Portia Tricks Shylock Into Having His Bond, And Only His Bond

“This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are ‘a pound of flesh’. Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh, But in the cutting it, if thou doth shed One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate Unto the state of Venice.” (IV.i.302-308)

Shylock continuously refers to his bond and what it precisely stipulates: a pound of Antonio’s flesh.  When Portia asks whether or not a doctor will be present in case Antonio sheds too much blood, Shylock replies “I cannot find it, ‘tis not in the bond.” Portia utilizes Shylock’s strict interpretation of the bond when she decrees he can have nothing more than a pound of Antonio’s flesh as “the words expressly are ‘a pound of flesh.’” Portia’s employment of an extremely literal interpretation of the bond serves to give Shylock exactly what he has demanded all along: one pound of Antonio’s flesh, but no more nor no less.  Portia’s specificity essentially binds Shylock to his own bond as she is merely granting him exactly what the bond “expressly” says and exactly what Shylock himself has been demanding all along; however, her stipulation that not “one drop of Christian blood” can be drawn imprisons Shylock in this bond as it is impossible to retrieve a pound of Antonio’s flesh without yielding blood.