MERCHANT OF VENICE ACT 1 SCENE 2
Extract
I
1. What has Portia just
said in response to which Nerissa speaks these words?
Portia has just said that she can neither
choose the one she likes nor refuse the one she dislikes because the choice of
her husband depends on the lottery of caskets devised according to her late
father’s will.
2. Describe the lottery
referred to in the extract.
The lottery refers to the choice of the right
casket containing Portia’s portrait from a among the three caskets of gold,
silver and lead. The suitor who will make the right choice as per the will of
Portia’s father will win her in marriage.
3. Give the reaction of
Portia as well as of Nerissa to the lottery.
Initially, Portia appears to be anxious over the
prospect of choosing her husband through a lottery devised according to
her father’s will. She feels sad as she can neither choose the one she likes
nor refuse the one she dislikes as her husband. But later on she accepts her
father’s will. Nerissa’s reaction to the lottery was positive. She calls
Portia’s father pious and asserts that good men do have inspirations at the
time of death. She consoles Portia by saying that she will be chosen correctly
by a person whom she truly loves.
4. Give the meaning of
“never be chosen by any rightly, but one who you shall rightly love.”
These lines mean that Portia will be chosen
correctly by a person whom she truly loves.
5. Portia is melancholic
in the beginning of the scene as it was the case with Antonio in the previous
scene. What is the difference between Antonio’s melancholy and that Portia?
Portia’s melancholy is the result of her anxiety
over the prospect of her future husband while the cause of Antonio’s melancholy
is unknown.
6. How does this scene
show a mood of melancholy, anxiety and suspense?
The scene show a mood of melancholy,
anxiety and suspense. The mood of melancholy and anxiety is due to the prospect
of Portia’s future husband to be decided by the lottery designed according to
her deceased father’s will. This also creates an atmosphere of suspense. The
conversation between Nerissa and Portia, Portia’s comments on the
suitors and Nerissa’s reference to Bassanio as ‘the best deserving
a fair lady’ increase the elements of anxiety and suspense in the scene.
Extract 2
Portia:
He doth nothing………………God defend me from these
two!
1. Where are Portia and
Nerissa? What are they generally discussing about? In what mood is Portia
in the scene?
Portia and Nerissa are in a room in Portia’s
house at Belmont. They are discussing the lottery of caskets and about the
suitors who have already come to try their luck. In this scene, Portia is in a
mood of melancholy and anxiety.
2. Who is County
Palatine? Why has he come to Belmont?
County Palatine was the Count from Palatinate,
the region on the west bank of the Rhine in Germany. He was a powerful lord who
came to Belmont to win Portia’s hand.
3. Who is the first
prince described by Portia? What does she say about him?
The first prince described by Portia is the
Neapolitan Prince from Naples, Italy. Portia describes him as a dashing
youngster and as wild as a young horse. He does nothing but talks of his horse.
He further considers his ability to shoe a horse himself as a great
accomplishment.
4. Who is the weeping
philosopher? In which context is he referred to in the extract?
The weeping philosopher refers to Heraclitus of
Esphesus. He was a Greek philosopher who lamented the stupidity and folly of
mankind and wept at everything in the world. Portia refers to him to describe
County Palatine. She feels that since County Palatine is usually gloomy in his
young age, he will become a sad philosopher like Heraclitus when he grows old.
5. Give the meaning
of:
A) An you will not have me, choose
If you do not want me , choose anyone you wish
B) A death’s-head with a bone
in his mouth
A skull with a bone in its mouth. The
emblem of a skull with two bones crossed underneath was usually known as
‘death’s head.’
6. Give a
character-sketch of the County Palatine.
County Palatine is described as gloomy and
self-conceited person. He is always frowning as if to say that if Portia
will not marry him, she may choose someone else. He is morose and sullen that
even jovial stories don’t make him laugh. He has an abrupt manner of speech and
may become a sad philosopher like Heraclitus when he grows old.
Extract III
Portia:
God made him, and therefore let him pass for a
man…….I shall never requite him.
1. What has Portia said
earlier about Neapolitan prince and his horse? Which characteristic is common
between Monseieur Le Bon and the Count Palatine?
Earlier Portia described the Neapolitan Prince
as wild as a young horse and so attached to his horse that he always
spoke about the horse only. The Count Palatine and Le Bon share the common
characteristic of frowning.
2. Give the meaning of:
A) He is every man in no man: He has
every man’s characteristic but no personality of his own
B) He falls straight a -capering:
He starts to jump about. Monsieur Le Bon is so fickle-minded that if he hears a
thrush sing, he starts to jump about.
3. How does the French
lord react to the singing of a thrush?
When he hears the singing of a thrush, the
French Lord starts jumping immediately.
4. What would happen:
a) If Portia were to
marry the Count?
It would be as if she were married to twenty
husbands as he is never one man but twenty men by turns.
b) If he were to despise
Portia?
If he were to despise Portia, Portia would not
be in least angry and would forgive him.
c) If he were to love
Portia passionately?
Portia could never return his love since she
could never possibly love twenty husbands.
5. Give any three
negative qualities of the French Lord, as described by Portia.
Portia says that the French Lord is more
attached to his horse than the Neapolitan Prince and excels Count Palatine in
frowning. If he hears a thrush singing, he starts jumping immediately. Further,
if he does not have anybody to fence with, he will take his own shadow as
adversary.
Extract IV
Portia
You know I say nothing……………………and his
behaviour everywhere.
