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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. How many servants are attending the Moroccan prince?

2. What has lowered the interest rates on loans in Venice?

3. What does the inscription on the gold casket say it holds?

4. When does Gratiano say love tends to wane?

5. Why has no suitor yet tried to choose one of the chests?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Which casket does the Prince of Morocco choose, and what is found inside it?

4. Why does Gratiano decide to not attend the masquerade he has been looking forward to?

5. What does the Moroccan prince think is causing Portia's reserved and quiet reaction to him?

6. What is Jessica so ashamed of herself for?

7. Who does Jessica say she is so sad to see leave, and why?

8. How did Portia feel when the Prince of Morocco chose the wrong Casket?

9. Whose arrival is announced at the end of the second scene, and how is this news received?

10. What does Lorenzo plan to do before the masquerade?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The characters in this play all had their own goals and motivations. Select four characters and write about their main motivations and how this goal affects the characters around them.

Essay Topic 2

How does the relationship between Portia and Bassanio change throughout the course of the play and how do these changes affect the characters around them?

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 681 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample