Important Extracts from The Merchant of Venice (4 to 6)

Important Extracts from The Merchant of Venice

(According to the List)

Extract 4.

To bait fish withal: if it will feed nothing else, it
will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and
hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked
at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains,
cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his
reason? I am a Jew:…

Reference to the Context:

These lines have been taken from The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, Act III, Scene (i).Salarino asks Shylock what good he would do with Antonio’s flesh in case he does not pay him a loan on time. Then Shylock speaks the above lines to him.

Explanation: Shylock tells Salarino that he would use Antonio’s flesh for bait to catch fish. He adds that it would feed his anger if it does not feed anything else. Then vents (expresses) his anger by saying that Antonio has disgraced him publically. He has caused a loss of at least five lakh ducats. Antonio has laughed at his losses and made fun of his gains. He has looked down upon his nationality, disturbed his business, misguided his friends, and provoked his enemies against him. He asks Salarino as to why he has done all that. Has he done all that because he was a Jew?  

Extract 5.

If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you
tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not
die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are
like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that.

Reference to the Context: These lines have been taken from The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, Act III, Scene (i).Salarino asks Shylock what good he would do with Antonio’s flesh in case he does not pay him a loan on time. Then Shylock speaks the above lines to him.

Explanation: Shylock continues expressing his anger against Antonio in front of Salarino. He tells Salarino that the Jews also have the same feelings and sensitivities. If someone pricks them, they also feel pain and bleed. If someone tickles them, they also laugh; if they are poisoned, they also die. He asks Salarino if they would not revenge when they are wronged. He further tells him that the Jews react like those of the Christians in the same manner, so, they are also human beings like them. He wants to convey to Salarino as to why the Jews are treated differently in the places where they are in minorities.

Extract 6.

Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?
fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?

Reference to the Context: These lines have been taken from The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, Act III, Scene (i).Salarino asks Shylock what good he would do with Antonio’s flesh in case he does not pay him a loan on time. Then Shylock speaks the above lines to him.

Explanation: Shylock continues his speech to Salarino by asking him several questions as are quoted in the above lines. He asks Salarino if a Jew has not got eyes, hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, and passions. He also asks him if a Jew does not eat the same type of food, gets hurt with the same weapons, falls ill of the same diseases, recovers with the same medicines. affected by the same seasons like winter and summer in the same manner as is a Christian. He means to tell Salarino that the Jews are also made up of the same elements as flesh, bones, and blood. They have the same feelings as other human beings of other religions. Then as to why they are differentiated?

Important Extracts from the Merchant of Venice

Important Extracts from the Merchant of Venice

According to the list:

Extract 1. Act I Scene (I)

In Belmont is a lady richly left,
And she is fair, and, fairer than that word,
Of wondrous virtues. Sometimes from her eyes
I did receive fair speechless messages:
Her name is Portia; nothing undervalued(170)

To Cato's daughter, Brutus'  Portia.
Reference to the Context: These lines occur/have been taken from ‘The Merchant of Venice’, Act I, Scene(i) written by William Shakespeare. Bassanio is speaking to Antonio, his friend. We already know that both are very good friends. Bassanio needs money, so he is making the background to borrow it from Antonio. He wants to go to Belmont to impress Portia to make his life-partner. Antonio had also asked Bassanio to tell about the lady he was so much interested in.

Explanation: In the above lines, Bassanio is trying to explain the qualities that Portia possessed. First, he tells him about a ‘huge amount’ she had inherited from his father. Second, Bassanio appreciates her beauty by calling her ‘fairer’ than the word ‘fair’. Third, she is a virtuous lady. After that, Bassanio tries to prove his point that it was not his one-sided infatuation. He had received ‘speechless messages’ from her. It means that her facial expression also show that she also likes Bassanio. Lastly, he tells Antonio her name. He says that she is Portia. He also adds that one cannot undervalue her to Cato’s daughter and Brutus’ wife Portia of antique, who was the Roman heroine. By referring to the Roman Portia, he brings about the point that Portia of Belmont is no less rich and virtuous than Portia of the antique world.

