| Identify the four pairs of lovers alluded to at the beginning of the act? | Thisbe and Pyramus, Mevea and Jason, Dido and Aeneas, Troilus and Cressida |
| What’s common to the ending of each of these relationships? | Death |
| What’s the name of Portia’s messenger who arrives in Belmont to advise Lorenzo and Jessica of Portia’s imminent arrival? | Stephano |
| In Scene 1, Lorenzo sings the praises of music. Paraphrase his feelings regarding the value of music. | That music is the best feeling of sensation that there is. |
| Who was the poet/musician of whom it was said that rocks and trees would uproot themselves and follow him when he played his lute? | Orpheus |
| What does Lorenzo say about any man who “Hath no music within himself” | Let no such man be trusted; mark the music |
| How do Lorenzo’s feelings regarding music compare with Shylock’s as it was expressed in Act 2, scene 5, II. 29-37, When Shylock ordered Jessica to “Lock up the door when you hear the drum and the vile squealing of the wry necked fife… Let not the sound of foppery enter my sober house.” | Lorenzo thinks that music can change people in a good way, and Shylock thinks that music can change people in a bad way. |
| Who is the shepherd, beloved of Diana, who is alluded to in Act 5, scene 1? | Amyntas |
| True or False. Bassanio and Gratiano have beaten Portia and Nerissa home to Belmont. | False |
| What does Portia make Lorenzo and Jessica and the servants promise not to tell? | That they were in Venice |
| Explain in your own words Portia’s observation to Bassanio that “A light wife doth make a heavy husband” | If a wife is not serious in a relationship the husband might worry that she is cheating on him |
| who has accompanied Bassanio and Gratiano back to Belmont? | Antonio |
| Explain the dramatic irony of Portia’s question to Bassanio: “What ring gave you, my lord? Not that, I hope, which you received of me.” | That Portia already knows who he gave the ring to and has it with her. |
| What does Portia facetiously swear she will never do until she sees her ring again on his finger? It’s a sentiment Nerissa also shares with Gratiano. | Have sex with him |
| What does Portia accuse Bassanio of doing with the ring? | Giving it to another woman |
| What does Bassanio metaphorically refer to as “These blessed candles of night”? | Stars |
| What does Portia threaten, again facetiously, to do with the Doctor to whom Bassanio claims have given the ring? Nerissa threatens to do the same with the clerk to whom Gatiano has given his ring | Have sex with them |
| What’s the name of the hundred-eyed giant alluded to in this scene? | Arsus |
| What’s good news for Antonio arrives in a letter in Portia’s possession? | That three of his ships came back |
Merchant of Venice Act 5 Study Guide
July 8, 2019