Merchant of Venice • Act II

1. Keyword Summary Answer Key Merchant of Venice • Act II

2. Act II, Scene 1 The prince of Moroccoarrives to attempt to win Portia's hand in marriage. He asks Portia not to judge him by his dark complexion, assuring her that he is as brave/courageousas any European man. Portia reminds the prince that her own feelingsdo not matter, since her marriage will be determined by the selection from the caskets. She reminds him that the penalty for choosingincorrectly is that he must remain singleforever. The prince agreeswith this rule.

3. Act II, Scene 2 Lancelet Gobbo, a servantof Shylock, is in the middle of a dilemma between staying to serve his master and leaving. Part of him fears that Shylockis a devil and wishes to leave, but another part reminds Lancelet of his own honest ways. Finally, Lancelet decides to leave. While he is debating himself, his father passes by, who is half blind. Lancelet decides to trick his father, and pretends to be a masterwho gives his father bad directionsand tells him hisson is dead. Finally, Lancelet reveals the truth and asks his father to help him become the servant of Bassanio. Together, father and son convince Bassanio to hire Lancelet. Next, Bassanio encounters Gratianoand tells him of his intent to travel to Belmont to win Portia. Gratiano asks to come with him, and Bassanioagrees, but only if Gratiano can controlhis unruly/crazybehavior.

4. Act II, Scene 3 Shylock's daughter Jessicabids goodbye to Lancelet, telling him that he is a merry devil who robbed the houseof some of its taste of tediousness. She gives him a letterto give to Lorenzo. In private, Jessica worries that it is a sinfor her to hate her father, but admits that although she is his daughter, she is not like him in manners. She pledges to marry Lorenzo and become a Christian.

5. Act II, Scene 4 Lorenzo, Gratiano, Salarino, and Solanioare attempting to plan a masque for the evening. Gratianoworries that they are not prepared, but Lorenzoassures him that it is only four o’clock and they have twohours to get ready. Lanceletenters and gives his letterto Lorenzo, who instantly recognizes the handwriting. He gives Lancelet some moneyand tells him to tell Jessicathat he will not fail her. Lorenzo reveals that the letter explains how Jessicawill disguise herself as a page (boy servant) and steal her father's goldand jewelsso that they might get married.

6. Act II, Scene 5 While he is continuously calling for Jessica, Shylock tells Lancelet that he will find that Bassaniowill not be as lenient a masteras Shylock, and will not put up with Lancelet eatingand sleeping all day. Shylock prepares to leave for dinner with Lancelet, although he reveals to Jessica that he does not wish to leave after he had a foreboding dream about money. He tells Jessica to guard their house. Lancelet tells Jessica to keep her eye out the windowfor Lorenzo, although Jessica tells a suspicious Shylock that Lancelet merely said “farewell, mistress."Shylock snorts that Lancelet sleeps more than a wildcat, then leaves. Jessica says farewell, saying that he has lost his daughter.

7. Act II, Scene 6 Salarino and Gratiano are part of the masquers partying through the streets ofVenice. They stop and wait for Lorenzo, who has asked them to meet him at a certain spot. He arrives and thanks them for their patience. He then calls out to Jessica, who appears in the window of Shylock's house dressed as a page/boy, making use of the Shakespearean convention of disguises. She throws out a casketto Lorenzo filled with money/jewels. She then goes back inside and steals even more ducats/gold coins before joining them. Everyone leaves except for Gratiano, who unexpectedly meets Antonio, who tells him to get to the ship heading for Belmont, because the wind has started blowing the right way and the ship is ready to depart.

8. Act II, Scene 7 The Prince of Moroccois brought into a room containing three caskets made of gold, silver, and lead. Portiatells him to make his choice. The Prince reads the inscriptions on all the caskets. The first reads: “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.” The second casket reads “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.”Finally, the dull casket bears the inscription, “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath”. She tells the Prince that the correct casket, or the one that will allow him to marry her, contains her picture. The Prince looks over all the inscriptions a second time, and decides that the dull one is too threatening and not worth risking anything for. He also rejects the second, which he feels is too beneath his standards. The Prince therefore chooses the first. Portia hands him the key, and he opens the casket to reveal a skull. It holds a scroll that poetically indicates that he chose superficially. The Prince departs after a hasty farewell. .

9. Act II, Scene 8 Salarinoand Solanio meet in the street and discuss Bassanio’s departure. They further tell the audience that Shylock returned home and discovered Jesscia’s crime. Shylock then woke up the Duke and tried to stop Bassanio’s ship, which had already set sail for Belmont. Antonio assured Shylock that Jessica was not on board the ship, but rather had been seen in a gondola. However, Shylock continues to blame Christiansfor the loss of his daughter and, maybe more importantly, his money and jewels. Solaniois worried about Antonio, whom he says had better repay his bond with Shylock on time, because Shylock is furious about his losses and blames him for them. Salarino indicates that a Frenchmanmentioned a Venetian vessel had sunk in the English Channel (narrow seas) the day before. Both men hope that it is not Antonio'sship.

10. Act II, Scene 9 The prince of Arragonarrives to take his chanceswith the lottery. Portia and the prince summarize the threerules every suitor must swear to before they play the lottery. The prince does not choose the goldcasket because he believes that the word “many” in the riddle could refer to all men being fools. He thinks about the riddles long and hardand chooses the silver casket, hoping he gets what he deserves. The prince opens the casket only to find it containsa portrait of a blinking idiot. Following the suitor’s exit, Portia compares all men to mothsand Nerissa reminds her that fate/destinydecides when men marry and die.