Laura Carmichael as Portia: 'The quality of mercy' | Shakespeare Solos

To mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, we asked leading actors to perform key speeches from his plays. Here, Laura Carmichael speaks Portia’s lines from The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene 1. Shylock is intent on taking a pound of flesh from Antonio who has defaulted on his loan. Portia, disguised as the lawyer Balthasar, tells the moneylender to be merciful.
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[@DeviX03]

Her voice makes me feel like I am listening to the public announcement on a spacecraft.

[@Chaos-Kitchen]

Ma'am... ma'am I was just swatting a fly.

[@jonathanengland1]

"oh Edith.. must you always be so dramatic?" -- Mary Crawley

[@divyanshsharma8383]

Insert far from home spoilers EDITH

[@knockout1891]

👏👏👏😂😂😂

[@conradmaclean4073]

Oh she has such great rhythm to speaking this!

[@MandyJMaddison]

Conrad Maclean, and therein lies the fault. Like many other actors of Shakespeare, she is too locked into the rhythm, and not sufficiently expressing of the meaning.

[@expatphotographer8745]

@@MandyJMaddison The tempo was about all she did well in that performance. Not to be cruel, but she's simply not the same caliber as these other performances. This is especially true compared to Lewis, Ashton, Joseph and Fiennes. Watching any one of those 4, then this, and the differences are stark.

[@massivecumshot]

Great performance. She works with the IDEAS of the words and not the words themselves. The pure inherent LOGIC of displaying mercy gradually dawns upon the listener, putting aside all attitudes of prejudice. This is how Shakespeare was meant to be acted - through reason and rhetorical intellect and not bombast and tricks. If you know and assimilate the IDEAS behind the speech, the words act themselves.

[@firewithfire848]

Beautiful, yes. Then I remember immediately afterwards no mercy was granted to Shylock except on condition that he become a Christian. Shylock wasn’t the nicest man, but when you live in a society that openly insults you and spits in your face, I can understand why you would grow bitter and mean. Shylock was a victim of a viscous antisemitism that was displayed openly without consequence, in Europe for generations.

[@coldtruth9235]

And culminated with the "Final Solution" of Hitler. Amazing how Shakespeare has been very lucid in his time. Few men in history have match this: Socrates, Confucius and Marx.

[@zarab6521]

thanks this helped with my English homework

[@pjswag2118]

@@zarab6521 goated

[@AbhishekTiwari-tt4ew]

@kprop have you read up on him?

[@firewithfire848]

@@thomasmilavec3754 You’re right, I didn’t. I saw the film with Al Pacino. What am I not getting?

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

The quality of mercy is not strain'd, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: 'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; But mercy is above this sceptred sway; It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God's When mercy seasons justice.

[@flawless_undergoer]

I heartily thank thee ! I worship the works of Shakespeare !

[@kavitagoyat9241]

Thanks

[@allthatyousee18]

Her rendition is very stirring though there's one small point that bothers me. The key line is: > It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown. She adds a slight derogatory tone to "his crown", as if to say: the crown is unimportant, mercy is the most important thing. But this is a quintessentially modern way of thinking. The medieval mindset would be something like: The crown is supremely important, and mercy is even more important. It's a minor point, but it niggles at me.

[@kafkatrap6812]

The quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is Brian Blessed.

[@UltimateKyuubiFox]

This is incredible. In the most understated way. I NEVER strained to figure out what she was saying or what the words meant. She conveyed the intention so clearly and physically that the text became naturalistic. Even most of the great actors performing dramatic Shakespearean monologues leave me rewinding to parse out what they’ve truly said. She made it look effortless.

[@endtimegrime5670]

I'm with you. Isn't it just grand that stuff like this touches us?

[@Pheelyp]

Thank you for articulating what I have felt, Kyuubi Fox.

[@huolalupin6008]

She did indeed. It was masterly.

[@EGarrett01]

Imagine if people were all this thoughtful, articulate, and soothing to hear?

[@MyFabricyo]

This is how Brazilians see Portugueses speaking.

[@NoLegalPlunder]

Incredibly profound, especially the part where justice would prevent us from seeing salvation. It really makes one understand the essence of mercy. He really was brilliant.

