The Merchant of Venice: Key Quotations

Below is a list of all of the quotations we have covered organised by character and theme:

Deception and Disguise

1. Benedick: "I do much wonder that one man, seeing how much another man is a fool when he dedicates his behaviours to love, will, after he hath laughed at such shallow follies in others, become the argument of his own scorn by falling in love."
2. Don John: "I am a plain-dealing villain."
3. Claudio: "Farewell, therefore, Hero."

Love and Marriage

1. Benedick: "I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes."
2. Claudio: "Can the world buy such a jewel?"
3. Hero: "Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps."
4. Beatrice: "I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me."

Honour and Reputation

1. Claudio: "Give not this rotten orange to your friend."
2. Hero: "One Hero died defiled, but I do live."
3. Leonato: "Do not live, Hero; do not ope thine eyes."
4. Leonato: "Thou hast belied mine innocent child."

Gender Roles and Expectations

1. Beatrice: "O that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace."
2. Beatrice: "I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me."
3. Hero: "Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps."
4. Don John: "I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace."