EXTRA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE Act I: Scene 2 ICSE Class 9 & 10

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ACT 1 SCENE II.

1 . Who is Nerissa? What is her relationship with Portia? Where are Portia and Nerissa ? Give the significance of that place.

_ Nerissa is Portia’s lady-in-waiting and a close confidant. She is a smart lady with a sharp tongue and a true sense of humor.

Portia and Nerissa shares a strong bond of friendship. Portia completely trusted Nerissa and she confesses all her sorrows and happiness to Nerissa. Nerissa feels happy in Portia’s happiness and sympathizes her when she becomes frustrated or sad.

Portia and Nerissa are at Belmont. Belmont is a rich land and many suitors from all around the world comes to Belmont to participate in the lottery of casket to marry the most beautiful as well as intelligent lady that is Portia.

2 . How does Nerissa explains the reason of Portia’s tiredness ? And what was happiness according to Nerissa?

_ Portia confessed Nerissa that she was tired of the great world. To that Nerissa says that she was tired in spite of her abundant good fortune and hence concludes that the one who has too much of everything is as sick as the one who starve as they have nothing.

According to Nerissa there is no happiness in too much of anything or in having nothing but happiness lies in between that is mid-way between poverty and riches. The one who has too much of anything will age sooner and the one who has just enough of anything will live a longer life.

3 . Explain briefly why was Portia sad and tired.

_ Portia’s dead father devised a lottery of casket and according to the rules , the one who chooses the correct one will become eligible to marry Portia. Portia was sad and tired because she didn’t had the right to choose husband of her choice. She could neither choose the person she likes nor reject the one she dislikes. Her marriage was totally dependent on suitor’s choosing the right casket. This made her terribly tired of the great world .

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4 . Give the difference between Antonio and Portia’s melancholy.

_ Antonio’s melancholic mood had no specific reasons. He was neither sad because of his business venture nor because of love life. Antonio did not himself knew the reason behind his melancholy. His melancholy made him so depressed that he sometimes forgot his own identity which troubled him as well as his friends. Antonio’s melancholy might be an indication of some future happenings.

On the other hand, Portia had a specific cause behind her melancholic mood. She was a obedient daughter and hence couldn’t disobey her dead father’s wish regarding her marriage. Also, she was sad , because she didn’t had the freedom to choose her own husband. She could neither choose the one she likes nor reject  the one she dislikes. Her fortune completely relied on the will of her dead father.

5 . What did Nerissa say about Portia’s dead father?

_ Nerissa praised Portia’s father by saying that he was always a virtuous and a holy man. He devised this lottery of casket to check who truly loved Portia. This lottery would be a character test of true love and this will ensure that Portia doesn’t regret choosing life partner. This shows the caring and loving nature of a father.

6 . Describe briefly about the lottery of casket.

_ The lottery of casket was deviced by Portia’s dead father. This lottery would determine the future of Portia. The one who chooses the correct one amongst the three that is gold , silver and lead would marry Portia. This was a test of character whether the man truly loved Portia or loved just her wealth. Portia was so beautiful and intelligent that suitors from all around the world came to Belmont by overcoming hundreds of hurdles just to try their luck .

7 . What were the reaction of Portia and Nerissa to the lottery of casket?

_ Portia showed least interest towards the lottery of casket. She was anxious about this idea as she didn’t know who is going to choose the right casket. She was also sad because she didn’t had the freedom to choose the person she loves and reject the one she dislikes. This  made her sad , depressed, tired of the great world.

On the other hand Nerissa had a very positive outlook towards the lottery of casket. She praises Portia’s dead father for devising such lottery which would actually test the real character of a man . By seeing Portia’s negative outlook regarding the casket she assures her that the one she loves would surely choose the correct casket.

8 . Who was the first suitor Nerissa named? What description did Portia give about him?

_ The first suitor Nerissa named was Neapolitan Prince from Naples.

Portia described him as an inexperienced young man just like a young horse. He does nothing but talks to his horse whole day long. He considers it as a great merit that he can shoe his own horse.

