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The Merchant of Venice is one of the Shakespear’s most popular romantic comedies. Shakespear’s romantic comedies contain recognizable plot devices, character types and story development that make them both familiar and enduring. The main plot involves young lovers who overcome the barriers that stand in their way. The Merchant of Venice interweaves three love stories 

• Love story of Portia and Bassanio, 
• Love story of Nerissa and Gratiano, and 
• Love story of Jessica and Lorenzo. 

In this play Portia occupies the place of heroine and she meets three challenges in three plots- 

• in the Casket plot she fulfills her father’s will to marry the man she loves, 
• in the Trial plot she restores her husband’s honour by reaching the court in lead the case of Antonio and thus defeats Shylock and 
• in Ring plot she teaches her husband that he loves her more than he does to Antonio. 

The final demonstration of her intelligence, integrity, passion, wit and virtue ensures a happy marriage for, 

• Nerissa and Gratiano, 
• Jessica and Lorenzo and 
• herself and Bassanio. 

The romantic comedy ends here with all three couples married. Thus the reason of popularity of Merchant of Venice is easily recognised. It is a play with rich romantic elements that raises complex issues of justice, mercy and the bonds that join people together.

A sea journey is something I had never experienced. I used to look at the majestic sea and wonder what it would be like to travel by sea. I got the chance of a life time to travel on a ship.

The ship was filled with people from different states of India. At the beginning all was wonderful, the people, the sea, the sky, the weather. I was told that the journey would take many on board. But as time passed, the journey which I felt would be a pleasant one, wasn’t all that pleasant. There was nothing to see except water, water and more water. The movement of the ship on the water gave me a nauseating/nauseous feeling.

I was praying and hoping for the journey to end. At last after about eight long hours we touched land. I was so happy to be on firm landing once again. The journey by sea was an experience I wouldn’t want to repeat. This journey by sea was my first and last one.

i. killed – transitive verb

ii. saw – transitive verb

iii. spoilt – transitive verb

iv. cried – intransitive verb

v. flew – intransitive verb

Twenty, motionless

Who seemed motionless?

Correct option is B. Litotes

They add a grand beauty to the dark sky. They compete with the brilliance of the stars.

C. Tautology

1. B. An elderly man

2. C. ‘intervened’

3. A. child

4. D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’

Valli found out that the bus journey to the town took forty-five minutes and the one-way fare costed thirty paise. She listened carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet questions here and there. This way she picked up various small details about the bus journey.

Neither a simple jab of a knife nor hacking and chopping kill a tree. Hence the root of the tree should be pulled out of the earth. It would, then, be roped, tied and snapped out. So it should be pulled out entirely from the earth cover. Then it should be exposed to sunlight. This, according to the poet, is the complete process of uprooting a tree.

Once we have spoken a word we become slaves as we cannot take it back, no matter how hard we try. You cannot retrieve it.

• The outcome: disappointment and anger 
• The hour of battle had sounded 
• What a chase! 
• This was our chance 
• The outcome: happiness and relief 
• The outcome: fun and joy 
• The outcome: misery and poverty 
• The hour of decision had arrived 
• The sound of victory was heard 
• What a book! 
• What a personality! 
• What a movie! 
• This was our victory … 
• This was our last straw … 
• This was our fight…

Summary of the Scene : The Trial-scene is one of the most important scenes of the play. The background of the scene is bond story in which Antonio authorised Shylock pound of flesh from his body if he fails to pay the money with in three months. The time has expired and Shylock is determined to take revenge from Antonio on the basis of bond. The scene opens in the court of Venice. Duke’s appeal for Mercy and offer of six thousand ducats by Bassanio could not move Shylock. Then Portia, disguised as a male lawyer enters the court and is permitted to plead the case. Her appeal for mercy and other pleas also proved in effective. Then in the end Portia allows Shylock to take a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body without shedding a drop of blood and exactly one pound flesh neither less nor more otherwise all his wealth will be confiscated by the state. At once Shylock recoils and asks for mercy. Antonio suggests to pardon Shylock provided that he turns a christian and if his wealth is not used in usury and is given to Lorenzo and Jessica. Heart broken Shylock accepts these conditions and goes home.

