ACADEMIC YEAR: 2016 – 2017 REGULATION CBCS - 2012

UEN32 – SHAKESPEARE
Unit-1 & 2 - The Merchant of Venice
Type: 100% Theory
Question & Answers
PART – A ANSWERS

1. What, according to Portia, “droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven”? (Nov. 2012)
In this line Portia as a young lawyer gives an eloquent expression to the blessing of
mercy. But Shylock remains absolutely unmoved. Portia still pursues the matter and says
that mercy is a diving quality. Mercy wells out of the human heart as the cloud melts into
gentle and soothing rain. It is blush in itself and it blesses others.

2. What is the name of Bassanio’s man servant? (Nov. 2012)

Launcelot Gobbo is the name of Bassanio’s servant

3. How many ducts is Jessica rumoured to have spent in one night in Genoa? (Nov.
2012)
80 ducts is Jessica rumoured to have spent in one night in Genoa.

4. What are all the materials that the caskets are made of?
The caskets are made of material like Gold, silver and lead.

5. Which of the caskets has the inscription, “who chooseth me shall gain what many
men desire”? (April/May 2013)
Gold casket has the inscription, “who chooseth me shall gain what many men
desire”

6. Who exclaims, “A Daniel come to judgement! Yea, a Daniel!”. (April/May 2013)

In the trial scene of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock refers to Portia as a ‘Daniel’,
saying: “A Daniel has come to judgment! Yea, A Daniel!

7. What does the disguised Portia take from Antonio as a reward for her legal services?
(April/May 2013)
Disguised Portia takes Bassanio’s wedding ring from Antonio as a reward for her
legal services

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8. Who is “never merry” on hearing sweet music? (April/May 2013)

Jessica is “never merry” on hearing sweet music
9. “If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh”? – Explain.
(Nov./Dec. 2013)
Shylock makes it clear that he no longer wants repayment of Bassanio's debt of
three thousand ducats. He would prefer his pound of flesh from Antonio instead since he
now sees Antonio as the source of all his miseries and reaffirms his desire to make
Antonio pay for this.

10. How much money does Antonio borrow from Shylock? Clarify. (Nov./Dec. 2013)
Antonia borrowed Three thousand ducts from Shylock. If he fails to return the
money on particular time Shylock will take a pound of flesh from Anotnio’s body.

11. What are the three caskets contains?

The three caskets contain a skull, a portrait of a blinking idiot and the portrait of
Portia in the gold, silver and lead respectively.

12. Who loses the opportunity to marry Portia by choosing the silver casket?
The Duke of Earl loses the opportunity to marry Portia by choosing the silver
casket.
PART – B ANSWERS

1. Explain the circumstances that led to Antonio’s borrowing money from Shylock.
(Nov./Dec. 2013)
Antonio is a kind man and greatly loved by his fellow citizens. However the
person dearest to his heart is Bassanio, a noble Venetian, who , having a small inheritance,
has all but spent his little forture by living beyond his means, a young men of high rank
with small fortunes are apt to do. One day Bassanio comes to Antonio and tells him that
he dearly loves a lady who has inherited a rich estate from her recently dead father. He
tells him that he also wished to regain his fortune by marrying her. He asks Antonio to
lend him thre thousand ducts so that he can make an appearance before her, befitting a rich
heiress. Antonio has no money at that time but is expecting his ships full of merchandise
to arrive soon. He says that he would borrow the money from Shylock.
Antonio accompanied by Bassanio goes to Shylock and asks him for a loan of three
thousand ducts to be paid with interest on return of his ships. Shylock realizes that the
opportunity to get even with Antonio for lending money without interest and for insulting
him and his Jewish tribe. He agrees to give Antonio the money asked by him without
charging any interest from him .

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2. “Venice is represented as a cosmopolitan marketplace in The Merchant of Venice” –

Elaborate. (Nov./Dec. 2013)
Venice is an exciting, cosmopolitan setting for the play because it's a hotspot for
trade. While Jews had been legally banned from England since 1290, Venice had laws in
place to protect non-Venetian traders who supported the city's economic well-being.
Although people from all kinds of nationalities and religious backgrounds did business in
Venice, Shakespeare's setting is chock-full of religious strife, especially between
Christians and Jews. This culminates in a big legal showdown over whether or not Shylock
should be able to collect his pound of flesh from Antonio. We should also point out that,
although 16th century Venice was more tolerant of foreigners than Elizabethan England,
Jews in Venice were confined to ghettos at the time Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of
Venice.
Belmont is presented as a contrast to the city. It's also a place of easy wealth, beauty, and
peace, which makes it a great refuge from the cosmopolitan world of Venice.

3. Write briefly on the minor characters in The Merchant of Venice. (Nov./Dec. 2013)
Launcelot Gobbo - Bassanio’s servant. A comical, clownish figure who is especially
adept at making puns, Launcelot leaves Shylock’s service in order to work for Bassanio.
Salarino - A Venetian gentleman, and friend to Antonio, Bassanio, and Lorenzo. Salarino
escorts the newlyweds Jessica and Lorenzo to Belmont, and returns with Bassanio and
Gratiano for Antonio’s trial. He is often almost indistinguishable from his companion
Solanio.
Solanio - A Venetian gentleman, and frequent counterpart to Salarino.
The duke of Venice - The ruler of Venice, who presides over Antonio’s trial. Although a
powerful man, the duke’s state is built on respect for the law, and he is unable to help
Antonio.
Doctor Bellario - A wealthy Paduan lawyer and Portia’s cousin. Doctor Bellario never
appears in the play, but he gives Portia’s servant the letters of introduction needed for her
to make her appearance in court.
Balthasar - Portia’s servant, whom she dispatches to get the appropriate materials from
Doctor Bellario.

