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Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
Extract 1 of Merchant Of Venice Act 1
Antonio
In sooth, I know not why I am sad.
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff ’tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.
Question:-
(i) Where are Antonio and his friends? what does Antonio say about his sadness?
Answer:-
Antonio and his friends are in the street of Venice. Antonio says that he has been suffering from a strange melancholy. he doesn’t know the reason for his sadness makes him depressed and dull
Question:-
(ii) Give the meaning of:
(a) Whereof it is born:
(b) A want-wit sadness:
(c) That I have much ado to know myself:
Answer:-
(a) of what origin
(b) An absent-minded sadness
(c) that I have much difficulty in recognizing/knowing who I am.
Question:-
(iii) What reason does Salarino give as the probable cause of Antonio’s melancholy?
Answer:-
Salarino gives the probable cause of Anotnio’s melancholy that he is worried about the safety of his ships at sea or he has fallen in love.
Question:-
(iv) State in your own words the scene on the ocean as described by Salarino, when Antonio’s ships sailing.
Answer:-
Salarino compares Antonio’s ships sailing on the waves with the great lords and wealthy citizens, who look down on lesser men as they walk along the street. He says that compared to smaller ships, Antonio’s ships move swiftly on the sea with their canvas sails and look like grand spectacles or pageants of the sea.
Question:-
(iv) Why do you think that Antonio is presented as a melancholic character? what could be the cause for his melancholy?
Answer:-
Through Antonio’s melancholy, Shakespeare wants to portray three things:-
- By portrays Antonio as a whimsical person, who is too bored with life to care for the consequences of his actions.
- Antonio’s melancholy has created a tragic atmosphere, which is suitable for the play
- Antonio’s melancholy creates a sense of mystery for the audience.
There may be various causes for his melancholy:-
He may be melancholic by nature.
He may be suffering from loneliness.
He has a foreboding of some approaching disaster.
Also read: Merchant Of Venice Complete Workbook Answer
Extract No. 2 of Merchant Of Venice Act 1
Salanio
Believe me, sir had I such venture forth,
The ‘better part of my affection would
Be with my hopes abroad. I should be still
Plucking the grass, to know where sits the wind;
Peering in maps for ports, and piers, and roads;
And every object that might make me fear
Misfortune to my ventures, out of doubt
Would make me sad.
Question:-
(i) Where would Salanio’s attention be if he had business ventures abroad? Why he be ‘Plucking the grass’? What else would he be doing in that context?
Answer:-
If Salanio had business ventures abroad, his thoughts would be fixed on the dangers to his ventures and methods of securing them. He would be plucking the blades of grass and casting them in the air to know the direction of the wind, to see if it was blowing in a direction favorable to the course of his ships or not. Further, he would look into maps for harbors, channels, and open road-steads near the shore where his ships could anchor in case of need.
Question:-
(ii) What would make Salarino fear some danger to his ventures? Give two examples from the opening scene to show how some objects remind Salarino of the danger to the ships.
Answer:-
Every thought would make Salarino fearful of danger to his business ventures. examples are, When cooling his soup by blowing on it, it reminded him of the stormy winds at sea causing terrible damage to his ships and the sandy hour-glass reminded him of the richly laden vessels wrecked on the sandy shore.
Question:-
(iii) Give the meaning of Plucking the grass to know where sits the wind.
Answer:-
Holding up a blade of grass to see in which direction the wind is blowing.
Question:-
(iv) In spite of the danger to his ships, why is Anotonio not worried about his financial security?
Answer:-
In spite of the danger to his ship, Antonio was not worried about his financial security because his business is spread far around the world. it is neither dependent on a single ship nor on a single business transaction of a particular year.
Question:-
(v) What light does the opening scene throw on the danger that the sea could pose to ships? How does the scene show that Antonio is very confident about his business venture?
Answer:-
The opening scene describes the possible dangers that the sea could pose to ships such as strong winds, dangerous shallow waters, sandbank, and dangerous rocks.
Antonio was very confident about his business ventures as they are not one-bottom trusted which means that his ships were not bound to one place and his financial security did depend on a single ship nor on a single business transaction of a particular year.
