Merchant of Venice. - Repositories

SCENE 3.] NOTES 139
Does Antonio feel no suspicion ? or, if he does, why does he
not show it?
1. 155. suspect. What ellipsis before this word ?
1. 164. for. Contrary to the opinion of most of the commentators,
I cannot but think that this word may mean here
in return for. Most of the generally accepted authorities read
this as meaning for the sake of In what way does Shylock
accuse the Christians of " wronging him" ?
1. 169. fearful. Untrustworthy.
1.170. knave. Used often in Shakespeare in its old meaning
of boy, or " fellow." Cf. German Knahe.
I. 170. presently. With the same meaning as in I., i., 183.
II. 1-175. What indications are there in this scene of the
commercial importance of Venice? What* of tb'> wealth of
Antonio? How dare Shylock propose such a bond? Is
there any excuse for Antonio's treatment of Shylock ? In
addition to the fact that a Jew is the principal character, is
there another reason why so many references to the Bible should
be made in this scene ? At what point does Shylock become
most eloquent? Is this eloquence attained chiefly by strong
comparisons, by forcible words, or by an effective arrangement
of the words in the sentence ? Can you find any lines where his
feelings are expressed as much by the disagreeable combination
of harsh consonants as by the signification of the words ?
Review of Act I. What one important fact of the story has
been learned from each scene of Act L ? What purpose has
been accomplished by the act as a whole ? Into how many