4. Is Shylock an isolated figure? Debate. (Nov./Dec. 2013)

The Merchant of Venice is riddled with characters who feel a deep sense of
isolation. The characters clash on a variety of levels, as they come from different
backgrounds and life situations and have different points of view. The most potent
isolation is caused by religious estrangement. Shylock is isolated because he is Jewish –
his religious beliefs and cultural values remain fundamentally at odds with those of his
fellow Venetians.

Shylock is a man who is hardly likeable in all aspects throughout “The Merchant of
Venice”. Already a marginalized member of Venetian society because he is a Jew and
occupies the stereotypical profession of the money-grubbing guarantor, Shylock ensures
that his peers and the audience will not like him because of his unreasonableness and
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unwillingness to let go of his tendencies to be greedy, even in a situation that seems to

warrant mercy and pity.

5. Discuss the dramatic importance of the opening scene in “The Merchant of Venice”
(Nov. 2012)
Antonio, a Venetian merchant, complains to his friends, Salarino and Solanio, that
a sadness has overtaken him and dulled his faculties, although he is at a loss to explain
why. Salarino and Solanio suggest that his sadness must be due to his commercial
investments, for Antonio has dispatched several trade ships to various ports. Salarino
says it is impossible for Antonio not to feel sad at the thought of the perilous ocean sinking
his entire investment, but Antonio assures his friends that his business ventures do not
depend on the safe passage of any one ship. Solanio then declares that Antonio must be in
love, but Antonio dismisses the suggestion.

The three men encounter Bassanio, Antonio’s kinsman, walking with two friends named
Lorenzo and Gratiano. Salarino and Solanio bid Antonio farewell and depart. When
Gratiano notices Antonio’s unhappiness and suggests that the merchant worries too much
about business, Antonio responds that he is but a player on a stage, destined to play a sad
part. Gratiano warns Antonio against becoming the type of man who affects a solemn
demeanor in order to gain a wise reputation, then he takes his leave with Lorenzo.
Bassanio jokes that Gratiano has terribly little to say, claiming that his friend’s wise
remarks prove as elusive as “two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff” . Antonio
asks Bassanio to tell him about the clandestine love that Bassanio is harboring. In reply,
Bassanio admits that although he already owes Antonio a substantial sum of money from
his earlier, more extravagant days, he has fallen in love with Portia, a rich heiress from
Belmont, and hopes to win her heart by holding his own with her other wealthy and
powerful suitors. In order to woo Portia, however, Bassanio says he needs to borrow more
money from Antonio. Antonio replies that he cannot give Bassanio another loan, as all his
money is tied up in his present business ventures, but offers to guarantee any loan
Bassanio can round up.

6. Describe in your own words the trail scene in “The Merchant of Venice” (Nov. 2012)
The trial scene is central to the action of the play. It is also arguable the most
dramatic scene in Shakespeare’s plays because the magnificent Portia is pitted against the
awesomely virile Shylock. It is also significant because the two parallel stories of the
bond and the caskets blend in exquisite harmony in the scene.
The first trail scene is symbolic of the creative genius of Belmont coming to the
rescue of helpless Venice. Antanio and Bassanio, who are the symbols of Venice, show
impotent helplessness, when cornered and threatened to be crushed by the massive force
that Shylock mounts on his enemies. Shylock is not a symbol of Venice, because he is
shunned by the entire city. Portia who symbolized Belmont, through her creative genius,
come to the rescue to Venice.

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The trial scene is a high tension public spectacle. The duke and the magnificoes
are all assembled in their places, and the reader is full of apprehension for Antonio’s life.
The trial beings. Bassanio is unable to recognize Portia in disguise. Portia first addresses
Shylock and agrees that he has the right to Antonio’s pound of flesh as per the bond.
She then tell Shylock to have a doctor ready lest Antonio bleeds to death. Portia tells him
the bond does not permit even a drop of blood to be shed.

7. Sketch the character of Antonio.

Antonio is the wealthy merchant of Venice. A prince among merchants, he is a

man in whom the “ancient Roman honour” is clearly manifest. In the very opening scene
of the play there is a picturesque reference to his wealth. He is the central figure in the
play and yet he is relatively static and has not Shylocks dynamism. He is always acted
upon. Antonio’s virtues, have, far cut weigh his defects. His friend ship is always
disinterested. He is ready to go to any length to help his friends in distress. An
embodiment of rare friendship which we read about in legends, he is ready to go out of his
way to help Bassanio.
Right at the beginning of the play Antonio strikes a note of melancholy, and critics
have taken infinite pains to account for it. Some say that Antonio has a sort of
presentiment that dark days are ahead, for the coming events cast their shadows before.

8. Examine the appropriateness of the title – “The Merchant of Venice”. (Nov. 2012)

Antonio is generally recognized as the merchant in The Merchant of Venice. He is

a Christian who stands as the opposite of the money lender, Shylock who is a Jew. In
European culture, when in the 1500s and 1600s Christianity was virtually universal,
Antonio is also the symbol of Christianity. When Antonio is dealing with Bassanio, he
does act like a Christian showing generosity, love, devotion, kindness. Later the same day,
when he is talking with Shylock. Antonio shows not one shred of Christian qualities: he is
hateful, mean, cruel, insulting. This is also part of the representation Christianity of the era
because it was viewed as right to suspend Christian precepts when dealing with Jews.

Antonio is the pivotal character. On one side, it is his display of Christian values
that lets Bassanio win Portia's hand. On the other side, it is his dearth of Christian values
that incites an enraged Shylock to exact an absurd bond--the pound of flesh--for the
lending of the three thousand ducats. Furthermore, the climax of the play centers around
Antonio. When Antonio's pivotal and contradictory role is considered, it seems safe to say
that yes, the title The Merchant of Venice is an appropriate one because it is through the
merchant Antonio that Shakespeare explores the assumptions about Christian behavior and
values.

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The play could be named after any of the major characters or a theme of the play. It
did not have to be named after Antonio, who happens to be the merchant of venice. It
could have been named after Shylock, and called The Money-lender of Vencie, or after
Portia, and called The Advocate, or after one of the themes, and called The Caskets, or
The Choice, or any other choice of names, of which there could have been many.

