"Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit"

These words occur in the poem of

"The highest result of education is tolerance" - identify the speaker.

"A Race in the Space" tells about 

"I won't look down. No I will not"

'I' refers to :

Who among the following wrote the play "The Merchant of Venice"

"And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide"