Question

Discuss belmont as a centre of lottery of caskets and portia destiny

Answer 1

Explanation:

Portia's father has, in his will, set the requirements for the suitors who wish to marry her: they must choose between three caskets of lead, silver, and gold. Whoever chooses correctly will win the right to marry Portia. The whole exercise is, in simple terms, a lottery, as Nerissa states in Act 1, scene 2:

...therefore the lottery,

that he hath devised in these three chests of gold,

silver and lead, whereof who chooses his meaning

chooses you, will, no doubt, never be chosen by any

rightly but one who shall rightly love.

Nerissa here also states the belief that destiny is to determine that the person who chooses correctly will not only have made the right decision but will also be the one who truly loves Portia.

1. Added to this, the will requires that suitors undertake a solemn vow that, if they fail to choose the correct casket, they will never approach another woman for marriage and, therefore, spend the rest of their days as bachelors. Before they are given the opportunity to choose, the suitors have to visit the chapel and undertake the vow in the presence of Portia and other witnesses, as Portia informs the Moroccan prince