The Merchant of Venice
Act I Scene II
Question Number 1.
i.
What has Portia just said in response to which Nerissa speaks these words?
a. Portia and Nerissa were talking about the suitors coming to Belmont to try
their fortunes. During their discussion, Portia tells about the will of her father
by which “I may neither choose whom I would, nor refuse whom I dislike”.
Then she asks Nerissa, “Is it not hard, Nerissa, that I cannot choose one, nor
refuse none?” In reply to this question, Nerissa speaks those words.
ii.
Describe the lottery referred to in the extract.
a. The “lottery of caskets” was devised according to the will of Portia’s father.
According to the lottery, each suitor has to choose from amongst the three
caskets of gold, silver and lead. The one who makes the right choice would
marry Portia.
iii.
Give the reactions of Portia as well as of Nerissa to the lottery.
a. Portia is in a dilemma because of the lottery. She says that “I may neither
choose whom I would, nor refuse whom I dislike” and “I cannot choose one,
nor refuse none”. Nerissa is of a different opinion, “no doubt, never be
chosen by any rightly but one who shall rightly love.”
iv.
Give the meaning of "never be chosen by any rightly, but one who you shall
rightly love”.
a. Nobody can never choose the right casket correctly except the one whom
Portia shall rightly love.
v.
Portia is melancholic in the beginning of the scene as it was the case with
Antonio in the previous scene. What is the difference between Antonio's
melancholy and that of Portia?
a. Antonio is portrayed as melancholic in the previous scene and the cause for
his melancholy is unknown. But Portia’s melancholy is the result of her
anxiety over the prospect of her future husband.
vi.
How does this scene show a mood of melancholy, anxiety and suspense?
a. The mood of melancholy is shown in Portia’s weary mood in the beginning of
this scene. Portia’s melancholy is the result of her anxiety over the prospect
of her future husband. Whenever each suitor comes, Portia was anxious to
know whether they will select the right casket and become her future
husband. The element of suspense is maintained because so far in the
selection of the right casket no aspiring suitor could select the right casket.
Question Number 2.
i.
Where are Portia and Nerissa? What are they generally discussing about? In
what mood is Portia in the scene?
a. Portia and Nerissa are in a room in Portia’s house at Belmont. Portia and
Nerissa are in a discussion about the suitors who came to try their luck.
Nerissa wanted to know “what warmth is there in your affection towards any
of these princely suitors that are already come?” Portia is with a good sense
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Notes on The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 2: Fr. Shaju Varghese P.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
of humour in this scene and she makes humorous comments on each suitors
while Nerissa names them one by one.
Who is the County Palatine? Why has he come to Belmont?
a. County Palatine is a Count from the Palatinate, the region on the west bank
of the Rhine. He has come to Belmont to try his luck with the lottery of
caskets and to win the heart of Portia.
Who is the first prince described by Portia? What does she say about him?
a. Neapolitan prince is the first prince described by Portia. Portia says that he is
“a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse; and he makes it a
great appropriation to his own good parts that he can shoe him himself.”
Who is the weeping philosopher? In which context is he referred to in the
extract?
a. Count Palatine is referred to as the weeping philosopher because of he is “full
of unmannerly sadness in his youth” that he would prove to be a weeping
philosopher in his old age. Portia says that “he hears merry tales, and smiles
not” and because of that “I fear he will prove the weeping philosopher when
he grows old.”
Give the meaning of:
a. “An you will not have me, choose”
i. The sense is plainly: "Whom could you think of choosing beside such a
paragon (model) as I?"
b. “a death’s-head with a bone in his mouth”
i. It refers to the emblem of a skull, with two bones crossed
underneath.
Give a character sketch of the County Palatine.
a. County Palatine is the second suitor who came to try his luck with the lottery
of caskets. He is described as one who “doth nothing but frown” and who
thinks that he is the right person to be selected by Portia, “An you will not
have me, choose.” He is a weeping philosopher because of he is “full of
unmannerly sadness in his youth” that he would prove to be a weeping
philosopher in his old age. Portia adds that she would love to marry “a
death’s head with a bone in his mouth” rather than marrying County
Palatine.
Question Number 3:
i.
