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Merchant of Venice Workbook Answers Act 5 – Important Notes – ICSE Class 10 & 9 English

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Word Meaning With Annotation

ACT V Scene I

Troilus, methinks, mounted the Trojan walls, and sigh’d his soul toward the Grecian tents, where Cressid lay that night : the characters mentioned here, Troilus and Cressida, were later immortalised by Shakespeare in the drama bearing their names. This refers to a tale of ancient Troy. Troilus was a son of Priam. Cressida, whom he loved, had been taken to the camp of the Greeks, who were besieging Troy. So Troilus is depicted as sadly walking on the walls of Troy, and looking towards the tents of the Greeks, where she is. Shakespeare’s object is to assemble in the minds of the audience several events of romantic beauty from old classical legend, and thus to create the impression that they are now looking on such a night of moonlit beauty as existed in all those images.

In such a night, did Thisbe fearfully o’ertrip the dew, and saw the lion’s shadow ere himself, and ran dismay’d away : Pyramus and Thisbe were lovers in ancient Babylon. They had made an appointment to meet each other at night, beside a certain tomb. Thisbe arrived first to keep the appointment, and saw a lion waiting there. She fled in terror, leaving her cloak onthe ground behind her. The lion took the cloak in his mouth, thereby leaving stains of blood on it. So when Pyramus arrived, he concluded that she had been devoured, and slew himself. Then Thisbe returned and discovered her lover’s dead body, and also committed suicide. Probably it was from Gower that Shakespeare derived this story, though Chaucer also has it. o’ertrip : to trip over, or to run across with light steps. The “dew” signifies “the dew-covered grass”, ere himself : before she saw Pyramus.

In such a night, stood Dido, with a willow in her hand, upon the wild sea-banks, and waft her love to come again to Carthage : the story of the love of Aeneas and Dido is told by Virgil in the Aeneid. Aeneas was the great Trojan warrior who founded the city of Rome. During his voyages, he landed in Carthage, where he gained the love of Queen Dido. Aftei several months of dalliance with her, he sailed away and left her broken-hearted. After a short period of extreme grief, she killed herself. Shakespeare says that it must have been on a beautiful full moon night like the present that Dido walked sadly by the shore of the wild sea, with a willow in the hand, the symbol of deserted love. Vainly she beckoned (wafted) to him to come back to Carthage.

In such a night medea gather’d the enchanted herbs that did renew old Aeson : we have heard of the classical hero, Jason, in this play. Medea was his wife and she is said to have experimented in enchantment. She gathered herbs of magical properties by night, and administered them to her aged father-in-law, Aeson, in an effort to restore his youth, steal : steal away. Lorenzo may be referring to the manner in which Jessica had appropriated her father’s property, unthrift : unthrifty; good-for-nothing. Jessica speaks playfully here, stealing her soul : capturing her love, like a little shrew : the shrew is a small field mouse, which is noted for its ferocity and fighting powers. Then the term came to be used to denote a scolding, or abusive woman, as is described in Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew. Lorenzo’s words are spoken in affectionate jest, did pretty Jessica, like a little shrew slander her love : did repeat untruths against her lover. Lorenzo is referring to Jessica’s remarks in lines 19-20, where Jessica had playfully accused him of making false promises of love to her.

I would out-night you : Jessica says, “I would beat you in this game of making speeches about nights,” or perhaps “I would have the last word though it meant staying here all night.” footing : footsteps; tread, she doth stray about by holy crosses : Portia is spending some time in religious exercises in various sacred places. The cross is the symbol of the Christian religion, and usually marks a sacred place or shrine. One or two editors have adduced this as evidence of Portia’s religious character. But we know’ that Bassanio is in great haste to return of Belmont at top speed, and yet Portia contrives to arrive before him. So we may accept this information of Stephano’s as a polite fiction to satisfy the curiosity of the servants as to their mistress’s whereabouts, wedlock hours : married life, none, but a holy hermit, and her maid : Portia is bringing a holy man back with her. She has halted by some wayside shrine, and brought back with her the attendent priest. A hermit signifies a solitary holy man, and not one from a religious house where many are assembled, he is not, nor we have not heard from him : this is an example of Shakespeare’s use of the double negative nor not. The custom was that a negative repeated in this manner made the meaning more emphatic, ceremoniously : attentively; with due care.

