MOROCCO

A proud foreign prince gambles his whole future on a riddle of three caskets, reasoning his way toward the wrong one with magnificent confidence. Certainty is his tragedy.

1:00Dramatic30s–40sIntermediate

The speech100 words · 3 beats

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'Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves': As much as he deserves! Pause there, Morocco, And weigh thy value with an even hand: If thou be'st rated by thy estimation, Thou dost deserve enough.

Never so rich a gem Was set in worse than gold. They have in England A coin that bears the figure of an angel Stamped in gold; but that's insculp'd upon: Here an angel in a golden bed Lies all within. Deliver me the key.turn

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Speaking to: Himself, deliberating over the three caskets before Portia.
What just happened: To win Portia he must choose gold, silver, or lead, and swear never to marry if he chooses wrong. He stands before the caskets, weighing each inscription aloud, sure his worth will guide him.
Objective: To reason out which casket a woman like Portia must be worth.
The turn: 'A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross' — he talks himself past lead and silver and toward the fatal gold.
Watch out for: The trap is playing him as a pompous fool the audience mocks. Morocco is genuinely intelligent and his logic is seductive; the pathos is that good reasoning leads him wrong. Play the confidence straight and earned.

Full work: The Merchant of Venice New to the vocabulary? What’s a beat? →

More from The Merchant of Venice2

SHYLOCK0:48A moneylender who has been spat on and mocked for years, finally saying the thing out loud.PORTIA1:10A sharp young woman in a lawyer’s disguise, trying to win a case with an idea before she has to win it with a trick.

MOROCCO

The Merchant of Venice · William Shakespeare · 1:00 · 100 words

This first, of gold, who this inscription bears, 'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire'; The second, silver, which this promise carries, 'Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves'; This third, dull lead, with warning all as blunt, 'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.' 'Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves': As much as he deserves! Pause there, Morocco, And weigh thy value with an even hand: If thou be'st rated by thy estimation, Thou dost deserve enough. Never so rich a gem Was set in worse than gold. They have in England A coin that bears the figure of an angel Stamped in gold; but that's insculp'd upon: Here an angel in a golden bed Lies all within. Deliver me the key.

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