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9 . Who was County Palatine? Why did he come to Belmont?

_ County Palatine was a local ruler or a nobleman from Palatine, the region on the west bank of Rhine.

He came to Belmont to participate in the lottery of casket deviced by Portia’s dead father. He came here to try his luck and test whether he was eligible to marry Portia.

10 . How did Portia described County Palatine?

_ Portia said that County Palatine was a depressed soul . He did nothing except frowning. . He heard marry tales but still didn’t had a single sign of smile in his face. Portia feared that he would completely get  converted into a weeping philosopher when he turns old as he was surrounded by an unpleasant sadness during his youth. Portia said that she would rather marry a death’s head(skull ) than to marry him and prays god to protect herself from him.

11 . Who is the weeping philosopher? Why is he referred to in the extract?

_ Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who is considered as the “weeping philosopher”. He had a substandard opinion of human affairs. He became so depressed and frustrated of mankind’s stupidity that he went to live alone in the mountains faraway from human follies.

County Palatine did nothing except frowning. He remained so depressed that he didn’t even smile listening to happy tales. So Portia feared that he may turn into a weeping philosopher when he turns old due to his depressed nature.

 12 . Who was the next suitor named by Nerissa ? What were the similarities between him and Neapolitan Prince?

_ Nerissa next named the French Lord , Monsieur Le Bon.

Earlier, in this scene Portia described Neapolitan Prince as an inexperienced young man like a young horse who talks only about his horse whole day long. The French Lord even talks more about his horse than Neapolitan Prince. This was a striking similarity between the two.

13 . How was the French Lord compared to County Palatine?

_ County Palatine did nothing except frowning which made him so depressed that he did not smile by hearing marry tales. The French Lord had quite similar character with him . He had a more exaggerated bad habit of frowning than County Palatine.

14 . What character sketch did Portia give about French Lord?

_ Portia described French Lord as “ he is every man in no man” which means he has everybody else’s personality but had no personality of his own which would make him unique from others. He immediately starts jumping up and down out of excitement when he heard the throstle( the common English bird) sing. He is such a fool that he draws his own sword against his own shadow. Portia said marrying French Lord would be like marrying twenty husband’s as he had everybody else’s characteristics.

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15 . What would happen if the French Lord would hate Portia or would love her passionately?

 _The French Lord was a person of mixed character and did not had a personality of his own . So, Portia had no interest in him as marrying him was like marrying to twenty husbands. Portia said that if the French Lord would hate her she would not mind and forgive him but if he would love her madly she would never return his love.

16 . Who was the next suitor named by Nerissa? Describe his external appearance.

_ The next suitor was Falconbridge, the young baron of England.

The young barren of England was very strangely and oddly dressed and not well mannered. He bought his jacket from Italy, his breeches from France, his had from Germany and his behavior from everywhere.

17 . What was the main reason of Portia for rejecting the young baron of England?

_ If the young baron of England would win the lottery of casket, then there would be a lack of communication between him and Portia. Portia could say nothing to him as neither Falconbridge understands him nor she does. He neither understands Latin , French or Italian and Portia had very little knowledge about English.

18 . How does the dressing pattern of the young baron throw light on the sense of clothing of Englishmen?

_  The young Baron dressed himself in a very strange and odd manner. He bought his jacket from Italy, breeches from France and his hat from Germany. This shows that the Englishmen during Shakespeare’s time had no dressing sense of their own and were more attracted towards the style and fashion sense of the foreign countries.

19 . Who was the neighbor of the young baron? Give a brief description.

_ The Scottish lord was the neighbor of the young baron.

Portia was not impressed by the Scottish Lord. She made fun of him and called him a coward because of his foolish deeds. He was given a blow from the Englishman but didn’t return the blow immediately instead he said that he would return the favor when he would be able to return that. And Portia guessed that the young baron was the guarantee of that bond.

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20 .  What type of relationship is revealed among the English, the French and the Scots?

_ From the context we get to know about the alliances between the French and the Scots. They made alliances against England when England and the Scots fought against each other where the French supported the Scots.

