The Of: Merchant Venice

READING SHAKESPEARE

Step Four B2.1

audio

William Shakespeare

The of

CD

Merchant Venice

William Shakespeare

Illustrated by Pavel Tatarnikov

Retold by Victoria Spence Activities by Tessa Vaughan

Editor: Frances Evans Design and art direction: Nadia Maestri Computer graphics: Simona Corniola Illustrations: Pavel Tatarnikov Picture research: Laura Lagomarsino

© 2005 Black Cat Publishing, an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury

First edition: June 2005

Picture credits: © Manchester Art Gallery: 4; © The British Museum: 5; © Stapleton Collection/CORBIS: 6; © Photostage/Donald Cooper: 27; © Archivio Iconografico, S.A./CORBIS: 56; © Stephanie Colasanti/CORBIS: 58.

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ISBN 978-88-530-0314-0 Book ISBN 978-88-530-0315-7 Book + CD

Printed in Italy by Litoprint, Genoa

Contents Shakespeare’s Life

4

The Characters

8

CHAPTER TEN

Venice and Belmont The Bond Shylock Loses Something Valuable The Three Caskets The Prince of Aragon Shylock Promises Revenge Bassanio Makes his Choice The Trial Begins Justice is Done Happy Couples

Dossiers

The Origins of the Pound of Flesh Story

27

The Treatment of Jews in Shakespeare’s Time

55

CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE

@

E x I T

20 30 37 43 49 60 69 79 89

36, 59

INTERNET PROJECTS

A C T I V I T I E S

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7, 10, 16, 24, 28, 34, 40, 46, 52, 57, 59, 66, 74, 85, 94

T E S T 97

KEY TO EXIT TEST

101

Playscript

102

FCE T: GRADE 7

First Certificate in English Examination-style exercises Trinity-style exercises (Grade 7)

This story is recorded in full. 0 These symbols indicate the beginning and end of the extracts linked to the listening activities. END

William Shakespeare (1800-1803) by William Blake.

Shakespeare’s Life William Shakespeare was born in the picturesque town of Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564. His birthday is traditionally celebrated on 23 April, the same day as St George’s Day, the patron saint of England. However, like much of the information regarding Shakespeare’s life, the exact date of his birth is not known for certain. William Shakespeare was the third of eight children of John Shakespeare, a glove maker, and Mary Arden. Although the Shakespeares were not a rich, aristocratic family, they were not poor either. Since his father was a prosperous tradesman, it is thought that the young Shakespeare attended the local grammar school in Stratford, where it is likely that he read both ancient and modern literature. There is no evidence to show that he attended university. In 1582, at the age of eighteen, records show that Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. Anne was eight years older than him and, according to many sources, already several months pregnant at the time of their wedding. The couple went on to have three children – first a daughter, Susanna, and then twins two years later, Hamnet (who died in 1596) and Judith.

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In the periods before and after Shakespeare’s marriage, there is little documentation to tell us much about his life in detail. At some point in the 1580s Shakespeare left his family in Stratford and went to London in order to follow his

The Globe Theatre (c.1600).

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career in the theatre. By 1592, we know that he had established himself as both an actor and a respected playwright. By 1594 he was a leading member of a London theatrical company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In 1603 the company’s name changed to the King’s Men, when James I came to the throne. Most of Shakespeare’s work was written between the 1590s and 1612. In total, he wrote 38 plays, including comedies, tragedies and histories. He also wrote several series of sonnets and narrative poems. The Merchant of Venice belonged to the early part of his career as a playwright and is thought to have been first performed in 1596.

A watercolour of a scene from The Merchant of Venice.

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After his retirement in around 1612, Shakespeare moved back to Stratford. He died, aged 52, on 23 April 1616, the exact same day that he is thought to have been born. It was only in 1623 that his acting company decided to produce an edition of all Shakespeare’s plays, known as the First Folio. One thousand copies of the First Folio were thought to have been published, of which between 230 and 240 still survive today, mostly in academic libraries all over the world. The information we have about Shakespeare’s life is not inconsiderable in itself. However, because he is such an important figure – he continues to be thought of as one of the greatest writers in history – we will probably never know enough about him. His work is performed all around the world, time and time again, and continues to delight and challenge both audiences and actors.

1 Answer these questions about Shakespeare and his life.

a. Apart from being Shakespeare’s birthday, what is the significance of 23 April? b. Was Shakespeare from an aristocratic family? c. Where did Shakespeare go to school? d. How old was Shakespeare when he married? e. How many children did he have? f. Where did Shakespeare go to follow his career? g. Who was King of England when Shakespeare was with the King’s Men? h. Where did Shakespeare go when he retired? i. When did Shakespeare die? j. What was the name of the first published edition of his plays? k. How many copies of this edition are thought to survive today?

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The Characters

Antonio

A rich Venetian merchant who borrows money from Shylock.

Jessica

Shylock’s daughter.

Bassanio

A friend of Antonio who is in love with Portia.

Portia

A rich, beautiful heiress who lives at Belmont.

Shylock

Jessica’s father, a Jewish moneylender in Venice.

Nerissa

Portia’s servant and friend.

Prince of Morocco, Prince of Aragon Duke of Venice Princes who want to marry Portia.

Tubal

A friend of Shylock.

Lorenzo

A friend of Antonio and Bassanio who is in love with Jessica.

The head of state in Venice.

Launcelot

Shylock and then Bassanio’s servant.

Leonardo

Bassanio’s servant.

Graziano, Salerio, Solanio

Friends of Antonio and Bassanio.