English, asked by abhay4937, 8 months ago

Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Venice. His reasons are as

two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff; you shall seek all day ere you find them, and

when you have them, they are not worth the search.

1. Why does Bassnio come to
Antonio? What does he say about Gratiano here?

2. How does Bassanio compare Gratiano’s special nature and his talk?

3. Antonio asks Bassanio about a lady. Who was the lady? How can she be compared to a similar named

person? Explain.

4. Why is Bassanio reluctant to say about the lady at first? What is the response of Antonio to it?

5. Bassanio refers his school days experience to explain his future plan. What is the plan? Why? Is Antonio

Answers

Answered by rmb

1. Bassanio comes to Antonio to tell him about Portia and his planned visit to Belmont. Besides this, Bassanio also wants to ask Antonio for a loan. Bassanio remarks that Gratiano speaks a lot.

2. Bassanio feels that Gratiano beats about the bush quite a lot, so much so that finding logic in his talks can take all day. And when one finally does understand what he wants to say, it is just not worth the effort. A bushel is a measure of volume;one bushel measures about thirty-four litres. So, Gratiano's logic is like two tiny 'grains of wheat' that one has to find in a huge heap of chaff. Chaff is the outer covering of wheat grains.

3. The lady in question is Portia, of Belmont. She is a rich lady, who has inherited her father's wealth. She is as rich as Brutus' wife, and Cato's daughter Portia. The two ladies have the same name and are both wealthy.

4. Bassanio has already borrowed a lot from Antonio. He needs money to sponsor his trip to Belmont, but he does not want to take any more money from Antonio. That is why he is reluctant to talk to Antonio about Portia. However, Antonio is a true friend and genuinely cares for Bassanio and urges him to talk about his plans. Antonio clearly tells him that if it is an honourable venture, he would happily help Bassanio in terms of finances. In fact he is willing to go to the 'extremest means' to help Bassanio.

5. Bassanio uses an example from his school days to describe his plan in a logical manner. He says that when he would lose an arrow, he would shoot another arrow in the same direction, follow its flight and eventually find the first lost arrow as well. This way he could recover both the arrows. So far Bassanio has been leading an extravagant life and showing off. Similarly, if he gets funds to go to Belmont, he can portray himself as a rich man, win Portia's hand in marriage, get her wealth and pay off all his debts. So he can take another loan to finally repay all his loans.