Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

MARULLUS – What trade, thou knave? thou naughty knave, what trade? Second Citizen: Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out with me: yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you.

1. Describe the mood of the speaker talking to the commoner. In what kind of a tone does the commoner reply? (Understanding & Analysis)

2. Why are the citizens out on the streets? (Understanding)

3. What has the second citizen said just before this extract to annoy Marullus? What is his profession? (Recalling)

4. Give the meanings of: (Understanding)

1. If you be out -
2. I can mend you -

5. How does the second citizen reveal his identity later? (Understanding)

Answer 1

1. Marullus is angry and impatient with the commoner. He speaks harshly and insults him as a ‘knave’. The second citizen replies in a humorous and playful tone, using a pun on the word ‘mend’.

2. The citizens are out on the streets because they have taken a holiday to see Caesar’s triumphal procession and celebrate his victory.

3. Just before the extract, the second citizen avoids giving a direct answer about his trade and jokes with Marullus. He is a cobbler.

4.

1. if you are angry or displeased.
2. I can repair or correct you; it is also a pun because a cobbler mends shoes.

5. The second citizen later reveals his identity by saying that he is ‘a mender of bad soles’. This makes it clear that he is a cobbler.