9. What light does the trial scene throw on the character of Shylock? (April/May 2013)
The trial scene is also remarkable for its depiction of the rise and fall of Shylock’s
emotions. In the beginning, he is exultant, self-confident , in full control of powers, and
more than a match for the combined wit of the Christian forces arraigned against him. He
is rigid and inflexible, and applauds Portia as an upright judge. But as soon as the
judgment is pronounced against him, his dreams of revenge are shattered. First, he
expresses his willingness to accept the money that is offered to him, and when that too is
not permitted, he offers to go away. His dejection is complete when he is forced to change
his religion and his property is forfeited. He totters out of the court, perhaps to his death
bed.
It is a forward-looking scene. It also marks the beginning of the episode which is the
source of such hilarious laughter in the last act.

10. Why does Antonio accept the hazardous conditions of Shylock’s bond? (April/May
2013)
Antonio displays a certain melancholy throughout the play. He is very popular and
is highly esteemed by all. He has a number of qualities of head and heart which endear
him to all those who come in contact with him. His selfless generosity and kindness of
heart have been frequently referred. Bassanio loves Portia very deeply. So, he has
frequently come to help of Shylock’s victims and has paid off their debts. He is never
tired in doing offices of kindness to his friends, as is shown by the fact that Bassanio has
several times borrowed money from him and he always obliged him, though he must have
known that it was not likely to be returned.

11. Write a note on the story of Bassanio. (April/May 2013)

Bassanio is a young and handsome gallant of Venice. He is a close and dear friend
of the noble Antonio. In the beginning of the play, he does not appear in a favourable
light. He strikes us as being a spendthrift, fond of splendid living, one who has wasted not
only his own estate, but has frequently borrowed large sums from his affectionate and
loving friend. He very frankly admits that he has wasted his wealth.
He comes to Antonio to borrow three thousand ducats, staking them on a blind
adventure, the doubtful wooing of a rich heiress, Portia. From his whole conduct he
appears to be a merely a fair-weather friend to Antonio for the sake of his money, and a
worthless lover to Portia for the sake of paying his debts with her fortune.
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12. Sketch the character of Bassanio. (April/May 2013)

Bassanio He is a typical Elizabethan lover and nobleman who is careless with his
money; hence, he has to borrow from Antonio so that he can woo Portia in style. A
gentleman of Venice, and a kinsman and dear friend to Antonio. Bassanio’s love for the
wealthy Portia leads him to borrow money from Shylock with Antonio as his
guarantor. An ineffectual businessman, Bassanio proves himself a worthy suitor,
correctly identifying the casket that contains Portia’s portrait.

PART – B ANSWERS

1. Discuss the concept of law and justice presented in The Merchant of Venice.
(Nov./Dec. 2013)
The intertwined concerns of human law and providential justice figure prominently
in Shakespeare's dramas, regardless of genre, and have elicited considerable critical
commentary in the late twentieth century. Legal conflict frequently appears in the
comedies, romances, and problem plays, often leading to formal or mock trials of thematic
significance. The use and abuse of law also abounds in the histories, and emerges in the
tragedies, where the transcendental forces of justice dictate the outcome of human
disputes. Overall, the sheer weight and diversity of legal terminology in Shakespeare's
works has resulted in multiple lines of scholarly research on the topic. Commentators have
considered allusions to the contractual obligations of marriage in the comedies; to the
legalities of property, authority, and succession in the histories; and to the fallibility of
worldly judgment in the problem plays and tragedies. This last subject, critics note, has
tended to summarize Shakespeare's principal interest in human law as a flawed reflection
of divine justice, which may only be redeemed when tempered with mercy.
Trials provide the centerpiece of any discussion of law in Shakespeare's dramas.
This is no more apparent than in The Merchant of Venice, a work frequently cited by
critics for its legal implications. Particular interest has tended to center on Antonio's trial,
prompted as it is by Shylock's vengeful demand for a pound of flesh in exchange for the
merchant's unpaid debt. In discussing the play, many critics have emphasized the legal
acumen of (in the guise of the male law clerk, Balthasar) and the dynamics of courtroom
persuasion featured in her often-quoted mercy and justice speech.
The Merchant of Venice to demonstrate the theme of vengeance thwarted and
justice achieved through mercy. The Merchant of Venice as a legal parable that hinges on
the subject of rigid versus flexible interpretations of law. the cultural contexts of this
drama by focusing on the ideological threat that Shylock, as an outsider, presents to the
aristocratic authority of Venice and by studying the use of law as a tool of social
oppression.

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2. Bring out the character of Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice. (Nov./Dec. 2013)

Bassanio's character is more fully drawn than Antonio's, but it does not possess the
powerful individuality that Shakespeare gives to his portraits of Portia and Shylock. First
off, when one begins considering Bassanio, one should dismiss all the critics who
condemn him for his financial habits. Bassanio's request to Antonio for more money is
perfectly natural for him. He is young; he is in love; and he is, by nature, impulsive and
romantic. Young men in love have often gone into debt; thus Bassanio has always
borrowed money and, furthermore, no moral stigma should be involved. Shakespeare
needs just such a character in this play for his plot.

If Bassanio is not a powerful hero, he is certainly a sympathetic one. First, he has

some of the most memorable verse in the play — language which has music, richness, and
dignity. Second, he shows us his immediate, uncalculated generosity and love; this is
especially obvious when Bassanio, who has just won Portia, receives the letter telling him
of Antonio's danger. Bassanio is immediately and extremely concerned over the fate of
Antonio and is anxious to do whatever is possible for his friend. Here, the situation is
melodramatic and calls for a romantic, seemingly impossible, rescue mission.

