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Caskets of Fortune Word is spread, a fair maiden awaits suiters to challenge
the puzzle to win her hand and marriage, and in wealth. Her father has passed
away, leaving her with only a memory of him, and more dumbfounded suiters come
and challenge to see if they really are the one to inherit the fortune. There
are three caskets, “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.” The
suiters are The Prince of Morocco, a self absorbed sponge, The Prince of Arrogon,
an arrogant and he doesn’t show his true face, and finally Bassanio, a kind
individual who is in debt to his friend. First we start with the Prince of
Morocco, some say his name fits well with moron. He did chose the right casket
for him, but he didn’t chose the one that held the fair counterfeit of lady
Portia.
This man chose the golden casket because it is gaudy, and shows wealth
in its appearance. The reason for this is because he was raised with wealth
always around him, he is royalty, so everything was always given to him, and he
never did anything wrong because his royalty had always covered up for it. He
read the inscription on the golden casket which inscribes “Who Chooseth me shall
gain what many men desire.” Of course his mind is set when he sees the others
because he makes them look less than what they are, and gold is always higher in
value, he even says “ A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross. (Saying his
mind will never stoop lower than gold). I’ll then or give nor hazard aught for
lead ( He will never chose something with such low wealth as lead ). What says
the silver with her virgin hue? “Who Chooseth me shall get as much as he
deserves” : Pause there Morocco, and weigh thy value with an even hand ( so he
looks at silver and gold and chooses gold because it has a rich outlook).
Sadly
enough Morocco chose wrong, but Portia was much pleased to see him go. I believe
Morocco was right, because he talks about his “golden mind” and that is what he
is use to always seeing the rich because he hasn’t seen the hazard that life
gives because riches have been able to let him avoid some of them not being in
the real world and striving to get money and a decent home. Now we have the
prince of Aragon claimed to have “Arrogant” rhyme with his name. He sees himself
as a different person, he says “I will not jump with common spirits” ( in
reality he was like the other suiter Morocco ( raised rich, and in royalty). But
he is different in one way, he isn’t attracted to what the gold casket inscribes
because he doesn’t want to be a common person and chose gold because of its
appearances. So he chose right in choosing silver. But he didn’t choose the
casket that had Portia’s picture in it. This is his decision as follows, “ I
will not choose what many men desire, because I will not jump with common
spirits and rank me with the barbarous multitudes.
Why then, to the, thou silver
treasure house.” So he ignored the base lead casket because it was mere lead, it
has no value, and he ignored the gold because that’s what a common man would
chose. So by knocking both of those out of the competition he chose the silver,
because he thinks he deserves more, and he doesn’t desire like a regular man,
and he will not have hazard because he is a King. This man chose right to,
because just as Morocco he was raised in riches, but what Morocco didn’t have
that Aragon did have was a different teaching in life, telling him he isn’t like
a normal man, he rises above all of them because he has wealth fortune and a
royal family name. So he kept that teaching in mind when he chose the caskets,
showing that he wasn’t like common men picking the gold casket. Now for our
final suiter, Lord Bassanio, he is no prince, but he has more qualities than the
ones that came to Portia.
Bassanio is told the same things as the other suiters,
and then the caskets are presented. Bassanio isn’t quite sure which casket to
choose, so he looks at all of the inscriptions and responds, “ Thou gaudy Gold,
Hard food for Midas ( he doesn’t want gold because Midas wanted the gift of the
golden touch and he ended up turning everything to gold, so Bassanio doesn’t
want to be greedy). Then he remarks towards the silver casket Nor none of thee,
thou pale and common drudge ( its too pale and common because it isn’t the best
because no one can afford it, and it isn’t the worst because no one wants the
worst ). “But thou, meager lead, which rather threaten than dost promise aught,
thy paleness moves me more than eloquence, and here choose I, joy be the
consequence.
I believe Bassanio did this because he realized that the other
caskets promised things and you cannot be to sure of things that only promise
because in life whether you like it or not there is some sort of hazard, and
maybe he looked at the lead casket more like life and relationships because you
have to make a sacrifice in relationships giving up your freedom and committing
to a person. So maybe he saw that and looked at the situation and chose lead
because it was the odd casket off the three. Overall things worked out, Portia
didn’t like Morocco because he was a moron, and she didn’t like Aragon because
he was an idiot.
She also knew Bassanio before the contest even started, and
maybe she was looking for that kind of a man in the others, but she didn’t find
it because all people are different. One of the three stays and lets the others
be. He hath won her fortune and her heart, he smiles with her as the others
part. Silver and Gold in their minds, as they leave never to wed for all of
time. Sad may be, perhaps they have learned their lesson in idiocy. To look and
not judge, not hold meager things with a grudge. Now to end as all things do, I
say goodnight, and I bid thee adieu.
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