In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1596), Shylock drives a hard bargain with Antonio, a merchant. He agrees to lend Antonio a certain sum of money , but should Antonio fail to repay it on time, he will have to forfeit a pound of his flesh to Shylock. The terms seems ludicrous at the time of the signing of the bond; but when Antonio loses his ships and is unable to repay the loan, the terms become sinister. Portia steps in and ingeniously circumvents Shylock's intransigent demands by stating that Shylock can get his pound of flesh, but not one drop of blood, as there is nothing about blood in the bond..
To give, or get, a pound of flesh has come to mean comforming to the letter of an agreement, whether in the form of a contract or a promise, whatever grossly excessive return is called for.
Also, in modern usuage a Shylock is not viewed with any SHAKESPEAREAN sympathy. He is a usurer, a person greedy for money, one who drives a hard bargain.
~Facts on File dictionary of Cultural and Historical Allusions. |