Sola : is said to be an imitation of the sound of a posthom, that is, the horn which a post or messenger blew to let people know he was coming, hollaing : calling out. tell him there’s a post come from my master, with his horn full of good news : a post was a messenger, and he blew his horn to announce his arrival. But there is another well-known phrase “horn of plenty”, because of the good news he brings, expect : await, signify : make known the fact, let the sounds of music : let beautiful music steal gently upon us. soft stillness, and the night, become the touches of sweet harmony : peaceful quietness and night-time are very suitable for the notes of sweet music, there’s not the smallest orb which thou behold’st, but in his motion like an angel sings : the ancients had a peculiar conception of the stars and heavenly bodies. They believed that every star and planet produced in its motion a peculiar musical note, and the combination of all composed “the grand harmony of the universe”. The cherubs, or angels, are depicted as listening to this music of the stars, and responding to it. This same conception of the music from the heavenly bodies is referred to elsewhere by Shakespeare, quiring : singing like a choir, or organised body of singers, young eyed : possessing the bright eyes of youth.

Such harmony is in immortal souls; But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it : Lorenzo states here that our souls are immortal, and also produce divine music. But as long as the dull human body (muddy vesture of decay) encloses the soul, we are unable to hear this, come, ho! and wake Diana with a hymn : Diana was the goddess of the moon. So to sing a hymn, or a solemn song, by night, might be said to awaken, her. pierce : penetrate. Race : a particular breed or strain. Here it seems to mean just the same as “herd”, unhandled colts : young horses which have not been “broken” or trained, hot condition of their blood : their own natural wild condition, mutual stand : come to a standstill all together, modest : quiet mild, the poet, did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones and floods : Orpheus was a famed musician of classical tradition. It was said that his skill was so wonderful that trees, stones, and other inanimate objects could be moved from place to place by the power of his music, and streams could be made to change their courses. The particular poet referred to as imagining (feigning) this is probably Ovid, stockish : the phrase “stokes and stones” is usually employed to denote the inanimate things of nature. “Stock” is the same as “stick” or dead wood. The general sense of the world is “unfeeling or devoid of life”, full of rage : savage, with concord of sweet sounds : by the harmonious sounds of sweet music.

Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils : “capable of treachery, scheming, and dishonesty.” Treason in Shakespeare’s time meant a political offence involving disloyalty to the State, stratagems : usually means a diplomatic or crafty action; the word is here used with a sense of baseness, which it need not necessarily possess, the motions of his spirit are dull as night : his thoughts and feelings are black as night, and his affections dark as Erebus : “and his likes and dislikes as dark as Hell.” Erebus was an abode of utter darkness, supposed by the classical peoples to exist in the under-world, and corresponding to our conception of Hell, naughty : worthless; wicked. So doth the greater glory dim the less, a substitute shines brightly as a king, Unto the king be by; and then his state, Empties itself, as doth an inland brook, Into the main of waters. Music! hark! : this, like numerous other passages in the final scene, show the unusual extent to which Shakespeare allows his characters to indulge in general moralising on life. He is carefully constructing the final atmosphere in which the play is to conclude. There is almost an attempt to convey a moral lesson, or point out a meaning to be derived from the incidents of the first four Acts, an intention practically unknown elsewhere in Shakespeare. The lines show Portia’s reflective nature, and give a final conception of her intellectual powers, a substitute : a person who has been acting temporarily in the place of another, his state : the glory and the splendour of the temporary king, inland brook : a stream flowing from the interior of the country.

Nothing is good, I see, without respect : nothing is good only because of its own value; it is affected, influenced by and dependent on circumstances and environment, methinks : I think; it seems to me. The crow doth sing as sweetly as the lark, when neither is attended : this is a statement which will be disputed by any observer of English bird life. The crow in England has a harsh unmusical note, not differing greatly from the Indian crow. The lark has a singularly sweet song. The crow lives in flocks, and a flock of crows all “cawing” at once is not musical by any means whereas the lark certainly commands our undivided attention by always singing alone, and at a great height in the air. Shakespeare, however, says that the chief charm of the lark’s song is that it is always heard alone, while crows are not appreciated because they are always heard in flocks.

