Act V, Scene 1 - Study Questions

1. What sense do you get of Lorenzo and Jessica in this scene? How do you feel about Jessica at this point?
2. Earlier Nerissa spoke of the harmonious life as a life of moderation. What do Lorenzo suggest is the relationship of music, harmony, and life?
3. What is Lorenzo's response when Jessica says, "I am never merry when I hear sweet music?
4. As Portia approaches, what is her comment on music and how does that comment fit in with the comment about the brightly shining candle?
5. Without the stage directions that tell us that Gratiano and Nerissa are arguing in the background, Gratiano's comment about the ring seems to have no motivation. What are they arguing about? Of what does Nerissa accuse him?
6. Playing the outraged wives to their advantage, Portia and Nerissa threaten to be unfaithful to their husbands if the ever meet up with the lawyer and his clerk. With this, Gratiano threatens the clerk. Is there a double meaning in Gratiano's comment?
7. Portia reveals all she has done in the role of the lawyer Balthazar. She also reveals the news that three of Antonio's ships are not sunk as had been believed. Consequently, Antonio is not bankrupt after all. What one remaining point seems to disturb the happiness of seven people.

Act IV, Scene 2 - Study Question

At the end of this scene, what does Portia's aside to Nerissa portend for Act V?

Act IV, Scene 1 - Study Questions

1. What do the Duke and the others expect of Shylock?
2. What reason does Shylock give for not showing mercy to Antonio?
3. What is the point Shylock makes about the Venetian slaves?
4. Why has the Duke sent to Padua for an opinion, and what answer does he receive?
5. What is the main point of Portia's comments in her "quality of mercy" speech?
6. Why does Portia say she cannot, as Bassanio suggests, "do a great right [by doing] a little wrong"?
7. Shylock rejoices by saying of Portia, "a Daniel! O wise young judge." If you know the biblical story of Daniel and Susanna, how could this have a bitter irony?
8. After Shylock once again demands justice, the court prepares the knife and the scales. What comment does Bassanio make that Portia hears? What does Portia say in response?
9. As Shylock prepares to get his pound of flesh, what condition does Portia put on him?
10. How does Portia defend this decision?
11. What does Portia mean by this line: "Soft./The Jew shall have all justice;.../He shall have nothing but penalty."
12. As Shylock prepares to leave court with nothing, Portia stops him. Why does she say that Shylock must beg mercy from the Duke?
13. What prompts Shylock to say, "You take my house, when you do take the prop/that doth sustain my house"?
14. When Antonio and Shylock's positions are reversed, what mercy does Antonio show?
15. At the end of this scene, what happens regarding the rings of Bassanio and Gratiano?
16. Throughout this scene, the Christians ask Shylock to be merciful toward Antonio. When the situation is reversed, how merciful do you think the Venetians are toward Shylock?

Act III, Scene 5 - Study Question

This scene does not seem to advance any of the plots. What is its apparent purpose?

Act III, Scene 4 - Study Question

After commending the care of her house to Jessica and Lorenzo and telling them that she plans to seclude herself and Nerissa in the country to await their husbands' return, what does Portia tell her servant?

Act III, Scene 3 - Study Questions

1. Shylock, repeating several times that he will have his bond, appears intent on getting revenge on Antonio. Given his strong feelings, do you think he will settle for twenty times the amount of the debt?
2. Explain Antonio's point in the passage that begins, "the duke cannot deny the course of law..."

Act III, Scene 2 - Study Questions

1. Why does Portia not want Bassanio to rush into making a choice?
2. While Bassanio ponders over the three caskets, he makes a speech. State the main point of the speech and Bassanio's action at the conclusion of the speech.
3. As he addresses the casket, Bassanio says,
   "...thou meager lead,/Which rather threat'nest than dost promise aught,/Thy plainness moves me more than eloquence..."

   To what is he referring?

4. Upon opening the casket, Bassanio is overjoyed at seeing the picture and reading the scroll, yet he is anxious. Why?

5. With her response, some critics believe that Portia emphasizes the motif of "love as a form of money." What could be pointed out in this respect?

6. What is the significance of the ring that Portia gives to Bassanio?

7. What information do Gratiano and Nerissa give to Portia and Bassanio?

8. Lorenzo, Jessica, and Salerio enter. What news does Salerio bring?

9. What is Portia's response to this news?

10. What is Antonio's one request of Bassanio?

Act III, Scene 1 - Study Questions

1. At the beginning of this scene, what is foremost in Shylock's mind?
2. What does Salerio mean when he says of Jesica:
   That's certain [she will be damned] if the devil may be her judge."

3. In response to Salerio's comment about Antoni's bond of a pound of flesh, Shylock makes one of the most famous speeches in this play. What is the main point of this speech, and what is your reaction to it?
4. How justified do you think Shylock is for wishing to seek his "pound of flesh"?
5. Tubal tells Shylock of a second ship lost by Antonio and of Jessica's extravagant spending almost in the same breath. For what reason do you suppose Shakespeare presents these two items in this mixed fashion?

Act II, Scene 9 - Study Questions

1. We finally learn all three conditions that a suitor agrees to when he makes a choice of caskets. What are these three conditions?
2. What is Arragon's choice? What does he find in the casket, and how does he seem to respond?
3. What news does the servant girl bring, and what is Portia's witty response?

Act II, Scene 8 - Study Questions

1. Why do Shylock and the Duke (the chief legal official) go to search Bassanio's ship?
2. Shylock's reaction to his daughter's elopement is probably a comical scene for the Elizabethans. How does he behave?
3. What ominous comment does Solanio make about this development and how it will affect Antonio?
4. In this regard, what news has Salerio heard that worries him? Why?
5. How is the bond of friendship, love, and money further developed in this scene?