1. How is the young
baron’s external appearance described in the passage? What light does it throw
on the national pattern of clothes of Englishmen?
The baron’s external appearance is described as
odd and strange. He is oddly dressed and very odd in behaviour too. He wears an
Italian jacket and breeches in the French fashion. He seems to have got his hat
from Germany and his manners from everywhere. Englishmen of Shakespeare’s days
had fondness for the manners and clothes of foreigners.
2. What shows that the
English Lord has poor knowledge of the European languages? Why does Portia find
it difficult to interact with him?
Portia’s sentiment that the Englishman did not
know Latin, French or Italian shows that he had very poor knowledge of European
Languages. Portia found it difficult to converse with him as he did not know
Latin, French or Italian and Portia’s knowledge of English was very poor.
3. Give the meaning of:
a) He is a proper man’s
picture
He is handsome and fine-looking
b) How oddly he suited:
He is dressed very strangely
4. What is referred to as
a ‘dumb show’? why is the baron said to be a dumb show?
The word dumb-show refers to a play in which all
characters act without speaking , that is by gestures. A pantomime is a dumb
show. Here it means that the Englishman is unable to speak foreign languages
and had to converse by means of signs as in a dumb show.
5. Give a brief
description of the Scottish Lord
The Scottish Lord is not impressive. Portia
speaks about his cowardice in a sarcastic way by calling him kind-hearted as he
did not return the Englishman’s blow immediately.
6. What type of
contemporary relationship among England, Scotland and France is reflected in
the description of the Scottish Lord?
The description of the Scottish Lord is a
reference to the frequent alliances between the Scots and the French again
England when Scotland was at war with England.
Extract V
Portia
Very vilely in the morning, when he is
sober………………..ere I will be married to a sponge.
1. How does the
young German behave when he is sober and when he is drunk? If the worse happens
to Portia which would compel her to marry him, what would she do?
When sober, the young German is less than a man
in behaviour and when drunk he is no better than a beast. If the worse
happens to Portia, she will manage to do without him.
2. Give the meaning of:
a) When he is worst, he
is little better than a beast
When is drunk, he is no better than a beast
b) Set a deep glass of
Rhenish wine on the contrary casket
Place a tall goblet of Rhenish wine on the
wrong casket
3. What plan does
Portia make to prevent the young German from choosing the right casket?
To prevent the young German from choosing the
right casket, Portia instructed Nerissa to place a tall goblet of Rhenish wine
on the wrong casket. Portia was sure that the German suitor will not be
able to resist the temptation of his national drink even if the picture of the
devil himself was within.
4. Why is the young
German referred to as a ‘sponge’?
A sponge constantly absorbs water. Similarly, a
drunkard, who constantly take liquor is called a sponge. Since the young German
is a drunkard, Portia calls him a sponge.
5. After Portia’s
speech, what does Nerissa say to console her about the suitors?
Nerissa tells Portia to set aside her fears
concerning the suitors. She says that they have informed her of their
decision to go back home and not to press their courtship further unless
Portia’s father’s decree concerning the caskets can be set aside and they
may woo her in an ordinary way.
Extract VI
Portia
If I live to be as old as Sibylla…………………..a fair
departure.
1. What was Portia’s
father’s will as far as Portia’s marriage is concerned?
Portia’s father’s will was that her marriage
will be decided by the lottery of the three caskets. The suitor, who chooses
the right casket containing Portia’s picture will be her husband.
2. Who is Sibylla and who
is Diana? Why are they referred to in the extract?
In Ovid’s metamorphoses, Sibyl was prophetess.
She was granted a wish by god Appllo that she would live for as many years as
the grains of sand she held in her hand. She was the ageless old woman.
Diana was the goddess of moon and hunting. She
is known as the virgin goddess. They are referred to here to explain Portia’s
resolve to remain a virgin like Diana even if she lives to be as old as
Sibyl of Cumae unless she is won in marriage by some suitor in the lottery of
casket.
3. What does Nerissa say
to introduce Bassanio? What were the feelings of Portia for Bassanio in this
scene?
To introduce Bassanio, Nerissa recalls the visit
of a young Venetian along with the Marquis o f Montferrat, when Portia’s father
was alive. He was a scholar and a soldier. In this scene, Portia’s feelings for
Bassanio are quite positive. She recalls his name and tells Nerissa that he
fully deserves her praise. Her simple reply shows that she is already in love
with Bassanio.
4. In what scene can we
say that the opening of the first two scenes of Act I give the plots of the
play?
The opening of the first two scenes of Act I
gives the plot of the paly. The two main plots of the play are the bond-story
and the casket -story. The bond-story is initiated in Scene I while the
casket-story is initiated in Scene 2 of Act I.
5. Name the six suitors
given in this scene. Give two characteristics of each suitor described by
Portia.
i) The
Neapolitan Prince from Naples, Italy, was a dashing youngster, as wild as a
horse. He always talked about his horse.
ii) The
County Palatine was always frowning and unusually gloomy.
iii) Le
Bon is from France, who had the characteristic of every man and had no
personality of his own.
iv) Falconbridge
from England, though handsome was strangely and unmannerly dressed and did not
know Latin, French or Italian.
v) The
Scottish Lord, was a coward and did not repay the Englishman who gave him a
blow.
vi) The
Duke of Saxony was drunkard. He in his sober moments, behaved less than a
man and when drunk no better than a beast.
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