"Tis "not unknown to you, Antonio,
How much I have disabled mine estate
By something showing a more swelling port
Than my faint means would grant continuance
Nor do I now make moan to be abridged
From such a noble rate ; but my cheif care
Is, to come fairly off from the great debts
Wherein my time, somthing too prodigal,
Halt left me gaged, To you autonio,
I owe the most, in money and in love.
1. Where is Bassanio ? What is his financial condition ?
2. Do you think that Bassanio has adopted an extravagant style of living ? Do
you agree / disagree with him on this issue ?
3. Throw light on his plans to come out of this situation.
4. How does Antonio react to his demands ?
5. Do you think Antonio is a faithful friend ? Give an example from the play in
support of your opinion.
Answers
Answer:
1 ) Bassanio is on a street in Venice with Antonio .
Bassanio's financial condition was not very good. He was of noble birth , and had been left a lot of money by his parents , but he spent all of it on living extravagantly and costly things . To maintain his position in society he borrowed money from a lot of people and spent all of that too . Now he was neck deep in debts and was in a financial crisis
2) Yes, I agree that Bassanio had adopted an extravagant style of living . He did this to maintain a respectable position in society. He spent money on things far beyond his reach , hence wasting it . When he ran out of money, he started to borrow it from people , but he spent that money on his luxurious lifestyle too. Hence he was now in a lot of debt and had no money .
3 ) Bassanio had called Antonio to meet him so that he could share his plan to earn money . Ne said that when he was young he would often practice shooting with arrows and when he would loose one of them , he would shoot a second arrow in the same direction in the same way . When he would go looking for the second arrow he would usually find the first one too. He wanted to use this example from his childhood and borrow some more money from Antonio . He would then spend the money the same way and he would try and retrieve the earlier amount too. If he couldn't do that then he would return Antonio the first amount of money and lay indebted for the second one .
4) After hearing Bassanio's plan of retrieving the lost money , Antonio said that he trusted him and so he was ready to lend him money again . And if Bassanio wanted he was always present for him physically , mentally and financially.
5) Yes , Antonio is a very faithful friend . He signed the bond of Shylock for Bassanio risking his own life . When he couldn't pay Shylock the money and was dragged to court so that Shylock could cut a pound of flesh from his body , Antonio did not resist and blame Bassanio for his situation , rather he dealt with it himself . He even said that he was willing to pay the debt to Shylock on behalf of Bassanio , immediately if Shylock cut him deeply enough .So we can easily conclude that Antonio was indeed a very loyal friend .
The answers are as follows:
1. Bassanio is present on the street in Venice with Antonio.
Bassanio has entirely wasted his estate by living an extravagant life. He is soo poor that he does not even have enough money to woe Portia.
2. Yes, I agree that Bassanio has adopted an extravagant way of life. He knows that his continuance is not enough, yet he goes on to live in luxury. He also keeps taking loans from Antonio and even kept him as a wager while taking loans from Shylock.
3. Bassanio plans to woe and marry Portia who is a rich lady of Belmont and thus acquire her wealth. By marrying her he will become fortunate and pay back all his debts.
4. Antonio is a true friend who is willing to give away all to his friend. He says that Bassanio does him wrong by misjudging his love. If Bassanio's plan is true and as honorable as he is, then Antonio's purse, life, and all that he has will be showered upon Bassanio.
5. Yes, Antonio is a faithful friend who tries to help his friends in all ways in their times of need.
An instance of this characteristic from the play is that when Bassanio asks for an amount of loan, Antonio does not ask any questions but gives him access to his purse, his life, and his ultimate means.
#SPJ3