MERCHANT OF VENICE ACT 3 SCENE 1

                                                               ACT III Scene 1     

                                           CONTEXT QUESTIONS 

1. (i) To honour Arragon as a prince, trumpets were sounded as he entered the room and Portia addressed him as 'noble prince'.

 (ii) Arragon is bound by ,the oath to observe three conditions. First, he must never reveal to any other person which of the caskets he has selected. Second, if he does not win Portia, he should not woo any other lady. Third, if he chooses wrongly he must depart at once without further words. He explicitly kept the last condition at the end of the scene.

 (iii) It is not wise to arrange marriages through a lottery system where chance plays a significant role. Portia initially feels that her fate is sealed by the lottery of caskets designed by her father. However, later she accepts her father's will and asserts that she will abide by it and would remain a virgin like Diana if no suitor wins her in marriage. Nerissa justifies the lottery of caskets saying that her father was a virtuous man, who must have had her well-being at heart. So, according to her father's will she will be chosen by someone who will truly love her.

 (iv) Prince Arragon is too proud and self-opinionated. While making his selection, he calls the common people as 'fool multitude' and again as 'barbarous multitudes'. He says that he will not act according to what common men choose and put himself on the level of the ignorant and the foolish. Secondly, Arragon thinks himself to be most deserving because of his inherited nobility.

 2. (i) The inscription on the gold casket says 'who chooses me shall gain what many men desire'. The speaker chooses the silver casket.

(ii) Arragon says that the words 'many men' probably refer to the foolish majority, who are so slow-witted and who have so little wisdom that they judge only by appearances and outward glitter. Their untaught eyes never see the inner meaning of things, but is content to remain on the outside like the swallow.

 (iii) Arragon compares the multitude to the martlet. The martlet, instead of seeking a sheltered place for its nest, constructs it in the most

(vi) After the extract, Salarino compares the character of. Jessica ait Shylock. He says that Jessica. is a complete contrast to Shylock as black is to white or as ordinary red wine is to expensive white Rhenish wine. 

3. (i) A 'bankrupt' means a person who has not enough money to pay off his just debts. 'Prodigal' means a spendthrift who spends money recklessly. The man has gone bankrupt because his ship has been wrecked in the English Channel with its rich cargo. He is a spendthrift who has mismanaged his affairs and has gone bankrupt. That is why he is called a prodigal by Shylock.

 (ii) The Venetian Stock Exchange where the merchants used to met to transact business deals, was known as the Rialto. The man used to go to Rialto smiling and so self-satisfied because he was sure of his financial position as he owned a number of ships carrying merchandise to the four corners of the world. Shylock says these words to compare Antonio's financial position in the past with his present bankrupt condition.

 (iii) The man referred to in the extract used to insult Shylock. He used to disgrace him, laugh at his losses, mock at his gains, despise his race and interfere in his business deals simply because he was a Jew.

 (iv) The bankrupt caused loss to Shylock in Venice by lending money without interest and thus, affecting Shylock's business of lending money at exhorbitant rate of interest.

 (v) The bankrupt is likely to go into a loss as his ship has been wrecked with its rich cargo. Besides, he is to pay three thousand ducats he had borrowed from Shylock for Bassanio. Such a loss will favour Shylock to pursue his plan of revenge. 

4. (i) The thief referred to in the extract is Shylock's daughter, Jessica. The thief had stolen his money, gold and gems, including a diamond costing two thousand ducats. After the theft, Shylock has to spend money to locate Jessica. So he has suffered loss upon loss due to the theft.

 (ii) Tubal is another Jew, a friend of Shylock. He went to Genoa to search for Jessica, who has eloped with Lorenzo.

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

 (iv) One of Antonio's large ships has been wrecked on the way back from Tripolis. This was the ill-luck that befell Antonio. Shylock was happy over the news as his chances of taking revenge on Antonio became brighter.

 (v) Shylock uses the expression satisfaction and revenge in the context of his efforts to retrieve his lost money and eloped daughter. His daughter, Jessica had stolen money, precious stones, and many other jewels. His efforts to locate her and retrieve them have not succeeded. So, he has neither the satisfaction of getting back his lost daughter and money nor taking revenge on the Christians, who caused her elopement. 

(vi) In the context of the theft, Shylock makes a reference to his bachelor days. His wife Leah gave a turquoise ring to him before their marriage. His daughter Jessica stole that ring before eloping and exchanged it for a monkey.

 5. (i) Tubal says that Antonio is undone because he has heard from some of the sailors he met in Genoa that one of Antonio's large ships has been wrecked on the way back ,from Tripolis.

 (ii) In this scene, Shylock is in a mood of grief. He feels as if h. e is the only one in the world suffering from ill luck. Tubal is said to be torturing Shylock by giving alternate accounts of Antonio's s losses and Jessica's extravagances. He alternately makes Shlock elated and depressed for apparently no reason. He elates him by the news of wreckage of Antonio's ship on its way back from Tripolis, while he depresses him by saying that he could not find Jessica and that she had spent eighty ducats on one evening and exchanged a ring with a merchant for a monkey. 

(iii) Antonio's misfortune makes Shylock elated 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 would avenge his hatred for Antonio and the Christians. Further, if Antonio is removed from Venice he can make profits as he likes.

 (iv) (a) A horde of monkeys. It means that Shylock would not have exchanged his turquoise ring even for a horde of monkeys.

(b) I can make as much profit as I like. It means that once Antonio is out of Venice, Shylock can make as much profit as he wants.

 (v) A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. Shylock's journey to the synagogue gives us the clue that he will take revenge on Antonio. Shylock believes in the old Mosaic law, which prescribed an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. So, Shylock feels he is justified in taking revenge against an enemy of his religion and race. 

(vi) Shylock's passion for revenge and his complete justification of it is given in this scene. He explains the insults he has suffered unjustly and his right to take revenge. He believes that he is doing as his enemies would do. The fierceness of his thirst for revenge is expressed in his final threat 'I will have the heart of him'. Shylock states that Jews are no different from Christians and they will follow their example in the matter of revenge too.