Merchant of Venice Workbook Answers Act 2 Scene 7
Merchant of Venice Workbook Answers Act 2 Scene 7 Questions and Answers, Passage Based Questions.
Merchant of Venice Act 2 Scene 7 Workbook Questions and Answers
Question 1.
‘From the four comers of the earth they come
To kiss this shrine, this mortal breathing saint’. (Lines : 39-40)
What prompts the Prince of Morocco to say these lines ? What does he want to say ?
Answer:
The inscription on the gold casket prompts the Prince of Morocco to say these lines. He wants to say that all men hanker after Portia, and come from all parts of the world to pay their homage to her. His guess is that the gold casket should have Portia’s picture in it.
Merchant of Venice Workbook Answers Act 2 Scene 7 Passage Based Questions
PASSAGE 1.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :
Morocco :
Let’s see once more this saying graved in gold
“Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.”
Why, that’s the lady; all the world desires her;
From the four corners of the earth they come,
To kiss this shrine, this mortal-breathing saint :
The Hyrcanian deserts and the vasty wilds Of wide Arabia are as thoroughfares now
For princes to come view-fair Portia :
(i) Who is Morocco speaking to ? What is the occasion ?
Answer: Morocco is speaking aloud to himself. He is going to try his luck at the lottery of caskets.
(ii) What does he think while reading the inscription on the gold casket ?
Answer: While reading the inscription on the gold casket, he feels that it is Portia who is desired by all men who are coming to get her from all parts of the world.
(iii) How does he praise Portia ?
Answer: He calls Portia a saint and her residence a temple which is visited by a number of men to pay their homage to this ‘flesh- and-blood’ saint.
(iv) “The Hyrcanian deserts and the vasty wilds … thoroughfares now”. Explain.
Answer: The deserts in Persia and the wild wastes of Arabia have now become well-trodden roads for princes eager to court Portia, according to Morocco.
(v) What makes him choose gold casket ? What does he find in the gold casket ? How does he react on losing the game ?
Answer: He feels that the picture of so beautiful woman as Portia can only be in a beautiful, gold casket. To his dismay, he finds a skull with a scroll sticking out of one of its eyes. He feels greatly disappointed on losing the lottery.