Q1: Why is Shylock’s famous speech in Act 3, Scene 1 in prose? It contains some of the most famous lines in Shakespeare...so why isn’t it glorified in imabic pentameter? Also, we know Shylock can and will speak in verse, so why does he opt for prose in this speech—and in this entire scene? Why might it important to highlight this for the audience?
Q2: Are we meant to feel sympathy for Shylock in Act 4, Scene 1? While Shakespeare’s audience would have naturally cheered for Portia’s victory (this is a comedy, after all!), could Shakespeare have writing against the grain of audience expectations? Consider Shylock’s final words, “I am content,” and “I am not well.” Given his earlier confidence, are these comically brief...or concisely tragic?
Q3: Act 5 opens with an extended scene of love banter with
Jessica and Lorenzo. Using the footnotes on the side, what makes these
allusions to Cressida, Dido, and Thisbe somewhat surprising? How might this
scene suggest Jessica’s state of mind after fleeing her father’s house and
finding herself in the Christian world of
Q4: In Act 4, Scene 1, Portia tells Shylock, “in the course of justice none of us/should see salvation” (155). Does she offer the same compassion to her own husband in Act 5? What do you make of her bizarre interrogation of Bassanio, which culminates in her claming she has slept with Balthazar, the lawyer, to obtain the ring? Does she feel betrayed by Bassanio...or is she toying with him the same way she toyed with Shylock during the trial scene?
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