Latest Maharashtra State Board (SSC & HSC) 2026-27 Syllabus Digest & Solutions Updated!
Class 6English (Kumarbharati / Balbharati)2026-27 Syllabus

Chapter 3.6 The Merchant of Venice Solutions

Complete Maharashtra State Board Balbharati & Yuvakbharati textbook solutions for Chapter 3.6 The Merchant of Venice. Step-by-step solved exercises, numerical problems, and digest answers.

50 Solved Questions2666 words

Maharashtra State Board Class 6 English Solutions Chapter 3.6 The Merchant of Venice

Class 6 English Chapter 3.6 The Merchant of Venice Textbook Questions and Answers

1. Say whether the following statements are true or false.

Question a.
The merchant ships brought spices and other treasures from India and other countries to Italy.
Answer:
True

Question b.
Antonio had gone on a long voyage.
Answer:
False

Question c.
Bassanio was very rich.
Answer:
False

Question d.
Portia had many brothers and sisters.
Answer:
False

Question e.
Portia’s suitors chose the gold and silver caskets.
Answer:
True

Question f.
Bassanio borrowed money from Shylock in Antonio’s name.
Answer:
True

Question g.
Shylock was not at all generous.
Answer:
True

Question h.
Shy lock demanded a pound of Antonio’s flesh.
Answer:
True

Question i.
Portia saved Antonia in the court of law.
Answer:
True

Question j.
Antonio’s ships were lost at sea.
Answer:
False

2. Write a few lines about each character.

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Antonio:
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Antonio was a rich merchant who lived in the prosperous city of Venice in Italy. He sent his ships to faraway countries bringing back spices and other treasures, thus making a lot of profit. He was a kind man with many friends. His best friend was Bassanio, for whom he was even ready to stake his life.
Question 2 Maharashtra Board Solution
Bassanio:
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Bassanio was a young and handsome nobleman with no money. He wanted to marry Portia. He had to go to Belmont to try his luck to marry Portia. He won Portia’s hand in marriage.
Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
Portia:
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Portia was a beautiful and intelligent woman. She was the only daughter of a very wealthy man. Her father had died leaving her a large estate. Her father had written a will on how Portia’s husband had to be selected. Portia happily married Bassanio in accordance with her father’s will.
Question 4 Maharashtra Board Solution
Shylock:
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Shylock was a Jewish moneylender. He had a lot of money. He was not a generous person. Money was all that he cared for. He did not like Antonio and wanted to harm him. He got a chance to do so when Antonio went to him to borrow money for Bassanio. He readily gave the money but with a strange condition which was very cruel and inhuman.

3. Write the following in short:

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
The story of the three caskets
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
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.
Question 2 Maharashtra Board Solution
What the young lawyer pleaded?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Antonio was taken to court by Shylock to demand and fulfill his strange and cruel condition. If the condition was fulfilled, Antonio would lose his life. A lawyer entered the court to fight Antonio’s case. The lawyer requested Shylock to show mercy though the law was on his side.

The lawyer pleaded that mercy is a quality of God. He further said that when a person shows mercy to someone, both are blessed. He said that mercy was more valuable than a king’s crown. All the pleadings of the young lawyer did not have any effect on Shylock who stuck to his inhuman condition of wanting a pound of Antonio’s flesh.

Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
The events at the court
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
When Antonio was taken to court by Shylock to get his inhuman demand fulfilled, the Duke who liked Antonio felt sorry for him. Portia asked Bassanio to pay Shylock double the amount which Shylock refused. Everyone in the court considered Shylock’s demand to be inhuman.

The Duke asked Shylock to show mercy but Shylock refused. A young lawyer entered the court to fight Antonio’s case. This was the turning point. The lawyer fought for Antonio very cleverly and helped him get out of the inhuman condition.

4. Write the conditions that Portia put down to warn Shylock.

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Write the conditions that Portia put down to warn Shylock.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The young lawyer fighting Antonio’s case asked Shylock to show mercy. Shylock was adamant and stuck to the bond saying that all he wanted was a pound of Antonio’s flesh. The lawyer then cleverly allowed Shylock to take Antonio’s pound of flesh. The lawyer warned the Jew that while doing so, he should not shed even one drop of Antonio’s blood. He also warned Shylock that he should cut exactly one pound of flesh – nothing less and nothing more, according to the bond.