When at last Bassanio and Portia are reunited, he speaks forthrightly and truthfully
to her. He refuses to implicate Antonio, even though it was at Antonio's urging that he
gave away his wedding ring to the judge who cleverly saved Antonio's life. No matter how
powerful the circumstances, he admits that he was wrong to part with the ring because he
had given his oath to Portia to keep it. As the play ends, Bassanio's impetuous nature is
once more stage-center. Of course, he will; this, however, is part of Bassanio's charm. He
means it with all his heart when he swears to Portia, but when the next opportunity arises
and he is called on to rashly undertake some adventure full of dash and daring, he'll be off.
Portia knows this also and loves him deeply, despite this minor flaw.

3. Examine Shakespeare’s treatment of love in The Merchant of Venice. (Nov. 2012)

The Romantic Comedies of Shakespeare are the stories of love and romance. Love
is the keynote of the Romantic Comedies. It is love that transports young men and women
to the enchanted world this love kindles heart, brain and senses alike in happy and natural
proportions. It is ardent but not sensual, tender but not sentimental, pure but not ascetic,
moral but not puritanic, joyous but not frivolous .
The Merchant of Venice is one of the very few comedies, where we are exposed to the
garish light of the day. We are mostly in the heart of Venice, and occasionally do we
voyage to Belmont.
It is, however, Belmont which provides the suitable background for love. Portia
and Bassanio are both romantic lovers. Portia for Bassanio is a coveted prize to be won
through struggle and adventures. Even before the choie of the right casket, Bassanio and

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Portia are in love with each other. Bassanio is not tempted by the promised held out by the
gold and silver caskets. He is prepared everything for the sake of love.
Jessica love is the result of her attempt to escape from the boredom and lurid atmosphere
of her father’s house. Emotionally starved at home, she finds in Lorenzo a kindred soul.
Portia love may be contrasted with that of both Jessica and Nerissa. A symbol of ideal
womanhood, Portia completely identifies herself with her husband.
Shakespeare bestows his gifts liberally on all his lover. At Belmont the lovers meet after
the grim Trial scene. Amidst a musical atmosphere they sing and laugh. They are happy,
and happiness is the gift of love.

4. Discuss Raleigh’s statement “Shylock is more sinned against than sinning”. (Nov.
2012)
The merchant of Venice is the most convincing play related to racism in nowadays.
William Shakespeare – the most famous writer in the world, originally wrote this play.
This play is about love, power and honour and it has been presented between the two wars.
The play was thought as a comedy to most Christian; on the other hand, people thought the
play was presented extremely races, as a Jew (Shylock) was the only villain and having all
the punishments.
William Shakespeare wrote The merchant of Venice in the Elizabethan period. It
was written as a play and this is reflected in the exaggeration of some of the scenes. At the
time the play was written anti-Semitism was common, this again is reflected by the
attitudes of the characters. In theory at the time this play was written only Jews who had
converted to Christianity were allowed in England at the time. This may be one of the
reasons it is set in Venice. Lancelot Gobbo describes Shylock as the very 'devil
incarnation'. Weather this is true or not it establishes the Christian's diabolical view of
Shylock as evil, this view is repeated throughout the play by almost all the main
characters. This is reflected in the relationship between Antonio and Shylock. Antonio is a
merchant who works hard for his money sending vessels all over the world.
Shylock has been represented as a villain, and yet we feel drawn to him. There are
critics, who refuses to regard Shylock as a villain at all. He can never forget that his race, a
race older that the Christians, has been vilified by the Chrisitians. Shylock then takes up
the cause of the Jews alone. The Duke proudly asserts that he has shown mercy to Shylock
and pardoned him that is a loud display of the difference between Jews and the Christians.
But this mercy is an apology for mercy.
Even the warmest advocate of Shylock would not say that he is a man of
unblemished character. But we are to remember that the ill-treatment meted out to him by
the Christians has brought into sharp focus the worst traits of his character.

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5. Discuss The Merchant of Venice as a Romantic comedy. (April/May 2013)

The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, probably
written in 1596 and 1597, and forms one of a group of such comedies, along with The Two
Gentlemen of Verona, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night.
Romantic comedy was a popular and much-preferred type in Elizabethan theatre, and all
the trappings of such are present in The Merchant of Venice. First, the romantic
involvement is represented not by one couple only, but by three (Portia and Bassanio,
Gratiano and Nerissa, and Jessica and Lorenzo). Also Elizabethans expected in their
romantic comedies certain characters and situations and a certain kind of plot
development: the chief element and central motive was love; the heroine was frequently
disguised as a man through part of the play, thus providing opportunities for comic
misunderstanding; and comedy was also provided by the wit of the heroine herself, who
was always more clever than the men in the play.
In a romantic comedy the necessary conflict is between the lovers on one hand and some
barrier to the fulfillment of their love on the other. In The Merchant of Venice the barrier
is, of course, Shylock’s hold over Antonio, which in turn involves his friend Bassanio. The
resolution of a romantic comedy consists in overcoming the barrier, usually bringing about
marriages.
Shakespeare follows this closely but has complicated the basic pattern in The Merchant of
Venice, wherein he skillfully weaves together four separate stories, all interconnected. The
bond story links Bassanio and Portia to Shylock through Antonio, the merchant. Bassanio
needs money in order to woo Portia, and his friend Antonio is that source, even though he
must borrow from the usurer Shylock, giving as surety a “pound of flesh.” This bond is
agreed upon in such away that there is question whether Antonio or Bassanio take the
condition seriously.
However, it is plain to the audience that Shylock does indeed intend to take his pound
“nearest the heart.” Culmination of the bond story provides the second great crisis of the
play.The casket story has to do with Portia, the “lady richly left,” and the stipulation in her
father’s will that the suitor who wins her hand can only do so by choosing the right one of
three caskets. Bassanio faces this task, and it provides the first great crisis of the play.
The elopement story is the first of two minor plots which fill out the action. Lorenzo, a
friend of Bassanio’s and Antonio’s, elopes with Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, thus affecting
Shylock’s attitude and behavior and contributing to the atmosphere at the end of the play.
The ring story is the fourth complication--most minor of all--in which Portia and Nerissa
wear disguises and force their lovers to give up their wedding rings. The mirth of this
confusion is pleasing to the viewers, who know the joke. Among other things, the ring
story serves the function of allowing the play to end on a comic note.

