Merchant of Venice Act 3 Scene 1 (Workbook Answers)

Extract I.

Q1. Where does this scene take place? Whom does 'she' refer to in the first line of the extract? What is said about her in the extract?

Ans. The scene takes place in a street in Venice. In the first line 'she' refers to the rumour or report which is personified as an old woman. When Salarino talks about Antonio's ship, Salanio wishes that rumour may prove to be a big liar in this case as any old woman who ever gossiped with our neighbours over her gingerbread cakes and made her neighbours believe that she mourned sincerely for the death of her third husband.

Q2. What was said earlier about the place where a ship of Antonio was wrecked? Where did the news about the ship-wreckage spread?

Ans. Earlier, it was told that Antonio's ship was wrecked in the sea, at a spot known as Goodwin. The news about the ship's wreckage spread at the Rialto, the place where the merchants met for transactions.

Q3. Give the meaning of: "without any slips of prolixity or crossing the plain highway of talk".

Ans. The given words mean: without speaking much. That is, coming directly to the point without wasting much time.

Q4. How does Shylock react to the loss of Antonio's ship?

Ans. Shylock was pleased to hear about the loss of Antonio's ship. He calls Antonio a beggar who used to come to market with a huge smile. He says that Antonio must keep his promise of paying back the loan.

Q5. What feelings for Antonio are expressed by Salarino and Salanio in this scene? Who enters the scene at this time? What does Salanio say about his daughter?

Ans. In the scene, Salanio and Salarino express their feelings of concern and sympathy for Antonio.

Shylock enters the scene at this time. When Shylock blames Salarino and Salanio for his daughters' elopement, Salarino says that there is difference between him and his daughter as there is between the colours black and white or as there is between red wine and white wine.

Extract II.

Q1. Whose flight is being talked about? Where has the person flown? With whom has the person flown?

Ans. The flight of Jessica is being talked about. She has flown to Belmont. Jessica has flown with Lorenzo.

Q2. What bad news, besides the flight of the bird, is given just before the arrival of Shylock?

Ans. Just before the arrival of Shylock, the news about the wreckage of Antonio's ship is given.

Q3. Give the meaning of: the bird was fledged; and then it is the complexion of them all to leave the dam.

Ans. The given words mean that it is the nature of a fully feathered young bird to leave the nest when it is old enough. He means to say that Jessica was old enough to leave her parents and start her own life.

Q4. What steps has Shylock taken to get back the flown bird?

Ans. Shylock took all possible steps to get back his daughter. He asked the Duke for justice and even persuaded him to check the ship in which Bassanio left for Belmont. Later, it was said that someone saw Lorenzo and Jessica in a gondola. Shylock took the help of his friend Tubal for finding and bringing back Jessica to him.

Q5. How does Salarino compare after the extract, the character of the flown bird with that of Shylock?

Ans. After the extract, Salarino compares the character of Jessica and Shylock. He says that Jessica is a complete contrast to Shylock just as black is to white or as ordinary red wine is to expensive white wine.

Extract III.

Q1. What is meant by a 'bankrupt' as well as a 'prodigal'? Why has the man gone bankrupt? Why is he called a prodigal?

Ans. A 'bankrupt' means a person who does not have enough money to pay off his debts. 

'Prodigal' means a spendthrift who spends money carelessly. 

The man has gone bankrupt because his ship was wrecked in the sea. He is a spendthrift who has spent his money carelessly and has gone bankrupt. That is why he is called a prodigal by Shylock.

Q2. What is known as Rialto? Why was the man said to go 'so smug upon the mart'?

Ans. The Venetian stock exchange, where the merchants used to meet to do their business deals, was known as the Rialto. The man used to go to Rialto smiling and satisfied, because he was sure of his financial position as he owned a number of ships. Shylock says these words to compare Antonio's financial position in the past with his present condition.

Q3. Give some incidents to show that the man referred to in the extract used to insult Shylock?

