what has Antonio learnt about bassanio from his school days story? what does bassanio says ? act 1 scene 1
Answers
The play starts with Antonio, a rich merchant of Venice, complaining to his friends about a melancholy that he cannot find any reasons for, his friends feel that it could be because of the worry regarding the safety of his merchant ships that may be threatened by storms or sea pirates. Antonio denies this by saying that his merchandise is widely distributed and does not depends upon those ships only. Solanio says that it may be due to love, but Antony dissents this and states that, he hates falling in love. So his friends attribute the melancholy to his ‘strange’ nature.
After the departure of these two friends, Bassanio, Gratiano and Lorenzo arrives. Gratiano teases Antonio by suggesting that he is too much bothered about the opinion of the world or he wants to appear as a wise man. Antonio replies that he treats the world ‘but as the stage’, a stage every man has to do a role and his is a sad one. Gratiano immediately responds, and says that he is not the one willing to be sad, he wants to enjoy his youth before the age descends upon him. He departs by advicing Antonio to overcome his sadness and not to be its victim.