Act 4, Scene 1: As Shylock prepares to leave court with nothing, Portia stops him. Why does she say that Shylock must beg mercy from the duke?

It is difficult for modern audiences to find much comedy in this play. Shakespearean comedies however had certain expectations from sixteenth-century audiences. The villain, Shylock in this case, had to suffer a cruel fate before a happy ending could be had. Portia not only humiliates Shylock with taking his money and forced religious conversion but also makes Shylock plead for his life. This, for sixteenth-century audiences, would have been a satisfactory end for Shylock the Jew.