Q.1
At the beginning of the play, when Antonio tells Salerio of his sadness, Salerio assumes that he is worried about his ships, saying, "Your mind is tossing on the ocean". What makes this an effective phrase?
  • The phrase is effective because Salerio's view turns out to be incorrect
  • The use of imagery makes the phrase effective
  • The phrase is effective because it uses a metaphor
  • The metaphor emphasizes how thoroughly Antonio's mind is present with his ships, at least in Salerio's view
Q.2
BASSANIO: Or is your gold and silver ewes and rams? SHYLOCK: I cannot tell. I make it breed as fast. What is significant about Shylock's use of the word "breed"?
  • Ewes and rams breed
  • Gold and silver cannot reproduce themselves
  • Breed is an archaic word
  • All of the above
Q.3
ANTONIO: ...for when did friendship take / A breed for barren metal of his friend? What is the significance of the word "barren"?
  • Antonio reiterates the point that money cannot create more money
  • The use of the word "barren" hints that Shylock has no friends
  • Antonio believes that money is as valuable as life
  • All of the above
Q.4
Speaking of the men who hope to marry her, Portia says, "For there is not one among them but I dote on his very absence; and I pray God grant them a fair departure." What does she mean by this?
  • She loves them each dearly
  • She hopes they go away quickly
  • She is worried they will not have safe journeys home
  • She wishes they would hurry up and choose one of the caskets
Q.5
"For aught I see, they are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing." What does Nerissa mean by this?
  • Those who are rich are in danger of starvation
  • It can be just as bad for people to be too rich as to be too poor
  • Those who are poor are in reality much better off than those who are rich
  • It is better to starve than to overeat
Q.6
"My ships have all miscarried." What does "miscarried" mean here?
  • The ship has failed in its purpose
  • The ship has lost the cargo it was carrying
  • The ship was intended to reproduce and now cannot
  • All of the above
Q.7
Which one of the following statements does not logically follow the others?
  • "If you prick us do we not bleed?"
  • "If you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
  • "If you tickle us do we not laugh?"
  • "If you poison us do we not die?"
Q.8
Which of the following phrases implies that a person can be a possession?
  • "The gentleman that lately stole his daughter"
  • "The offender's life lies in the mercy / Of the Duke"
  • "I am married to a wife / Which is as dear to me as life itself"
  • "Repent but you that you shall lose your friend"
Q.9
"Here in her hairs / The painter plays the spider, and hath woven / A golden mesh t'untrap the hearts of men." What does Bassanio mean in these lines?
  • The portrait painter has not painted Portia very beautifully
  • The portrait painter resembled a spider
  • Portia's hair in her portrait is like a spiderweb, meant to catch unwary men
  • Portia is wearing a golden mesh on her head
Q.10
I should think of shallows and of flats, And see my wealthy Andrew, decks in sand, Vailing her hightop lower than her ribs To kiss her burial. How does Salerio speak of his ship in these lines?
  • As if it were indestructible
  • As if it were alive
  • As if it were supernatural
  • All of the above
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