"Mislike me not for my complexion"

Starting on a bit of a random note, I dreamt of Shakespeare last night. I don't remember what the play was or whether my mind was just creating it. But I think it was loosely based off of Henry V. I just remember there was a guy who was mighty in power and two guys who were not. And the two guys who were not powerful talked in prose. I take that as a sign that Shakespeare is affecting me somehow, hopefully for the better.

Onto The Merchant of Venice, so I just finished the first two acts. And I'll be honest, it might because I was sick today and my mind is a little muddled but I was struggling a bit. I understood the basic gist of it. Bassanio is vying for Portia's love, but he doesn't have money. Antonio is the merchant and has trades going on overseas so he can't lend money to Bassanio. And then there's Shylock the Jew. And obviously Shakespeare makes fun of Jews and also he pokes fun of the French again (again as in after Henry V). Jessica loves Lorenzo, who is Christian, and that's a little bit of a no-go since Shylock doesn't like Christians. Etc., etc., etc.
Anyways, so I understand that. I just am losing a lot in the dialog. And I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but I'm not really amused. I mean I get it, but I don't. Maybe I'm losing the humor because this play is really old. And it's a play, so don't forget about body language (that we can't see, but will Saturday)!
But there were some quotes I did like so far. One was when Launcelot is talking to Jessica in Act II and states:
 
"these foolish drops do something down my manly spirit,"

I liked this because I hate crying. Absolutely hate it. Now I'm not a man, but I do feel as if I am losing some dignity when I cry. But maybe that's just me.

I also really liked Antonio's state to Bassanio about Shylock,

"The devil can cite Scripture for his Purpose.

An evil soul, producing holy witness,

Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,

A goodly apple rotten at the heart..."

Definitely multiple scripture references popped in my mind after reading this.

Anyways..

So that's it for now.

 

And my title quote, I just thought it applied pretty well to me since I'm a little tan by nature.