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Tuesday, 1 May 2018

Act Four, Scene One and two merchant of venice

What does the Duke believe Shylock intends to do?
He thinks that Shylock will keep up his bluff.

What does Shylock intend to do, and what reasons does he give for his decision?
He wants to get the one pound of flesh. In his own words, he says "But say it is my humour. Is it answered?" He's pretty much saying "Because I can, is that enough of an answer?"

Why must the law be allowed to stand (why can’t the judge dismiss this case)?
They need to uphold authority.


How do Lorenzo and Jessica gain the result?
They get half of Shylocks stuff.

What reward has Portia claimed and why is this significant?
Bassanio's ring, she made him swear to not sell, give away etc.

Portia tells Shylock ‘The quality of mercy is not strained’. How does she try to persuade Shylock to show mercy, how much mercy is she willing to show him (line 345-362)
Portia's guilt-tripping him in away. She's turning the tables on him. She's willing him to show as much mercy as he begs for.

A4S1 L 70-80. Antonio gives us three short images of how useless any attempt by Bassanio to save his life will be 
What are they?
 - Telling the ocean to get smaller, Asking a wolf why he killed a lamb and made its mother cry, telling the pine trees on the mountain to stop when the wind blows through them what do they tell us about one of Shakespeare's interests -He has an interest in things to do with the Christian Bible.

Do you think this is an effective way of demonstrating the problem? -
Yes, he's comparing the situations quite well.
Each example is extreme and impossible, what influence does this have on how you expect the rest of the scene to develop.
You expect Antonio to be right, you expect everything to play out in Shylocks favour.
A4S1 L90-100, Shylock uses vivid comparisons when he wants to make a point.
What example does he use to illustrate the fact that the pound of flesh is his: ‘tis mine and I will have it’

Slaves. He uses slaves. He's saying that he's rightfully got that pound of flesh. It is much longer comparison than the three used by Antonio but do you think it is more striking/effective/convincing?
I think it's about the same. Both have very good points and comparisons. 

Act Four Scene Two
What invitation does Portia refuse and why?
An invitation to dinner. Portia and Nerissa need to get home that night so they're home before the men
What does Nerissa plan to get, why do you think this is important?
Gratanio's ring she gave him. She wants to see if Gratanio will do the same as Bassanio
Do you admire Portia after these scenes, or do you find her actions cruel? Use examples to support your thinking.
A bit of both. I mainly admire her because of how powerful she comes through in this scene. She uses her knowledge to get what she wants and what she thinks is right.




    2 comments:

    1. Kia Ora Jakita, It is great to see you have put so much time and effort into answering these questions, especially when your last post was lost! Did you enjoy this scene? I found it frustrating to see Shylock lose everything when he had done nothing wrong.

      ReplyDelete
    2. Hi Mrs sorry its taken so long to respond to you. I do remember I did like this seem I thought it was very interesting.

      ReplyDelete

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