The nightingale, if she should sing by day, when every goose is cackling, would be thought, no better a musician than the wren : this is a repetition of the same thought, but again is an over-statement. The nightingale certainly attracts more attention, since the song of the bird is usually heard all alone in the dusk of evening, when other birds have retired for the night. But the song of the nightingale is singularly musical under any circumstances, while the notes of the wren possess no great charm in themselves. Moreover the nightingale does often sing by day, though Shakespeare does not seem to know this, every goose : every common bird, cackling : uttering harsh notes, by season season’d are : are improved in every way by being perfonned at a suitable time or place. Such artificial arrangement of words as this we term “epigrammatic.”

the moon sleeps with Endymion, And would not be awak’d : this is another reference to an old- classical legend. Endymion was a beautiful youth who was loved by the moon. When he slept at night, the moon kissed him by pouring down her silvery light. So the phrase “the moon sleeps with Endymion” became a poetical expression meaning “it is night and the moon is shining”. But Portia takes “sleeps” in its literal sense, and says, “Silence there! the moon and her beloved Endymion are asleep and she does not wish to be disturbed by your music.”

He knows me as the blind man knows the cuckoo, By the bad voice : Portia’s humour. The cuckoo in England has an unmistakable note; even a blind man could not confuse it with any other bird, which speed, we hope, the better for our words : “Whom, we hope, will be benefited by our prayer.” The word speed is from the Old English verb spedan, which meant “to prosper” or “to benefit by”. The meaning has now come to denote fastness or quickness, but the old meaning will be found in such a phrase as “God speed you !” or, “May God make you prosperous!”, that they take no note at all : that they appear to know nothing at all of. tucket : a series of notes on a trumpet, tell-tales : informers; people who tell tales of each other, this night, methinks, is but the daylight sick : it is such a clear night that Portia says it is rather like a dim or sickly kind of daylight than the darkness we expect at night time.

We should hold day with the Antipodes, If you would walk in absence of the sun : this is an example of the fantastic and extravagant compliments of gallantry which were popular among the Elizabethans. The Antipodes denote the point on the earth’s surface which is exactly opposite to where we happen to be for the time being. Thus England has Australia for its Antipodes, since the two countries are at opposite points of the earth. When the sun is shining in Australia, it must be dark in England. But Bassanio says that Portia herself diffuses such brightness as to replace the sun, so that it is possible for them to enjoy daylight at the same time as the Antipodes. It is his elaborate and courtly way of explaining the brightness of the night, on which Portia  herself has just been commenting, let me give light, but let me not be light : again the favourite play upon words Portia puns on the double meaning of light, (i) bright, (ii) immoral. A woman of doubtful virtue is very often called “a light woman.”

for a light wife doth make a heavy husband : for an unchaste wife makes a sad husband, you should in all sense be much bound to him. for, as I hear, he was much bound for you : “you have every reason to be under great obligations of friendship to him, for I hear that he accepted great responsibilities on your behalf.” acquitted of : now free from, therefore, I scant this breathing courtesy : so I shall cease expressing it in mere polite words. Hoop : circle; ring, posy : this word was used by the Elizabethans to denote the proverb or inscription which was often written on the inside of a ring, like cutler’s poetry : it was also customary to have inscriptions on the blades of knives. They would perhaps not be so poetical in tone, for Gratiano says with contempt that the motto in the ring which Nerissa had given him was more like the inscription one would expect to find on a knife. But we can hardly see that this is just, when applied to “Love me and leave me not.” It seems quite appropriate and suitable for a lover’s gift, and Gratiano’s sneer is poor, you should have been respective : you should have had respect for it.

the clerk will ne’er wear hair on’s face that had it : the clerk you claim to have given in to will never wear a beard (i.e. because it was to a woman that you gave it), by this hand : another Elizabethan oath, scrubbed : scrubby; small-sized, prating : over-talkative, begg’d it as a fee : asked for it as his payment. To part so slightly with your wife’s first gift : to let such a slight cause make you part with your wife’s first present to you. a thing stuck on with oaths upon your finger : the ring had been placed on his finger to the accompaniment of solemn promises, which should have made it remain there, and so riveted with faith unto your flesh : a rivet is a type of steel nail, used to fasten metal plates together. Portia tells Gratiano that his solemn faith and honour should have been as strong as steel rivets in preventing the ring from leaving his finger.

