Passage From the Text
Nerissa: What say you then to Falconbridge, the young baron of England?
Portia: You know I say nothing to him, for he understands not me, nor I him: he hath neither Latin, French, nor Italian; and you will come into the court and swear that I have a poor pennyworth in the English. He is a proper man's picture, but alas! Who can converse with a dumb show? How oddly he is suited! I think he bought his doublet in Italy, his round hose in France, his bonnet in Germany, and his behavior everywhere. (I.ii.57-66)
Portia: You know I say nothing to him, for he understands not me, nor I him: he hath neither Latin, French, nor Italian; and you will come into the court and swear that I have a poor pennyworth in the English. He is a proper man's picture, but alas! Who can converse with a dumb show? How oddly he is suited! I think he bought his doublet in Italy, his round hose in France, his bonnet in Germany, and his behavior everywhere. (I.ii.57-66)
Response to the Text
4) The tone of this part is satirical as Shakespeare pokes fun at his English audience. The audience would have found this part of the play funny as it refers to them as dumb and having strange clothing; however there is much more humor to this passage then that. The humor is layered here as the generally uneducated audience enjoys the simple jokes at their expense, while at the same time there is much more serious social commentary as well that more well read audience members can enjoy. Shakespeare directly references the vanity of the English people as he states that they look proper, but have very little to their character beyond their appearance. Shakespeare's greatest insult to his own nation is in the way that the English view other nations. In the beginning of this passage he comments on the disregard that the English have for other cultures outside of their own, specifically in the form of language. The last insult to English society is Baron Falconbridge's clothing that comes from everywhere except for England. These two statements juxtapose each other and show that the English are too proud to indulge in the culture of other nations, yet are perfectly willing to purchase foreign goods instead of their domestic counterparts. Ironically these statements can be attributed to the modern United States in language and in foreign goods.