Step Four B2.

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READING SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare

The Merchant
of Venice

audio
CD
 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.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the written permission of the publisher.

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ISBN 978-88-530-0314-0 Book

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Printed in Italy by Litoprint, Genoa

Contents
Shakespeare’s Life 4
The Characters 8

CHAPTER ONE Venice and Belmont 11

CHAPTER TWO The Bond 20

CHAPTER THREE Shylock Loses Something Valuable 30

CHAPTER FOUR The Three Caskets 37

CHAPTER FIVE The Prince of Aragon 43

CHAPTER SIX Shylock Promises Revenge 49

CHAPTER SEVEN Bassanio Makes his Choice 60

CHAPTER EIGHT The Trial Begins 69

CHAPTER NINE Justice is Done 79

CHAPTER TEN Happy Couples 89

Dossiers The Origins of the Pound of Flesh Story 27

The Treatment of Jews in Shakespeare’s Time 55

@
INTERNET PROJECTS

A C T I V I T I E S

E x I T T E S T 97
36, 59
7, 10, 16, 24, 28, 34, 40, 46, 52, 57, 59, 66, 74, 85, 94

KEY TO EXIT TEST 101

Playscript 102

FCE First Certificate in English Examination-style exercises

T: GRADE 7 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
END listening activities.
 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.

4
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).

5
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.

6
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?

7
 The Characters

Antonio Bassanio Shylock

A friend of Antonio
A rich Venetian who is in love with Jessica’s father,
merchant Portia. a Jewish moneylender in
who borrows money Venice.
from Shylock.

Jessica Portia Nerissa

Shylock’s daughter. A rich, beautiful heiress Portia’s servant and
who lives at Belmont. friend.
Prince of Morocco, Prince of Aragon Duke of Venice
Princes who want to marry Portia. The head of state in Venice.

Tubal Lorenzo Launcelot

A friend of Shylock. A friend of Antonio and Shylock and then Bassanio’s
Bassanio who is in love servant.

Leonardo
with Jessica.

Bassanio’s servant.

Graziano,
Salerio, Solanio
Friends of Antonio and Bassanio.