The Merchant of Venice pert 3

Last class we finished the book and within act 4 Portia gives a speech about mercy and justice, I found this quite interesting so the prompt I choose this week is, Portia’s speech and explain what Portia is saying about justice and mercy, and why is this important in the play?
First off, we will start with what Portia was saying in her speech. “The Quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” That is the first part of her speech. The way I interpreted this part is mercy is from God and later on in her speech she mentions we pray for mercy giving me this idea that mercy is from God. Another though this speech provoked is there is not that much mercy in the world and when it is used it's in a manner of forgiveness and beauty.
Portia’s speech played a major role in this act, scene, and book. It gave everyone something to think about, not just Shylock and the other characters but the audience too. What this also did was give the characters more depth, not just black and white. Portia’s speech may not of changed Shylock's mind on justice or mercy but it made everyone think on which one should of been chosen, and that is why I believe this speech play a major role in The Merchant of Venice.