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6. Comment on the opening scene of the play The Merchant of Venice. (April/May
2013)
The first scene of the play introduces us to a world of wealthy, upper-class
Christian men living in Venice. Their conversation reveals that they are men of business
who take great risks with money and are careful to avoid seeming overly concerned about
their investments. For example, Antonio calmly denies his associates’ suggestion that he is
worried about his ships, and Salarino’s description of a shipwreck, with silks enrobing the
roaring waters and spices scattered upon the stream, is lyrical and poetic rather than
practical or business-minded. Significantly, the conversation throughout this opening
scene is not really about business, but rather Antonio’s emotional state—his friends see it
as their duty to cheer him up. We may infer that money is very important to these men, but
the code of manners that they share requires them to act as though friendship, camaraderie,
and good cheer matter more than money. For example, Salarino excuses himself by
asserting that his only concern is to make Antonio merry and that he is leaving because
better friends have arrived, but Antonio knows that Salarino is leaving to attend to his own
business affairs. The Christian men of the play share a certain set of values, but these
values are not always entirely consistent or self-evident.

However, if the professions of affection between Antonio and the other merchants
simply seem like good manners, Antonio’s loyalty toward his friend Bassanio is obviously
quite sincere. Where Bassanio is concerned, love and friendship really are more important
to Antonio than money. When Bassanio asks for help, Antonio promptly offers all of his
money and credit, insisting that they go straightaway to a lender so he can stand as security
for Bassanio. Antonio’s defining characteristic is his willingness to do anything for his
friend Bassanio, even lay down his life. Beyond this willingness to sacrifice himself for
Bassanio, Antonio is a relatively passive character. He begins the play in a dreamy
melancholy that he does not know how to cure, and throughout the play he never takes
decisive action in the way that Bassanio, Portia, and various other characters do. He
approaches life with a pensive, resigned, wait-and-see attitude, like a merchant waiting for
his ships to return.

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UEN32 – SHAKESPEARE
Unit-3 & 4
Type: 100% Theory
Question and Answers
PART – A ANSWERS

1. What is King Lear’s reaction when he hears Cordelia’s sincere expression of duty
and affection? (Nov. 2012)
Lear swears that Cordelia is no more his daughter. The portion intended for her is
now divided among his other daughters.

2. Name the dutiful son of the Earl of Gloucester. (Nov. 2012)

Edmund was the dutiful son of the Earl of Gloucester. He is a illegitimate son of
Gloucester.

3. Who poisons Regan? (Nov. 2012)

Goneril poisons Regan's drink after learning that they share a desire for Edmund.

4. How does Edmund die? (Nov. 2012)

Edmund is fatally wounded in the duel with Edgar and dies after confessing his
sins.

5. Who perceives Cordelia’s honesty and marries her? (April/May 2013)

The King of France perceives Cordelia’s honesty and married her.

6. Name the honey courtier of Lear. (April/May 2013)

Kent a noble man is the honey courtier of King Lear.

7. Who issues orders for the murder of Cordelia? (April/May 2013)

Edmund issues the orders to murder Cordelia.

8. When did Lear decide to dispose his estate among his daughters? (Nov./Dec. 2013)
The play opens with Lear, the elderly king of Britain, deciding to retire and divide
his kingdom between his three daughters: Regan, Goneril and Cordelia.

9. Briefly introduce Edmund in King Lear. (Nov./Dec. 2013)

Gloucester’s younger, illegitimate son. Edmund resents his status as a bastard and
schemes to usurp Gloucester’s title and possessions from Edgar. He is a formidable
character, succeeding in almost all of his schemes and wreaking destruction upon
virtually all of the other characters.

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10. “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave

My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty
According to my bond; no more nor less”. Explain
Cordelia speaks these words when she address her father, King Lear, who has
demanded that his daughters tell him how much they love him before he divides his
kingdom among them. In contrast to the empty flattery of Goneril and Regan,
Cordelia offers her father a truthful evaluation of her love for him: she loves him
“according to my bond”; that is, she understands and accepts without question her duty to
love him as a father and king.

11. Who is leading the army that lands at Dover?

Cordelia leads the army that lands at Dover.

12. Which one of Lear’s daughters is sent into exile?

Cordelia was sent into exile.

13. Who is Gloucester’s bastard son?

Edmund is the Bastard son of Gloucester.

14. What advice does Cordelia give to her sisters as she leaves with the King of France?
Cordelia asks her two sisters to treat their father well when she leaves with the
King of France.

15. Which characters are involved in the subplot of the story?

Gloucester and his illegitimate son Edmund and his legitimate Edgar son are the
characters involved in the sub plot.

16. Name one of the major themes of the play.

Appearance and reality is one of the major theme of the play. King Lear is more
impressed with his old daughter flowery speeches of love than Cordelia’s sincere
response.

PART – B ANSWERS

1. Who is the villain in ‘King Lear’? Can you offer any justification for his Villainy?
(Nov.2012)
Of all of the play’s villains, Edmund is the most complex and sympathetic. He is a
consummate schemer, a Machiavellian character eager to seize any opportunity and
willing to do anything to achieve his goals. However, his ambition is interesting insofar
as it reflects not only a thirst for land and power but also a desire for the recognition
denied to him by his status as a bastard. His serial treachery is not merely self-interested;
it is a conscious rebellion against the social order that has denied him the same status as
Gloucester’s legitimate son, Edgar.
He is the ultimate self-made man, and he is such a cold and capable villain that it
is entertaining to watch him work, much as the audience can appreciate the clever
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wickedness of Iago in Othello. Only at the close of the play does Edmund show a flicker
of weakness. he seems to repent of his villainy and admits to having ordered Cordelia’s
death. His peculiar change of heart, rare among Shakespearean villains, is enough to
make the audience wonder, amid the carnage, whether Edmund’s villainy sprang not
from some innate cruelty but simply from a thwarted, misdirected desire for the familial
love that he witnessed around him.

2. Write a note on the fool in ‘King Lear’ (Nov. 2012)

The Fool assumes the role of Lear's protector when Cordelia is banished. The
Fool functions much as a Chorus would in a Greek tragedy, commenting upon events and
the king's actions and acting, in some ways, as the king's conscience. The Fool is the
king's advocate, loyal and honest, but he is also able to point out the king's faults, as no
one else can. The Fool's use of irony, sarcasm, and humor help to ease the truth, and
allows him to moderate Lear's behavior. The Fool shares his master's fate, and this
reinforces the impression that the Fool's purpose is to protect Lear until Cordelia can
arrive to help her father. Both Cordelia and the Fool are caretakers for Lear, and when
one is present, the other need not be.

3. Trace the circumstances which drive Lear into madness. (Nov. 2012)
When Lear decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters, Cordelia,
Goneril, and Regan in order to have less responsibility in his old age, he creates a
situation in which his eldest daughters gain authority over him and mistreat him. Lear is
unable to cope with his loss of power and descends into madness. While the
circumstances in which Lear finds himself are instrumental in the unfolding of this
tragedy, it is ultimately not the circumstances themselves, but King Lear’s rash reactions
to them that lead to his downfall. In this downfall, Lear is forced to come to terms with
himself as a mortal man.
Lear’s self-destruction begins when he stands before the court to divide his
kingdom and commands his daughters to profess their love for him. Cordelia, his
youngest and most favored daughter, idealistically believes that words are unnecessary in
the expression of love and refuses to profess her feelings. King Lear had planned to give
the most land to Cordelia and to stay with her in his old age and he states of Cordelia, “I
loved her most, and thought to set my rest/ On her kind nursery” (1.1.125-126). The king
does not understand the motives behind Cordelia’s silence and is shocked by her
unexpected reaction to his demand. He loses sight of his careful preparation for his
future and in his hurt and anger at her behavior, he impulsively disowns Cordelia and
divides her land between her two sisters. In this rash action he sets himself up for the
complete loss of power that drives him to madness.

4. Comment on the end of ‘King Lear’. (April/May 2013)

This long scene brings the play to its resolution, ending it on a note of relentless
depression and gloom. Almost all of the main characters wind up dead; only Albany,
Edgar, and Kent walk off the stage at the end, and the aging, unhappy Kent predicts his
imminent demise. Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, and Lear lie dead onstage, and Edmund and
Gloucester have passed away offstage. Albany philosophizes about his merciless end.

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The play’s emotional extremes of hope and despair, joy and grief, love and hate,
are brought to the fore as well in this final scene. Lear’s address to Cordelia at the
beginning of the scene is strangely joyful. Despite his grief, Lear expires in a flash of
utterly misguided hope, thinking that Cordelia is coming back to life. In a sense, this
final, false hope is the most depressing moment of all.

5. How far is Cordelia responsible for the tragedy in ‘King Lear’? (April/May 2013)
Cordelia, his youngest and most favored daughter, idealistically believes that
words are unnecessary in the expression of love and refuses to profess her feelings. King
Lear had planned to give the most land to Cordelia and to stay with her in his old age and
he states of Cordelia, “I loved her most, and thought to set my rest/ On her kind nursery”
(1.1.125-126). The king does not understand the motives behind Cordelia’s silence
and is shocked by her unexpected reaction to his demand. He loses sight of his careful
preparation for his future and in his hurt and anger at her behavior, he impulsively
disowns Cordelia and divides her land between her two sisters. In this rash action he sets
himself up for the complete loss of power that drives him to madness.
Lear has the opportunity to rethink his impulsive decision and change his mind,
but in his pride he is too stubborn to admit that he might have used poor judgment in
giving power to his eldest daughters. Lear reveals the extremity of his rashness as he
punishes the two people who have consistently loved him and looked out for his well-
being for small infractions. In removing these people from his life, he increases the
power of the untrustworthy elder sisters, and makes an already bad situation
worse. Therefore, as the results of his previous rash decisions accumulate, Lear creates
his own downfall.

6. Comment on Lear’s insanity as presented in King Lear. (Nov./Dec. 2013)

Lear is unable to cope with his loss of power and descends into madness. While
the circumstances in which Lear finds himself are instrumental in the unfolding of this
tragedy, it is ultimately not the circumstances themselves, but King Lear’s rash reactions
to them that lead to his downfall. In this downfall, Lear is forced to come to terms with
himself as a mortal man.
He loses sight of his careful preparation for his future and in his hurt and anger at
her behavior, he impulsively disowns Cordelia and divides her land between her two
sisters. In this rash action he sets himself up for the complete loss of power that drives
him to madness. Lear goes into the open wilderness and faces the turbulent storm, which
reflects and accentuates the internal chaos that is occurring within his mind as he faces
the results of his impulsive decisions and descends into madness.

7. How did Cordelia die? (Nov./Dec. 2013)

Cordelia is Lear’s favorite daughter and is often compared to
a Cinderella character, in that she loses a slipper at the end. After Lear is rejected by
Goneril and Regan, the wicked sisters, he goes mad. Cordelia returns at the end of the
play with the intentions of helping him, ultimately reversing her role as daughter to
mother. But when she arrives, he doesn’t even recognize her. Nevertheless, she forgives
him for banishing her. By the time Lear finally regains his reason and realizes who

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Cordelia is, they have little time to talk and reconcile; Edmund arrives and sends them to
prison, where Cordelia is ultimately hanged.

8. Sketch the character of Edmund.

Edmund is a fictional character and the main antagonist in William
Shakespeare's King Lear. He is the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester, and the
younger brother of Edgar, the Earl's legitimate son. Early on in the play, Edmund
resolves to get rid of his brother, then his father, and become Earl in his own right. He
later flirts with both Goneril and Regan and attempts to play them off against each other.

Edmund's desire to use any means possible to secure his own needs makes him
appear initially as a villain without a conscience. But Edmund has some solid economic
impetus for his actions, and he acts from a complexity of reasons, many of which are
similar to those of Goneril and Regan. To rid himself of his father, Edmund feigns regret
and laments that his nature, which is to honor his father, must be subordinate to the
loyalty he feels for his country. Thus, Edmund excuses the betrayal of his own father,
having willingly and easily left his father vulnerable to Cornwall's anger. Later, Edmund
shows no hesitation, nor any concern about killing the king or Cordelia. Yet in the end,
Edmund repents and tries to rescind his order to execute Cordelia and Lear, and in this
small measure, he does prove himself worthy of Gloucester's blood.

9. What role do women play in King Lear?

The female characters in King Lear are powerful figures who are often as
aggressive as, and at times more ruthless than, their male counterparts. Cordelia, who is
pure, unselfish, and unflinchingly loyal, is a more standard Shakespearean woman than
her strong, assertive, conspiratorial, violent, and regal sisters, Goneril and Regan. While
the older sisters are clearly very different in personality from the youngest, and while
Goneril and Regan are clearly villains, all three daughters resemble their father.
In Goneril and Regan, the similarity rests in their pride, arrogance, and fierce
temper; in Cordelia, it rests in her aura of royal dignity, courage, and uncompromising
stubbornness. All three sisters help to propel the plot, and Goneril and Regan are even
effective killers (Regan, most unusual for a Shakespearean woman, kills with a sword).
The presence of these three women becomes even more interesting when we remember
that, as often happens in Shakespeare, there are no mothers present in the play; Lear’s
and Gloucester’s dead wives are mentioned neither by these men nor by their children.
Without guidance from other females, the sisters actively pursue their desires as they
themselves see fit.

10. Analyze the relationship between madness and blindness in the play.
The two elderly characters who suffer the most in the play are Lear and
Gloucester. Their stories are similar in many ways; however, while Lear slowly goes
mad, Gloucester is blinded but remains sane. Shakespeare implies a parallel between the
two conditions: Lear and Gloucester both seem to be able to perceive certain things more
clearly after they lose their faculties. Lear realizes only as he begins to go mad that
Cordelia loves him and that Goneril and Regan are treacherous flatterers. He comes to

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understand the weakness of human nature, the emptiness of royal claims to power, and
the similarity of all human beings as he rambles in his insanity.
Similarly, Gloucester comes to understand which son is really good and which is
bad at the very moment of his blinding. Still, both Lear and Gloucester sink into despair
before their deaths. It is interesting to note that Lear’s eyesight fails in the moments just
before he dies, while Gloucester wishes himself insane, thinking he might thus bear his
misery more easily. This grim irony suggests a hopelessness that contributes to the
general gloom surrounding the play’s end.

11. What does the storm in Act 3 symbolize?

The storm powerfully symbolizes the chaos in Lear’s mind: the violent tumult in
the natural world reflects Lear’s inner turmoil. But the storm also provides an example of
the power of nature, from which not even a king is safe. Even as he challenges the storm,
Lear recognizes his own mortality and human frailty—perhaps for the first time.
The storm may also be a reference to the idea of divine justice, since tempests and
thunder have been viewed in both Christian and pagan traditions as a demonstration of
divine anger or power. Thus, the storm seems both to point out the weakness of Lear’s
royal power in the face of nature’s supremacy and to imply that the gods are angry at
the state of human affairs. Such anger is likely directed not only at Lear’s enemies for
their ruthless and cruel ambition but also at Lear for his initial callous treatment of
Cordelia.
PART – C ANSWERS

1. Consider King Lear as a tragedy, with special focus on the tragic flaw. (Nov./Dec.
2013)
King Lear is a tragic story by William Shakespeare is a story of a man King Lear
and his decision that led to his fate and the fate of others. With every tragic story comes a
tragic hero. The tragic hero of the story is King Lear. According to the definition of a
tragic hero one must be born into nobility, endowed with a tragic flaw, doomed to make a
serious error in judgement, fall from great heights or high esteem, realize they have made
an irreversible mistake, and faces and accepts death with honor meets a tragic death. King
Lear meets all of these qualities.
King Lear was a tragic hero that was born into nobility, endowed with a tragic
flaw and doomed to make a serious error in judgement. King Lear was born into nobility.
"He owned vast amounts of land and ruled over many people. Give me the map there.
know that we have divided In three our Kingdom." Not only was King Lear born into
nobility he was responsible for his own fate. He disowned his daughter Cordelia and
made his other two daughters rulers of his land once divided into three now divided into
two. His two daughters really did not love him they just wanted the land and power. They
turned against their father and had him sentenced to death by Edmund. Lear's death was
his own fault. This reason came about because of King Lear's tragic flaw, his pride. Pride
is also his reason of how he is a tragic hero.
King Lear was egotistic in the first act where he asked his daughters who loved
him most. When he found out his favorite daughter Cordelia did not have much to say
about his love for him he disowned her and divided his land to his two evil daughters
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Regan and Goneril. This was also the error in King Lear's judgement. Disowning his
daughter was the worst thing he could do. This mistake led to many outcomes the
division of his country to his two evil daughters, the loss of his armies and men, and the
loss of his own life.