[@mrscoconutblonde2427]

Yes, although a very obvious thought for a Christian

[@jennief2108]

Such beautiful words ~ I do love Shakespeare ~

[@MasterSanders]

“You weren’t talking to a jerk, you know.” - Barney Fife

[@Zanyotaku]

I have to memorize a soliloquy for class and I picked this one, very helpful with the pronunciation of some points and extremely beautiful reading overall, (especially as an american changing certain sounds would detract from the flow of the words.) enthron*ed*, *att*ribute (I got docked for saying it closer to "a tribute" during our first run of the material) and reading alongside listening helps make it sound a lot more natural where lines need to pause for breath. Idk, I'm struggling, this is beautiful.

[@LuciferHades7733]

Same I chose this one to memorize for tomorrow, Although I can't seem to memorize the whole thing 😅

[@benjaminlarkey8562]

So beautiful. So well done

[@bigears5809]

I loved this reading. Beautifully delivered. Thank you. P.S. When read this way, it makes it so more understandable

[@zacwestern9655]

Can you imagine a lawyer trying to persuade someone like this in a court room? It sounds like she doesn't have to do the work, but she REALLY has to persuade someone.

[@sydneymorris9919]

Such a pleasant voice she has

[@lisal.5119]

Perfection. Beautifully delivered.

[@George-kt6gm]

Wow! Just beautiful!

[@francoisbessing]

In the pursuit of justice none of us would see salvation.

[@seemakhan5275]

Close your eyes..n just listen to it... amazing!!

[@endtimegrime5670]

This moves me to tears.

[@mattrodriguez6406]

BRAVO!!!

[@garvitagautam6055]

Thank u so much I needed to learn it for my play in my school and u helped me a lot. Ur acting and expressions are dope👌

[@francoisbessing]

Phenomenal. Thank you.

[@TheQueenofHibernia]

Wonderful.

[@mahmoudykemal8698]

Simply Spellbinding.

[@naderqabazard318]

I love this part of the play

[@user-ku6ex3ke8p]

This is the most important clip ever uploaded to KZbin.

[@vikashmandal5159]

Thanks

[@RaNatale]

love you Laura

[@sweetpapayasourpeach]

I really like the way she interpreted this monologue. It's amazing how so many people can read the same line so differently

[@cedric7122]

Wonderful

[@cristianhanganu1154]

so cool

[@tytipton6346]

The quality of mercy is not strained!

[@aishwaryasingh4620]

It's too good.....Her way of speaking really touched my heart

[@foxdylan9536]

Bravo

[@chartphred1]

Laura, a superb reading. Would love to see you on stage doing shakespeare, your skills as an actress are first rate. I'm a great admirer of your work.

[@shettysatish1353]

supeeerb

[@nigelmurphy6761]

Such a beautiful quote and so appropriate for current times

[@scottcarlson2918]

In the comedy, she is not begging; she is chastising.

[@Pay5kDollarsToUnlockName]

I am going to perform this in school tomorrow

[@wingsofangel36]

Well read. Brought tears to my eyes.

[@paulmartin6329]

Yes, she is trying to save a soul

[@zarab6521]

These comments really be helping with my English homework

[@anisurfer84]

"How dare you bring The Bard into this..."

[@mofoshrimp]

Fuck yeah these words are dope!

[@sultanaj1648]

I played The leftovers soundtrack over this and the result is masterpiece

[@gnollrunner520]

As I recall this is right before she unmercifully hammers Shylock into dust. LOL!

[@SerPinkKnight]

Well, this is her giving a chance for Shylock to back down. He doesn't then she wrecks him, but does have him killed.

[@desertdaisymarie6951]

Shotgun Parley Shylock converts to Christianity actually..

[@Pheelyp]

@@desertdaisymarie6951 I suspect Shotgun Parley intended for there to be a "not" after "does" in his response.

[@lyneae3786]

Doesn’t get much better.

[@jmm0935]

The voice of Battlefield 1

[@vaishnavisuresh3391]

😱 OMG....... Wow!!!!...luvd u, ur expressions, ur voice modulations, ur style, ur pronunciations...... Lol... 😍😘 Tysm for making it easier than ever before to recite it in my school's assembly everyone Luvd d style of delivery 😊😊😊

[@blueberry7899]

Hahahahahahhaa, Anyone here from Julia Louis-Dreyfus acceptence speech?

[@rileybrooks5558]

Oh wow great!truly helped me in my English elocution☺got ten out of ten.YAY!

[@natasuncion5825]

0:44

[@jacabo136]

Anyone else coming from MandyMod's reddit post?

[@meself349]

I think I'm in love 🥰

[@sohailahmed7561]

beautiful poem, beautiful rendition

[@damarh]

they hath done Shylock wrong!

[@naderqabazard318]

I love watching this every now and then

[@memento-mori-amor]

0:51 lol

[@MdIsmail-lu1qy]

Omg

[@UmaprabaHaresh]

No bad

[@brozbro]

Thy sceptered hand lies in Jerusalem.

[@andretoyjosol3527]

I just feel in loved with this woman

[@byronofrothdale]

She did great. But the first "mercy" sounds to me like "Mercia", the old Saxon country.

[@cdj5431]

Give credit where credit is do

[@kubatibraev7187]

what a beautiful woman

[@UmaprabaHaresh]

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

[@christinewilliamson4850]

U sound like Portia from the movie

[@battleangel2799]

What I play to my friend who is about to finish me in mtg, but instead once he downs my other friend, I finish him instead, hehehe 😝

[@paulcharles5128]

It is enthro-NED...enthro-NED!!!😫😫😫

[@DerHerrMitR]

It's "Vingardium LeviOHsa"

[@paulcharles5128]

Xam271 🙄🙄

[@SymphonyBrahms]

I prefer Judi Dench.

[@MajorCinephile7]

The irony of this speech coming from a rich privileged, sheltered christian woman to a Jewish moneylender who has had to deal with a lifetime of oppression, right before she refuses to offer him that same mercy she criticised him for not showing is astounding!

[@Arimaquinador]

Oppression, right. You should check better what lenders were doing at the time to collect debts.

[@MajorCinephile7]

Arimaquinador I am referring specifically to what Shylock has gone through in the play.

[@Arimaquinador]

That's fair, sorry for missing the point.

[@ashleyal]

Shylock is granted a light punishment relative to the severity of his crime -- conspiring against the life of a Venetian citizen. The usual penalty would have been the loss of all his land and goods to the state. It is Portia who, with her rhetoric on mercy, primes the duke to render a merciful sentence: Shylock is fined, but does not have the entirety of his property confiscated. Had Portia not extolled mercy, I am inclined to think (just speculating here) that the duke might have been less lenient. After all, Shylock shows no remorse when he gloats over having the chance to "legally" get away with murder. As an aside -- Certainly none of us assume the poor are incapable of being moral on account of their poverty. Neither ought we be surprised if a rich woman's wealth does not hinder her love for what is noble. It is also unremarkable that a Christian would value mercy, since this virtue has a central role in that religion.

[@renshiwu305]

That is a fan-freaking-tastic reply.

[@Ephisus]

Now put on a comically masculine voice like the stoners in life of Brian.

[@irock2403]

Julia Louis Dreyfus' was much better ...

[@polobear400]

Explain this to a bunch of half wits.

[@UmaprabaHaresh]

👎

[@UmaprabaHaresh]

Bad

[@indigo8592]

I hate this monologue. What emotion do I give it? It feels just like talking, there’s nothing to do with it. Don’t get me wrong, she did great, I just can’t do something like this.

[@weepinbel]

Actually i dont think she did such a great job, the words sound almost all the same to me. Its like she goes on and on without giving texture to the monologue. I like how she speaks and the rythm and the words are stressed correctly but besides that I dont seem to see any more in here.

[@UmaprabaHaresh]

Very bad

[@victorasalazar]

Julia was robbed from this role.

[@Sammy197]

Hmm I don't know... She stares into infinity a lot and without justification. (like if she were sad she would look down, but instead she looks down even though she is not sad) And this gives the impression that she is reading a script.

[@kareem9585]

Sammy197 question. How and where would one look when one is sad about death of his cat and and is talking to his father about his opposition to technology.

[@belltopcone]

do a vid Sammy and show us how it`s done.

[@weepinbel]

Sammy i think the same

[@fathomflaw]

Laura is hot.

[@stellaboulton9531]

Ghastly reading.

[@maxhalsted5381]

Mercy towards one another is short supply nowadays. Especially in the cause of justice

[@PTCello]

No. This may be a famous actress, but note that often fame has little connection to quality

[@BluePantry]

Making him lose his Jewishness is not mercy

[@lawdawgtidy]

Rubbish! Reading from autocue worst of the lot monotone and doesn’t understand the tone just reading it! Awful ! Damien Lewis and David Morrisey take a bow! Best I’ve ever seen please don’t watch this one!

[@weepinbel]

Agreee

[@draganpetrovic3968]

Bravo

[@UmaprabaHaresh]

👎