What do you understand by the sandy hour-glass' ?in merchant of venice act 1 scene 1
Answers
The sandy hour glass refers to an instrument that was used to keep track of time in the Elizabethan days.
It consisted of two cup shaped containers with a narrow tubular end, the sand flowed from one container to another in a certain time period.
This phrase is used by Salarino, who is trying to ascertain and explain the cause of Antonio's melancholy. Salarino explains that if he had such risky business ventures, then he would not be able to see the sandy hourglass run without being reminded of the dangerous shallows and flats at sea, he would immediately think of his ships docked and lodged into the deep sand, unable to move, his wealthy andrew (a large commercial merchant ship) docked in the sand, with its high top or its mast lower than its ribs or its sides, to kiss the sand in which it is buried.