Act II: Scene 5
Extract
I
Shylock:
I am bid forth to
supper, Jessica…….dream of money-bags tonight.
1.
Why does Shylock accept the invitation
to dinner? On what grounds did Shylock refuse to accept an invitation to
dinner earlier in the play?
Shylock
accepts the invitation to dinner out of hatred and to eat the food of the
extravagant Christian, Bassanio. In act I, Scene 3 when Bassanio invites him
for dinner he refuses to dine with Christians since they were pork-eaters. He
asserted then that he would never eat, drink or pray with Christians although
he is ready to do business with them.
2.
Why is Shylock unhappy to accept the
invitation this time too? Who is the prodigal Christian? Give the significance
of a the word: prodigal.
Shylock
is unhappy to accept the invitation this time too as he feels premonition of
some misfortune about to take place. The previous night he had a dream about
money-bags which was considered as a bad omen.
Bassanio
is referred to as the prodigal Christian because he is a wasteful, who
spends money extravagantly which he has
borrowed from Shylock. Prodigal is a reference to the prodigal son described in
the Bible who wasted his share of wealth by lavish and careless living.
3.
Give the meaning of:
a) I
am not bid for love: I am not invited our of love.
b) I
am right loath to go: I hate to accept the invitation to dinner.
4.
How do Jessica and Lorenzo take
advantage of Shylock’s absence from home during dinner?
Jessica
and Lorenzo taking advantage of Shylock’s absence from home makes a plan to
elope. Jessica uses the occasion to leave home with her father’s money and
jewellery. Lorenzo uses the occasion to arrange the masquerade in which Jessica
will be the torch-bearer and thus easily elope with him.
5.
What sort of a bad omen did Shylock have
which made him think that there is some evil being plotted against him?
Shylock
had a dream about money bags on the previous
night. To dream about money and all kinds of coins was considered as a
bad omen. This made Shylock think that there was some evil being plotted
against him.
Extract II
Lock
my doors; and when you……feasting forth to-night.
1. Who
is the speaker of the above lines? To whom is he giving his advice? Why should
the doors be locked?
Shylock is the speaker of the above
lines. He is giving this advice to his daughter, Jessica. When Launcelot tells
him about the masquerade, he is alarmed for fear that such revelry may become
unruly. He hates their frivolity. Hence, he asks Jessica to lock the doors of
the house so that no sound of foolish displays may enter his serious house.
2. Where
is the speaker going? What reason does he give for his going out? Who was
Jacob? Why does the speaker swear by Jacob’s staff?
The speaker is going for Bassanio’s
dinner party. He is going out for dinner out of hatred for the Christian and to eat the food of the extravagant,
Bassanio. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, the founder of the Jewish race.
According to the Bible, Jacob, the
ancestor of Shylock had a staff that proved a blessing to him. In Genesis
32:12, Jacob boasts that he had crossed river Jordan only with a staff yet
returned with companies of men.
3. Give
the meaning of:
a) Clamber
not you up to the casements
Do not climb up to see from the windows.
b) Sound
of shallow foppery
Shrill notes of the fife
4. Who
are the ‘Christian fools with varnished faces’? What were they planning against
the speaker? What warning did the speaker have of it earlier?
Christian fools with varnished faces
refer to the Christians taking part in the masquerade at Bassanio’s dinner party. They were planning to make the
speaker’s daughter to elope with a Christian, Lorenzo with the speaker’s money
and jewellery. The speaker had warning of this in the form of a ‘dream where he
saw money bags and coins.’
5. Does
the person to whom the advice is given,
follow the speaker’s advice? Why?
The advice was given to Jessica by her
father, Shylock. She did not follow the advice and used the occasion of
masquerade to elope with Lorenzo.
6. Summarize
the advice of the speaker in your own words.
The speaker advices his daughter,
Jessica to lock up the doors. He tells her not to go up to the windows when she
hears the drums ad the shrill notes of the fife. He tells her not to stretch
her neck out to gaze over the public street to look at Christian fools with
painted faces. he instructs her to close all the windows of his house so that
no sound of the foolish display enters his sober house.
Extract
III
Shylock:
The patch is kind
enough, but a huge………stale in thrifty mind.
1. What
is meant by the ‘patch’ in the extract? What reasons does Shylock give to
Jessica for parting with Launcelot?
The word ‘patch’ in the extract means
the clown or the fool or the jester. In olden days, the professional fools or
jesters used to wear multicoloured patched costumes. So the word patch is used
in the extract for Launcelot. Shylock says that he is sending Launcelot ot
Bassanio as he would assist Bassanio in his spendthrift habits and waste his
borrowed money.
2. Whom
does Shylock wish to be ruined? Why?
Shylock wishes Bassanio to be ruined
because he wants to take revenge upon Antonio and can do so if Basanio and
Antonio fail to repay the loan on a stipulated date.
3. What
does Shylock mean by saying, ‘drones hive not with me’?
By the above words, Shylock means that
lazy people cannot live with him. Shylock says that Launcelot is lazy and
cannot be his servant, so he allows him to join Bassanio’s service.
4. What
is meant by the ‘borrowed purse’? For what purpose was it borrowed?
‘Borrowed purse’ refers to the three
thousand ducats borrowed by Bassanio from Shylock on the basis of the bond
signed by Antonio. The money was borrowed to enable Bassanio to go to Belmont
and win Portia in marriage after participating in the lottery of caskets.
5. Why
does Shylock ask Jessica to shut doors? Give the meaning of: Fast bind, fast
find.
Shylock asks Jessica to shut the doors
to make his house safe from revellers taking part in the masquerade. He quotes
an old proverb ‘fast bind, fast find,’ which means that if you lock a thing up, you will find it safe. (leave
secure and you will find all secure)
6. Describe
briefly how Shylock becomes an instrument of fate in this scene.
In this scene, Shylock becomes an
instrument of fate to further the action in the plot. On the one hand, his
desire for revenge upon Antonio is revealed because he goes to the supper to help to consume Bassanio’s borrowed money. He overlooks his religious
principles which forbade him
dining with Christians. He even ignores the premonitions of impending evil because of his revengeful nature. This
provided Jessica an occasion to flee from home with money and jewellery and to
elope with Lorenzo, a Christian. Thus, fate has used Shylock to further its
plans.