  

Extract 2: Act 1, scene III

Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek;
A goodly apple rotten at the heart;(100)
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

Reference to the Context: The above lines occur in Act I scene III of the Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare. These lines  are spoken by Antonio to Bassanio. Both of them are in Shylock’s house. They are talking about loan of three thousand ducats to be taken from Shylock. But Shylock demands a very high rate of interest. To justify this, he, he quotes (gives) an example from the Bible he says that profit is a blessing as long as one does not steal it.

Explanation: Antonio tells Bassanio that a devil-like person can also cite (quote/give) an example from a religious book like the Bible to gain profit. He wants to serve his selfish motive of convincing others to show that he is not doing any wrong by charging high rate of interest. An evil-minded person using holy books to justify his wrong action is like a villain with a smiling face. He is like an attractive apple that is rotten at the very core. Antonio expresses his surprise as to how people, to quote Hamlet, ‘may smile and smile’ and are villains from inside.

Extract 3. Act II, Scene VII

All that glitters is not gold,
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold,
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.(70)
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Reference to the Context: These lines have been taken from The Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene VII. The Prince of Morocco decides to open the gold casket. He demands the key from Portia. She gives it to the Prince.

Explanation: The Prince of Morocco opens the gold casket. He is terribly shocked to see a human skull inside it. There is also a scroll of paper in the empty socket of its one eye. Then he reads that ‘All that glitters is not gold…’. It means that the outward shine of things may be misguiding. Many men may become slave to the shine on a human face. They do not care for their own voice of conscience. They do not try to find the truth at the deeper level of the things or human beings. People are impressed by the gilded (covered with gold plate) tombs. In reality, inside the shiny tombs, there may be worms in thousands. A shiny apple may be rotten at the very core.

This applies in real life also. People may be attractive outwardly, but they may be villains from inside.

The human skull farther tells the Prince of Morocco that if he had been as wise as he was bold, young in body and wise in his judgment, he had not got the answer written on a scroll of paper. Rather he would have received the portrait of beautiful Portia instead of the human skull with a scroll of paper.

Elements of Theatre-Drama

                                  A.    Elements of Theatre

1.The Text/Script/Scenario/Plan: The text or the script:

The text or the script is the basic need of theatre. Without text or script, no performance on stage can take place. The dramatist or the playwright writes text. Various characters speak the text according to the roles given to them.

2. Performance/Process: Performance takes place when the script is given to the characters of the play. The director guides the characters and helps them to take best performance out of them. The characters are also helped directly or indirectly by several other crew members like junior actors, designers, technicians, dancers, musicians, make-up men, etc. to produce best performance on the stage.

3. The Audience: The audience is also one of the most important elements of theatre. The audience is the people who usually sit in front of the stage to witness the performance. The presence of the audience and their positive reactions can make the performance better and more impressive. A theatre is an art form that makes the performance a breathing reality when the audience are physically present.

4. Reception: We know that drama is an art form. First, the script is written by the dramatist or the playwright. Then it is given to the characters who perform their roles on the stage. The performance is viewed by the audience. When the audience collectively watches the drama or the play on stage, it is called reception or the spectacle. It is the result of the collective efforts made by the script, performance, costumes, scenery, and other special effects of light and camera made by the production team.

5. Genre: As a genre, drama has never remained the same. It has evolved several changes in its form. Drama as a genre can be divided into several categories: tragedy, comedy, melodrama, history plays, morality plays, tragi-comedy, etc.

6. Dialogue: A dialogue is a narrative conveyed through speech between two or more characters in a play. We cannot think of a performance of a play or drama on stage without dialogue.

7. Stagecraft: It includes technical aspects of theatrical production, like scenic design, stage machinery, light, sound, costumes, make-up, etc. The success of a play depends on stagecraft. The audience is very much impressed by the lighting and sound used on the stage or in the background. It is ensured that the sound of the dialogues spoken by the characters reaches the ears of the audience effectively.

8. Rhythm: Several things play an important role in the success of any play. There should be a natural rhythm in the events that take place on the stage. All the main elements of the play like plot, characters, language, and performance must act in rhythm to reach the final climax of the play.

9. Tone and Style: the manner of expression or style is the tone of the play.

The writer’s choice of diction, sentence structures, literary techniques used, and the rhythm in totality is called the style. The mood of the story, the feeling or the attitude of the author towards the story, and the reader also contribute in the tone or the style.