merchant of venice content

Question 1

what is antonio’s ocupation

Answer 1

merchant of venice

Question 2

what is antonio’s mood as the play begins

Answer 2

lugubrious, sorrowful, somber

Question 3

how do antonio’s friends, Salarino and Salanio, account for antonio’s somber mood at the beginning of the play

Answer 3

they say that he is either worried about his ships, lovesick, or just his nature

Question 4

bassanio owes antonio money. why does he seek him out to talk to him in Act 1?

Answer 4

to borrow more money so he can court portia

Question 5

who is portia?

Answer 5

princess of belmont

Fate determined by 3 caskets

Question 6

what type of play is this

Answer 6

tragic comedy

Question 7

what are “argosies with portly sail”

Answer 7

huge ships with big sails

Question 8

what are the two settings of act 1 and what do each represent

Answer 8

rialto - trade bridge in venice- business

Belmont= romance

Question 9

describe the four suitors that portia mocks and how does she mock him?

Answer 9

German- drinks a lot
english- clothes are from different countries
italian- talks about horse
spanish- has too many personalities

Question 10

what are the three conditions that the suitors of portia must agree to

Answer 10

never to unfold to anyone= don’t marry
leave immediatly
don’t tell which casket they picked

Question 11

whom does launcelot leave, and whom does he go to work for

Answer 11

leaves- shylock

goes to-bassanio

Question 12

what promise does gratiano make to bassanio

Answer 12

Gratiano promises to not go wild/ crazy in belmont

Question 13

what does jessica compare her house to

Answer 13

hell

Question 14

who is shylock’s daughter

Answer 14

jessica

Question 15

how will jessica disguise herself

Answer 15

dresses up like a boy

torch-bearer

Question 16

who is jessica eloping with

Answer 16

lorenzo

Question 17

why doesn’t bassanio have his party

Answer 17

he decides to go off and court portia instead because the wind is right for sailing at the moment

Question 18

which casket does the prince of morroco chose? what is inside?

Answer 18

gold, a skull with a scroll

Question 19

which casket does arragon choose? what is inside

Answer 19

silver

portrait fo the head of a jester

Question 20

what is the rialto, and where is it?

Answer 20

trade bridge in venice

Question 21

two characters are idealized as perfect and pure

Answer 21

antonio and portia

Question 22

which character is a foil to antonio and portia

Answer 22

shylock- evil, corrupt, concerned with materialistic items and revenge

Question 23

how is the love of gratiano for nerissa different from teh love of bassanio for portia

Answer 23

physical vs. spiritual

Question 24

what does belmont represent

Answer 24

beauty, romance, state-of-mind

Question 25

what “fate” occurs in act 3 that motivates the remaining plot in the play –technical climax

Answer 25

Antonio’s ships sink

bassanio chooses lead casket

Question 26

give two examples in act 3 that illustrate the theme of appearance vs. reality

Answer 26

Portia and Nerissa tell lorenzo they are going to a monastery to pray
bassanio makes himself appear richer than he is to portia as he chooses a casket

Question 27

what pound of antonio’s flesh does shylock plan to take

Answer 27

heart

Question 28

why does shakespeare spend time developing the character of portia

Answer 28

powerful woman figure

wit, speaks well, heroine

Question 29

when are rhetorical questions used in act 3

Answer 29

when shylocks says his speech of jews, if they are pricked, do they not bleed

Question 30

what is shylock doing during the court proceeding

Answer 30

sharpening his knife

Question 31

who is bellario

Answer 31

learned doctor from padua/ lawyer

Question 32

who is balthasar

Answer 32

the person that portia acts as

Question 33

what is the duke’s opinion of shylock

Answer 33

he believes that shylock will give mercy at the last minute

Question 34

why will the duke follow the law

Answer 34

he must not set a precedence for not following the law in the future

Question 35

what happens to shylock’s money

Answer 35

one half goes to antonio

the other half he keeps but it is in a trust for jessica and lorenzo

Question 36

what is the subject of portia’s famous speech

Answer 36

mercy

Question 37

what has a brassy bosom, a heart of flint, and is a stormy adversary

Answer 37

shylock

Question 38

“you may as well go stand on the beach and bid the main flood bate his usual height” is spoken by Antonio about the futility of trying to stop shylock’s vengeance. Give two other examples t make his point.

Answer 38

Not expect the trees at the top of the mountain to sway in the wind
can’t stop a wolf from attacking a lamb

Question 39

what is an example that I discussed about a type of castration as a theme

Answer 39

jessice leaving shylock and becoming a Christian renders shylock unable to have Jewish Children

Question 40

what is the pyhtagorian theory that applies to Shylock

Answer 40

gratiano bleived that the soul of animals infused into men. wolf-shylock

Question 41

what good news does antonio receive at the end of the play

Answer 41

3 of his ships have arrived

Question 42

what good news does lorenzo receive

Answer 42

shylock’s inheritance

Question 43

who is argus and who referred to him in the play

Answer 43

100 eyed person- portia

Question 44

what is a cuckold

Answer 44

man who has been cheated on