A B C When was Shakespeare born? A B C Where was Shakespeare born? 3.Where was Shakespeare born? A. London B. Oxford C. Stratford-upon-Avon A. limerick B. sonnet C. acting skills 4.Shakespeare is most famous for his____ 2.When did Shakespeare die? 5.How many plays and sonnets did he write? A. 38; 153 B. 35; 156 C. 37; 154

The greatest British playwright and poet of Renaissance in Europe. During his life, he wrote about 37 plays, including 10 tragedies, 13 comedies, 10 historical plays and 4 romances. He also wrote a good many poems, including 2 long narrative poems and 154 sonnets.

Henry IV Henry VIII Histories 亨利四世 亨利八世

Tragedies Romeo and Juliet HamletOthello King Lear Macbeth 罗密欧与朱丽叶 哈姆莱特 奥赛罗 李尔王 麦克佩斯 Troilus & Cressida 特洛伊罗斯与 克瑞西达

Comedies A Midsummer Night’s Dream 仲夏之夜 威尼斯商人 第十二夜 皆大欢喜 The Merry Wives of Windsor 温莎的风流妇人 All’s Well That Ends Well Twelfth Night The Merchant of Venice

“To be or not to be: that is the question.” “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” “Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo? Deny your father, and refuse your name…” “Words, words, only words, no matter from the heart.” Which play do the quotations come from? What do they mean?

“To be or not to be: that is the question.” Extracted from: Meaning: Facing a very difficult situation, you have to make a choice. Hamlet

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Extracted from: Meaning : The life of leaders isn’t easy. Having many responsibilities, they often can’t sleep well. King Henry IV

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Extracted from: Meaning: Be careful to take or give money to others. Hamlet

“Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo? Deny your father, and refuse your name.” Extracted from: Meaning: Why must you be the son of my family’s greatest enemy? Refuse your family for my love. If only you had a different name, we wouldn’t have this problem. Romeo and Juliet

Words, words, only words, no matter from the heart. Extracted from: Meaning: It’s all empty words, and there isn’t any truth in them. You just talk, but don’t mean it. Troilus and Cressida

Listening: The Merchant of Venice

2. How much time passed between the beginning and the end of the play ? 3. How much money does Bassanio need to marry Portia? 4. What should Antonio give shylock if he can’t pay the debt ? 1. In which city does the story take place ? Venice. Venice. About three months. About three months ducats ducats. A pound of flesh from any part of the body. A pound of flesh from any part of the body.

Tell who is who and the relationship between the following people

Duke Antonio Shylock Bassanio Portia (merchant) (money- lender) enemies husband & wife friends (noble person of the city)

1.At the time of this story his ___ are all at sea to __with foreign countries. 2. She loves Bassanio ___they can’t get married __he is too poor. 3. __short of money just then, Antonio goes to Shylock to __he money. 4. …, but Antonio must promise to__ Shylock __take a pound of his flesh from any part of his body if he can’t __he money__ after three months. 5. On the day Bassanio and Portia get married, they __a letter from Antonio ___that all his ships have been __at sea. 6. ___as a lawyer, she arrives__ the court of the Duke, ___Antonio’s case is decided. 7. The Duke ___Portia to ___the place of the famous lawyer and ___this difficult case.

1.At the time of this story his _______ are all at sea to ________with foreign countries. foreign countries. 2. She loves Bassanio _______ they can’t get married __________he is too poor. too poor. 3. _________short of money just then, Antonio goes to Shylock to __________the money. __________the money. 4. ……, but Antonio must promise to __________Shylock ______take a pound of his flesh from any part of his body if he can’t _________ a pound of his flesh from any part of his body if he can’t _________ the money_________after three months. the money_________after three months. 5. On the day Bassanio and Portia get married, they ________a letter from Antonio ________that all his ships have been _______at sea. from Antonio ________that all his ships have been _______at sea. 6. _________as a lawyer, she arrives________the court of the Duke, _________Antonio’s case is decided. _________Antonio’s case is decided. 7. The Duke _________Portia to ________the place of the famous lawyer and _________this difficult case. lawyer and _________this difficult case. ships trade but because Being borrow allow to pay back receive saying lost Dressed at where accepts take handle

What makes a play a masterpiece is that the ideas behind the play are about problems which are still important to people of different ages in modern times.

Shylock Antonio (vengeful) (merciful) Create a chance to kill Antonio. He used the chance. Has a chance to punish Shylock. He forgave him. Mercy VS revenge What would you do if you had your worst enemy in your power?

VS It happens everywhere around the world: two young people love each other, but when the boy is poor or doesn't have a good job, often the parents of the girl don’t allow them to get married. Love versus Money Maybe you even know some examples around you. Are the parents right? If not, what do you think about the situation like that? What should be done?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but… You shouldn't forget that… What shouldn't be forgotten is… One of the most important facts is… You could, for example, say… The way I would go about it… As far as I know… After all… But in this particular case…

To err is human, to forgive, divine. 人皆犯错，你能原谅别人，你就是圣人。 --- Pope All the splendors in the world is not worth a good friend. 人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。 ---Voltaire Creditors have better memories than debtors. 放债的比借债的记忆好。 --- Benjamin Franklin

Dirty money will not bring good luck. 不义之财不会带来好运气。 The course of true love never did run smooth. 通向真爱的路从无坦途。 --- Shakespeare Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence. 爱是对人类之存在这一问题唯一明确而又令人满意的 答案。

The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully have been kindness, beauty andtruth. 有些理想曾为我们引过道路，并不断给我新的勇气以 欣然面对人生，那些理想就是 —— 真、善、美。 --- Albert Einstein

The course of true love never run smooth. --- Shakespeare --- Shakespeare

Reading: The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice Main characters in the play

Duke Antonio Shylock BassanioPortia (merchant) (money- Lender) enemies husband & wife friends (noble person of the city)

Read the texts, finish the following work: 1.Place the sentences in the right order. 2. Find the best answers of the following four questions.

