Question

Your mind is tossing on the ocean,
There where your argosies with portly sail
Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood,
Or as it were the pageants of the sea
That courtsy to them, do them reverence.
As they fly by them with their woven wings.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Explain the following lines from Act I, Scene i of The Merchant of Venice: 'Your mind is tossing on the ocean; There, where your argosies with portly sail, Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood Or, as it were, the pageants of the sea, Do over peer the petty traffickers, That curt'sy to them, do them reverence, As they fly by them with their woven wings.' In act 1, scene 1 of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, a wealthy Venetian merchant, enters the scene with his two friends, Salerio and Solanio. Antonio tells his friends that he's feeling sad, but he doesn't know why. Salerio suggest that Antonio's mind is "tossing like the ocean" because he's concerned about the safety of the cargo in his many merchant ships at sea.

Answer 2

Explanation:

Antonio says it wearies both of them for him to be so depressed and comments that he doesn't understand himself. Salarino then says to Antonio, "Your mind is tossing on the ocean." By this he means that Antonio is sad because he is constantly thinking and worrying about the ships he has out at sea.