The merchant of venice

What does Bassanio want from Antonio? Why? Bassanio wants money (a loan) from Antonio so that he can woo Portia and take her hand in marriage
In act 1, what is Antonio’s and Bassanio’s financial situation? Antonio- little money because all of his cargo is at seaBassanio- in debt to a lot of people
How does Antonio say he will help Bassanio? He will get him money by borrowing from another person
What is the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio like? Brotherly love (they are distant cousins)
What kind of personality does Gratiano have? Speaks his mind, tense, rough
What is the “lottery” that Portia’s father has devised for her & her future? A game involving 3 boxes, one made of silver, one of gold, and one of lead. Whichever suitor correctly picks the box with Portia’s picture in it by solving the riddle on the outside will win Portia’s hand in marriage
What does Portia think of the Prince from Naples? A stallion who is obsessed with his horse
What does Portia think of Count Palatine? She thinks he is frowny and sullen, and says she’d rather be married to a skull
What does Portia think of the French Lord? He frowns more than Count Palatine, he always tries to outdo everyone else. Portia says she would never be able to love him
What does Portis think of the English Baron? Portia thinks he is handsome, but she can’t understand his language and he dresses oddly
What does Portia think of the Scottish Lord? He is too forgiving
What does Portia think of the young German? A drunk who she could easily live without
What does Portia say about the newly-arriving prince of Morocco? She’d rather he hear her confession than marry him because of his dark complexion
What does Bassanio ask of Shylock specifically? He asks Shylock to lend him three thousand ducats
Why doesn’t Shylock like Antonio? He is a jew and Antonio is Christian, also, Antonio has caused harm to Shylock by spitting on his beard and kicking him
Who thinks Shylock looks like a good apple but is rotten to the core? Antonio
What “deal” does Shylock make with Antonio in act 1? Shylock promises to lend Antonio three thousand ducats (to give to Bassanio) as long as Antonio pays him back the same amount on a specific day, in a certain agreed meeting place. If Antonio fails to do this, Shylock gets a pound of his flesh. Antonio accepts this offer becauae Shylock offers zero interest
How many scenes are in act 2? 9
What element of humor would the audience have found in the scene between Launcelot and his blind father? The element of midunderstanding & confusion
What is the reason the Prince of Morocco gives for choosing the gold box? He determines that a picture of Portia could not be set in anything less than gold
What are the specific rules of the lottery devised for Portia’s hand in marriage? -no telling others which box you picked-if you choose the wrong box, you must never propose marriage for the rest of your life-leave immediatley if you choose incorrectly
Why does Arragon choose the silver box? The transcription reads “he who chooses me will get what he deserves”, and he assumes that he deserves the very best- Portia
In act 3, what information is discovered in Salarino’s first lines? It is discovered that Antonio’s cargo ships have crashed
Where did Antonio’s ships crash? Goodwin Sands of the English Channel
Why does Shylock say he feels justified in seeking revenge on Antonio? He says that although he won’t eat Antonio’s flesh, it will feed his revenge. He feels justified in seeking revenge on Antonio because of all the prejudicial, belittling acts Antonio has committed against Shylock
At this point in the play (act 3), why might Shylock be so hardened and bent on getting justice at this point in the play? Shylock is so focused on getting justice and his money back because he is sick and tired of being the victim of prejudice and wants to say “i told you so” to Antonio
What does Shylock mean when he says “The curse never fell upon our nation till now; i never felt it till now”? He means that he has never felt such prejudice/intolerance against Jews until now
Is Shylock more upset with his daughter eloping with a Christian or with the loss of his money and jewels? Shylock is more upset about his jewels beceause he calls out for them first
When he is speaking to Shylock, how does Tubal soften the news of Shylock’s daughter? He tells Shylock of Antonio’s wrecked ships
What reasoning leads Bassanio to choose the lead casket? He says it is a humble lead box. It looks too threatening to promise himself anything remotely decent, but he says it moves him more than he can say.
How is the “ring plot” introduced in act 3? This is introduced when Bassanio is given a ring by Portia, and is told that if he looses it, their love will be doomed
How is it that Lorenzo and Jessica have ended up in Belmont with Portia and Bassanio? They had to run away to hide from Shylock
What does Gratiano mean by saying “we are the jasons, we have won the Fleece”? They have been successful
In act 3, what has happened to Antonio’s fortunes? They are gone because all the cargo ships Antonio invested in crashed
What does Portia tell Lorenzo and Jessica she will be doing while Bassanio is in Venice trying to help Antonio? What is her real plan? Portia tells Lorenzo & Jessica she & Nerissa will be going to a monestary to pray and contemplete until their husbands return. Her actual plan is to dress as a man and spy on her husband
What is the purpose of Solarino and Solanio in this play? To be messengers; deliver news
What is asked of Shylock in act 4? What is offered to him? What is his response? Shylock is asked not to take flesh from Antonio. He is offered three times the amount of money he is owed. He rejects it, saying that he does not know why, but he must have his revenge.
