Act 2, Scenes 3 & 4. Merchant of Venice,

Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene III




Extract I


Jessica:

I am sorry thou wilt leave my ………see me in talk with thee. 


1. Give reasons for Launcelot’s leaving Jessica’s house.

Launcelot left Jessica’s house since her father Shylock was a miserly Jew and is stay as his servant  has half-famished him. He felt that any further stay with him would make him like the Jew. Besides, Bassanio has accepted him in his service and Launcelot feels that Bassanio is a better master.


2.   Give the meaning of:

Our house is hell, and thou, a merry devil,
Didst rob it of some taste of tediousness.

In the above lines, Jessica says that her house is hell because of her father’s avarice. Launcelot  with his jolly nature and with his antics and nonsensical capering  has relieved it of much boredom and dullness.


3.   How does Jessica show in words and action that she liked Launcelot’s presence in her house?

Jessica shows in words and actions that she liked Launcelot’s presence in the house. He calls him a merry devil and thanks him for reducing the boredom and dullness in her house. She offers him a ducat too.


4.    What errand does Jessica give to Launcelot? What precautions does she ask him to take while doing the errand?

Jessica gives to Launcelot the errand of delivering a letter to Lorenzo at supper in Bassanio’s house that night. She advises him to deliver the letter to Lorenzo secretly.


5. How does Jessica show herself as a scheming  but prudent young lady? In what way is her character different from that of Portia?

Jessica shows herself as a scheming lady when she plans to elope with a Christian boy, Lorenzo without the knowledge of her father.  She proves herself to be prudent when she instructs Launcelot to deliver her letter to Lorenzo at Bassanio’s party secretly. Her character is entirely different from that of Portia. While Portia obeys her deceased father’s will to marry the one who wins the lottery of caskets, Jessica betrays her father and religion to marry Lorenzo. 




Extract II


Launcelot:

But, adieu: these foolish…….become a Christian, and they loving wife!


1. How does Launcelot bid farewell to Jessica? In this context, what are your feelings for Launcelot, Jessica and Shylock?

Launcelot bids farewell to Jessica calling her ‘most beautiful pagan’ and later ‘most sweet Jew’. He says that tears prevent his tongue from uttering his feelings. We feel happy for Launcelot and Jessica. Launcelot is leaving his miserly master and is undertaking  Bassanio’s  service where he will be happier. Jessica too will soon escape from the ‘hell’ and marry Lorenzo. We feel sorry for Shylock as he still obstinate, miserly and with evil intentions. Further, he shall lose his daughter as well as money.


2.    Why does Jessica regret being the daughter of Shylock? What is the ‘heinous sin’ referred to in the extract? Is it really a sin? Give reasons to justify your answer.

Jessica regrets being the daughter of Shylock due to his behaviour, his being a bad father to her and for making her home ‘hell’. Jessica describes  her feeling  of being  ashamed for being  her father’s daughter as a heinous sin. It is not really a sin because even if she is Shylock’s daughter by birth, she does not actually detest her father but detests his miserliness and tyrannical nature.


3.    Give the meaning of :

But though I am a daughter to his blood,
I am not to his manners.

The above lines mean that although I am his daughter by birth, I don’t have his habits.


4.    Which promise has Lorenzo to keep? Describe the strife that Jessica is going to end.

Lorenzo has to keep the promise of eloping with Jessica that night. Jessica will end the struggle between her desire to marry Lorenzo and her duty to her father, Shylock.


5.    Explain Jessica’s relationship with her father which is shown in the scene.

Jessica is a lively young girl who rebels against the oppression of her father and the joylessness of her life at home.  She calls her home ‘hell’. She cannot get along with her father. She detests her father’s miserliness and tyrannical nature. She affirms that though she is Shylock’s daughter by birth, she does not share his disposition. Besides, she is influenced by the Venetians around her to form a different attitude to life than her father’s. she is ready to leave her father and elope with Lorenzo, a Christian.

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Merchant of Venice: Act II, Scene IV


Act II: Scene IV



Extract I


Lorenzo:

Nay, we will slink………we have two hours to furnish us.


1.    Why do Lorenzo and his friends plan to disguise themselves at dinners time? How well are they prepared for the disguise?

Lorenzo and his friends plan to disguise themselves at dinner time since they were organizing a masquerade for Bassanio’s dinner party. During Elizabethan times the masque was an amateur dramatic practice usually performed in private houses. The players wore masks and costumes and took part in a torch procession, playing musical instruments. They were not fully prepared for the disguise.


2.    Who is supposed to be the torch-bearer? What is the actual purpose of having a torch-bearer in the scene?

Jessica, disguised as a boy, is supposed to be the torch-bearer. The actual purpose of having a torch-bearer in the scene is to facilitate the elopement of Jessica with Lorenzo.


3.    Whose letter does Lancelot bring? Why is it an important confidential letter? How does Lorenzo guess whose letter it is?

Launcelot brings the letter of Jessica? It is an important confidential letter as it contained Jessica’s plan to elope with Lorenzo. On receiving the letter Lorenzo guesses whose letter it is after looking at the handwriting. He declares that the handwriting is familiar to him and the letter is written by a lovely, fair and beautiful hand.


4.    Who is giving the dinner party? Whom does Launcelot invite for dinner?

Bassanio is giving the dinner party. Launcelot invites Shylock for the dinner party.


5.    Describe briefly how the dinner party facilitates the elopement of Jessica with Lorenzo.

The dinner party facilitates the elopement of Jessica with Lorenzo. Jessica is free to leave her house as her father is away at Bassanio’s dinner party. Lorenzo and his friends organize a masquerade for Bassanio’s dinner party. Jessica joins them as a torch-bearer dressed as a boy and elopes with Lorenzo. 




 Extract II



Lorenzo:

I must needs tell thee all……..shall be my torch-bearer.


1.    What information has Jessica given to Lorenzo regarding her elopement?

Jessica informs Lorenzo about the arrangements she had made to elope with him. She will leave her father’s house with money and jewellery, disguised in the uniform of a page-boy.


2.    According to Lorenzo, how could the Jew go to heaven? How can you conclude that Lorenzo has a high opinion of Jessica?

According to Lorenzo, the Jew, Shylock could go to heaven only because of his sweet and gentle daughter. We can conclude that Lorenzo has a high opinion of Jessica since he feels that if at all Shylock ever goes to heaven it will be because of her. He prays that no misfortune ever comes to her except for being Shylock’s daughter.


3.    What does Lorenzo wish for Jessica? According to him, how could misfortune come to Jessica?

Lorenzo wishes that no misfortune ever happens to Jessica, for being the daughter of a non-believing Jew. She has no stain of sin in her unless her birth is regarded as a sin.


4.    Give an example of racial discrimination hinted at in the extract.

Reference to Shylock as a ‘faithless Jew’ is an example of racial discrimination hinted at in the extract. Christians believed that faithless Jews won’t go to heaven.


5.    Describe the atmosphere of activity and pre-occupation prevailing in this short scene.

An atmosphere of activity and pre-occupation prevails in this scene. Activities include preparations for the masquerade and Jessica’s elopement. Pre-occupation regarding the dinner party dominates the scene. Even Shylock is   invited for the party. Launcelot acts as a messenger in this scene. He delivers Jessica’s  letter to Lorenzo and Lorenzo’s reply to Jessica. He invites Shylock for Bassanio’s party on Bassanio’s behalf. 

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