Merchant Of Venice

Merchant Of Venice

Please refer to the text for questions

a)Antonio could not help Bassanio financially as all his money was tied up in his
merchant ships which were still at sea. Antonio did not want to disappoint
Bassanio so he asked him to go to another moneylender, Shylock. Antonio
suggested that Bassanio use his good name as security for the loan. Shylock
agreed to give the loan to Bassanio. However, if the loan remained unpaid on the
due date, Shylock would take a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body. Bassanio
had warned Antonio about this, but Antonio still agreed to it and thus resolved
the issue.

b) Portia was distressed over the terms of her father’s will. As per the terms she
could only marry a man who correctly chose one of the three caskets that
contained her portrait. But, unfortunately, none of Portia’s current suitors were to
her liking. This upset her.

c) Bassanio had fallen in love with Portia who was the rich heiress of Belmont. He
had owed a great deal of money from Antonio. He wanted to repay the loan but
had not been able to do so. He wanted to marry Portia for his love and also he
thought that will help him repay his debt.

d) According to the law, the duke stated that Shylock had plotted to kill a citizen of
Venice, which called for punishment. The duke had the power to sentence Shylock to death, however he spared Shylock’s life and asked him to turn over half of his property to the state and other half to Antonio as punishment.

e) Shylock was infuriated to know that his daughter Jessica and Lorenzo, a close
friend of Antonio and Bassanio, liked each other and had run away, taking with
them some of his money. On learning that Antonio’s ship was lost, he thought it
would be the right time to claim his debt by taking the pound of flesh from
Antonio and thus take his revenge.

f) Portia disguised herself as duke and defended Antonio’s case. She told Shylock
that he must be careful while he cuts off the pound of flesh as he must not drop a
single drop of Antonio’s blood, as the contract did not entitle him to any blood.
She told him that if he failed to do so all his land and goods would be
confiscated. Shylock was in a fix and decided to settle for money instead of the
pound of flesh. This is how Portia prevented Shylock from harming Antonio.

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