21 . Who was the next suitor? And how did Portia described about his behavior?

_ The next suitor was the young German, the Duke of Saxony’s nephew.

Portia said that the young German behaved very badly when he was sober and he also behaved the worst  when he   was drunk. When he was at his best be he is worst than a man and he is at his worst he was little better than a beast . Portia would prefer to manage without him instead of marrying him.

22 . What was Portia’s plan against the young German?

_  Portia could never accept him as her husband . That’s why Portia planned to keep a keep a deep glass of Rhenish wine on the wrong casket . Portia guaranteed that the devil would choose the casket which had the wine in it and happily depart from Belmont. Portia said she could do anything but she won’t marry a drunkard.

23 . Give the meaning of the following:-

1.  When he is worst , he is better than a beast.
2. Set a deep glass of Rhenish wine on the contrary casket.

_ 1 . Portia said this to the young German that he is at his best he is worst than a man and when he is at his worst he behaves better than a beast.

2 . To divert his mind, Portia said Nerissa to place a large glass of Rhenish wine in the wrong casket which would divert his mind and will make him choose the wrong casket.

24 . What is sponge? Why is the young German is compared with a sponge?

_ A sponge is something which absorbs or soaks up liquid. The young German is referred to as sponge because he absorbs all the liquor . He was a complete drunkard and did not knew how to behave. At his best he was worst than a man and at his worst he was little better than a beast.

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25 . What good news did Nerissa revealed to Portia regarding the suitors?

_  By seeing Portia being worried, Nerissa consoled her by saying that she need not fear as the suitors have informed her that after hearing the terms and conditions of the lottery of casket, they would rather prefer to return back to their kingdom than to participate in the lottery by risking everything they had.

26 . Describe in brief about Sibylla.

_ Sibylla is a Greek word which meant “prophetess”. Sibyl of Cumae was granted a wish by goddess Apollo. According to the wish , she would live for as many years as the grains of sand she held in her hands. She was considered as the ageless old woman. But she failed to ask for eternal youth and hence goddess Apollo allowed her body to wither. As a result her body grew smaller with age and was kept in a jar.

27 . Give description about Diana.

_  Diana was considered as the “ Bright Goddess” . In Greek mythology she was known as the goddess of virginity. She was also the goddess of moon and of hunting. Also, she was in connection with the wild animals and the woodlands. She was a symbol of chastity.

28 . Why are “Sibylla” and “Diana” referred here? And what light does it throws on Portia’s character?

_ Portia said  Nerissa that she would live as old as Sibylla and  die as chaste as Diana but wouldn’t marry anyone until someone fulfills the conditions imposed by her father regarding her marriage. This shows how loyal and obedient daughter Portia was. She stayed loyal to her father’s will even if she knew that her happiness was at stake.

29 . About whom did Nerissa remind Portia? What was Portia’s reaction?

_  Nerissa remind Portia about a Venetian, a scholar and a soldier of his father’s time who came with the company of the Marquis of Montferrat( the title of an Italian nobleman). Portia showed her interest towards that man and said that she remembered him, his name is Bassanio. This shows her excitement and interest towards Bassanio.

30 . What compliment did Nerissa give to Bassanio?

_ Portia said that out of all the men that her foolish eyes had looked upon, Bassanio was the best who deserves the fair lady Portia. Portia says that she remembers him very well and he is worth of Nerissa’s praise.

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31 . What information did the servant give to Portia?

_  The servant informed Portia about the departure of the four suitors. On the other hand, the messenger of the fifth suitor informed about the arrival of the Prince of Morocco who will reach Belmont that night to test his luck by participating in the lottery of casket.

32 . What was Portia’s reaction to that?

_  Portia said she could offer a good welcome to the fifth suitor the way she bid farewell to the other four suitors even if she was tired of them . She then says that if he had the condition of a saint and complexion of a devil , then he would rather prefer to hear her sins and grant forgiveness like a holy man to than marry her. She was tired as she shuts the gate upon one suitor and at the very next moment another suitor knocks at the door.

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