Q.1. What kind of play is The Merchant of Venice?
Ans. The Merchant of Venice is a romantic comedy.
Q.2. Why is Shakespeare called ‘The Sweet Swan of Avon’?
Ans. Shakespeare is so-called because of his immortal creation in literature.
Q3. What is Venice?
Ans. Venice is an old city of historic importance in Italy.
Q.4. What is Belmont?
Ans. Belmont is a contiguous town of Venice in Italy, famous for its civilized culture.
Q.5. What is the agreement between Shylock and Antonio?
Ans. Shylock will pay Antonio three thousand ducats on condition that Shylock will take a pound of flesh from any part of Antonio’s body, in case of his failure to repay the loan in time.
Q.6. How does Portia’s father condition her marriage?
Ans. Portia will have to marry the man who chooses rightly from among the three chests of gold, silver, and lead.
Q.7. What was the accusation of Shylock against Antonio? Ans. Shylock accused Antonio of having repeatedly spit upon him and called him a dog.
Q.8. What was written on the golden casket?
Ans. “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire”.
Q.9. What was inscribed on the silver casket?
Ans. On the silver casket, the words “who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves” were inscribed.
Q.10. What was engraved on the leaden casket?
Ans. “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath” was engraved on the leaden casket.
Q.11. Which casket did contain the picture of Portia?
Ans. Only the leaden casket contained the picture of Portia.
Q.12. Which casket does Bassanio choose?
Ans. Bassanio chooses the leaden casket which contains the portrait of Portia.
Q.13. Why does Bassanio choose the leaden casket?
Ans. Bassanio has been warned by the background music not to judge a thing by its external appearance alone.
Q.14. What is written in the scroll along with the portrait of Portia?
Ans. “Turn you where your lady is/ And claim her with a loving kiss.”
Q.15. What has been reported about the ships of Antonio?
Ans. All the ships of Antonio are reported to have been lost in the storm of the sea.
Q.16. What does Shylock decide to do when Antonio loses all his ships?
Ans. Shylock decides to stick to his bond and have his revenge upon Antonio by demanding justice.
Q.17. What does Portia decide to do after the departure of Bassanio?
Ans. Portia, in her sincere attempt to help her husband, decides to leave the house and go to the court of Venice in disguise.
Q.18. What was Portia’s plan to help Antonio?
Ans. Portia planned to plead for Antonio in the court of Venice in the guise of Dr. Bellario, the famous lawyer of Padua.
Q.19. What is the ‘Trial Scene”?
Ans. The Trial Scene’ means the scene in which Antonio had to face the charge of Shylock for his failure to pay off his debt to him in time.
Q.20. What does Shylock plead in the trial?
Ans. Shylock pleads to the Duke that he will stick to the condition of the bond and will not accept anything except the pound
of flesh from Antonio’s body.
Q.21. Who is actually Dr. Balthasar?
Ans. The young Dr. Balthasar is no other than the young lady Portia who comes to the court in the dress of a doctor of Law.
Q.22. What does Portia (disguised as a doctor of Laws) speak about mercy? Or,
What is the quality of mercy as described by the lawyer?
Ans. Mercy is like the gentle rain which drops from heaven upon a place beneath to bless both the giver and the receiver.
Q.23. Who is Daniel?
Ans. Daniel is a great prophet of the Pre-Christian Period who was famous for his judgment.
0.24. What is the miracle which saves a life of Antonio? Or. How does the lawyer prevent the Jew from cutting flesh from Antonio’s body?
Ans. The learned lawyer prohibits the Jew from shedding even a drop of blood and asks him to take just one pound of flesh, not more or less.
Q.25. Who is Orpheus?
Ans. Orpheus is a magical musician of ancient Greece.
Q.26. What does Gratiano say at the end of the drama?
Ans. Gratiano promises that he will not be afraid of anything more than keeping Nerissa’s ring safely with him.
Q.27. Who is the hero of the play, The Merchant of Venice?
Ans. Antonio is the hero of the play. The Merchant of Venice.
Q.28. What is Shylock by religion?
Ans. Shylock is a Jew by religion.
Q.29. What is Shylock’s attitude to money?
Ans. Shylock loves money only, so he is greedy and earns money by charging an unusual rate of interest.
Q.30. Who is Gratiano?
Ans. Gratiano is the friend of Antonio and Bassanio and a man of wit and humor in the comedy. The Merchant of Venice.
Q.31. What role does Gratiano play in the play?
Ans. Gratiano is the source of humor in the play and makes the scenes lively with his ceaseless talk unadmired by both Antonio and Bassanio.
Q.32. Who is Launcelot Gobbo?
Ans. Lancet Gobbo is the servant in the house of Shylock and performs the role of a clown in the play, The Merchant of Venice.
Q.33. What kind of man is Launcelot Gobbo?
Ans. Launcelot Gobbo is a kind-hearted fellow who feels the pricks of conscience while he flees from Shylock’s house.
Q.34. What is the role of Tubal in the play?
Ans. Tubal, a typical Jew, mean, suspicious, and malicious, serves as an associate confederate of Shylock.
Q.35. Who is Salerio?
Ans. A sycophantic friend of Antonio is Salerio who feels for him in his melancholy.
Q.36. Who is Solanio?
Ans. Solanio is a merchant friend of Antonio and he always moves in with Salerio in pairs and loves Antonio heartily.
Q.37. Who is Lorenzo?
Ans. Lorenzo is a young Christian, romantic and witty. who represents the adventurous young men of those days.
Q.38. What are Portia’s qualities?
Ans. Portia is witty and humorous, wise and intelligent, rich and aristocratic and above all, a sympathetic young lady.
Q.39. How does Nerissa disguise herself in the trial scene?
Ans. Nerissa disguises herself as the clerk to the lawyer.
Q.40. How does Jessica contribute to the plot of the play?
Ans. Jessica contributes much to the romantic atmosphere of the play.
Q.41. “Give me my principals and let me go.”-Who made this remark?
Ans. Shylock
Q.42. Why does Portia disguise herself as a lawyer?
Ans. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer to plead for Antonio in the court of Venice in the guise of Dr. Bellario, the famous lawyer of Padua.
