The Merchant of Venice door William Shakespeare

1. select a fragment from the book which appealed you a lot. Copy this and put it in your reading file. Explain your choice. The best part of the book was , in my opinion, the part where Portia tells her best friend how she feels about her suitors. Portia is a beautiful and a smart women , so therefore she has a lot of suitors. Her late father has obligated her to marry the man who chooses the right casket. There are 3 caskets; a gold one , a silver one and bronze one. One of these caskets contains a picture of Portia. The man who chooses this casket is allowed to make Portia his wife. She describes them with such cynicism though it is a very serious and also a kind of sad situation . You understand at once that she isn’t interested in one of them . The comparisons which she makes are very funny too I think. The way Shakespeare describes things is brilliant. I think he is the best writer who ever existed because he has been a source of inspiration for modern writers.

Fragment:

2.Make two lists : one containing the aspects of the book that you liked, another containing the aspects you disliked.

Like: - As I said , I love the way things are described in this book. - I liked the character of Portia, for she gave the book a funny touch. - The book is in chronological order. - There’s a big surprising twist at the end. - The book never bores you , you want to keep on reading.

Dislike: - Some parts of the book were very hard to read because there were too many comparisons - Some chapters are superfluous, they don’t add anything to the story. - There was an event from which I wondered how it would end or what the consequences would be. But those questions don’t get an answer in the book .

3.name at least two incidents , scenes or events from the book you remember well. Explain why you remember these specific occurrences well .

- There is a rich Jew in the book , called Shylock . He has a daughter who is in love with Grassanio. One night , she and Grassanio run away from Shylock. I began to wonder if they would ever return or if they would get married. Unfortunately, the writer doesn’t tell how this love story ends. That’s a pity I think. - Bassanio is also a suitor to Portia. He’s is the only man portia is in love with. He travels to Belmont, where his beloved Potia lives ,to try to pick the right casket. He chose the bronze casket , in which portia’s picture was. I wondered why her picture wasn’t in the golden casket for she was of royal blood. However I wasn’t surprised of the fact that he choose the right casket because true love always has a happy ending.

6. Explain in your own words what the story is about. Mention at least three different aspects . Write a minimum of 200 words. There are four main characters in the book: Bassanio, Antonio, Shylock and Portia. Portia was a beautiful women and she was also very smart and rich. Therefore she had a lot of suitors . Here late father had left her three caskets: a gold one , a silver one and a bronze one. The suitor who would pick the right casket which contained Portia’s picture was allowed to marry her. Bassanio was very much in love with this women and wanted to travel to Belmont and try to pick the right casket. But he needed a lot of money to pay this journey , money which he didn’t had. He went to Antonio, his best friend , to borrow money . Antonio was a rich and prosperous merchant of Venice. His ships were on nearly every sea. When Bassanio came to him Antionio told him that all his fortunes were at sea , so he couldn’t lend him the money at once. Together they went to Shylock,a very rich money-lender . Shylock told them that he would pay the loan . But he wanted Antonio to sign a bond in which it was agreed that if he wouldn’t repay Shylock the money within three months time ,Shylock would be allowed to take one pound of Antonio’s flesh. Shylock carried a deep hatred towards Antonio for he had made him look ridiculous in public a lot of times. Antonio agreed and Bassanio went to Belmont. There he picked the right casket and married Portia. She gave him a ring from which he promised never to part. Back in Venice , Antonio was ruined , for his ships were wrecked. When Bassanio heard the bad news, he went back to Venice with enough money to pay his dept twenty times over. Shylock, Antonio and Bassanio went to court to decide the legal questions raised by Shylock\'s claim to a pound of Antonio\'s flesh. Bassanio offered Shylock twice the money borrowed , if he would withdraw his claim . But Shylock refused. Things were starting to look very bad for Antonio. But then all of a sudden , an unknown lawyer walked into the courtroom. The lawyer said: “the bond awards you a pound of Antonio’s flesh, but it gives you no right to Antonio’s blood. If you spill a drop of his blood , all your property will be forfeited to the State . Such is the law.” The tables were turned , and no mercy would have been shown to Shylock . As it was, the money lender forfeited his fortune to the State . Bassanio was so grateful to the lawyer that he gave his ring away. Back home in Belmont , Bassanio confessed everything that had happened to his wife. First, Portia was very angry with him for giving the ring away. But then she told him that it was she who, in the disguise of the lawyer, had saved his friend\'s life, and got the ring from him. So Bassanio was forgiven, and made happier than ever, to know how rich a prize he had drawn in the lottery of the caskets.