shylock
A Jewish moneylender
portia
wealthy heiress from belmont (queen)
antonio
merchant (has ships)
jessica
shylocks daughter
bassanio
kinsman/friend of antonio
gratiano
friend of bassanio
Launcelot
shylock’s old servant (bassanios new servant)
gobbo
launcelot’s father
salarino
A Venetian gentleman, and friend to Antonio, Bassanio, and Lorenzo.
solanio
venetian gentleman counterpart to salarino
lorenzo
A friend of Bassanio and Antonio, is in love with jessica
nerissa
portia’s personal assistant
morroco
prince who wants portia to ignore his skin color
why is antonio so sad? why doest he know the cause of his sadness?
he believes that his role in life is to be sad. he doesn’t know the cause because there is nothing to be sad about
what does solanio and salarino guess about why antonio is sad.
they guess its because of his ships or because he is in love
why does bassanio set his sights on portia
she is beautiful and rich
what are bassanios barriers for getting with portia and how does he plan to overcome them.
his barriers are that he is in debt. he wants to overcome them by borrowing from shylock
why does antonio help bassanio
antonio is a kind friend
what was the purpose of shylock sharing the story of jacob and laban?
it is the only way shylock was able to convey his message to antonio as it was the common ground for jews and christians
how are shylock and jacob similar
they both take initiative as jacob held the stick for the sheep to become striped and shylock charges a tax.
how do shylock and antonios views differ on the jacob and laban story
antonio argued that god was the one who controlled what color sheep came out.
why does antonio rely on shylock for the loan
antonios money is linked with his ships at sea.
how does shylock ensure antonio pays back on time
antonio needs to give a pound of flesh if he doesnt pay in time
what is morroco concerned about when he meets portia and how does this emphasize societal issues during the sahkespearan era
morroco is concerned portia will not like him because of his skin color. this shows that racism was an issue during the time
what does morrocos speech reveal about him
he is proud because he says he would not want to change his skin color.
Why is Portia unhappy in a1 s2
portia feels trapped in her fathers will which prevents her from choosing her own husband
What agreement do Antonio and Shylock make in Act 1, Scene 3?
antonio borrows 3000 ducats, if he fails to pay shylock can claim a pound of antonios flesh
why does shylock hate antonio
he doesnt like that antonio doesnt charge tax
How does Launcelot feel about working for Shylock?
he doesnt like it as shylock doesnt feed him
What does Jessica plan to do to change her situation?
she wants to elope with lorenzo and convert to christianity
What item does Jessica give Launcelot to deliver
a letter for Lorenzo
How does Lorenzo describe Jessica?
he praises her calling her wise fair and loyal
What role does the masquerade play in Lorenzo and Jessica's plan?
provides a cover for jessica to escape from shylocks house
What instructions does Shylock give Jessica before leaving?
to lock up the house tightly and avoid looking at the festivities outside.
how does Shylock view the Christian celebration happening outside?
shylock disproves of it calling it frivolous and disruptive.