Question

"for silence is only commendable in a neat's tongue dried"what causes Gratiano to make this statement?what remark had Lorenzo made earlier?How does Bassanio Charcterize Gratiano in respect to his lengthy discourse?

Answer 1

In the play Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare , Gratiano made this remark in act1 scene1. he wanted to portray that people who try to act wise by staying quite are nothing but useless. he says that silence in a tongue is only good when its of an ox which is cooked for meal. in those days ox's tongues were served as one of the most magnificant delicacy.