Questions on Shakespeare’s Comedies
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Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. (Norton Comedies, 2nd ed. 425-89).
ACT 1
1. In Act 1, Scene 1, what sense of community is affirmed between the Venetian merchant Antonio and his several gentile (non-Jewish) friends? Antonio is sad without knowing why — what kind of atmosphere does that fact set up for this comic play?
2. In Act 1, Scene 1, what seems to be the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio — what has led to the latter man’s need for Antonio’s help?
3. In Act 1, Scene 2, what constraint lies upon Portia’s future, thanks to her father’s will? What complaints does she have about her suitors?
4. In Act 1, Scene 3, Antonio and Shylock discuss the former’s need for a loan. Why doesn’t Antonio take Shylock’s terms seriously? What grievances does Shylock set forth against Antonio and other Christians whom he has come upon in the Rialto (the financial district of Venice)?
ACT 2
5. In Act 2, Scenes 1 and 7, and 9, respectively, the Princes of Morocco and Arragon choose amongst the gold, silver, and leaden caskets for Portia’s hand in marriage. Why do they make the choices they make, and what explanation of their error is provided in the enclosed scrolls?
6. In Act 2, Scenes 2-3, Lancelet (Shylock’s servant) and Jessica (Shylock’s daughter) decide to abandon him. Why is Lancelet disaffected from his master, and why is Jessica determined to run away? Does she do so with a clear conscience? Explain.
7. In Act 2, Scenes 4-6, Jessica, Lorenzo, and his companions Gratiano and Salarino plot Jessica’s escape, and then make good on it. What important concern arises from the fact that the Venetian custom of donning masques figures in their plans? Moreover, what can we make of Jessica’s disguising herself as a boy?
8. In Act 2, Scene 5, what forebodings does Shylock reveal as he prepares to dine with his gentile debtors? What are his concerns about his daughter Jessica and the possibility that she might come into contact with Christians?
9. In Act 2, Scene 8, how does Shylock react to the awful news that Jessica has run away and, to make matters worse, stolen his golden ducats and jewels? Would it be fair to say (see also 3.1) that he confuses the two losses, as the Christians suggest by their mockery — or is something else going on here?
ACT 3
10. In Act 3, Scenes 1 and 3, what good does Shylock say insisting on his bond will do — how does he justify what Christians in the play would call “Jewish” hard-heartedness?
11. In Act 3, Scene 2, what accounts for Bassanio’s success in choosing the leaden chest rather than the golden and silver ones? How might the song “Tell me where is fancy bred?” be a way of describing Bassanio’s choice?
12. In Act 3, Scene 3, how does Antonio, who stands within Shylock’s power, understand his predicament — why can’t the Duke help him, and what irony resides in that fact?
13. In Act 3, Scene 5, is there any significance in Lancelet’s theological quibbling with Jessica over her religion? How might we connect this comic scene with the play’s more serious events?
ACT 4
14. In Act 4, Scene 1, what lesson about mercy underlies the disguised Portia’s defense of Antonio? How does Saint Paul’s injunction that “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” apply to Portia’s final destruction of Shylock’s demand for a pound of flesh? (2 Corinthians 3:6)
15. In spite of Portia’s Christian lesson in Act 4, scene 1, do the Christians engage in some conduct that is less than charitable towards Shylock? Explain.
16. At the end of Act 4, Scene 1 and then in Scene 2, why does Bassanio (although grudgingly) set aside his oath regarding the ring Portia has given him and award it to the supposed Doctor? What does this act suggest about his understanding of the relative value of relationships between men and relationships between men and women?
ACT 5
17. In Act 5, Scene 1, what is the thematic significance of Lorenzo’s remarks about the heavenly music we can’t hear because of our fallen nature — i.e. because of “the muddy vesture of our decay”?
18. In Act 5, Scene 1, what allows for resolution of the controversy over the loss of Bassanio and Gratiano’s rings, given them by Portia and Nerissa, respectively? How do the two women assert a kind of power that the men didn’t know they possessed?
19. General question: this dark comedy about Christians and Jews has troubled many Shakespeare scholars and theater-goers. Shakespeare’s plot favors the Christian theological framework, not Shylock’s Judaism. But in what sense might we be doing Shakespeare an injustice if we take Shylock for a one-dimensional, stock ethnic character? In what ways is he more complex than that?
20. General question: similarly, in what sense does Shakespeare’s representation of Christian characters such as Antonio, Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Gratiano complicate what might otherwise be a straightforward victory for Christianity over Shylock’s principles?
Edition. Greenblatt, Stephen et al., eds. The Norton Shakespeare. 2nd edition. Four-Volume Genre Paperback Set. Norton, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93152-5.
Copyright © 2012 Alfred J. Drake