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Question
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Bassanio: To You, Antonio,
I owe the most, in money and in love;
And from your love, I have a warranty
To unburden all my plots and purposes
How to get clear of all the debts I owe.
Antonio: I pray you, good Bassanio, let me know it;
(i) Describe Antonio's mood at the beginning of this scene.
State any two reasons that Antonio's friends, who · were present, gave to explain his mood.
(ii) What promise did Antonio make to Bassanio immediately after this conversation?
(iii) What did Bassanio say to Antonio about 'a lady richly left' in Belmont?
(iv) Why was Antonio unable to lend Bassanio the ·money that he needed?
(v) What does the above extract reveal of the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio?
Mention' one way in which this relationship was put to the test later in the play.
Solution
(i) Antonio is in a melancholy mood at the beginning of this scene. He does not know where he got it and how it began. Salarino, one of Antonio’s friends, thinks that Antonio is sad because he is worried about his ships sailing on the sea. Salario, another of Antonio’s friends, attributes his sadness to his being in love.
(ii) Antonio assures Bassanio of his wholehearted help in his mission. He says that his money, his body, his utmost resources will all be placed at his disposal so that Bassanio is able to pursue his aim.
(iii) Bassanio tells Antonio that a very beautiful and rich lady, Portia, lives in Belmont. Her reputation as a rich, beautiful lady has spread far and wide. A number of eligible bachelors are reaching Belmont to try their luck in quest of her.
(iv) Antonio was unable to lend the money that Bassanio needed because all his money was invested in trading ventures at sea. So he suggested Bassanio to go and enquire from where he could get money in Venice. He would stand surety for the money that he could borrow on his behalf.
(v) We learn that Antonio and Bassanio are close friends. They share their intimate feelings and anxieties with each other. Both are ready to sacrifice their most precious thing for the other. Their friendship is tested later in the play when Bassanio helps Antonio in the Trial Scene through his wife Portia and later Antonio stands surety for Bassanio’s character when the marriage ring is found missing on Bassanio’s hand.
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