Question

Sample question 3:
What impression do you form of Bassanio after your reading of Act 3 Scene 2? What different sides of his character do you see here that were not evident in the early part of the play?(Merchant of Venice)​

Answer 1

Explanation:

At Belmont, Portia would like Bassanio to delay before he chooses one of the caskets. Already she has fallen in love with him, and she fears the outcome. She asks him to "tarry," to "pause a day or two," to "forbear awhile"; anything, she tells him, to keep him from possibly choosing the wrong casket. Bassanio, however, begs to choose one of them. His anxiety is too great. If he waits, it is as though he "lives on the rack." Thus Portia acquiesces and tells her servants that this choice is no ordinary choice; therefore, she would like music to be played "while he doth make his choice."