Merchant of Venice A2 sc1

Merchant of Venice A2 sc1

Part A: Question and Answers

Part B: Summary

Question 1 : Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

Portia : In terms of choice I am not solely led

By nice direction of a maiden’s eyes;

Besides, the lottery of my destiny

Bars me the right of voluntary choosing;

But if my father had not scanted me,

And hedged me by his wit, to yield myself

His wife who wins me by that means I told you,

Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair

As any comer I have look’d on yet

For my affection.

(i) What ‘choice’ is Portia talking about?

Answer : Portia is talking about the ‘choice’ of a husband. She says that she had been denied the privilege of choosing a husband for herself by her father’s will, which says that a suitor must choose the right casket in order to marry Portia.

(ii) Why did Portia say that her father had bound her by his will?

Answer : The Moroccan Prince said that he could have won Portia easily as he was the most eligible suitor. However, Portia told him that she could not marry anyone who failed the casket test. Her father had devised a lottery to determine the right suitor for her. The suitor must choose the right casket out of the three caskets and only then he could have Portia as his wife.

(iii) Earlier, the Moroccan Prince had boasted about himself to present his claim that he was an eligible suitor. What had he said?

Answer : The Moroccan Prince said that though he had dark complexion, he was braver than any white man from the North. His blood was redder than others. He said this as it was believed that the blood of valiant men is the reddest. He further said that his complexion had made brave men fear him and he was much desired by Moroccan women.

(iv) Does Portia really mean the last three lines of the extract in which she says that the renowned prince had a fair chance?

Answer : In the last three lines, Portia claims that the Moroccan Prince stands a fair chance like all other suitors. However, later we see Portia saying that she was fortunate enough that the Moroccan Prince failed at the lottery. She did not like any of her suitors and wanted them all to lose the lottery if they made an attempt.

(v) How did the Moroccan Prince say that he did not have a fair chance at the lottery? What does Portia reply?

Answer : The Moroccan Prince said that winning Portia’s hand in marriage was dependent upon luck. He claimed that even Hercules, the mightiest demigod according to mythology, would lose to a servant if was dependent upon chance. Moreover, he would die thinking that some unworthy man had won Portia if it happened. Portia told him that it was the only way to win her, as she was bound to follow her father’s will.

Part B: summary

The Moroccan Prince

At the ending of Act 1, the arrival of the Moroccan Prince is announced. He enters Portia’s house with a lot of pomp and show. He is dark in colour and says that he owes this complexion to the Sun, of whom he is a ‘neighbour’. However, he claims that he is more courageous than any of the men from the North. He says that brave men fear him and ladies want him but he cannot change his complexion. The only things that he wants to change are Portia’s thoughts about him.

Portia is bound by the will

Portia listens to the Prince and says that she is not entirely influenced by the attractive looks which please a maiden’s eyes. The lottery that her father has forged bars her from choosing a husband of her choice. Hence, the Moroccan Prince stands a fair chance as any of the other suitors that have come seeking Portia’s affection.

Luck may favour the unworthy

The Prince knows that everything depends on chance here. However, he says that he is very brave as he has beaten princes and won many battles. He can take away he cubs of a she-bear and can mock the lion out on a hunt. But his bravery and fearlessness is not going to help him in winning Portia. He laments that even Hercules (the world’s strongest man according to Greek mythology) would be beaten by his servant in a game of chance. He mourns that blind fortune may lead him to choose the wrong casket and then right casket would be chosen by some unworthy one. He would die grieving at such a happening.