Close Reading Questions
for Acts 1 & 2 of The Merchant of Venice
Answer TWO of the
following...
1. In general, discuss the
tonal difference between the scenes in Venice and those in Belmont. Why might we argue that these worlds seem to
inhabit two entirely different plays?
Is it too much to argue that Venice is the ‘tragedy’ and Belmont the
‘comedy’? Are there specific reasons
for making this case?
2. As in As You Like It,
how can we understand character relationships through the use of verse and
prose? Who speaks what and when? Focus on a specific moment when the
difference between prose and verse matters.
3. The 2004 Radford
version of The Merchant of Venice seemed to play up the homoerotic
possibility between Antonio and Bassanio.
Do we see any hints of this in the text itself? Consider specifically Act 1, Scene 1, when
Bassanio tells Antonio of his plan to woo Portia. Since there are no stage directions but only language, what does
the language tell us—or hint at—if anything?
4. Reading the bare text
of Shylock, does he come across as a human being or a caricature? What lines might give him unexpected
depth—or comic buffoonery? How might
Shakespeare want him to be read/played in a specific scene? Do you think Pacinio was faithful to the
text in this regard, or did he add too much 20th century perspective
on his character?
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