Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :10m Bassanio Therefore, thou gaudy gold, Hard food for Midas, I will none of thee; Nor none of thee, thou pale and common drudge "Tween man and man : but thou, thou meagre lead, which rather threaten'st than dust promise aught, thy paleness moves me more than eloquence, And here choose I: Joy be the consequence !
a. What does the speaker say about beauty before this extract ?What idea is brought out here? 3m
b. Who is Midas? What was hard food for him? Why ? 3m
c. What does he find inside the lead casket? What does he say about the thing found inside it?
Answers
a. The speaker here is Bassanio. Just before this extract he talks about the superficiality of beauty. He feels that there is more to beauty than what meets the eye, meaning what looks beautiful may not be beautiful in reality. In fact, beauty can be bought by weight, when make-up items are purchased. Similarly, an evil face might be hiding behind a beautiful scarf.
The main idea that he is trying to bring out here is that external appearances do not always present the right picture. The truth may be very different from what we see. Therefore it is not wise to judge a book by its cover.
b. Midas was a Greek king who had the power of turning whatever he touched, to gold. Unfortunately the same power became the cause of misfortune when the king picked up something to eat and his food turned to solid gold. That is why he could not eat the 'hard' food.
c. Bassanio finds a picture of Portia and a scroll in the leaden casket. He praises the artist for painting so well, yet feels that the artist has like a spider, spun a web to trap people with Portia's beauty. He also feels that despite the beautiful portrayal in the picture, Portia's beauty in reality is way beyond what the artist could capture.
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Answer:
a. The speaker here is Bassanio. Just before this extract he talks about the superficiality of beauty. He feels that there is more to beauty than what meets the eye, meaning what looks beautiful may not be beautiful in reality. In fact, beauty can be bought by weight, when make-up items are purchased. Similarly, an evil face might be hiding behind a beautiful scarf.
The main idea that he is trying to bring out here is that external appearances do not always present the right picture. The truth may be very different from what we see. Therefore it is not wise to judge a book by its cover.
b. Midas was a Greek king who had the power of turning whatever he touched, to gold. Unfortunately the same power became the cause of misfortune when the king picked up something to eat and his food turned to solid gold. That is why he could not eat the 'hard' food.
c. Bassanio finds a picture of Portia and a scroll in the leaden casket. He praises the artist for painting so well, yet feels that the artist has like a spider, spun a web to trap people with Portia's beauty. He also feels that despite the beautiful portrayal in the picture, Portia's beauty in reality is way beyond what the artist could capture.