About Us: the brains behind the blog This blog was created by six lovely highschool students who share a common interest - william shakespeare's A Merchant Of Venice. Their names are Stephenie Cheung, Vincent Liang, David Liu, Kimberly Nguyen, David Peng and Gerry Zhang.

disclaimer just a small note about the blog All the data and information on this site is for informational purposes only. All the pictures and information have come from trustable sources, that are listed below, in 'references'.

References those trustable sources Shakespeare, William, Student Shakespeare Series; The Merchant of Venice, Australia: Cambridge University Press, 1999 Sparknotes, Act 2.website here. (collected 2/4/10) The Story Of The New Globe Theatre Website Here. (collected 5/4/10) Online Shakespeare. Webiste Here. (collected 6/4/10) Shakespeare Timeline Summary Chart Webiste Here. (collected 29/3/10) A Shakespeare Timeline Website Here. (collected 25/3/10) Shakespeare's Life Webiste Here. (collected 3/4/10) Merchant Of Venice film review Webiste Here. (collected 5/4/10) The Merchant Of Venice (2004) Webiste Here. (collected 7/4/10) Shakespeare's Biography Webiste Here. (collected 3/4/10) Merchant Of Venice Book Notes. Webiste Here. (Collected 28/3/10) Character Analysis Webiste Here. (collected 5/4/10) Merchant of Venice Characters Website Here. (collected 2/4/10) The Merchant Of Venice Website Here. (collected 1/4/10)

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Act 2, Scene 7. lines 63-77

Prince of Morocco:
O hell! What have we here?
A carrion Death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll. I'll read the writing.
All the glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told.
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold
Gilded tombs do worms infold
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgement old,
Your answer had not been inscrolled
Fare you well, your suit is cold.
Cold indeed, and labour lost.
Then farewell heat, and welcome frost!
Portia, adieu, I have too grieved a heart
To take a tedious leave. Thus losers part

After reasoning with himself, the Prince of Morocco finally decides to open the golden casket inscribed with the words, 'Who chooseth me shall gain many men desire', as he believe only the most valuable and precious metal should contain the picture of a beautiful woman, Portia. Much to his dismay, he opens the casket, revealing a skull ('carrion Death') and a roll of paper with writing on it, which he then reads out.

Referring to the first line of the written scroll 'All the glisters is not gold', suggests that the Prince of Morocco made a mistake by choosing the casket that was the most appealing to the eye and judging something by its appearance. It is somewhat ironic, as the Prince of Morocco had once told Portia not to judge him because of his skin colour.

When the Prince finished reading the scroll, he says the last four lines before leaving. Shakespeare uses hyperbole and metaphors to emphasis the frustration of the Prince. For example, the line 'then farewell heat, and welcome frost!' literally means leaving the warmth and going into the cold, but what he really means is saying goodbye to the warmth of hope and welcoming the cold of misery and despair. The line 'Cold indeed and labour lost' is an exaggeration of all the so-called 'work' he has wasted, which is not alot going back to the fact that he is a wealthy prince with plenty of servants to do work for him.

This key speech is a significant part of the story as it proposes one of the morals of the play; don't judge a book by its cover.