I dare be sworn for him he would not leave it : Portia is deliberately making the situation uncomfortable for Bassanio, and increasing the irony for the enjoyment of the audience. She says that she is so sure of Bassanio that she would take an oath that he has not parted with her ring, “leave it” is equivalent to “part with it” or “lose it”, masters : possesses; owns, you give your wife too unkind a cause of grief : you have inflicted too cruel an injury on your wife. An ‘twere to me, I should be mad at it : if this had been done to me, I should be angered by it. I were best to : my best course would be to, etc. Man nor master : “man” in this sense is often used to denote “servant”, i.e. the clerk, while “master” is of course, Portia in her capacity as judge. If I could add a lie unto a fault, I would deny it : if my conscience would allow me to conceal my offence by a lie, I would deny having done so.

even so void is your false heart of truth : similarly your false heart lacks truth, void, empty of. Sweet Portia, if you did know to whom I gave the ring : this device of ending a number of lines with the same word is found seldom in Shakespeare, though cases do occur. If you did know for whom I gave the ring : Bassanio means that it was for the sake of his friend, Antonio, that he gave the ring away, left : “parted with”, abate : lessen. If you had known the virtue of the ring : “virtue” is often used in this manner to denote “goodness”. But it is more probable that Portia hints that the ring had a mystic or luck-bringing property, which would be lost by parting with it. or your own honour to contain the ring : If you had realised what a sacred obligation it was on your part to preserve the ring, what man is there so much unreasonable : the use of “much” In this adverbial sense is strange to our ideas of the word; read “so very unreasonable”. If you had pleas’d to have defended it : if you had cared to make an effort to retain possession of it.

with any terms of zeal, wanted the modesty, to urge the thing held as a ceremony : the sense is simple: “if you had defended it true zeal, what man would have been so lacking in good manners (modesty) as to press you for the ring, which you wore as a sacred thing?” I’ll die for’t, but some woman had the ring : I will wager my very life that you gave the ring to some woman. Civil doctor : a lawyer; a doctor of civil law. had up : saved; preserved. I was enforc’d to send it after him : I felt myself compelled (morally) to send the ring after him. I was beset with shame and courtesy : I was filled with shame at having refused him, and also prompted by natural courtesy to give it to him. besmear : stain; disgrace, blessed candles of the night : the stars, which are still visible. Shakespeare wishes the audience to think of this as taking place in the dim light of dawn, with stars still visible. He continues the impression of scenery by numerous little allusions of this nature.

I am the unhappy subject of these quarrels : I am unfortunate enough to be the cause of this quarrel, enforced wrong : this wrong which I was forced to inflict on you. thine own fair eyes, wherein I see myself : Bassanio may mean that he actually sees his own physical reflection in Portia’s bright eyes. But it may also be read: “Wherein I see the reflection of a soul, similar to my own.” There is no one clear meaning, for Shakespeare purposely constructs such lines with an ambiguous form in order to enable the other party to the conversation to quibble on the double meaning. So here Portia at once takes his words up in the former sense. She says, “If you see yourself reflected in my eyes you must see two images, one in each eye. If there are two images of you, that shows you to be a double (deceitful) person. So when you swear by your own deceitful self, that is not an oath which one can believe.”

I once did lend my body for his wealth : I once pledged my body on purpose for his welfare, had quite miscarried : would have been completely lost, which refers to body. I dare be bound again : yet I would risk entering myself as security for him once more, pledging my soul rather than my body, advisedly : intentionally; deliberately, surety : sponsor; security. Sweet lady, you have given me life, and living : “You saved my life at the trial, and now you restore my means of livelihood,” This is the same thought as expressed by Shylock in the trial scene, road : a road, in the sea-faring sense, is a sheltered bay or harbour where ships can lie in safety.