The scene has great dramatic significance. It is the climax and conclusion of the Bond story, it develops with continuous interest and keeps the audience and readers breathless. Moreover there is an encounter of two great characters—Shylock, a cunning Jew and Portia, a great hero of law. Thus Portia saved Antonio’s life.

Portia is a rich lady of Belmont. She is among the best heroines created by Shakespeare. She possesses most virtues in proper moderation. Her faults a her virtues balance each other. We find the following main points in her character: 

(1) Her Beauty : Portia possesses not only physical beauty but also beauty of character. She is a goldilocks and her golden locks hang on her temples like a golden fleece. She is renowned for her physical beauty and that is why all desire for her. She possesses beauty of character too in an eminent degree. She is an ideal woman, dutiful, loving and self effacing. She obeys the will of her dead father and does not violate, even a little. 

(2) Her Intelligence : Many suitors come to her and she understands their characters immediately. Her intelligence can also be seen from the quickness with which she understands that Bassanio is worried after reading Antonio’s letter. She notes the change of colour on his face and feels that he is so worried because the letter has given him bad news about his friend. Portia does not take anytime in making a plan to save Antonio. 

(3) Her Strong Sense of Justice : Portia possesses a strong sense of justice. When Bassanio requests the Duke to break the Law in order to save Antonio’s life, Portia immediately objects that by doing so, the importance and value of the laws of Venice would be destroyed forever. 

Her love of justice is also touched with mercy and kindness. Soon after she enters the court, she begs Shylock to have mercy on Antonio. But she fails. Then she puts such arguments and pleads the case so well that Antonio’s life is saved and Shylock equests to show mercy on him. ihus Portia’s character is made up of beauty, the finest of human virtues, great intelligence, determination, force of character, loyalty to her husband and her dead father, etc.

D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’

Children should not run after kites on the road or try to rescue them from trees. This could lead to accidents. They should be careful if they are flying kites from terraces and rooftops. The thread should be handled with care, and there should be no injuries to animals or human beings because of it.

The bleeding bark is the place from where the tree is cut off. The sap of the tree will be oozing out from the wounded bark like blood comes from a wound in our body.

Valli wanted to look outside the bus. She found her view blocked by the canvas blind that covered the lower part of the window. In order to have a better view she stood up on the seat and peered over the blind. She saw a canal, palm trees, grassland, mountains, green fields and the sky.

Traditional kites are made of kite paper and have thin wooden frames. The modern kites may be motorized or made of fibre glass. Exotic kites have marvellous shapes such as that of eagles and snakes. There are also illuminated box-kites called tukals.

The author has described the things ! that Valli saw from an eight-year-old’s point of view. She was fascinated by a bus. Watching the bus filled with a new set of people each time was a source of unending joy for her. Her strongest desire was to ride the bus. She saved money by cutting on peppermints, toys and balloons, and even resisting the temptation to ride the merry-go-round at the fair. When the author describes the bus, the points he  stresses on are the colour and look of the bus.

It was a ‘new bus’, painted a ‘gleaming white’, The overhead bars ‘shone like silver’. The seats were ‘soft and luxurious’.

The descriptions that the author gives when Valli looked outside are also typical for an eight-year-old. The ‘blue, blue sky’ and the ‘acres and acres of green fields – green, green, s green’ show the enthusiasm of a kid on looking at different colours. Valli clapped her hands in glee on watching a cow run right in front of the bus. She found it so funny that tears came into her eyes. On the other hand, she was overcome with sadness on her way back when she saw the same cow lying dead. It had S been a ‘lovable, beautiful creature’ and later it ? ‘looked so horrible’. The memory of the dead cow haunted her so much that she refused to look outside the window. These are the typical reactions of a young child.

(i) The bleeding bark will heal.

(ii) Curled green twigs and miniature boughs will rise from close to the ground.

Valli had very painstakingly saved every stray coins that came her way by resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, etc. It had been very difficult for her. Even at the village fair she resisted the temptation to be on the merry-go-round. Thus, she had been able to save sixty paise for her first bus journey.

Over many days and months Valli listened carefully to conversations between her- neighbours and people who regularly used the bus. She also asked a few discreet questions here and there. This way she gathered all the information about the bus.

