As the heroine of the play, Merchant of Venice, she is known for her beauty, lively intelligence, and quick wit.
作为《威尼斯商人》中的女主角，她以美貌、活泼的智慧和敏捷的机智著称。
生词和短语：

• heroine：女主角

• lively intelligence：活泼的智慧

• quick wit：敏捷的机智

Embodying the idealistic Renaissance humanism and configured as mercy, friendship and Christian love, Portia becomes one of the greatest heroines by Shakespeare.
博提娅体现了理想主义的文艺复兴人文主义，并以怜悯、友谊和基督教之爱为特质，成为莎士比亚笔下最伟大的女英雄之一。
生词和短语：

• idealistic Renaissance humanism：理想主义的文艺复兴人文主义

• configured as：被视作；被塑造成

• mercy：怜悯

• friendship：友谊

• Christian love：基督教之爱

Following her father’s will and the state law strictly, she presents her subtle and tricky manipulation, through dramatic devices of irony and disguise, of the stern reality, and matches Antonio’s generosity with her own unsparing efforts in rescuing a strange man.
她严格遵从父亲的遗愿和国家法律，通过讽刺与伪装的戏剧手法，巧妙而狡诈地揭露严酷的现实，并以自己不遗余力的努力与安东尼奥的慷慨相呼应，救助了一位陌生人。
生词和短语：

• subtle and tricky manipulation：微妙而狡诈的操控

• dramatic devices：戏剧手法

• irony：讽刺

• disguise：伪装

• stern reality：严酷的现实

• unsparing efforts：不遗余力的努力

On the court she also shows great patience in appealing to mercy (the famous speech of “quality of mercy”) from Shylock while offering reasonable mercy upon the Jewish victim.
在法庭上，她在向夏洛克恳求怜悯时（著名的“怜悯的品质”演说）表现出极大的耐心，同时对这位犹太受害者给予了合理的怜悯。
生词和短语：

• appealing to mercy：恳求怜悯

• quality of mercy：“怜悯的品质”（演说名）

• reasonable mercy：合理的怜悯

Against social hatred, cruelty, inequality and the corrupting influence of money and gold, Portia is a new woman of the Renaissance, active, capable, clever and serious-minded, who not only frees herself from the usual feudal fetters for women, but even outshines many men in immense fields, including Bassanio.
面对社会仇恨、残酷、不平等以及金钱和黄金的腐蚀性影响，博提娅成为文艺复兴时期的新女性：积极能干、聪慧严谨，她不仅摆脱了女性在封建社会中通常受到的束缚，甚至在包括巴萨尼奥在内的广阔领域中胜过许多男性。
生词和短语：

• corrupting influence：腐蚀性影响

• feudal fetters：封建枷锁

• outshines：超越；胜过

• immense fields：广阔领域

As a Jewish usurer in The Merchant of Venice, he is both a villain and a victim.
作为《威尼斯商人》中的犹太高利贷者，他既是反派又是受害者。
生词和短语：

• usurer：高利贷者

• villain：反派；恶棍

• victim：受害者

He stands for greed and evil, totally corrupted by money and gold.
他代表着贪婪与邪恶，被金钱和黄金彻底腐蚀。
生词和短语：

• stands for：代表

• corrupted：被腐化的；堕落的

He is also obsessed with deep hatred and prejudice, which leads to his unreasonable and even cruel demand upon Antonio’s flesh.
他还沉溺于深刻的仇恨与偏见，从而对安东尼奥的人肉提出了不合理甚至残忍的要求。
生词和短语：

• obsessed with：沉溺于；着迷于

• prejudice：偏见

• demand upon one’s flesh：对……的人肉索取（借指“索债”）

A contrast to Portia, he is against Christian mercy, patience and generosity.
与博提娅形成对比，他反对基督教的怜悯、耐心和慷慨。
生词和短语：

• in contrast to：与……形成对比

• generosity：慷慨

However, he is a pitiable victim of religious persecution, racial discrimination and social inequality, a figure of power and dignity whose speech and behavior almost redeem him as a tragic hero.
然而，他是宗教迫害、种族歧视和社会不平等的可怜受害者，这位既具权力又有尊严的人物，其言行几乎使他成为一位悲剧英雄。
生词和短语：

• pitiable：可怜的

• religious persecution：宗教迫害

• racial discrimination：种族歧视

• social inequality：社会不平等

• tragic hero：悲剧英雄

He is finally deprived by the Christians physically, financially and spiritually.
最终，他在身体上、经济上和精神上被基督徒剥夺一切。
生词和短语：

• deprived：被剥夺的

• physically：在身体上

• financially：在经济上

• spiritually：在精神上

Portia is a Renaissance heroine by Shakespeare who speaks for humanism and Christian virtues: patience, mercy, love and generosity.
博提娅是莎士比亚笔下的文艺复兴女英雄，她代表了人文主义和基督教美德：耐心、怜悯、爱与慷慨。
生词和短语：

• speaks for：代表；主张

• virtues：美德

She wants, on the one hand, to persuade Shylock, the pagan evil character, on the court, into showing mercy for Antonio, thus reaching salvation.
她一方面想在法庭上说服那位异教邪恶角色夏洛克，对安东尼奥表示怜悯，从而获得救赎。
生词和短语：

• on the one hand：一方面

• pagan：异教的

• salvation：救赎

In her speech of mercy, Portia shows that divine mercy is much more powerful than earthly power (symbolized by crown and sceptre) and more important than legal justice, or even can soften justice.
在她的怜悯演说中，博提娅表明神圣的怜悯远比世俗权力（以王冠和权杖象征）更强大，也比法律公正更重要，甚至能够缓和司法。
生词和短语：

• divine mercy：神圣的怜悯

• earthly power：世俗权力

• symbolized by：以……象征

• soften justice：缓和司法

However, her mercy is merely mercy for Christians, not for the Jewish Shylock, because she denies mercy for him later and totally deprives him financially and spiritually.
然而，她的怜悯仅限于基督徒，并不包括犹太人夏洛克，因为她后来拒绝对他施以怜悯，并在经济和精神上彻底剥夺了他。
生词和短语：

• merely：仅仅

• deny mercy：拒绝施以怜悯

• deprive：剥夺

• financially：在经济上

• spiritually：在精神上

So this mercy speech just presents the limits of Christianity and the themes of the play.
因此，这场怜悯演说仅呈现了基督教的局限性及该剧的主题。
生词和短语：

• limits：局限；限制

• themes：主题