Question

EXPLAIN THESE LINES-

Salarino tells that Antonio's mind was tossing on the ocean where all the portly argosies sail like signiors and move like pageants with small traffickers bowing before them.

Answer 1

Answer:

Salarino and Antonio were talking to each other and Antonio was in a very depressed state. Antonio said that it was true that he was miserable and his friends knew that but he did not know the reason behind it. This made Salarino say that may be he was worried about his ships out at sea.

We can say that Antonio was in a depressed state because he himself confessed it. He says, “In sooth, I know not why I am so sad. It wearies me; you say it wearies you;”. However in reality, he himself was not aware of the reason for such a state of his mind. He was yet to learn what had made him so miserly.

Salarino thought that perhaps Antonio was worried about his ships that were in the sea. May be business worries were making him weary.

However, Antonio denied it. He says that all his money was not dependent on ships and he might get through the year easily enough. Business was not making him sad.

Salarino described the ships as being like huge parade of floats on the sea. They were so big that they looked down on the smaller ships, which had to bow and then get out of their way. Moreover, Antonio’s ships sailed swiftly like birds past the smaller ships.

Salarino found Antonio in a despondent state. He asked him about the reason behind his sadness. Antonio replied that he was yet to learn about the reason which had made him so weary. Salarino then tried to figure it out. He thought that may be Antonio was worried about his ships that were bound for different ports. He says that Antonio had big and powerful ships and he must not worry about them.

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