5. Find four words ending with ‘-ous’ from the story. Can you add three more words ending with ‘-ous’ to this list?

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Find four words ending with ‘-ous’ from the story. Can you add three more words ending with ‘-ous’ to this list?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:

6. Read the following words. Write the words that are combined to make these words. Add ten more to the list on your own.

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Read the following words. Write the words that are combined to make these words.

Add ten more words to the list on your own. Each of the component words must be meaningful.

Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:

7. Read the following chains of words:

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Read the following chains of words:
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:

8.A letter or group of letters added to the front of a word to change its meaning and make a new word is called a prefix.
Examples: fortunately – unfortunately, agree – disagree, possible – impossible, human – inhuman, legal – illegal
Add proper prefixes to the following words to make new words:

Answer:

9. Find at least three sentences in the story which have modal verbs.

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Portia’s husband should be selected.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
should-modal
Question 2 Maharashtra Board Solution
Whoever chooses me, must give and hazard all he has.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
must-modal
Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
Shylock would cut off a pound of Antonio’s flesh.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
would-modal
Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
He was very happy that Antonio would not be able to pay the money.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
would – modal
Question 4 Maharashtra Board Solution
But what could he do?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
could – modal

10.Visit a library. Read other tales by Shakespeare, for example, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Macbeth and The Tempest.

11.Hold a mock trial for any one of the following offences. There should be a complainant, a defendant, and lawyers to argue that case on behalf of them. The whole class can vote to pass the judgement. On what occasions will you plead for justice? What punishment will you suggest? When will you plead for mercy?
a. A very poor and honest servant has broken a vase while cleaning it. The vase was valuable and the employer liked it very much.
b. A poor man stole some ornaments from a rich girl.
c. A young man was injured in a road accident due to another man’s careless driving.

Class 6 English Chapter 3.6 The Merchant of Venice Additional Important Questions and Answers

Answer the following questions in one or two sentences.

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Where did Antonio live?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Antonio lived in Venice, a prosperous city in Italy.
Question 2 Maharashtra Board Solution
What did the ships of adventurous merchants bring back?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The ships of adventurous merchants brought back spices and other treasures from India and other countries.
Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
What made the merchants rich?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The merchants sold the merchandise brought back from other countries in Europe and made a lot of profit, thus making them rich.
Question 4 Maharashtra Board Solution
Who was Bassanio?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Bassanio was a young and handsome nobleman, who had no money.
Question 5 Maharashtra Board Solution
What had the suitors of Portia to choose between?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Portia’s suitors had to choose between three caskets – one of gold, one of silver and one of lead.
Question 6 Maharashtra Board Solution
What was written on the gold casket?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
‘Whoever chooses me shall gain what men desire’ was written on the gold casket.
Question 7 Maharashtra Board Solution
What was written on the silver casket?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
‘Whoever chooses me shall get as much as he deserves’, was written on the silver casket.
Question 8 Maharashtra Board Solution
What was written on the casket of lead?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
‘Whoever chooses me must give and hazard all he has’, was written on the casket of lead.
Question 9 Maharashtra Board Solution
Who chose the gold casket?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The Prince of Morocco chose the gold casket.
Question 10 Maharashtra Board Solution
What was the message on the gold casket?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The message on the gold casket was, ‘All that glitters is not gold’.
Question 11 Maharashtra Board Solution
Who was Shylock?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Shylock was a Jewish moneylender.
Question 12 Maharashtra Board Solution
Why did Shylock dislike Antonio?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Shylock disliked Antonio because he sometimes lent money to people without charging any interest on it.
Question 13 Maharashtra Board Solution
What was the strange condition Shylock put to Antonio?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The strange condition Shylock put to Antonio was that if Antonio failed to return the money he borrowed from Shylock within three months, he would cut a pound of Antonio’s flesh.
Question 14 Maharashtra Board Solution
What news made Shylock happy? Why?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The news that Antonio had lost his ships made Shylock happy. He was very happy because he was sure that Antonio would not be able to repay the money he had borrowed from Shylock.
Question 15 Maharashtra Board Solution
Why was Antonio unable to avoid Shylock’s strange condition?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Antonio was unable to avoid Shylock’s strange condition because Antonio had written a bond to that effect.
Question 16 Maharashtra Board Solution
What did Portia tell Bassanio to do to save Antonio?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Portia told Bassanio to pay Shylock twice the amount to save Antonio.
Question 17 Maharashtra Board Solution
Why did Shylock want revenge?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Shylock wanted revenge because he felt that Antonio and the others had treated him badly before.
Question 18 Maharashtra Board Solution
What was mercy more valuable than?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Mercy was more valuable than a king’s crown.
Question 19 Maharashtra Board Solution
What did the lawyer warn Shylock while cutting off Antonio’s flesh?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
The lawyer warned Shylock that while cutting off the flesh, Shylock should not shed even one drop of Antonio’s blood. The lawyer also told Shylock that he should cut exactly one pound of flesh – nothing less and nothing more.
Question 20 Maharashtra Board Solution
How was Antonio’s life saved?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
When Shylock realised that he could not do what the young lawyer had asked him to do, he accepted defeat and thus Antonio’s life was saved.
Question 21 Maharashtra Board Solution
Why do you think Portia’s father prepared such a will?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Portia was the only daughter of a wealthy man. Her father had died leaving Portia all his fortune and estate. He knew that Portia being alone could be cheated and would lose her wealth and property. So in order that Portia would get a good husband, Portia’s father made his will in this manner.