A special deed of gift : that which Shylock had been compelled to draw up in the court. We know that Portia possessed this, but we are left quite without information as to where she procured the letter telling Antonio of the safe arrival of his ships, manna : in the Old Testament of the Bible, the Jews are described as wandering in the desert on a long journey, without any means of support. So God sent divine food from heaven to them, called “manna”, and this they found lying on the ground. And charge us there upon inter’gatories : “and put as many questions to us as you like.” This phrase has been quoted in support of the argument that Shakespeare may have served in a law office at some time or other, so accurate and full is his knowledge of legal terms.

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Merchant of Venice Act 1, Scene 1 Modern English Translation Meaning Annotations – ICSE Class 10 & 9 English

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Original Text
Act I Scene I

Modern English Reading
Act I Scene I

ANTONIO : Really, I don’t know why I’m so sad; It wearies me; you say it wearies you; But how I caught it, found it, or came by it, What it’s made of, where it started, I must find out; And sadness makes me so crazy That I don’t know who I am.

SALARINO : Your mind is tossing on the ocean, Where your ships, with full sails —Like, gentlemen and rich citizens on the water, Or as if they were in a procession of the sea—Look over the minor merchants, That bow to them, pay them respect, As they fly by them with their woven wings.

Word Meaning With Annotation

In sooth : truly. It wearies me : the sadness of which Antonio is complaining, it seems, is in bom. caught : Antonio speaks of his melancholy as if it had been “caught”, acquired like an infectious disease, came by : acquired, whereof: “of what parents;” “of what origin”, want-wit : a dull person, a stupid fellow, ado : difficulty, trouble, argosies : this word was chiefly used of large and important merchant ships, portly : literally “of good part, “ or of a carriage which suggest importance. The word HERE suggests stoutness or fatness, signiors : gentlemen. pageant : exhibition of any kind which appeals to the eye. Antonio’s ships are said to present such a spectacle, overpeer: literally “peer over,” or ‘look over the top of.” petty traffickers : unimportant trading ships, curt’sy : the manner in which the small and light ships pitch up and down on the waves while the larger ship, because of its greater weight, sweeps along steadily, woven wings : the sails of the ships are woven of canvas, and carry them along just like the wings of birds.

Original Text

Modern English Reading

SALANIO : Believe me, sir, if I had such venture out there, The better part of my thoughts would Be with my hope of their safe arrival. I’d be Still plucking the grass to know where the wind blows, Looking over maps for ports and piers and roads; And every object that would make me afraid of Misfortune to my ships, Would make me sad without a doubt.

SALARINO : My breath, cooling my soup, Would make me ill, when I thought about The damage a mighty wind might do at sea. I shouldn’t see the time pass in the sands of an hour-glass But I’d be thinking about shallows and sandbars, And seeing my wealthy ship of war run aground, Lowering her high top sails lower than her hull To sink. Even if I went to church And saw the holy building of stone, I’d be thinking right away about dangerous rocks, Which, touching only my gentle vessel’s side, Would scatter all her spices across the water, Spreading my silk cargo across the roaring waters, And, in a word, one minute worth this amount of money, And now worth nothing. If I had the mind To think about all this, and if I lacked the mind to see That such a thing could happen, wouldn’t it make me sad? But don’t tell me; I know Antonio is sad to think about his shipments.

Word Meaning With Annotation

Venture : a trading expedition, in which money has been risked, forth : out on the sea. plucking the grass : pluck a blade of grass, and hold it up in order to see from its movement the direction in which the wind is blowing, roads : a sheltered piece of water : where a ship can lie safe from storms, broth : a thick kind of soup, ague : fever which is accompanied by fits of shivering, sandy hour-glass : an apparatus consistsing of two glass bulbs or balls. The sight of the sand within the glass will bring on the thought of dangers from hidden bands of sand at sea, on which ships may run aground, shallows and of flats : a plateau of the sea bottom which rises up near the surface are both dreaded by mariners, my wealthy Andrew : a name applied to any big merchant ship, dock’d in sand : resting on a sand bank, if in dock. Vailing her high-top lower than her ribs : the high top is the top of the mast; the ribs are the sides of the ships. If a ship is aground and has rolled quite over, then the top of the mast may be lower than the sides, vailing : lowering, to kiss her burial : to kiss the sands in which she is buried, which touching but : which, if they only touch etc. spices : aromatic substances and perfumes such as cinammon, musk, etc. stream : sea. Enrobe : cover; clothe, in a word : briefly. Shall I have the thought : shall my imagination make me think that such an unfortunate happening would make me sad. bechanced : having happened.