Act II, Scene 7 - Study Question

1. The Prince chooses the gold casket. What is the message he receives?

Act II, Scene 6 - Study Question

1. From the window, Jessica throws the casket to Lorenzo; it contains Shylock's wealth. As she does, she says that she is glad it is night because she is ashamed of her exchange:
   "But love is blind and lovers cannot see/the pretty follies that themselves commit..."
   What becomes clear only in the last line of that speech? To what exchange is she referring?

Act II, Scene 5 - Study Questions

1. Who is "the prodigal Christian," and why does Shylock accept a dinner invitation that he has previously declined?
2. What sense of foreboding does Shylock have about leaving the house?
3. What final instructions does Shylock give Jessica? How do these comments seem to aid in justifying Jessica's behavior and decision?
4. What message does Launcelot pass to Jessica?

Act II, Scene 4 - Study Questions

1. The conversation at the opening of this scene seems to make little sense until we learn that the young men are preparing for a masque. What is a masque, and what do they need a torchbearer for?
2. What further action do we learn Jessica plans to take when she leaves her father's house? What is Lorenzo's reaction to this news?
3. In what two senses may we take Lorenzo's comment that tonight Jessica will be his torchbearer?

Act II, Scene 3 - Study Questions

1. A frequent subplot in comedies is that of lovers who defy a parent and elope. What further twist to this subplot is there in Jessica's proposed elopement?
2. In this regard, contrast Portia and Jessica. Why do you suppose Shakespeare's audience would not have thought less of Jessica?

The Merchant of Venice – Research Project

Each student will be responsible for researching one of the following topics, depending on the letter you are assigned.

A’s – The role of women in Venice during the 1400’s and 1500’s

B’s – The role of Jews in Venice during the 1400’s and 1500’s

C’s – The justice and governmental system in Venice during the 1400’s and 1500’s – the role of the Doge (Duke)

D’s – Entertainment and music in Venice during the 1400’s and 1500’s


Students within a letter group may choose to work together on their presentation.

Expectations for each student include:

1. Researching the topic assigned.
2. Comparing the reality to the way the topic was portrayed in the play.
3. Preparing an outline that covers 1 and 2 above to be handed in to me.
4. Preparing an oral presentation (a minimum of 8 minutes) that covers the information in the outline. Students in a letter group may work together on their presentations, but each student must make his/her own presentation. Presentations may be made in a creative manner, including (but not limited to) poetry, drama, newscast, or any other format that will effectively impart the information to the class.
5. Preparing a works cited page in MLA format to include all sources utilized during research
   
   Grading will be based on the following criteria:
   
   4- Exceeds expectations
   
   3- Meets expectations
   
   2- Somewhat meets expectations
   
   1- Does not meet expectations
   

Act II, Scene 2 - Study Questions

1. By what decision is Launcelot Gobbo torn? Which way is his conscience pulling him?
2. Usually servants and other lower-class people are comic figures in a Shakespearean play. Their language is always in prose, not verse; frequently they muddle their words and engage in word play and puns. Does Launcelot Gobbo seem to fit this picture?
3. As father and son speak to Bassanio, Bassanio becomes exasperated. What makes this scence comic?
4. Define "malapropism." What are some malaprops you note in Old Gobbo's comments?
5. When Gratiano asks Bassanio if he may accompany him to Belmont, what is Bassanio's response?

Act II, Scene 1 - Study Question

Of what condition does Portia inform the Prince of Morocco, and what is his reponse?

Act I, Scene 3 - Study Questions

1. Do you think Shylock's refusal to have dinner with Antonio and Bassanio based on religious or societal grounds?
2. When Shylock makes the following comments, what is his meaning?

   "If I can catch him once upon the hip,

   I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him."

3. What is Antonio's meaning in the following passage?

   "Shylock, albeit I neither lend nor borrow

   By taking nor giving of excess..."

   Why is Antonio's position on lending money different from that of Shylock?

4. As Antonio presses for Shylock's answer, Shylock reveals what he considers are some insults he has received from the hand of Antonio. What are they?

5. What is Antonio's response to Shylock?

Act I, Scene 2 - Study Questions

1. Nerissa's idea of happiness is similar to that of the ancient Greeks. According to Nerissa, where does happiness lie?
2. What is the meaning of Portia's comment about the brain devising laws for the blood?
3. Why can Portia not choose her own husband?
4. In her assessment of suitors, what qualities of mind and spirit does Portia show?
5. Near the end of the scene, Nerissa tells us that the suitors have decided to return home without choosing a casket. Why?
6. Which former visitor to her father's palace does Portia remember as a praiseworthy, prospective suitor? What does her comment, "I remember him well, and I remember him worthy of thy praise," foreshadow?

Act I, Scene 1 - Study Questions

1. Antonio, the merchant of the title, is sad but tells us he does not know why. What 2 reasons do his friends offer for Antonio's sadness, and what is his response?
2. Upon the entrance of Bassanio and his companions, the friendship motif is raised in a backhanded fashion by Solanio and Salerio. What is the main point of their comments?
3. In Antonio's comment about the world being a stage, how does he explain his sadness?
4. A major theme, the relationship between money and love, is first raised by Bassanio in the line which begins, "I owe the most, in money and in love..." What is Bassanio's point in this comment?
5. What is Bassanio's plan for getting money to pay off his debts? What is Antonio's response?