Act 2, Scene 1

Belmont. A room in PORTIA's house.

[Flourish of cornets. Enter the PRINCE of MOROCCO, and his Followers; PORTIA, NERISSA, and Others of her train.]
Prince of Morocco
478 Mislike me not for my complexion,
479 The shadow'd livery of the burnish'd sun,
480 To whom I am a neighbour, and near bred.
481 Bring me the fairest creature northward born,
482 Where Phoebus' fire scarce thaws the icicles,
483 And let us make incision for your love
484 To prove whose blood is reddest, his or mine.
485 I tell thee, lady, this aspect of mine
486 Hath fear'd the valiant; by my love, I swear
487 The best-regarded virgins of our clime
488 Have lov'd it too. I would not change this hue,
489 Except to steal your thoughts, my gentle queen.
Portia
490 In terms of choice I am not solely led
491 By nice direction of a maiden's eyes;
492 Besides, the lottery of my destiny
493 Bars me the right of voluntary choosing;
494 But, if my father had not scanted me
495 And hedg'd me by his wit, to yield myself
496 His wife who wins me by that means I told you,
497 Yourself, renowned Prince, then stood as fair
498 As any comer I have look'd on yet
499 For my affection.
Prince of Morocco
500 Even for that I thank you:
501 Therefore, I pray you, lead me to the caskets
502 To try my fortune. By this scimitar,—
503 That slew the Sophy and a Persian prince,
504 That won three fields of Sultan Solyman,—
505 I would o'erstare the sternest eyes that look,
506 Outbrave the heart most daring on the earth,
507 Pluck the young sucking cubs from the she-bear,
508 Yea, mock the lion when he roars for prey,
509 To win thee, lady. But, alas the while!
510 If Hercules and Lichas play at dice
511 Which is the better man, the greater throw
512 May turn by fortune from the weaker hand:
513 So is Alcides beaten by his page;
514 And so may I, blind Fortune leading me,
515 Miss that which one unworthier may attain,
516 And die with grieving.
Portia
517 You must take your chance,
518 And either not attempt to choose at all,
519 Or swear before you choose, if you choose wrong,
520 Never to speak to lady afterward
521 In way of marriage; therefore be advis'd.
Prince of Morocco
522 Nor will not; come, bring me unto my chance.
Portia
523 First, forward to the temple: after dinner
524 Your hazard shall be made.
Prince of Morocco
525 Good fortune then!
526 To make me blest or cursed'st among men!
[Cornets, and exeunt.]

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Notes

TLN 478cultural context
“Mislike me not for my complexion, The shadow'd livery”
Morocco opens by pre-empting Portia's possible disgust at his dark skin. 'Complexion' means both skin colour and the internal 'humour' thought to govern temperament; 'shadow'd livery of the burnish'd sun' is his explanation — his skin is the dark uniform (livery) cast by living close to the burning sun, which identifies him as its neighbour. He casts what Elizabethans would call his 'defect' as a mark of distinction.
historical The 'Moor' on the Elizabethan stage
TLN 483historical topical
“make incision for your love To prove whose blood is reddest”
Morocco proposes cutting himself open to show that his blood is as red as any fair northerner's. In Elizabethan humoral medicine, the redness of blood was a sign of heat, courage, and noble worth; a 'warm' or 'hot' complexion was associated with valor. Morocco is saying: judge me by the contents, not the container.
historical The 'Moor' on the Elizabethan stage
TLN 491archaic vocab
“nice direction of a maiden's eyes; Besides, the lottery of my destiny Bars me the right of voluntary choosing”
'Nice' here means 'fastidious' or 'over-particular' — Portia is saying she is not guided merely by a young woman's squeamish personal preference. 'Lottery' means a game of chance, referring to her father's will requiring suitors to choose among three caskets; she has no free choice in husband-selection. Portia is telling Morocco diplomatically that, left to her own judgment, she would not rule him out — but she cannot choose freely.
historical The three caskets
TLN 503historical topical
“slew the Sophy and a Persian prince, That won three fields of Sultan Solyman”
'The Sophy' was the common English name for the Shah of Persia — specifically the Safavid dynasty; 'Sultan Solyman' is Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566), the most powerful Ottoman ruler of the sixteenth century, who led major campaigns against both Persia and Christian Europe. Morocco boasts he has killed a Persian royal and won three battles against the greatest Muslim empire of the age — self-promotion designed to impress Portia.
TLN 510classical allusion
“If Hercules and Lichas play at dice Which is the better man, the greater throw May turn by fortune from the weaker hand: So is Alcides beaten by his page”
Hercules (also called Alcides, 'descendant of Alcaeus') was the mightiest hero of classical myth, famous for his twelve labours. Lichas was his servant — a nobody by comparison. Morocco's point: in a dice game, luck could let the weaker man (Lichas) roll higher than the stronger (Hercules). The casket-lottery works the same way — a lesser suitor might win simply by chance, while Morocco, who considers himself a Hercules, loses.
classical Hercules and his labours