Reading Skills, Vocabulary and Grammar.

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Write 3 sentences about Antonio.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Antonia was a rich merchant of Venice, a prosperous city in Italy. He sent his ships to faraway countries bringing back spices and other treasures, thus making a lot of profit. He was a kind man with many friends. Bassanio was his best friend for whom he was ready even to stake his life.
Question 2 Maharashtra Board Solution
When were sea voyages dangerous?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Sea voyages were dangerous about five hundred years ago.
Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
What was Antonio waiting for? Why?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Antonio was waiting for his ships to return with merchandise. He was waiting for the ships because he had put almost all his money in the ships.
Question 4 Maharashtra Board Solution
Antonio was a kind man. (Change into a negative sentence)
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Antonio was not an unkind man. OR Antonio was not a cruel man.
Question 5 Maharashtra Board Solution
Give the antonyms of:
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
a. dangerous × harmless, safe b. kind × unkind
Question 6 Maharashtra Board Solution
What are the qualities you would like in your best friend?
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
A friend is one who is kind and good natured. He/She must be approachable so that I can tell him/ her my problems without being judgmental about me. I must feel free to confide all my happy as well as sad moments with him/ her. A best friend is one who makes you laugh a little louder, smile a little brighter and live a little better. These are the qualities I would like in my best friend.

Language Study.

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Find four words ending with ‘-ous’ from the story. Add some more of your own words ending with ‘-ous’ to this list.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Question 2 Maharashtra Board Solution
Read the following words. Write the words that are combined to make these words. Add ten more to the list on your own.
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
Read the following chains of words:
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
1. taste – tasty – tasteful – tastefully 2. fashion – fashionable – unfashionable – fashionably – unfashionably

Do as directed:

Question 1 Maharashtra Board Solution
Bassanio was a young and handsome nobleman. (Name the word class of the underlined word)
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
young – adjective
Question 2 Maharashtra Board Solution
He had no money. (Add a question tag)
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
He had no money, hadn’t he?
Question 3 Maharashtra Board Solution
They made a lot of profit. (Identify the kind of sentence)
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
Assertive/Declarative – Affirmative
Question 4 Maharashtra Board Solution
Antonio was waiting for his ships. a. Pick out the verb and state its tense. b. Pick out the auxiliary (helping) verb from the sentence
Solution & Step-by-Step Answer:
a. was waiting – past continuous tense b. was – auxiliary verb

The Merchant of Venice Summary in English

‘The Merchant of Venice’ written by William Shakespeare is a comical play. The story of the play revolves around Antonio, the rich merchant of Venice, his best friend Bassanio who wanted to marry Portia, the beautiful and intelligent daughter of a wealthy man but had no money to reach Belmont where Portia lived. Shylock, the Jewish moneylender who wanted a pound of Antonio’s flesh in exchange of the money he lent to Bassanio. In the court, Portia disguises as a man and fights Antonio’s case which ends on a happy note.

Introduction:

The play highlights the fact that love is more important than money and mercy is preferable to revenge and love lasts forever.

Glossary: