Quotes and Possible Essay Questions for The Merchant of Venice

Quotations:

1. "In sooth I know not why I am so sad. / It wearies me, you say it wearies you ..." Antonio 1.1

2. "By my troth, Nerissa, my little body is aweary of this great world." Portia 1.2

3. "God made him, and therefore let him pass for a man." Portia 1.2

4. "I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following: but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you." Shylock 1.3

5. "Mark you this, Bassanio, / The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose." Antonio 1.3

6. "I am sorry thou wilt leave my father so: / Our house is hell: and thou, a merry devil, / Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness." Jessica 2.3

7. "But yet I'll go in hate, to feed upon / The prodigal Christian ..." Shylock 2.5

8. "What's here? the portrait of a blinking idiot ..." Prince of Aragon 2.9

9. "The ancient saying is no heresy: / Hanging and wiving goes by destiny." Nerissa 2.9

10. "The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction." Shylock 3.1

11. "The curse never fell upon our nation till now; I never felt it till now ... I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear!" Shylock 3.1

12. "I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys." Shylock 3.1

13. "So may the outward shows be least themselves; / The world is still deceived with ornament." Bassanio 3.2

14. "... an unlessoned girl, unschooled, unpractised; / Happy in this, she is not yet so old / But she may learn ..." Portia 3.2

15. "When I was with him, I have heard him swear / ... That he would rather have Antonio's flesh / Than twenty times the value of the sum ..." Jessica 3.2

16. "What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong?" Shylock 4.1

17. "Then must the Jew be merciful." Portia 4.1

18. "O upright judge! Mark, Jew. O learned judge!" Gratiano 4.1

19. "Such harmony is in immortal souls, / But whilst this muddy vesture of decay / Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it." Lorenzo 5.1

Possible Essay Questions: (See also "Some Questions Concerning the ‘Monstrous’ Acting of Merchant," below.)

1. Discuss Portia as a woman of the Renaissance and as a lady in the tradition of courtly love. What does the presence of Portia in Merchant say about Shakespeare's opinion of women?

2. Some critics have argued that the two plots of Merchant are imperfectly joined. Discuss the many connections between and among the characters that prove this argument to be invalid.

3. Compare and contrast the National and the BBC productions of Merchant. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each, and use your discussion to suggest what an ideal production of the play would be like.

4. Analyze a scene from The Merchant of Venice using the Wilders method.

Some Questions Concerning the "Monstrous" Acting of Merchant

1. Is it fair to say that, despite his disclaimer, Laurence Olivier does sentimentalize Shylock? Discuss the pictures, the scream, the chant, and the omissions in the text.

2. Is the BBC Shylock at once more merry and more vicious than Olivier's Shylock? Are the Christians in the play more cruel in the BBC production than in the National?

3. Antonio and Bassanio (not to mention Gratiano) are meant to carry courtly virtues and a goodly supply of charm. Which production does a better job of demonstrating this?

4. Portia is witty as well as wise, as quick to joke as she is to understand; therefore, much of the play's humor is in her mouth. Compare the Portias.

5. The National production cuts Launcelot Gobbo, his fiend, his father, and his malapropisms. Is this justified?

6. Jessica is much more in love and much less (not at all is much less) guilty in the BBC production. Compare the two Jessicas with especial attention for the "On such a night" scene.

7. Compare and contrast the costumes and the (for want of a more descriptive word) music.

8. Compare and contrast the two Aragons and the two Moroccos (making four in all). Does the National production diminish both Portia and Bassanio?

9. Antonio's danger is more graphically portrayed in the BBC production, and Gratiano's malice seems better placed. Discuss.

10. What is the relationship between Jessica and Gratiano and between Jessica and Lorenzo that the BBC production suggests?

11. The National Shylock does not wear a beard. Does this make a difference?

12. The National production cuts Jessica's scene in male attire. How does this affect Portia and the parallel?

13. The National production not only cuts but also rearranges the text. Discuss.