A.Shylock insisted on having one pound of Antonio’s flesh. B. Duke asked Shylock to show his mercy on Antonio. C. Antonio said his last words to Bassanio. D. Portia warned Bassanio of the impossibility of changing the law. BADC

1.In writing style, this text is a ______. A. drama B. story C. legend D. fiction 2. The text mainly talks about _______. A.Antonio’s charity and Shylock’s cruelty B. Portia’s cleverness and Antonio’s charity C. Shylock’s cruelty and Portia’s cleverness A C

3. Antonio was a ____ person. A.warm-heartedB. strong-willed C. open-mindedD. ill-tempered 4.In the text the author shows us human being’s merit of ____. A.braveryB. pride C. kindnessD. tolerance A C

5. By saying “How can you hope for mercy yourself when you show none?” the Duke wants Shylock to be ____. A.forgivingB. calm C. kind-heartedD. reasonable 6. It seemed that the Duke in the court supported ___. A. PortiaB. Antonio C. ShylockD. none of the above C B

the Merchant of Venice(2)

1.Shylock was charged with ___. A.murderB. stealing C. cheatD. ill-treatment 2. To punish a murderer, the law of Venice would ______. A.take everything that he owned away B. take half of his money and goods away C. sentence him to death D. both A and B A A

3. Which happened first in the text? A.Shylock wanted to take the money instead of Antonio’s flesh. B. Portia permitted giving Shylock a fair judgment. C. Shylock promised to leave his money to his daughter and son-in-law. D. Antonio forgave Shylock. B

The Merchant of Venice background problem Rising action( 发展 ) Climax( 高潮 ) Outcome( 结局 ) reading

background Antonio borrows 3000 ducats from Shylock. However, there is a catch: if the debt is not paid off on time, Antonio will pay with one pound of his flesh.

problem Antonio and Bassanio are unable to pay the debt. Antonio’s ships are lost. Shylock starts demanding his pound of flesh.

Rising action 2. What’s the turning point of the play ? 1. Why do you think Shylock refuses to have mercy on Antonio? Portia’s turning up in the court. Antonio is Shylock’s enemy. So Shylock wants to take advantage of this opportunity to kill him. 3. How does Portia help to save Antonio? Why does she do so? She acts as a learned judge. Because Antonio is her husband --- Bassanio’s friend, and lent money to Bassanio ; what ’more what Shylock does is not reasonable.

Portia declares Shylock may have a pound of flesh to be cut nearest to Antonio’s heart, no more no less, And if Shylock lets one drop of Antonio’s blood fall, he will lose all his land and money.

outcome Shylock begs for mercy. He is punished, though not killed.

Antonio is the enemy of Shylock Contradiction 1. Antonio is the enemy of Shylock. ? Solution: ? Contradiction 2. Bassanio wants to marry Portia, but he has no money. Solution: Antonio borrows the money for him from Shylock. Contradiction 3. Antonio can’t pay back the money to Shylock after three months because all his ships are lost at sea. Solution: Antonio has to let Shylock cut off a pound of his flesh according to their agreement.

Contradiction 4. All the people ask Shylock to have mercy on Antonio, but Shylock insists on having his pound of flesh. Solution: Portia acts as a learned judge defeats Shylock’s plan of killing Antonio by using the law of Venice cleverly. Contradiction 5. Shylock doesn’t want his money to be taken away. Solution: Antonio forgives him and gives up his half of the money the Shylock should give him.

Listening and reading

Who do you like best in the play ? give me your reasons.

Portia Antonio Shylock Bassanio

merciful decisive smart wise kind brave

Do you think Portia has any weak points ？

generous kind friendly timid 胆怯 weak

kind weak faithful poor devoted

greedy cold-blooded vengeful( 复仇心重的） mean stone-hearted crafty( 狡诈的 )

Do you think Shylock has any good points?

sentence spoken by spoken to “I feel sorry for you. You’ve come to face an enemy with a heart of stone, who knows neither pity nor mercy.” “I don’t have to give you answers that will please you. ” “Don’t worry! Before he can even take one drop of your blood, he will first have to take my flesh, blood, bones and everything else.” “Don’t feel bad that a friend paid back the money you owed, but feel bad that you lost him.” DukeAntonio ShylockBassanio Antonio Bassanio

Themes of the play Self-interest VS. Love The main differences between the other characters and Shylock appears to be that the other characters value human relationships over business, whereas shylock is only interested in money. His greed outweighs his love and his hatred is much stronger than his greed.

Shylock Antonio (vengeful) (merciful) Create a chance to kill Antonio. Use the chance. have a chance to punish Shylock. Forgive him. Mercy VS revenge

◇ Cross-dressing Can you tell a similar story using this device? Literature techniques ◇ Symbol a classic balance What’s the deeper meaning of the balance?

The deeper meaning of the balance is to weigh the arguments of Shylock and the defense of Antonio. Love is heavier than everything !

The course of true love never run smooth. --- Shakespeare --- Shakespeare

You were the director of “ The merchant of Venice ”, please give a new outcome to the play. Assignment