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Merchant Of Venice Act 1 Extract No. 3
Salarino
My wind, cooling my broth,
Would blow me to an argument, when I thought
What harm a wind too great at sea might do
I should not see the sandy hour-glass run,
But I should think of shallows and of flats;
And see my wealthy Andrew dock’d in the sand,
Vailing her high-top lower than her ribs
To kiss her burial.
Question:-
(i) Where does this scene take place? Name the people who are present there. In what mood is Salarino in this scene?
Answer:-
This scene takes place in a street in Venice. Antonio, Salarino, and Salanio are present there in the scene.
Question:-
(ii) What would the wind cooling the broth remind Salarino of?
Answer:-
Salarino says that I’d get scared every time I blew on my soup to cool it, thinking of how a strong wind could wipe out my ships. The wind cooling broth would remind Salarino of the stormy winds at sea and of the terrible damage they might cause to the ships. Antonio responds to Salarino and Salanio’s comments by saying that his business ventures are not responsible for his depressed mood.
Question:-
(iii) Give the meaning of And see my wealth Andrew docked in the sand
Answer:-
Andrew refers to a big cargo ship. In the above lines, Salarino imagines that his rich cargo ship is grounded in the sand and her mast dipped down lower than her sides as if trying to kiss the sands in which she is buried.
Question:-
(iv) What is the ‘sandy hourglass’? What would it remind Salarino of?
Answer:-
Sandy hourglass is an apparatus with two spheres of glass joined together with a tiny hole between, through which sand ran from one sphere to the other in one hour. It was used to indicate a time before watches. It remains Salarino, one of the dangers from hidden banks and shallow water. the danger of the ship getting stuck in the sand Where the water is shallow for a ship to sail over it smoothly in ancient days a glass full of sand was to indicate the passing of time.
Question:-
(v) When Salarino would go to church what would he see? What would the scene make him imagine?q
Answer:-
When Salarino would go to church he would see the Holy building of stone. The scene would make him imagine about dangerous rock in front of which his ship would be unfortunate. A slight collision with them would be enough to scatter all his spices and silk shipments In one moment he would go bankrupt.
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Extract No. 4 of Merchant Of Venice Act 1
Salarino
Not in love neither? Them let us say you are sad,
Because you are not merry: and ’twere as easy
For you to laugh and leap and say you are merry,
Because you are not sad. Now, by two-headed Janus,
Nature hath framed strange fellow in her time:
Some that will evermore peep through their eyes,
And laugh like parrots at a bag-piper;
And other of such vinegar aspects,
That they’ll not show their teeth in way of smiling,
Though Nestor swears the jest be laughable.
Question:-
(i) Who has just said that Antonio was in love? What was their reaction of Antonio to that remark?
Answer:-
Salarino said that Antonio was in love. Antonio calls the remark as nonsense and completely denies that he is in love.
Question:-
(ii) Antonio says that he is not sad because of love. What explanation does Salarino give in the extract for Antonio’s sadness?
Answer:-
Salarino says that, if you are not in love you are sad because you are not happy. He says that Nature has made strange fellows in her time. Some that will peep through their eyes forever, And laugh like parrots at a bag-piper, And the others of such sour disposition That they’ll never smile Although Nestor swears that the joke is funny.
Question:-
(iii) What is meant by the ‘two-headed Janus’? Who is Nestor? Why is he referred to in the extract?
Answer:-
Janus is a Roman god of doors, who had two faces: one frowning, the other smiling; one head looking out inward and the other looking out. He is referred to here to indicate that Nature creates two different types of men, with different outlooks.
Nestor is an old and wise Greek general, who fought in Trojan War, a joke had to be extremely funny if Nestor laughed at it. He symbolizes seriousness and gravity in nature.
Question:-
(iv) Describe in your own words the two types of strange fellows who have been framed by nature.
Answer:-
Nature has created two different types of men, with different outlooks. Some people will laugh even at a bagpiper as foolishly as a parrot laughs at anything, and others are so grouchy that they won’t even crack a smile, Although Nestor swears that joke is hysterically funny.
Question:-
(v) Who comes at the end of Salarino’s speech? Why does Salarino leave then?
Answer:-
Bassanio Lorenzo and Gratiano come at the end of Salarino’s speech. Because Antonio’s friend had come to give him better company.
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