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Merchant of Venice Act 1 - Scene 3 (Workbook Answers)    Extract 1:   Answer 1: Antonio is bound to a bond according to which if he fails to repay the amount in due time, Shylock will be entitled to take an exact pound of flesh from any part of Antonio’s body that he may wish. It was very unwise of Antonio to misjudge Shylock’s intentions and sign such a fatal bond.  Answer 2: Can you help me and will you do me this favour?  Answer 3: When Shylock says the above words, he means that Antonio is a reliable man, whose surety is sufficient to give a loan.  Answer 4: Shylock enumerates the possible dangers to Antonio’s merchandise - ships could be broken as they are made of wood; the sailors being merely human beings, can be drowned; there are pirates in the sea; and there are all the dangers of the ocean such as storms and dangerous rocks.  Answer 5: Antonio can be considered as a prudent businessman as his wealth is distributed over the whole world. One of Antonio’s ship is on its j

Merchant of Venice Act 1  Scene 2 (Workbook Answers) Extract 1 Ans 1: Portia has just said that she doesn’t have the freedom to choose her own husband. The person she has to marry will be decided by the lottery of caskets created by her father. She can neither say yes to a person whom she likes, nor refuse a person whom she dislikes.   Ans 2:  Portia’s father had made 3 caskets - one made of gold, one made of silver and the last one made of lead. The suitors had to choose a casket from the three. If they chose the right casket, they would win Portia’s hand in marriage.   Ans 3:  Portia was anxious about the lottery of caskets, because she did not have any choice in the matter of her own marriage. Portia wanted to be a good daughter, so she decided to follow her father’s will. Nerissa was positive about the lottery. She believed that Portia’s father was a great wise man and only a worthy man would choose the correct casket.    Ans 4:  The given lines mean the right casket will be chose

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 ver

Merchant of Venice Act 1 Scene 1 (Workbook Answers 1 to 4) Extract 1 Answer1: Antonio and his friends are in a street in Venice. Antonio says that although he is sad, he doesn't know the reason for his sadness or the nature of his sadness.   Answer 2:   (a). how it originated  (b). a dull sadness  (c). That I have much difficulty in recognising myself. Answer 3: Salarino says that Antonio is sad because he is worried about his ships that are sailing in the sea with valuable cargo.   Answer 4: Salarino compares Antonio’s ships to wealthy people who look down upon people who aren’t as rich as them. He says that Antonio’s ships are huge and when they sail in the sea, they look down upon the smaller ships and boats. According to Salarino, those smaller ships show respect to Antonio’s ships. Answer 5: Shakespeare presents Antonio as a melancholic man to portray that he is a man who is bored with life and doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. It also creates a tragi

Click on the links below to download Act 1 Scene 1 & Scene 2 PDFs Scene 1 - Q. 1 & Q. 2     Scene 1 - Q. 3 to Q. 6     Scene 1 - Q. 7 & Q. 8; Scene 2 - Complete     If unable to download PDFs, see the images below