What has Portia said earlier about Neapolitan prince and his horse? Which
characteristic is common between Monsieur Le Bon and the Count Palatine?
a. The Neapolitan prince is a “colt”. Portia does not care for the prince because
he talks only about horses and takes pride in the fact that he can perform a
common laborer’s task of shoeing a horse and considers it an addition to his
own merits. Portia says Monsieur Le Bon has “a better bad habit of frowning
than the Count Palatine”.
ii.
Give the meaning of
a. He is every man in no man
i. He has everybody else’s characteristics and no personality of his own.
b. He falls straight a-capering
i. He immediately starts jumping up and down.
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Notes on The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 2: Fr. Shaju Varghese P.
iii.
iv.
v.
How does the French lord react to the singing of a thrush?
a. A thrush is a common English bird. If it starts singing he immediately starts
jumping up and down.
What would happen:
a. If Portia were to marry the Count?
i. If Portia marries him, she should marry twenty husbands because he
has everybody else’s character.
b. If he were to despise Portia?
i. If he despises Portia, she should forgive him.
c. If he were to love Portia passionately?
i. If he loves Portia to madness, she should never return her love to him.
Give any three negative qualities of the French lord, as described by Portia.
a. He has a better bad habit of frowning than the Count Palatine
b. He is every man in no man
c. He will fence with his own shadow
Question Number 4:
i.
How is the young baron’s external appearance described in the passage? What
light does it throw on the national pattern of clothes of Englishmen?
a. The young baron is very “oddly suited”. Portia comments on his strange and
unmannerly dress as “I think he bought his doublet in Italy, his round hose in
France, his bonnet in Germany, and his behavior everywhere”.
b. This passage shows the national pattern of clothes of Englishmen. The
doublet was the close-fitting jacket worn by men in Shakespeare's day. The
familiar figure, Punch, still wears a doublet. Round hose were trousers made
very large and sometimes stuffed, or "bombasted," as it was called, to make
them stand out. Bonnet is commonly used for a man's hat.
ii.
What shows that the English lord has poor knowledge of the European
languages? Why does Portia find it difficult to interact with him?
a. It is very clear from the words of Portia that “for he understands not me, nor
I him; he hath neither Latin, French, nor Italian”. In the court he swears that
he has a “poor pennyworth in the English.”
b. Portia finds it difficult to interact with him because “he understand not me,
nor I him” and asks “who can converse with a dumb-show”. He speaks such
languages that are not known to Portia.
iii.
Give the meaning of:
a. He is a proper man’s picture
i. He is a man of fine appearance.
b. How oddly he is suited!
i. How strangely he is dressed.
iv.
What is referred to as “a dumb-show”? Why is the baron said to be a
“dumb-show”?
a. Falconbridge, the young baron of England is referred as a “dumb-show”.
b. The baron “hath neither Latin, French, nor Italian” and has “poor pennyworth
in the English.” Because of it, “he understands not me, nor I him”. So the
baron is said to be a dumb-show.
v.
Give a brief description of the Scottish Lord.
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Notes on The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 2: Fr. Shaju Varghese P.
vi.
a. The Scottish lord is not pleasant and is a coward. “He hath neighbourly
charity in him, for he borrowed a box of the ear of the Englishman and swore
he would pay him again when he was able.”
What type of contemporary relationship among England, Scotland and France is
reflected in the description of the Scottish Lord?
a. In this extract, a reference is made to the constant assistance that the French
gave to the Scots in her quarrels with the English before the union of the two
countries under Elizabeth's successor, King James. This is referred to as
“neighbourly charity” and “the Frenchman became his surety”.
Question Number 5:
i.
How does the young German behave when he is sober and when he is drunk? If
the worse happens to Portia which would compel her to marry him, what would
she do?
a. The young German is badly sober in the morning and very badly he is drunk
in the afternoon. “When he is best, he is a little worse than a man, and when
he is worst, he is little better than a beast.”
ii.
Give the meaning of
a. When he is worst, he is little better than a beast
i. When at his worst, he is little better than a beast.
b. Set a deep glass of Rhenish wine on the contrary casket.
i. To avoid the young German winning the lottery of caskets, Portia
plans to keep a large glass of white wine made from grapes grown in
the Rhine valley on the wrong casket.
iii.
What plan does Portia make to prevent the young German from choosing the
right casket?
a. To avoid the young German winning the lottery of caskets and to tempt him
from choosing the right casket, Portia plans to keep a large glass of white
wine made from grapes grown in the Rhine valley on the wrong casket.
iv.
