Jessica (The Merchant of Venice) are interrupted by Stephano, a messenger. No sooner has Stephano informed them that Portia and Nerissa will soon arrive than Gobbo comes with the same news for Bassanio and Gratiano. They decide to await the arrivals in the gardens, and ask Stephano to fetch his instrument and play for them. Portia and Nerissa enter, followed shortly by Bassanio, Antonio, and Gratiano. After they are all reunited, Nerissa hands Lorenzo a deed of gift from Shylock, won in the trial, giving Jessica all of his wealth upon his death. The generally accepted sources for "The Merchant of Venice" are Giovanni Fiorentino's
The quality of mercy (Shakespeare quote) eloquence to beg Shylock for mercy after traveling from the fictional town of Belmont to Venice. Mercy and forgiveness are enduring themes that pervade Shakespeare's works. The quote is an example of the esteem Shakespeare held for those who showed mercy as expressed in his poetry. Shakespeare presented mercy as a quality most valuable to the most powerful, strongest and highest people in society. Professor Harold Fisch, formerly of Bar-Ilan University, argued that the words of “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as