The Merchant of Venice Act IV, Scene I

Where does this scene take place?

• A court in Venice

• A lawyer's house in Venice

• Portia's garden

• Belmont

What is Shylock described by the Duke as?

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Answer explanation

A stony adversary, an inhuman wretch uncapable of pity, void from any dram of mercy.

"I do oppose my patience to his fury, and am arm'd to suffer, with a quietness of spirit, the very tyranny and rage of his."

Who says these lines? what has he been indirectly compared to? Why is he "arm'd to suffer with a quietness of spirit"?

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Answer explanation

These lines are spoken by Antonio. He is indirectly compared to Christ. Antonio has been raised to a sort of Christ-like figure(Christ showed mercy when he was being crucified and said "Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing". Antonio says he will bear Shylock's hate and rage with kindness and mercy.

Antonio is forced to suffer Shylock's malice as he has forfeited the bond. According to the bond, If Antonio was not able to pay Shylock back the money he borrowed within the given time, Shylock could take a pound of flesh from whichever part of Antonio's body he wished. Antonio now has to face the consequences of agreeing to the bond and must be ready to give up his life.

When Shylock enters the court, What does the duke request of him?

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Answer explanation

- He says that Shylock's cruelty is very strange and hopes that he will drop this act and begin to show remorse

-He says your cruelty is so strange, but if you turned around and showed remorse it would be even more strange

- He asks him to forgive Antonio and let him live, and forgive a portion of the borrowed sum as well

Antonio compares certain impossibilities to Shylock's behavior. What are these?

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Answer explanation

- you can stand upon the beach and ask the tide to lower the height of the waves

- you can ask the wolf why he made the ewe cry for its mother

- you can forbid the trees from swaying and ask them to make no noise

- You can take whatever is the hardest thing and seek to soften it.

How does Shylock respond to the Duke who asks him "How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?"

• He says he realizes where he is wrong and decides to show mercy

• He does not comprehend why the Duke asked him that

• He says that he is not doing anything wrong and that Christians do plenty wrong as well

• He says that he is not doing anything wrong and Antionio is the root cause of everything

"The Jew shall have my flesh, blood, bones, and all, ere thou shalt lose for me one drop of blood"

Who says these lines? What literary device is used here?

• Bassanio, simile

• Bassanio, allusion

• Bassanio, foreshadowing

• Antonio, archetype

"Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew, Thou makest thy knife keen; but no metal can, no not the hangman's axe, bear half the keenness of thy sharp envy"

What is the meaning of these lines?

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Answer explanation

You make your knife so sharp(keen), not on your sole, but your soul. Shoe soles back in the day were made of whetstone which is used for sharpening cutting tools. Gratiano says that he is not sharpening the knife on a whetstone, but on his soul(hardened heart) and that not even a hangman's axe could be as sharp as your malice.

"Thou makest me waver in my faith, To hold opinion with Pythagoras,"

What 'opinion' does Pythagoras have? What does Gratiano say about it?

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Answer explanation

Pythagoras' opinion stated that soul transfusion was possible; the souls of animals could infuse themselves into the bodies of men. Gratiano says that the only way a man can be as bloodthirsty and ravenous as Shylock is is because his body contains the soul of a man-eating wolf. He states that the wolf was hanged for slaughter and that it escaped the gallows and infused itself into Shylock while he lay in his mother's unholy womb.

" 'Tis the mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; but mercy is above this sceptred sway; It is enthroned in the hearts of kings, It is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God's when mercy seasons justice."

Explain the lines above.

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Answer explanation

Mercy is the most powerful weapon that man has; it is also the most powerful in men with the most power. Only the mighty can show mercy, the weak seek revenge. Mercy is the sign of a good king, more than his crown is. The identity of a true king comes from his ability to show mercy.

A king's sceptre is the symbol of temporal power. It is seen as his main characteristic, as it commands power and grandeur. When people are bound to respect these symbols, they become afraid of kings. But mercy is above the sceptral power. It is deeply seated in the hearts of kings and is a quality of God himself. Mercy in a king is greater than his earthly power, When a king shows mercy along with justice, he truly becomes God-like.