The old woman asked Valli if she was travelling alone. She also asked her whether she knew where exactly she had to go in town. She further asked whether it was proper for such a young person to travel alone.

(i) young – adjective

(ii) He had no money, hadn’t he?

(iii) Assertive/Declarative – Affirmative

(iv) a. was waiting – past continuous tense 

b. was – auxiliary verb

The poet has used the words and phrases very skillfully. ‘Bleeding bark’ is suggestive of deterioration whereas ‘green twigs’ suggest fresh growth. ‘Blood’ represents death. ‘Green’ shows the springing of life. ‘Green’ and ‘blood’ symbolize the change from death to life.

In the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ Gieve? Patel says that a woodcutter may cut a tree with s his repeated blow. But this alone will not be? able to kill a tree. The affected tree does not s seem to express its pain because its bleeding bark will heal its pain all the time.

‘Curled green twigs’ of the tree closely attached to earth will? grow from the miniature boughs. The strength of the tree lies in the roots. If these roots are ! not completely uprooted, they will expand and become a full-grown tree again. ?

Their Mottoes : It was a will of Portia’s dead father that his daughter Portia would marry the suitos who chooses the right casket. There were three caskets each with an inscription on its lid. The first casket was of gold with the inscription—who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.’ Another casket was of silver with the inscreption— who chooseth me, shall get as much as he deserves.’ The third casket was of lead with the inscription—who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath.’ Well, in one of those caskets lay Portia’s portrait. The man who would happen to choose the casket having Portia’s photo, should marry Portia.

Its Significance : The first significance of the lottery of caskets is that it is a test of character. The choice of a particular casket reveals the mind of the chooser with reference to love. Gold stands for worldly riches which end with death and leads only to miseries. Hence Morocco’s love of gold leads only to death’s head. Silver stands for justice with reference to rewards—To get as much as one deserves. Arragon, by choosing the silver casket, proves himself to be stupid and gets the portrait of an idiot. Lead stands for the soul which is pale in comparison to gold and silver. The soul is true love as it identifies with all beings. The pursuit of the soul implies peace in the world and heavenly bliss in the next. Hence Bassanio is wise and true lover. Dramatically the lottery of the casket brings to light some traits of Portia’s character as well as those of Bassanio.

‘Bleeding bark’ refers to the area on the tree trunk where it has been hit with the axe. It bleeds because the woodcutter has wounded the tree by cutting and chopping it.

Their Mottoes : It was a will of Portia’s dead father that his daughter Portia would marry the suitos who chooses the right casket. There were three caskets each with an inscription on its lid. The first casket was of gold with the inscription—who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.’ Another casket was of silver with the inscreption— who chooseth me, shall get as much as he deserves.’ The third casket was of lead with the inscription—who chooseth me, must give and hazard all he hath.’ Well, in one of those caskets lay Portia’s portrait. The man who would happen to choose the casket having Portia’s photo, should marry Portia.

Its Significance : The first significance of the lottery of caskets is that it is a test of character. The choice of a particular casket reveals the mind of the chooser with reference to love. Gold stands for worldly riches which end with death and leads only to miseries. Hence Morocco’s love of gold leads only to death’s head. Silver stands for justice with reference to rewards—To get as much as one deserves. Arragon, by choosing the silver casket, proves himself to be stupid and gets the portrait of an idiot. Lead stands for the soul which is pale in comparison to gold and silver. The soul is true love as it identifies with all beings. The pursuit of the soul implies peace in the world and heavenly bliss in the next. Hence Bassanio is wise and true lover. Dramatically the lottery of the casket brings to light some traits of Portia’s character as well as those of Bassanio.

1. taste – tasty – tasteful – tastefully 

2. fashion – fashionable – unfashionable – fashionably – unfashionably

Portia’s father, a very wealthy man died leaving her a large estate. Her father had prepared a will in which he had written how her husband should be selected. He had to choose between three caskets – one of gold, one of silver and . one of lead. Each had something written on it and a message inside the box. The one who took the right casket which was the lead casket won Portia’s hand in marriage.

Kite-flying is at its peak in India during the coming of Spring and during the festival of Makar Sankranti, which coincides with the festival of Uttarayan.

