Merchant of Venice: Act 1- Scene 1 (Workbook Answers of Extracts 5 to 8)
Merchant of Venice
Act 1
Scene 1
(Workbook Answers of Extracts 5 to 8)
Extract 5
Answer 1: Gratiano says that young people are filled with a lot of energy. They should spend this energy by having fun. If they stay at one place and don’t spend their energy, they are the same as the marble statue of their grandfather. Gratiano warns Antonio that if he remains serious all the time and doesn’t enjoy life, he will be infected with jaundice.
Answer 2:
(a) Some people cover their faces with a serious expression that remains unchanged like the cream on the surface of milk and as the algae covering the surface of ponds.
(b) maintain complete silence not to disturb the expression on the face.
Answer 3: In the extract, Gratiano says that there are people who try to obtain a reputation for wisdom, by remaining silent. Such people think that they have the authority of the Oracle. They want that when they speak, the others should be quiet.
Answer 4: ‘I am sir Oracle’ means ‘I am a very wise and important person like the Oracle.’ According to the Greek mythology, the Oracles were people who talked to Gods. So, they were respected by everyone and no one spoke in front of them. ‘Let no dog bark’ means the people who think of themselves as the Oracle, don’t let anyone else speak.
Answer 5: At the end of his speech, Gratiano advises Antonio not to act like those people who maintain silence to be known as wise. A little later, Bassanio says that Gratiano always says a lot of useless stuff. Finding something good in his talk is like finding two grains of wheat in chaff.
Extract 6
Answer 1: Bassanio and Antonio are in a street in Venice. Earlier Antonio asked Bassanio to tell him about his plans. Antonio further said that if Bassanio’s plan was honourable then he would surely help him with everything he has.
Answer 2: The given lines mean that at any rate Bassanio could pay the second loan and remain under debt of Antonio’s first loan.
Answer 3: Bassanio says that as a child, when he lost any arrow while shooting, he would shoot another arrow in the same direction. He would observe the second arrow very carefully to see where it landed. Thus, he often found both the arrows.
Answer 4: Bassanio proposes to pay back his previous loan as well as the present loan by carefully managing the spending of his second loan amount.
Answer 5: Earlier, Bassanio confesses to Antonio that he has spent his wealth by leading a life of luxury and spending more than he earns. As a result, he has huge debt to pay off. This proves that Bassanio is a spendthrift.
Extract 7
Answer 1: The words ‘fair speechless messages’ mean glances which are silent messages of love. Bassanio wants to say that sometimes he received lovely silent messages from Portia’s eyes. The words ‘nothing undervalued’ mean not less precious. Bassanio says that his Portia is no less precious than Cato’s daughter.
Answer 2: Brutus was a close friend of Julius Caesar. He betrayed Caesar and he was one OF the people who stabbed Caesar. His wife’s name was also Portia. Cato was the father of Portia and thus father-in-law of Brutus. They are referred to here to show that Portia of Belmont is as precious as Cato’s daughter and Brutus’s wife Portia.
Answer 3: The passage says that suitors came from all around the world to woo Portia and win her hand in marriage. This shows that Portia’s fame had spread all around the world.
Answer 4: According to Greek mythology, there was an island named Colchos. On this island there was an Oak tree on which the golden fleece of a ram (male sheep) was hung. This was taken by a hero named Jason after defeating many monsters. ‘Golden fleece’ is significant because Bassanio compares Portia to the golden fleece,and all the suitors to Jason.
Answer 5: Bassanio describes Portia as a rich and beautiful lady with golden hair. She is a woman of great qualities. Suitors come from around the world to woo her. She is as precious as Brutus’s wife and Cato’s daughter, Portia. Antonio is involved in Bassanio’s romance because Bassanio asks for money from Antonio.He needs the money to go to Belmont and win Portia’s hand in marriage.
Extract 8
Answer 1: Antonio is unable to help Bassanio at once because he has no money in his hand as all his ventures are at sea.
Answer 2: The sum was three thousand ducats. It was required urgently for Bassanio to go to Belmont and present himself before Portia as a worthy suitor.
Answer 2: The sum was three thousand ducats. It was required urgently for Bassanio to go to Belmont and present himself before Portia as a worthy suitor.
Answer 3: Antonio instructs Bassanio to go to the market and find a merchant who will lend him money against Antonio’s guarantee.
Answer 4: Antonio says that he is ready to stretch the credit to the limit so that Bassanio can go to Belmont to woo Portia.
Answer 5: Antonio is a loyal friend and a generous man. He is ready to do anything to help his friend. In comparison, Bassanio is a spendthrift who spends more than he earns. He regularly takes advantage of Antonio’s generosity. Antonio is a melancholic man who is bored of life but Bassanio is a romantic man who wants to marry Portia.