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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where will Shylock be dining on the night of the masquerade?

2. Who does Bassiano take out a loan from?

3. What is the consequence of a suitor choosing the wrong chest?

4. Why does Portia say it does not matter how she judges him?

5. What does Bassanio ask the man he is getting the loan from to do in order to complete the loan process?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Antonio feel at the beginning of the play and why?

2. What do the inscriptions on each of the caskets say?

3. What does Shylock ask for if Antonio defaults on the loan for Bassanio?

4. What do the men discussing the masquerade say they need for the ball?

5. What does Portia say to the Moroccan prince when he asks her to judge him by his beauty?

6. Why does Shylock say it is so brave of Antonio to guarantee a loan for Bassanio at this time?

7. What does the letter Jessica wrote to Lorenzo say?

8. What is Portia so upset about when she is first seen in this book?

9. What does Launcelot do when he sees his father on the streets?

10. What does Jessica say she hopes will happen as her father leaves the house on the night of the masquerade?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Valor was a theme of this play that is very important to many of the characters involved. Where does this theme of valor present itself and how do these occurrences affect the characters involved in those scenes?

Essay Topic 2

What were the inscriptions and contents of the three caskets and what significance do they play on the course of the plot?

Essay Topic 3

There are many different symbols present in this play. What are these symbols and how does their presence alter the course of the plot?

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This section contains 748 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample