Tuesday, July 12, 2016

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, what examples does Gartiano give in a later scene to show why Lorenzo delays keeping his appointment with them?

At the beginning of act two, scene six, Gratiano and Salarino wait for Lorenzo to meet them in front of Shylock's home at an agreed upon time. However, Lorenzo is late, and his two friends begin to discuss why he is delaying his appointment with them. After Gratiano comments that it is surprising that Lorenzo is late because new lovers are usually early, Salarino says that time passes ten times faster for new lovers than old married couples. Gratiano then gives several examples of why Lorenzo is keeping them waiting. Gratiano asks,

Who riseth from a feast / With that keen appetite that he sits down? / Where is the horse that doth untread again / His tedious measures with the unbated fire / That he did pace them first? (Shakespeare, 2.6.8-12)

Gratiano also compares Lorenzo's emotions to a ship, which was once swift and traveled fast at sea but is now weather-beaten and haggard when it returns to the harbor. Overall, Gratiano uses examples of satisfying one's appetite, a horse retracing its steps, and a weather-beaten ship returning to the harbor in order to explain why Lorenzo keeps them waiting.

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