1. finite verb – go; 

infinitive – to try

2. It is also a celebration which marks the end of winter.

The most fascinating thing that Valli saw on the street was the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town. It passed through her street each hour, once going to the town and once coming back.

Valli’s mother said that many things happen around us, but we are usually unaware of them. Valli had gone on a bus ride to town, all alone, and had come back without any harm. She did all this without the knowledge of her mother. Hence, she agreed with what her mother said.

The town was located six miles from Valli’s village. The fare to travel to town by bus was thirty paise for one way.

Valli had thriftily saved whatever stray coins came her way. She resisted every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons and ride on the merry-go-round at the village fair to save money for her bus journey.

On one side there was the canal and, beyond it, palm trees, grassland, distant mountains, and the sky. On the other side was a deep ditch and then acres and acres of green fields.

It was a new bus. Its outside was painted a gleaming white with some green stripes along the sides. Inside, the overhead bars shone like silver. There was a beautiful clock above the windshield and its seats were soft and luxurious.

The first casket was made of gold, the second one silver and third one was made of lead.

The expressions ‘bleeding bark’ and ‘rise curled green twigs’ don’t have the same meaning. The expression ‘bleeding bark’ shows destruction, but ‘rise curled green twigs’ expresses growth. The first one shows pain and the second one shows pleasure. So they are contrasting expressions.

During the kite-flying festival, people of all ages go out into the open to fly kites and to cut’ each others’ kites. In towns and cities, where open spaces are difficult to find, terraces and rooftops are often used to fly the kites.

The kite-flying begins at dawn and continues throughout the day. People of all ages gather in the open, on rooftops and terraces. They compete with each other and are triumphant when someone cuts the thread of a rival. Some people prepare special lines for their kites. There is music in the air and traditional delicacies are specially prepared. An International Kite Festival is organized by the Gujarat State Tourism Corporation.

The kite-festival at Ahmedabad is very special because: 

• An International Kite Festival is held either at the Sardar Patel Stadium or the Police Stadium. 
• It attracts international kite-flyers as well as local champions. 
• Little Indian paper kites compete with those from Japan, the USA, UK and other countries.
• Exotic kites with marvellous shapes such as eagles and snakes soar in the sky. 
• The Patang or Kite Bazar in the heart of Ahmedabad is open 24 hours a day for a whole week, and people 
• crowd the streets through the night. 
• Skilled craftsmen demonstrate kite-making age-old skills and how to prepare a special thread. 
• At night, illuminated box-kites are sent into the sky.

1. Assertive sentence

2. In India, however, the tradition of kite-flying has remained the same.

3. The harassed mother would often ask her restless son why he did not go fly a kite.

4. The cut on my hand healed soon, (noun) 

I cut my finger when I was slicing a mango, (verb)

The last leaf didn’t flutter or move because it wasn’t a real one, but a painting by Behrman.

                      High-Flying Kites Adorn The Sky

Ahmedabad, 17 January: A variety of colourful kites adorned the sky this year during the International Kite Festival here. A record number of countries participated in this annual festival. The famous International Kite Festival, organized by the Gujarat State Tourism Corporation, was held at the Sardar Patel Stadium. 14 countries, including India, participated. The kites were very colourful and in a variety of shapes. There were dragons, eagles, snakes, crocodiles, etc. Some had tiny lights in them, while j some were studded with stones. Excited spectators watched in awe as the kites; soared in the sky, free as birds.

This year, the first prize, a gold-plated cup in the shape of a kite, went to Korea. The Korean team succeeded in keeping their kite in the sky for the longest time. Last year’s winner and the host country, India, J did not stand a chance this year and were ; out of the competition at an early stage. “We will double our efforts for the next year and come out with flying colours,” said Rakesh ) Pandya, captain of the home team. We wish them all the best for the next year, Harsh Mehta.

1. d. She refers to Valli, an eight-year-old girl.

2. a. She was sad and sat quietly after seeing the dead cow.

3. b. Valli is a kind and sensitive girl.

4. c. The cow died being struck by a fast-moving vehicle.

5. d. She was overcome with sadness when the cow died.