will be breaking the terms of the contract as well.
Both of these conditions are loopholes. Portia has found awayfor Antonio to escape his difficulty. Portia informs Shylock that if he does not follow the conditions of the contract precisely, then he will, according to the laws of Venice, be put to death and all of his belongings will be seized by thecourt.
Graziano applauds the wisdom of the young lawyer and sarcastically throws Shylock’s own words back at him:
A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew!
Now, infidel, I have you on the hip.(328-29)
The expression “on the hip” is a wrestling term which is used when one wrestler has an advantageous hold on another. Graziano is implying that he and Antonio’s other friends now hold an advantage over Shylock. Shylock has lost thecase.
Shylock realizes that he has lost, and he states that he will drop the case and accept the amount of money that Antonio had borrowed (“the principal”). Portia, though, informs him that he is too late. Shylock has already refused the amount of payment in open court. So, he may only take the pound of flesh and nothing else. And, of course, if Shylock breaks either of the two conditions that she mentioned earlier, Shylock will lose his life.