Original Text

Modern English Reading

ANTONIO : Believe me, no; I thank my fortune for it, My cargos are not all loaded on one ship. Or going to one place, and my whole estate is not Based on the fortune of this present year; So, my shipments don’t make me sad.

SALANIO : Then you must be in love.

ANTONIO : Nonsense, nonsense!

SALANIO : Not in love either? Then let’s say you are sad Because you are not happy ; and it’s easy to say that Because you laugh and leap and say you are happy, Because you are not sad. Now, looking at both sides, Nature has made strange fellows in her time: Some that will peep through their eyes forever, And laugh like parrots at a bag-piper, And the others of such sour disposition That they’ll never smile Although a wise old man swears that the joke is funny. Here comes Bassanio, your most noble relative, Gratiano, and Lorenzo. Goodbye, We leave you now in better company.

Word Meaning With Annotation

Fortune : ‘Luck’ and ‘Wealth’, ventures : business, bottom : ship, my ventures are not in one bottom trusted, nor to one place; nor is my whole estate, upon the fortune of this present year : nor is my financial position dependent on the business ventures of this year. Fie, fie : shame, not in love neither : The old English custom was to double a negative for emphasis, and there was no thought of two negatives cancelling each other out. Janus : He was the Roman God. He is always depicted with two heads, looking in opposite directions. He is mentioned here simply with the idea that Nature creates two different types of men, with different outlooks, peep through their eyes : the men here have such fat cheeks that their eyes are almost closed up, and they have difficulty in seeing through them, laugh like parrots : indulge in shrill screams of laughter, bag piper : one who plays the bag pipe, vinegar aspect : this expression is used to describe a severe and gloomy expression of the countenance. Nestor : was a Greek warrior. He is mentioned here as symbolic of seriousness and gravity in general. Even he would laugh at a certain jest, but the people of “vinegar aspect” would refuse to join in.

Original Text

Modern English Reading

SALARINO : I‘d have stayed until ¡ had made you happy, If worthier friends hadn’t stopped me.

ANTONIO : I appreciate your concern. I see your own business needs you, And you take this opportunity to leave. (Enter Bassanio. Lorenzo and Gratiano.)

SALARINO : Good morning, my good lords.

BASSANIO : Good gentlemen, when are we getting together? Say when.You’re turning into strangers; has it come to that?

SALARINO : We’ll wait until you’re free. Exeunt SALARINO, and SALANIO.

LORENZO : My Lord Bassanio, since you have found Antonio,We’ll leave you; but, at dinner time, Please remember where we’re meeting.

BASSANIO : i won’t forget.

Word Meaning With Annotation

Prevented : “made it unnecessary.” worth : merit; value, laugh : the sense is “When shall we have a merry party together?” you grow exceeding strange : You are becoming strangers to me; I see you so seldom.

Original Text

Modern English Reading

GRATIANO : You don’t look well, Mr, Antonio; You’re thinking too much about the world;They lose it that buy it with a lot of worry. Believe me. you’ve changed drastically.

ANTONIO : I only think of the world as the world, Gratiano; A stage, where every man must play a part, And my part is a sad one.

Word Meaning With Annotation

Respect upon the world : anxious thoughts concerning worldly affairs. They lose it that do buy it with much care : those who spend too much time worrying about worldly matters are never really happy, you are marvellously changed : not looking in his accustomed good health and spirits, and mine a sad one : Shadow of misfortune has fallen upon Antonio. But it may be that Shakespeare wishes to create a feeling of foreboding and destiny, on the principle that “Coming events cast their shadows before.”

