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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 O...

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 ...

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 prolix...

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   

   Click on the given links and download the PDFs Act 1 Scene 1 PDF Act 2 Scene 1 PDF   Act 2 Scene 2 PDF Act 2 Scene 3 PDF   Act 2 Scene 4 PDF   Images   Act I Scene 3 Act 2 Scene 1 Act 2 Scene 2 Act 2 Scene 3 Act 2 Scene 4