ABSTRACT
Lorenzo potentially experiences his epiphanic moment during his speech on the orbs in Act 5. This chapter negotiates the unsettling proximity of Lorenzo’s epiphany to his questionable, desperate, and humiliating behavior, as indicated in his otherization of Shylock. Then, Lorenzo’s drive for the epiphany is tracked dramatically within the linear structure of The Merchant of Venice. Finally, the speech (5.1.60–5) with its orbs and celestial harmony is analyzed in detail. Otherizing behavior such as Lorenzo’s destroys in small increments and ultimately prevents him from the full epiphany which he seeks. However, his powerful desperation for divine intimacy eclipses his hypocrisy, even if only for one startling moment. This chapter questions whether Lorenzo may have been seeking Jewish mystical teachers in the Jewish Quarter when he first met Jessica. Lorenzo’s speech on the orbs suggests mystical aspirations as well as his corruption by the Venetian community. This chapter not only tracks Lorenzo up until his epiphanic moment but also shows how that moment has a lasting impact that accents the plot and resounds beyond it.