Original Text

Modern English Reading

GRATIANO : Let me play the fool; Let old wrinkles come with happiness and laughter; And let my liver get hot with wine rather Than my heart turns cold with depressing groans. Why should a man who’s hot-blooded Sit like a statue of his grandfather, Sleeping when he’s awake, and creeping into jaundice By being spiteful? I tell you what, Antonio—You are my friend, and it’s my friendship that speaks—There is a kind of men whose faces Look foamy and covered like a standing pond, And who maintain a stub bom silence, So that people will think they have Wisdom, seriousness, profound ideas, Such as saying “I am Sir Fortune Teller, And when I open my lips, don’t let any dog bark.”Oh, my Antonio, I know about these men That are only considered wise Because they say nothing; when, I am very sure, If they should speak, they would almost damn those ears Which, hearing them, would call their brothers fools. I’ll tell you more about this another time. But don’t fish for this foolish worthless guppy, This opinion of mine, with this depressing bait. Come, good Lorenzo. Goodbye until later; I’ll end my speech after dinner.

Word Meaning With Annotation

Play the fool : Gratiano says that if Antonio has chosen to play a tragic part, he himself will prefer to have a comic role. And let my liver rather heat with wine : a liver enriched by wine would produce rich blood, and thus a lively personality, mortifying : “death-causing”, sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster : alabaster is a pure white stone used for making statues; hence this means simply “sit as still as a carved statue.” sleep when he wakes : appear sleepy in his waking hours, creep into the jaundice : It was believed then that jaundice was caused by mental worry, peevish : irritable; ill- tempered. there are a sort : ‘sort’ denotes a class containing a number, do cream and mantle like a standing pond : the figure is that of cream forming on the top of milk, or a green covering forming on the top of still waters in a pool. Certain men allow a grave look thus to form on their faces, do a wilful stillness entertain : and assume deliberately a pose of silence, with purpose : with the intention of. Sir Oracle : an Oracle, in the old world, was the inspired utterance of a priest, a direct statement from God. It was received by all without question, let no dog bark : let not even the lowest dare to interrupt, therefore only : solely on that account. If they should speak, would almost damn those ears : these men earn a reputation for wisdom by saying nothing. But if they should speak, they would almost bring damnation or divine punishment on those who heard them,-for those who listened could not help saying ‘Fools! melancholy bait : by using melancholy just as an angler uses a bait on his hook to catch a fish, gudgeon : is a worthless and stupid fish, very easily caught, exhortation : sermon; good advice

Original Text

Modern English Reading

LORENZO : OK, we’ll leave you then until dinner-time. I must be one of these same dumb wise man, Because Gratiano never lets me speak.

GRATIANO : Well, keep me company for only two more years, and You’ll never know the sound of your own voice.

ANTONIO : Goodbye, I’ll be a better talker by dinner.

GRATIANO : Thanks, really, because silence is only commendable In a cow’s dried tongue, and in a girl who’s not for sale. [Gratiano and Lorenzo exit.]

ANTONIO : Is that anything to think about now?

BASSANIO : Gratiano speaks an infinite deal about nothing, more than any man in all Venice. His reasons are like two grains of wheat hidden In two bushels of cornhusks: you can look all day before you find them, and when you found that small quantity you have got us not worth.

Word Meaning With Annotation

More : many, for this gear : Antonio is supposed to say humorously, “Well, you have converted me: I shall be a talker instead of a silent man.” in a neat’s tongue dried and a maid not vendible : “In a dried ox tongue ready for the table, or in a woman who has missed the chance of making a marriage.” infinte deal of nothing : a vast amount of nonsense, have therq, they aren’t worth the search.

Original Text

Modern English Reading

ANTONIO : Well, tell me now about the lady, The one you swore to make a secret trip to,The one you promised to tell nie about today?

BASSANIO : You know, Antonio, How much I have wasted my money by putting on a fancier appearance than my small funds could support; I don’t come to you now to ask that you Forgive my debts, because my chief concern Is to make good on these great debts which my behavior, sometimes reckless and wasteful, has left me broke. To you, Antonio, I owe the most, in money and in friendship, and, from your friendship, I have a guarantee To get rid of all my plots and intentions as to How to get clear all the debts I owe.

ANTONTO : Please, good Bassanio, tell me; And if it is, honorable, as you yourself still are,Be assured that my purses my person, My utmost ability can be used for your benefit.

Word Meaning With Annotation

Well : tell me now, what lady is the same to whom you swore a secret pilgrimage, that you today promis’d to tell me of : Antonio’s words introduce Portia and prepare us for her appearance in Scene II. disabled mine estate : reduced my resources; strained my means, something : to some extent; somewhat, swelling port: an appearance of wealth and ostentation, than my faint continuance : that my scanty income can enable to continue or keep up. make moan to be abridged : grumble at having to be reduced (in my expenditure.) noble rate : noble style of living, to come fairly off : to come out honourable from, wherein my time, something too prodigal, Hath left me gaged : in which my life, which has been rather wasteful, has left me involved. I have a warranty : mean “an assurance” or “I have the privilege of’, unburthen all my plots and purposes: to unfold to you all my schemes and intentions, how to get clear : by means of which I hope to get clear, within the eye of honour: within honourable limits; within what men would regard as honourable, advised watch, careful observation, my person : my very body. Antonio only offers this in the exaggeration of speech, but the events of the drama make it come literally true, extremest : utmost resources, unlock’d to your occasions : open to your every need.

Original Text

Modern English Reading

BASSANIO : When I was in school, when I had lost one arrow, I shot another one of identical length In an identical way, with more thoughtful care, To find the one I lost, and by risking both, I often Found both. I’m telling you about this childhood event, Because I say next is as pure and innocent. I owe you a lot, and, like a willful youth, I have lost what I owe you, but if you will please Lend me money in the identical way That you lent me the first money, I don’t doubt, As I’ll be more careful, to find both sums, Or I’ll bring your second loan back-again And just owe you thankfully for the first.

ANTONIO : You know me well, and waste time here To twist a story about my friendship with examples; And, no doubt, you insult me By questioning the limits of my friendship As if you had wasted everything I have. You only have say to me what I should do That you think I can do, And I am committed to it; so, ask me.

Word Meaning With Annotation

His fellow : Here it means “a similar arrow.” of the self-same flight : “with equal range.” to find the other forth : the word forth will give the simplest meaning if we take it as going along, childhood proof : illustration from childhood, because what follows is pure innocence : Bassanio’s meaning is that he produces an illustration from the innocent days of his childhood, like a wilful youth : as is usually the case with a reckless youth, self way : “the same way”, or to find both : the or here is used in the sense of “either”, circumstance : hints, uttermost : my extreme efforts, may by me be done : is-possible for me to do. prest Into it : drawn to your aid.

Original Text

Modern English Reading

BASSANIO : In Belmont, there is a rich heiress And she is beautiful and, more beautiful than that word, She has wonderful virtues. Sometimes, I receive Beautiful, silent messages from her eyes. Her name is Portia—the poet’s daughter and The assassin’s Portia fall short by comparison. The wide world is not ignorant of her worth, Because the four winds blow in famous men who Want to marry her from every coast, and her golden curls Hang on her head like a golden fleece, Which makes Belmont, her home, a rich island in a lake, And many sailors and heroes come to find her. Oh, my Antonio! If I only had the means To compete with one of them, I have a mind that predicts such good luck for me That I will undoubtedly be a very lucky one.

ANTONIO : You know that all my funds are invested in ships At sea; I don’t have the money or goods to raise such a large sum; So, go out, See what my credit in Venice can do for you, Credit that shall be stretched, even to the outer limits, to supply you for your trip to Belmont to beautiful Portia. Go now and ask where money can be found, and I will too, and I will not object to borrowing it on my account or in my name. Exeunt.

Word Meaning With Annotation

Fairer than that word : what is even better than the word “Fair,” fair speechless messages : silent glances which revealed her thoughts, nothing undervalued : in no way inferior to. Portia : Shakespeare wife, Portia, is a daughter of the famous Roman scholar and orator, Cato, four winds : North, South, East, and West, golden fleece : the reference is to a famous legend of ancient Greece. “Fleece” usually refers to the crop of wool from the back of a sheep or ram. many Jasons : many suitors came, just as Jason come of old. hold a rival place with : oppose them as a rival. I have a mind presages me such thrift : I have in my mind an instinct telling me that I shall be so fortunate as to be the lucky one. commodity : goods; merchandise, rack’d : strained; stretched to the utmost, to furnish thee to Belmont : to equip you suitably for your expedition to Belmont. I no question make : I have no doubt that I shall.

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