The quality of mercy is not strained

Mercy is something that has to be freely given; no one can force someone else to be merciful. (“Strained” is an old form of “constrained,” meaning “forced.”) From The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

A line from the play The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. Strained means “constrained,” or “forced”; the speaker is telling Shylock that mercy must be freely given, and is inviting him to show mercy to the title character.

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Example Sentences

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The croutons come when a lightbulb goes off in someone’s head — when the quality of mercy is not strained.

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“The quality of mercy is not strained,” Portia tells Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice.”

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“The quality of mercy is not strained,” I said.

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The quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath.

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“The quality of mercy is not strained,” she said.

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