have Hamlet, Tony Blair, H.G. Wells, David Frost, the Emperor Nero, Brian Clough, the White Rabbit and Kenneth Williams got in common? This is an easy one: they’ve... more »