Ans. The man referred to in the extract is Antonio. He used to insult Shylock. Antonio insulted Shylock's business, made fun of his profit, spat on him, kicked him, heated his enemies and cooled his friends. Antonio hurt Shylock by doing these things because Shylock was a Jew.

Q4. How did the bankrupt cause loss to Shylock in Venice?

Ans. The bankrupt caused loss to Shylock in Venice by lending money without interest, and affecting Shylock's business of lending money at high rate of interest.

Q5. How is the bankrupt likely to go into a loss? How will such a loss affect Shylock as far as his revenge and financial position is concerned?

Ans. The bankrupt is likely to go into a loss as his ship has been wrecked. Besides he needs to pay back the 3000 ducats he had borrowed from Shylock for Bassanio. Such a loss will help Shylock to get his revenge.

Extract IV.

Q1. Who is the thief referred to in the extract? What had the thief stolen? What loss has Shylock suffered due to the theft?

Ans. The thief referred to in the extract is Shylock's daughter Jessica. The thief has stolen his money, gold and gems. After the theft, Shylock has to spend money to find Jessica. So he has suffered loss upon loss due to the theft.

Q2. Who is Tubal? Why did he go to Genoa?

Ans. Tubal is a friend of Shylock. He is also a Jew. He went to Genoa to search for Jessica who had eloped with Lorenzo.

Q3. What news did Tubal bring from Genoa about the thief?

Ans. Tubal brought the news that he went to the places in Genoa where he heard some news about Jessica but could not find her.

Q4. The extract refers to 'satisfaction' and 'revenge'. In what context are the expressions used by Shylock?

Ans. Shylock uses the expressions satisfaction and revenge in the context of his efforts to find his daughter and his money stolen by her. His efforts to find her and get the money back were failures. So he doesn't have the satisfaction of getting back his daughter and money. He also can't get revenge on the people who hurt him.

Q5. State what ill-luck befell Antonio. Why was Shylock happy over the news?

Ans. One of Antonio's large ships has been wrecked in the sea. This was the ill-luck that befell Antonio. Shylock was happy over the news as he could now take revenge on Antonio, if Antonio couldn't pay back the loan.

Extract V.

Q1. Why does Tubal say that Antonio is undone? What makes him say with certainty that Antonio is undone? Who is Leah? Why is she referred to in the extract?

Ans. Tubal says that Antonio is undone because he has heard from some sailors that one of Antonio's large ships has been wrecked in the sea. Leah was Shylock's wife. She is referred to in the extract because she had given a ring to Shylock, which was stolen by Jessica, who later sold it to buy a monkey.

Q2. In what mood is Shylock in the scene? How is Tubal said to be torturing him?

Ans. In this scene, Shylock is very sad. Tubal is said to be torturing him when he tells the news about his daughter. Tubal tells Shylock that he could not find his daughter, that his daughter spent eighty ducats in one night and that she exchanged his wife's ring for a monkey.

Q3. What is Shylock's reaction on hearing about Antonio's misfortune? How is he going to punish Antonio? What would he gain by his revengeful action?

Ans. Antonio's misfortune makes Shylock happy because he will be able to take his revenge on Antonio. He will punish Antonio by exacting a pound of flesh from any part of his body. By his revengeful action, he can remove Antonio from Venice, which will help to increase his business.

Q4. What is a synagogue? What can you conclude from Shylock's journey towards the synagogue?

Ans. A synagogue is a place of worship of the Jews. Shylock's journey to the synagogue shows us that he is a religious man and that he feels pride in his Jewish heritage.

Q5. In what way, by the end of the scene, does Shylock convince the audience that his attack on Antonio is without any mercy? Which character trait of Shylock is shown in this scene?

Ans. In this scene Shylock explains the insults he has suffered, for years, from Antonio. He says that he will do the same as his enemies. He says that he will take Antonio's heart. This shows that Shylock is a vengeful man who will suffer patiently and wait for the perfect opportunity to take his revenge.