Why is the young German referred to as a “sponge”?
a. The young German, all through the day is under the influence of liquor. Since
he is a drunkard, who absorbs or soaks himself up in liquor, he is referred to
as a “sponge”.
v.
After Portia’s speech, what does Nerissa say to console her about the suitors?
a. Nerissa consoles Portia by saying that Portia need not fear that she will have
to accept any of them because the suitors have already informed Nerissa of
their decisions “to return to their home, and to trouble you with no more
suit”.
Question Number 6:
i.
What was Portia’s father’s will as far as Portia’s marriage was concerned?
a. The “lottery of caskets” was devised according to the will of Portia’s father.
According to the will of her father, each suitor has to choose from amongst
the three caskets of gold, silver and lead. The one who makes the right choice
would marry Portia.
ii.
Who is Sibylla and who is Diana? Why are they referred to in the context?
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Notes on The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 2: Fr. Shaju Varghese P.
iii.
iv.
v.
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a. Sibylla is a Greek word which means “prophetess”. According to the stories
recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Sibyl of Cumae was granted a wish by
goddess Apollo that she would live for as many years as the grains of sand
she held in her hand. She was the ageless old woman. As she failed to ask for
eternal youth, goddess Apollo allowed her body to wither. Her body grew
smaller with age and eventually was kept in a jar.
b. Diana means the “Bright Goddess”. Diana was the goddess of the moon and
of hunting. She was associated with wild animals and woodlands. She was an
emblem of chastity. She is also known as the Virgin Goddess.
c. A reference is made to Sibylla and Diana to show that Portia would like to
remain unmarried, if nobody is able to choose the right casket, in order to
keep the will of her father. It shows her willingness and loyalty to the will of
her father.
What does Nerissa say to introduce Bassanio? What were the feelings of Portia
for Bassanio in this scene?
a. In order to introduce Bassanio, Nerissa asks Portia “Do you remember, lady,
in your father’s time, a Venetian, a scholar and a soldier that came hither in
company of the Marquis of Montferrat?”
b. Portia was happy to hear about Bassanio. Portia’s reaction reveals her love
for him, yet she is determined to follow her father’s will. She pretends to
have forgotten his name so as not to appear too keen on him and says “Yes,
Yes it was Bassanio, as I think, so was he called”.
In what sense can we say that the opening of the first two scenes of Act I give the
plots of the play?
a. The opening of the first two scenes of Act I accomplish the task of introducing
the plots of the play – the Bond story and the Casket story.
b. In the first scene, Venetian street is exposed; in the second scene Portia’s
house at Belmont is introduced, these are the two important places where
the whole story is taking place.
c.
Name the six suitors given in this scene. Give two characteristics of each suitor
described by Portia.
a. The Neapolitan Prince:
i. Portia says that he is “a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his
horse; and he makes it a great appropriation to his own good parts
that he can shoe him himself.”
b. Count Palatine
i. Count Palatine is referred to as the weeping philosopher because of
he is “full of unmannerly sadness in his youth” that he would prove to
be a weeping philosopher in his old age. Portia says that “he hears
merry tales, and smiles not” and because of that “I fear he will prove
the weeping philosopher when he grows old.”
c. Monsieur Le Bon
i. He is every man in no man
ii. He will fence with his own shadow
iii. Portia says Monsieur Le Bon has “a better bad habit of frowning than
the Count Palatine”.
Notes on The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 2: Fr. Shaju Varghese P.
d. Falconbridge, the young baron of England
i. Portia says “he hath neither Latin, French, nor Italian”.
ii. Portia finds it difficult to interact with him because “who can converse
with a dumb-show”
e. Scottish Lord:
i. The Scottish lord is not pleasant and is a coward.
ii. “He hath neighbourly charity in him, for he borrowed a box of the ear
of the Englishman and swore he would pay him again when he was
able.”
f. The young German, The Duke of Saxony’s nephew:
i. The young German is badly sober in the morning and very badly he is
drunk in the afternoon. “When he is best, he is a little worse than a
man, and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast.”
ii. He is a drunkard, who absorbs or soaks himself up in liquor as a
“sponge”.
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Notes on The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene 2: Fr. Shaju Varghese P.