 Studying the Merchant of Venice. Here's how you can analyse the first half of that four scene one. This scene is the longest scene within the play and these stage directions here show that we are about to witness Antonio's trial that Sherlock has brought against him in front of the Duke. The Duke feels sorry for Antonio and he speaks using this metaphor to describe Sherlock as an evil person. He feels sorry that Antonio is at his mercy. Antonio seems to have given up and accepted his fate. He speaks here using assonance of A to say that he has accepted he's going to die in the hands of Sherlock. The Duke seems clearly biased. He talks using hyperbole when he addresses Sherlock and he asks him to forgive Antonio his debt. We can see that even from the start of the trial even the Duke thinks Sherlock's wishes to take a pound of his flesh are wrong however Sherlock is not gonna face a fair trial because the Duke is biased. Yet Sherlock is stubborn and determined. He speaks using Ayambic pentameter to say that he deserves for his contract to be honored. He wants to have a pound of Antonio's flesh. He then speaks somewhat menacingly using alliteration to remind the Duke that Venice has a reputation for always honoring its contracts and if the Duke does not honor his contract with Antonio then Venice is gonna have a bad international reputation with investors. Bassanio Antonio's friend is disgusted to hear Sherlock's response and he speaks using alliteration to criticize Sherlock for not showing any mercy. Yet Antonio stops Bassanio and he speaks using oxymoron as well as a rhetorical question to tell Bassanio that it's useless to try and get Sherlock to have any mercy. Sherlock is an evil difficult person who wants to see Antonio dead. Bassanio is desperate to see his friend live and he offers to pay Sherlock double the debt. He offers him 6,000 ducats instead of the 3,000 which was originally loaned. Yet Sherlock refuses the offer and he speaks using repetition here to say that he still wants a pound of Antonio's flesh. He doesn't want the money anymore. Sherlock then reminds all the Venetians in the courthouse that they are all hypocrites. He uses the repetition of the pronoun you to say that Venetians many of them own slaves who they're really horrible to. Therefore they're being hypocrites by asking him to be a kind person. The Duke decides that this case is too complex for him to decide alone. He wants Dr. Bellario Porsche's relation to come and help him make a decision on this court case and he's not going to make a decision until Dr. Bellario comes over. The Duke is then told that Dr. Bellario has sent someone with a letter and the stage directions show that the person who's delivering this letter is Narissa dressed up as a man. In other words she is dressed up as the lawyer's clerk. The letter informs the Duke that Dr. Bellario is unable to attend the court case however he has sent another really talented and younger lawyer to come and help him when deciding the case. The letter then informs the Duke that this talented young lawyer is called Balthazar and we can see in these stage directions that Porsche has come in dressed up as a man and she's gonna help with this court case.