The Merchant of Venice (Webster's Thesaurus Edition)

180 Pages·2006·1.25 MB·English

by  William Shakespeare

THE MERCHANT OF
VENICE

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

William Shakespeare

PSAT is a registered trademark of the CollegeEntrance Examination Board and the National Merit Scholarship
Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT is a registered trademark of the College
Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE, AP and Advanced Placement are registered
trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book
nor endorses this book, LSATis a registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither
sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights reserved.
The Merchant of Venice

Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®,
GMAT®, and AP® English Test Preparation

William Shakespeare

PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and
Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses
this product. All rights reserved.
ICON CLASSICS

Published by ICON Group International, Inc.
7404 Trade Street
San Diego, CA 92121 USA

www.icongrouponline.com

The Merchant of Venice: Webster’s Thesaurus Edition for PSAT®, SAT®, GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT®, and
AP® English Test Preparation

This edition published by ICON Classics in 2005
Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright ©2005 by ICON Group International, Inc.
Edited by Philip M. Parker, Ph.D. (INSEAD); Copyright ©2005, all rights reserved.

All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a
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PSAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board and the
National Merit Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book;
SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses
this book; GRE®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the
Educational Testing Service which neither sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a
registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council which is neither
affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law
School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses this product. All rights
reserved.

ISBN 0-497-25359-3
iii

Contents

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR..........................................................................................1

PERSONS REPRESENTED................................................................................................3

ACT I................................................................................................................................5

ACT II.............................................................................................................................25

ACT III............................................................................................................................55

ACT IV............................................................................................................................83

ACT V...........................................................................................................................107

GLOSSARY...................................................................................................................123

William Shakespeare 1

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR

Designed for school districts, educators, and students seeking to maximize performance on
standardized tests, Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently
assigned readings in English courses. By using a running thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this
edition of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare was edited for students who are
actively building their vocabularies in anticipation of taking PSAT®, SAT®, AP® (Advanced
Placement®), GRE®, LSAT®, GMAT® or similar examinations.1

Webster’s edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of
synonyms and antonyms for difficult and often ambiguous English words that are encountered in
other works of literature, conversation, or academic examinations. Extremely rare or idiosyncratic
words and expressions are given lower priority in the notes compared to words which are “difficult,
and often encountered” in examinations. Rather than supply a single synonym, many are provided
for a variety of meanings, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of the English language,
and avoid using the notes as a pure crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within
context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not
already highlighted on previous pages. If a difficult word is not noted on a page, chances are that it
has been highlighted on a previous page. A more complete thesaurus is supplied at the end of the
book; Synonyms and antonyms are extracted from Webster’s Online Dictionary.

Definitions of remaining terms as well as translations can be found at www.websters-online-
dictionary.org. Please send suggestions to [email protected]

The Editor
Webster’s Online Dictionary
www.websters-online-dictionary.org
1 P S A T ® i s a r e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k o f t h e College Entrance Examination Board and the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation neither of which sponsors or endorses this book; SAT® is a registered
trademark of the College Board which neither sponsors nor endorses this book; GRE®, AP® and
Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which neither
sponsors nor endorses this book, GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council which is neither affiliated with this book nor endorses this book, LSAT® is a
registered trademark of the Law School Admissions Council which neither sponsors nor endorses
this product. All rights reserved.

William Shakespeare 3
PERSONS %REPRESENTED

THE DUKE OF VENICE
THE PRINCE OF MOROCCO, }
suitors to Portia
THE PRINCE OF ARRAGON,
ANTONIO, a merchant of Venice
BASSANIO, his friend
SALANIO,
}
SALARINO, friends to Antonio and Bassanio

GRATIANO,
LORENZO, in love with Jessica
SHYLOCK, a rich Jew
TUBAL, a Jew, his friend
LAUNCELOT GOBBO, a clown, servant to Shylock
OLD GOBBO, father to Launcelot
LEONARDO, servant to Bassanio
BALTHASAR, }
servants to Portia
STEPHANO,
PORTIA, a rich heiress
NERISSA, her waiting-maid
JESSICA, daughter to Shylock
MAGNIFICOES OF VENICE, OFFICERS OF THE COURT OF JUSTICE,
GAOLER, SERVANTS TO PORTIA, and other ATTENDANTS

Thesaurus
clown: (n) fool, joker, jester, boor, companion, fellow, ally; (n) rich: (adj, n) copious, luxurious; (adj)
harlequin, joke, comedian, rustic, acquaintance, colleague, boyfriend, productive, fruitful, full, deep,
comic, acrobat; (v) antic. crony, brother, mate. ANTONYMS: prolific, opulent, fat, affluent; (adj, v)
daughter: (n) child, son, maiden, (n) foe, stranger, rival, nemesis, fertile. ANTONYMS: (adj) poor,
young woman, daughterly, lass, adversary, antagonist. impoverished, destitute, broke, light,
unmarried woman, damsel, miss, heiress: (n) inheritress, inheritrix, plain, lean, delicate, infertile, weak,
missy, virgin. inheritor, heritor, owner, beneficiary. barren.
father: (n) dad, begetter, creator, abba, merchant: (n) trader, seller, servant: (n) manservant, domestic,
patriarch, beginner, founder, padre; businessman, shopkeeper, vendor, lackey, maid, employee, flunkey,
(n, v) sire; (v) engender, generate. retailer, merchandiser, storekeeper, retainer, boy, footman, flunky,
ANTONYMS: (n) disciple, follower. broker, grocer; (n, v) chapman. menial. ANTONYMS: (n) master,
friend: (adj, n) associate, comrade, ANTONYM: (n) buyer. mistress.

William Shakespeare 5

ACT I

SCENE I. VENICE. A STREET

[Enter ANTONIO, SALARINO, and SALANIO]
ANTONIO.
In sooth, I know not why I am so sad;
It wearies me; you say it wearies you;
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn;
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me
That I have much ado to know myself.%
SALARINO.
Your mind is tossing on the ocean;
There where your argosies, with portly sail--
Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood,
Or as it were the pageants of the sea--
Do overpeer the petty traffickers,
That curtsy to them, do them reverence,
As they fly by them with their woven wings.

Thesaurus
came: (v) arrive, come. light, mean, minute, exiguous. despondency; (adj, n) grief, distress;
caught: (adj) fixed, guilty, ANTONYMS: (adj) important, (n) misery, sorrow, desolation, regret,
accomplished, wedged, trapped, serious, generous, profound, gloom, mourning, affliction.
interested, exposed, defenseless, significant, expansive, crucial, ANTONYMS: (n) joy, amusement,
culpable; (v) seize, get. ANTONYM: considerable, broadminded, cheerfulness, laughter, contentment,
(adj) loose. enormous. comfort, cheer, hopefulness.
curtsy: (n, v) bob, curtsey; (adj, n, v) portly: (adj) plump, stout, corpulent, sooth: (n) verity, soothsaying, fact,
courtesy, kowtow; (v) nod, kneel, heavy, obese, chubby, fleshy, truth, reality.
bow submission, recognize; (n) overweight; (adj, adv) burly, stately; tossing: (n) cast; (adj) moving.
obeisance; (adj) salaam, kotow. (adv) plumply. ANTONYMS: (adj, venice: (n) Venezia.
petty: (adj) insignificant, trivial, little, adv) thin, slim; (adj) skinny. wings: (n) insignia, agency.
frivolous, paltry, puny, negligible, sadness: (n, v) melancholy, woven: (adj) plaited.