THE TECHNIQUE OF WRITING Merchant of Venice ANSWERS
Why does Grantiano want to ‘play the fool’?
What does he want to do in this regard?
Whom does he refer to as ‘a sort of men’?
What is his advice to Bassanio, urging him to give up his depression?
What does Bassanio say about him later?
Ans: When Antonio tells Gratioano that everybody has a role to play on the stage of life and the role assigned to him is a sad one, Gratiano makes the comment saying that he wants to play the role of a jester full of fun and enjoyment.
Stressing the kind of life he wants to live as a fool, he says that he will continue to drink and be merry, ignoring the risk of his liver being inflamed till ripe old age when his face will be marred by wrinkles. He says that he does not want to let out painful groans and show irritability. He says further that he does not want to remain in a state of stupor in his wakeful state like the statue of a grandfather cut in marble.
He tells Antonio that there is a kind of people whose faces resemble a stationary pool covered with scum. In his opinion, such people adopt such an expression in order to be regarded as being serious. They pretend as if they have prophetic seriousness in their speeches and would like no one to open his mouth when they speak. But Gratiano maintains that if these hollow people really speak they will only make their fellow brothers guilty by making them call them fools for their utter nonsense. He advises him that he should not use the bait of melancholy to catch the cheap fish of popularity.
After Gratiano has left, Bassanio comments on the nonsensical content of his talk. According to Bassanio there is no one in Venice talking as much nonsense as Gratiano. According to him, sense in Gratiano’s talk can be compared to grains to be found in two bushels of chaff after a thorough search and by the time it is found it is not worth the search.
Portia
Mark you but that!
In both my eyes he doubly sees himself;
In each eye, one: swear by your double self,
And there’s is an oath of credit.
Q. In what context does Portia say so? How does Portia interpret the comment of her husband?
Who does Portia just welcome?
What does the person tell Portia standing by his friend?
What news does Portia give to others in general and Antonio in particular?
What does Nerissa tell Lorenzo by way of giving him a piece of news? How does Lorenzo react to it?
Bassanio tells Portia that it was under compulsion that he had to part with the ring and give it away to the clerk of the judge. When he further wants to prove his integrity by swearing by both her eyes in the hearing of his friends that he sees himself reflected in them, Portia makes the above comment.
Portia with her essential sense of humour interprets the comment of her husband in a literal manner. She says that when her husband swears that he sees himself reflected in both her eyes, it can be taken to mean that he sees himself double and by virtue of that he can be said to be swearing as two men at the same time. According to her if this is put that way he will appear to be a man of double standards. By making such a comment she only increases Bassanio’s sense of embarrassment.
Despite the exchange of words with her husband, Portia has not forgotten her sense of hospitality and has just welcomed Antonio who has accompanied Bassanio to the house.
Portia produces a letter and wants it to be read at free time. She says that the letter has come from Bellario in Padua. She adds the contents of the letter will disclose the fact that she herself was the doctor of law at the court and Nerissa was her clerk. She highlights the fact that it will be attested by Lorenzo himself that she and Nerissa set out as soon as Bassanio and Gratiano left. In support of this statement she says that she has not entered the house yet.
Nerissa says that she has a deed of gift to be given to Lorenzo and Jessca from the rich Jew Shylock. She says that she is heartily inclined to give it to them without charging a fee for this service. She spells out that according to this deed of gift they will inherit everything in the possession of the Jew after his death.
Lorenzo welcomes this in a state of jubilation and compares it to ‘manna’, the heavenly food that was made available to Jews by God when they were in a state of starvation.
