The Prince of Morocco then sadly takes his leave, and Portia is happy to see him go without his expected prize.
A conversation between Salerio and Solanio provides the audience with some necessary information regarding the plot.
First, the audience learns that Bassanio andGraziano have successfully set sail for Belmont, butLorenzo and Jessica were not in the ship with them.
Second, Shylock has discovered that both his daughter and his money (ducats) are missing and has demanded that the Duke should search Bassanio’s ship. However, the Duke is too late; for Bassanio has already sailedoff.
In addition to losing his money and daughter, Shylock is also missing two valuable gemstones. The moneylender is outraged, and he irrationally screams about his the loss of “his stones, his daughter, and his ducats” (24). The boys of Venice laugh and make fun of Shylock because the wordstonealso was Renaissance slang for testicle. So, when Shylock screams about the loss of his two stones, the boys (and the Renaissance audience) would quickly interpret that line as Shylock screaming that he has lost his testicles. Shylockhasbeenmetaphoricallycastrated,andthe