Merchant of Venice Workbook Answers Act 3 Scene 4
Merchant of Venice Workbook Answers Act 3 Scene 4 Questions and Answers, Passage Based Questions.
Merchant of Venice Act 3 Scene 4 Workbook Questions and Answers
Question 1.
T never did repent for doing good
Nor shall not now ‘ (Lines : 10-11)
On what occasion does Portia speak these lines ? What has she done ?
Answer:
Portia speaks these lines when Lorenzo praises Portia for sending Bassanio to Antonio’s help. He is surprised that Portia has done such a noble deed without knowing who Antonio is.
Question 2.
‘But come, I’ll tell thee all my whole device
When I am in my coach’ (Lines : 81-82)
What is in Portia’s mind as she leaves her home for Venice ?
Answer:
As she leaves her home for Venice, Portia has in her mind a plan to defend Antonio. She thinks of going to Venice as a lawyer in a male’s dress, along with Nerissa as her male clerk and fight the legal battle against Shylock with the help of her lawyer cousin.
Question 3.
What duty is assigned to Balthasar by Portia ?
Answer:
Portia is in a hury to go to Venice to save Antonio’s life. So she asks Balthasar to run to Padua and deliver a letter to Dr. Bellario. She asks him to bring back what documents and clothes Dr. Bellario would give him.
Merchant of Venice Workbook Answers Act 3 Scene 4 Passage Based Questions
PASSAGE 1
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :
I never did repent for doing good,
Nor shall not now; for in companions
That do converse and waste the time together,
Whose souls do bear an equal yoke Of love,
There must be needs a like proportion
Of lineaments, of manners and of spirit;
Which makes me think that this Antonio,
Being the bosom lover of my lord,
Must needs be like my lord. If it be so,
How little is the cost I have bestow’d
In purchasing the semblance of my soul
From out the state of hellish misery !
This comes too near the praising of myself;
Therefore no more of it : hear other things.
(i) Who is being addressed to ? Who are present on the occasion ?
Answer: Lorenzo is being addressed to here by Portia. Nerissa, Lorenzo, Jessica and Balthasar are present on the occasion.
(ii) What has Lorenzo told Portia ?
Answer: Lorenzo has told Portia as to how loving a friend Antonio is of her husband. He is sure that if she knew it she would feel even more proud of what she has done to help Antonio.
(iii) What is Portia’s instant reply ?
Answer: Portia at once says that she has never been sorry for doing good, and shall not do so now.
(iv) What is Portia’s reason in helping Antonio so generously ?
Answer: According to Portia, Antonio being her husband’s dearest friend must be like him. So in that case whatever she does to save him, who is so like her husband, is very slight.
(v) Give two qualities of Portia that this passage reveals.
Answer: This passage reveals clearly Portia’s generous nature and his humility.
PASSAGE 2.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :
Lorenzo :
Madam, with all my heart;
I shall obey you in all fair commands.
Portia :
My people do already know my mind,
And will acknowledge you and Jessica
In place of Lord Bassanio and myself.
And so farewell, till we shall meet again.
(i) Where are the speakers now ? What has Portia asked Lorenzo to do ?
Answer: The speakers are now in a hall in Portia’s house. Portia has asked Lorenzo to look after the house during Bassanio’s absence as they are also going to a convent for prayers.
(ii) Portia is ready to leave her house. What does she tell Lorenzo and Jessica ? Where is she actually going ?
Answer: Portia tells Lorenzo and Jessica that her people (servants) would obey them as their masters in her absence. She is actually going to Venice to defend Antonio as a lawyer in male attire.
(iii) What tells you that Portia is extremely humble ?
Answer: Portia is so humble and considerate that she does not even call her servants as servants. She calls them her ‘people’ out of respect and humility.
(iv) After Jessica and Lorenzo leave, later in the scene, whom does she meet, and for what ?
Answer: After Jessica and Lorenzo have left, she meets Balthazar, one of her servants, whom she asks to go with a letter to her cousin in Padua. She wants the help of her cousin, a civil doctor, in Antonio’s case.
(v) What does she tell Nerissa later ?
Answer: She tells Nerissa later that they are leaving for Venice in male dresses. She will be a lawyer and Nerissa her clerk. She says she will explain to her the whole plan on the way.
PASSAGE 3.
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :
Portia :
Like a fine bragging youth, and tell quaint lies,
How honourable ladies sought my love,
Which I denying, they fell sick and died;
I could not do withal; then I’ll repent,
And wish for all that, that I had not killed them;
And twenty of these puny lies I’ll tell,
That men shall swear I have discontinued school
Above a twelve month. I have within my mind
A thousand raw tricks of these bragging Jacks,
Which I will practise.
(i) Who is Portia speaking to ? What is her plan ?
Answer: Portia is speaking to her companion Nerissa. Her plan is to go to Venice in male attire. She will act as a lawyer and Nerissa, her clerk. She hopes to defend and rescue Antonio.
(ii) How does Portia describe her in the role of a young man ?
Answer: Portia says that she will act as a bold .dashing young man. She will speak in a shrill voice and boast of duels and fights as the fashionable young men do. She will also refer to her imaginary love conquests.
(iii) What is Portia’s tone and attitude as she describes the youth of her age ?
Answer: When Portia describes the youth of her age her tone is hilarious and attitude satirical. Her words are a satirical commentary on the hollow youth who waste a lot of their time in idle pursuits.
(iv) What do you learn about Portia from her scheme ?
Answer: From her scheme it becomes clear that Portia is a good planner. She is bold and adventurous. She does not believe in sitting idle at home. She is a doer in the true sense of the term.
(v) Why has Portia not gone to Belmont with Bassanio ?
Answer: Portia has not gone to Belmont with Bassanio. Perhaps she thinks of going to Venice herself later. Or she wants to spring a surprise on Bassanio, which seems to be more plausible.