Merchant of Venice ICSE Workbook Answers — Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice has two main plots. In the bond plot: Bassanio asks his friend Antonio for money to court Portia; Antonio borrows from Shylock the moneylender on the bizarre condition that if the money is not repaid, Shylock may take a pound of Antonio's flesh. Antonio's ships are reported lost; he faces death. In the casket plot: Portia's suitors must choose among three caskets (gold, silver, lead) to win her hand; Bassanio chooses the lead casket and wins. The two plots come together in the trial scene, where Portia (disguised as a lawyer) saves Antonio by using Shylock's bond against him.

The main themes are: mercy vs justice — the trial scene is the central debate; appearance vs reality — the caskets and Portia's disguise both involve the danger of judging by appearances; prejudice and intolerance — Shylock suffers anti-Semitic persecution; the conflict between the law and human feeling — the law demands its 'pound of flesh,' but humanity requires mercy; and friendship and loyalty — Antonio risks his life for Bassanio. The play is complex: it celebrates mercy while also showing the injustice of the treatment Shylock receives.

The trial scene (Act 4, Scene 1) is the play's climax. Antonio cannot repay his debt; Shylock demands his pound of flesh. The Duke asks Shylock for mercy; Shylock refuses. Portia arrives disguised as Balthazar, a young lawyer. She first pleads for mercy ('The quality of mercy is not strained'). When Shylock refuses, she turns his own bond against him: he may take his pound of flesh, but the bond says not one drop of blood. He cannot take flesh without blood; if he does, he forfeits everything. Shylock is defeated. The scene is a masterwork of dramatic reversal.

The 'pound of flesh' is the forfeit agreed in Shylock's bond with Antonio — if the money is not repaid by the agreed date, Shylock may take a pound of flesh nearest Antonio's heart. Shylock demands it because he hates Antonio (Antonio has publicly humiliated him and insulted Jews) and because his daughter Jessica has recently eloped with a Christian and stolen his money. His demand for the pound of flesh is revenge, not commerce. He refuses several times to take three times the money instead.

Portia's 'The quality of mercy' speech (Act 4, Scene 1) is one of Shakespeare's most celebrated speeches. She argues that mercy is a divine quality: 'The quality of mercy is not strain'd, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath; it is twice blest: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.' Mercy is not compelled — it is freely given, and it ennobles both giver and receiver. The speech is a plea to Shylock to show mercy — which he refuses. It establishes mercy as the play's central moral value.

Portia's father has arranged that her husband must be chosen by passing a test: three caskets (gold, silver, lead) are presented, and the suitor must choose the one containing her portrait. The golden casket says 'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire' — it contains a skull. The silver says 'Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves' — it contains a fool's head. The lead says 'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath' — it contains Portia's portrait. Bassanio chooses lead, rejecting appearances. The caskets test whether suitors judge by appearances (gold, silver) or by deeper values (lead).

Shylock is one of literature's most complex characters — both villain and victim. He is villainous in his merciless demand for Antonio's flesh and his refusal of multiple offers of repayment. But he is also a victim: he has been publicly humiliated by Antonio and other Christians; he has been called a dog; his daughter has eloped and robbed him; he has lived in a society that persecutes Jews. His famous speech — 'Hath not a Jew eyes?' — is one of Shakespeare's most powerful arguments for common humanity. Shylock's villainous acts are inseparable from the injustice he has suffered.

Shylock's speech (Act 3, Scene 1) is one of Shakespeare's most powerful passages on human equality: 'Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? ... 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?' Shylock argues that Jews are fully human — they feel, suffer, and desire revenge just as Christians do. The speech is both a plea for recognition and a justification of revenge. It is the play's most humanising moment for Shylock.

Portia (disguised as Balthazar) defeats Shylock using his own bond. She initially concedes that the law is on his side. When Shylock refuses mercy and insists on his bond, she points out the exact terms: he may have a pound of flesh, but the bond specifies no blood. If he sheds a drop of Antonio's blood, his lands and goods are forfeit to the state. She then points out that the bond says exactly a pound — no more, no less. Shylock cannot win. He tries to accept three times the money, but Portia says he has refused in open court — he can only take his flesh.

The play's main message is about the value of mercy over strict justice. Shylock insists on the strict letter of the law; the play suggests that a fully just society also requires mercy, compassion, and the recognition of our common humanity. The play also teaches the danger of prejudice: Shylock's villainy is partly a product of the persecution he has suffered. The casket test teaches that we should not judge by appearances. And the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio teaches that true loyalty involves sacrifice. The play is complex: it celebrates mercy while raising uncomfortable questions about how it treats Shylock.