2. Estimate the character of Cordelia. (Nov. 2012)

Cordelia is King Lear's favorite daughter until she refuses to flatter the old man
and gets booted out of the kingdom without a dowry. Soon after, she marries the King of
France and raises an army to fight her wicked sisters and win back her father's land.
Cordelia is one of the few genuinely principled people in King Lear. Compared
with her two sisters, she's a saint. Regan and Goneril flatter their father and then throw
him out of the house once they've got his money. Cordelia, on the other hand, refuses to
make a big public deal about her love for Lear and easily forgives her father when Lear
comes to his senses. Cordelia's honesty and integrity contrast with her sisters' selfish
insincerity.
Cordelia’s chief characteristics are devotion, kindness, beauty, and honesty—
honesty to a fault, perhaps. She is contrasted throughout the play with Goneril and Regan,
who are neither honest nor loving, and who manipulate their father for their own ends. By
refusing to take part in Lear’s love test at the beginning of the play, Cordelia establishes
herself as a repository of virtue, and the obvious authenticity of her love for Lear makes
clear the extent of the king’s error in banishing her.
Cordelia’s reunion with Lear marks the apparent restoration of order in the
kingdom and the triumph of love and forgiveness over hatred and spite. This fleeting
moment of familial happiness makes the devastating finale of King Lear that much more
cruel, as Cordelia, the personification of kindness and virtue, becomes a literal sacrifice
to the heartlessness of an apparently unjust world.

3. Compare and contrast the Characters of Regan and Goneril. (April/May 2013)
Goneril and Regan are, in many respects, nearly indistinguishable from each
other. While Regan is a bit more passive than Goneril and willing to allow others
(particularly men) to do her dirty work for her, both women are characterized ultimately
by their greed, resentment and dishonesty. Both women are also, at least at the beginning
of the play, decidedly clever and intelligent. At first, we might not find the actions of
Goneril and Regan to be despicable. They boldly and rather warmly sing their praises of
love for their father, a man who at the start of the play strikes us as being arrogant and
quick to anger. Both sisters also seem to show a genuine concern over Lear's increasing
madness during the early scenes of the play.
However, any sympathy we feel toward the sisters quickly evaporates when they
turn their father out into a storm and effectively take over his kingdom, and when they
decide to blind Gloucester. Both Goneril and Regan embody of evil and corruption.
Though they might not have started out as being evil, their desires quickly overcome
them and leads them both toward ruin. They are both without conscience and are ruled
entirely by their appetites for power. It is, however, their mutual appetites for power that
brings about their ultimate undoing and downfall. Once Lear is truly beaten down and

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powerless, Goneril and Regan turn on each other, with Goneril poisoning Regan and then
killing herself.

4. Assess the character of Lear in King Lear. (Nov./Dec. 2013)

Lear’s basic flaw at the beginning of the play is that he values appearances above
reality. He wants to be treated as a king and to enjoy the title, but he doesn’t want to
fulfill a king’s obligations of governing for the good of his subjects. Similarly, his test of
his daughters demonstrates that he values a flattering public display of love over real
love. Most readers conclude that Lear is simply blind to the truth, but Cordelia is already
his favorite daughter at the beginning of the play, so presumably he knows that she loves
him the most. Nevertheless, Lear values Goneril and Regan’s fawning over Cordelia’s
sincere sense of filial duty.
An important question to ask is whether Lear develops as a character—whether he
learns from his mistakes and becomes a better and more insightful human being. In some
ways the answer is no: he doesn’t completely recover his sanity and emerge as a better
king. But his values do change over the course of the play. As he realizes his weakness
and insignificance in comparison to the awesome forces of the natural world, he becomes
a humble and caring individual. He comes to cherish Cordelia above everything else and
to place his own love for Cordelia above every other consideration, to the point that he
would rather live in prison with her than rule as a king again.

5. Write an appreciation of the Opening scene of ‘King Lear’.

The play opens with a scene that introduces most of the primary characters and
establishes both the main plot and a subplot. This first scene also is important because it
provides the audience with an introduction to the character of Kent before he is banished
and before he reappears disguised as Caius in Scene 4.
Initially, Lear appears to be a strong ruler, a monarch who has decided to divide
his kingdom. Lear's choice will provide one clear benefit: Albany and Cornwall will be in
charge of the outlying areas of his kingdom, which have not been easily governed. Lear
plans to place Cordelia, with himself as her guest, in the center section. Lear recognizes
that he is growing older and explains his decision to divide his kingdom.
In order to bestow his kingdom between his three daughters; Goneril, Regan and
Cordelia he calls them together. His intentions are to split the kingdom between them
based on each’s expression of love for him. The two older daughters sweetly talk their
way in their father’s heart for sizable kingdoms. Cordelia however, the youngest and
Lear’s favorite, sees the sinister motivations of her sisters and tells her father of her
deep true feelings. Lear not hearing the sweet words that he expected, is so dismayed that
he banishes her. She leaves the country to marry the King of France.
Goneril and Regan scheme together in secrecy. Although they recognize that they
now have complete power over the kingdom, they agree that they must act to reduce
their father’s remaining authority.

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UEN32 – SHAKESPEARE
Unit- 5
Type: 100% Theory
Question Bank

Syllabus: [Regulation: 2012]

UNIT V : FUNERAL ORATION OF ANTONY AND BRUTUS IN “JULIUS CAESAR”

PART – A QUESTIONS
1. Which of the conspirators addresses the plebeians first after the assassination of Caesar?
2. Illustrate how Antony begins his speech. (Nov./Dec. 2013)
3. Name any two conspirators against Julius Caesar. (Nov. 2012)
4. ‘Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more’- Whose words are these?
(Nov. 2012)
5. What type of play is ‘Julius Caesar’? (Apr/May 2013)
6. Whose words are these? - “ I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him”. (Apr/May 2013)

PART – B QUESTIONS
1. Analyse the funeral oration of Antony critically.
2. Analyse the funeral oration of Marcus Brutus Critically. (Apr/May 2013)
3. Explain the theme of Rhetoric and power in Julius Caesar.
4. What is Dramatic irony? Show the extent of its use in the speech of Marcus Antonius is
‘Julius Caesar’. (Apr/May 2013)

PART – C QUESTIONS

1. Compare and contrast the funeral orations of Marcus Brutus and Marcus Antonius. (Nov.
2012)
2. Is Mark Antony’s speech inflammatory or emotional? Adduce reasons. (Apr/May 2013)

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