This scene focuses on the Prince of Arragon's choice of the three caskets. The Prince of Morocco's choice was straightforward and simple. He chose the gold casket; it seemed to be the most obvious, most desirable choice. In contrast, the Prince of Arragon's choice is done with more prudence. The prince is a proud man; he seems older than Morocco and almost bloodless, compared to Morocco's fiery charismatic bearing. Often, Shakespeare makes his characters' names suggest their primary qualities; here, "Arragon" was probably chosen for its resemblance to "arrogant." At any rate, Arragon is arrogant, a temperament befitting a Spanish grandee of noble blood, a familiar and conventional figure on the Elizabethan stage.
Once again, we hear the ambiguous inscriptions read for us, and we ourselves puzzle over the enigma of the metals and their relationship to the inscriptions. Arragon considers the caskets, but he does not make Morocco's obvious choice. If gold represents "what many men desire," then Arragon's powerful belief in his own superiority to "the fool multitude that choose by show" makes him reject it. We can agree with that logic, but we have to reject his reasoning ultimately because it is based on his absolute assumption of his own superiority to the multitude.
The silver inscription, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves," has an immediate appeal for Arragon. It prompts his observations on "merit" (35-48), in which he laments the fact that there is so much "undeserved dignity" in the world; he means those who are given honor without coming by it legitimately, through the "true seed" of noble inheritance. The man is a snob; he has absolutely no doubts about what he deserves, and since his nobility is inherited nobility, he can safely (he thinks) choose the silver casket and "assume desert."