Who is Bellario? Explain his role in the play Bellario is a lawyer and a cousin of Portia’s. His character is necessary to the play because he supplies Portia’s servant the letters of introduction that Portia needs to be able to make an appearance in court.
In act 4, most of Gratiano’s lines are in the tone of ______. Disgust
In what way does Portia cleverly use Shylock’s own reasoning against him in court? She allows Shylock to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh, but says he cannot shed any blood, since that was not part of the initial agreement.
What are the legal ramifications of the situation Shylock is in when Portia (lawyer) allows him to take a pound of Antonio’s flesh without shedding blood? -cannot spill any blood-cannot cut any more or any less than exactly a pound-if he does this, he will loose all of his property
What happens at the end of act 4 with the ring plot? Portia (the lawyer) begs Bassanio for his ring, as he says he owes her a gift. Bassanio eventually gives the ring to her, not knowing it is really Portia.
Explain how the ring plot ends It ends when Portia and Nerissa return their rings to Bassanio and Gratiano and explain that they were the lawyer and the clerk.
What type of play is the merchant of Venice? Classic comedy
where does Portia live? Belmont
which box does the Prince of Morocco choose? gold
which box does the Prince of Arragon choose? silver
who marries Nerissa? Gratiano
who presides over the trial between Shylock and Antonio? the Duke of Venice
what is an alliteration? repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables
what is an allusion? a literary reference to a well-known work of art, music, history, or literature
what is a blank verse? non-rhyming poetry
in what form are most of Shakespeare’s plays written in? blank verse
what is comedic relief? in a tragedy, a break in the seriousness for a moment of comedy or siliness
what is a double entendre? a word or phrase with more than one meaning
what is a dramatic irony? when the audience/reader knows something that the characters in the story do not
what is a euphemism? a substitution of a more pleasant expression for one whose meaning may come across as rude or offensive (ex. “he passed away,” rather than “he died”
what is figurative language? writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally
what is foreshadowing? hints of events to occur later in a story
what is an iamb? unit in poetry consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
what is an iambic pentameter? 10-syllable line divided into 5 iambic feet, basic rhythm of Shakespeare’s verse
what is imagery? language which works to evoke images in your mind
what is irony? a contradiction between what is expected and what actually is
what is a metaphor? comparison without using like or as
what is an oxymoron? when two opposite terms are used together (O heavy lightness!)
what is personification? giving human like characteristics to non-human objects
what is a prose? a normal speech rhythm
what is a pun? a play on words, especially those that sound alike, but have different meanings
what is a rhyming couplet? two rhyming lines at the end of a speech, signaling that a character is leaving the stage or that the scene is ending
what is a simile? comparison between two things using like or as
What is an act? Division of a play; much like chapters in a book
What is an aside? Lines spoken by a character directly to the audience
Humorous work of drama Comedy
Conversation between two or more characters Dialogue
What is a foil? A character who is nearly opposite of another character
What is the difference between a monologue and a soliloquy? A monologue is a long speech spoken by a character and heard by other characters of the play. A soliloquy Is one character speaking his thoughts aloud and intended for the audience only to hear
A division of an act into smaller parts Scene
A serious work of drama in which the hero suffers catastrophe or serious misfortune Tragedy
A protagonist with a fatal flaw which eventually leads to his demise Tragic hero
What are the two main types of drama? Comedies & tragedies
what are the main themes of this play? -prejudice & intolerance-human & animal-law, mercy & revenge-greed vs generosity-love & friendship-reading & interpreting
who wrote the merchant of venice? William Shakespeare
when was the merchant of venice written? 1596
“All that glisters is not gold” Prince of Morocco
“In sooth, i know not why i am so sad” antonio
“i hold the world but as the world, Gratiano- a stage where every man must play a part, mine is a sad one” antonio
“when is best, he is little worse than a man, and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast” portia
“the devil can cite scripture for his purpose” Antonio
“mislike me not for my complexion, the shadowe’d lively of the sun” prince of morocco
“but love is blind, and lovers cannot see, the pretty follies that themselves commit” Jessica