No Fear Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice
Get this No Fear to go!
Act 2, Scene 2, Page 8
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GRATIANO
Signor Bassanio!
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GRATIANO
Signor Bassanio!
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BASSANIO
Gratiano!
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BASSANIO
Gratiano!
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GRATIANO
I have a suit to you.
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GRATIANO
I have a favor to ask.
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BASSANIO
You have obtained it.
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BASSANIO
Anything.
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GRATIANO
You must not deny me. I must go with you to Belmont.
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GRATIANO
Don’t say no. Let me go with you to Belmont.
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BASSANIO
Why, then you must. But hear thee, Gratiano.
Thou art too wild, too rude and bold of voice—
Parts that become thee happily enough
And in such eyes as ours appear not faults.
But where thou art not known, why, there they show
Something too liberal. Pray thee, take pain
To allay with some cold drops of modesty
Thy skipping spirit, lest through thy wild behavior
I be misconst’red in the place I go to,
And lose my hopes.
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BASSANIO
Well, if you have to go, you have to go. But listen to me, Gratiano. Sometimes you get
a bit too wild, and you let your voice get a bit loud and rude. These things look good on
you, of course, and to people like you and me there’s nothing wrong with it. But in
places where people don’t know you, your behavior might seem too wild. Please, try
to act a little more serious, or the people in Belmont will get the wrong impression about
me, and your wildness will make me blow my chance with Portia.
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GRATIANO
Signor Bassanio, hear me.
If I do not put on a sober habit,
Talk with respect and swear but now and then,
Wear prayer books in my pocket, look demurely—
Nay more. While grace is saying, hood mine eyes
Thus with my hat, and sigh and say, “Amen”—
Use all the observance of civility
Like one well studied in a sad ostent
To please his grandam, never trust me more.
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GRATIANO
Listen, Signor Bassanio, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be
solemn-looking, I’ll talk with respect, and I’ll only swear once in a
while. I’ll carry prayer books in my pocket and look sweet—even more.
While grace is being said, I’ll be modest and say
“amen”—I’ll watch my manners as if I’m
trying to please my grandma. If I don’t do all this, never trust me again.
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BASSANIO
Well, we shall see your bearing.
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BASSANIO
Well, we’ll see how you act.
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GRATIANO
Nay, but I bar tonight. You shall not gauge me
By what we do tonight.
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GRATIANO
Okay, but tonight doesn’t count. You can’t judge me based on what I
do tonight.
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