| KL III.v.6 | [Cornwall to Edmund] a provoking merit set a-work [or: sense 1] |
| R2 I.iii.156 | [Mowbray to King Richard] A dearer merit ... / Have I deserved [i.e. a better reward] |
| TNK V.i.128 | [Palamon praying to Venus] Give me the victory of this question, which / Is true love's merit [i.e. the reward of the true lover] |