Shakespeare exams are based on the set plays. For The Merchant of Venice like the other plays, there will be one extract question and one general question. You choose ONE and write the normal 600 word essay. For the extract question, you need to learn a slightly different skill, in that you have to see the extract as a microcosm of the play and refer to it as well as the rest of the work. Below is the question from 2006 - I will post previous years as time goes by.
QUESTION FOUR: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Either: Option 5(a)
Use the two following passages as the starting point for a discussion of the moral issues raised by the play. Your discussion should involve comparison of the passages AND some consideration of the play as a whole.
| ACT ONE, SCENE THREE SHYLOCK
Signor Antonio, many a time and oft
In the Rialto you have rated me
About my moneys and my usances.
Still have I borne it with a patient shrug,
For suff’rance is the badge of all our tribe.
You call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog,
And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,
And all for use of that which is mine own.
Well then, it now appears you need my help.
Go to, then. You come to me, and you say
‘Shylock, we would have moneys’— you say so,
You, that did void your rheum on my beard,
And foot me as you spurn a stranger cur
Over your threshold. Moneys is your suit.
What should I say to you? Should I not say
‘Hath a dog money? Is it possible
A cur can lend three thousand ducats?’ Or
Shall I bend low, and in a bondsman’s key,
With bated breath and whisp’ring humbleness
Say this: ‘Fair sir, you spat on me on Wednesday last;
You spurned me such a day; another time
You called me dog; and for these courtesies
I’ll lend you thus much moneys’? | ACT THREE, SCENE THREE ANTONIO Hear me yet, good Shylock. SHYLOCK
I’ll have my bond. Speak not against my bond.
I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond.
Thou called’st me dog before thou had’st a cause,
But since I am a dog, beware my fangs
The Duke shall grant me justice. I do wonder,
Thou naughty jailer, that thou art so fond
To come abroad with him at his request. ANTONIO I pray thee hear me speak. SHYLOCK
I’ll have my bond. I will not hear thee speak.
I’ll have my bond, and therefore speak no more.
I’ll not be made a soft and dull-eyed fool
To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield
To Christian intercessors. Follow not.
I’ll have no speaking. I will have my bond. Exit SOLANIO
It is the most impenetrable cur
That ever kept with men. ANTONIO Let him alone.
I’ll follow him no more with bootless prayers.
He seeks my life. |
Or: Option 5(b)
Using detailed supporting evidence, discuss the extent to which ONE of the following is a central theme or motif in the play:
Hate, Love and Marriage, True and False Values
Head your answer with your chosen theme or motif.
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