The Merchant of Venice is one of the greatest plays ever written--but let's face it..if you don't understand it, then you are not alone. This annotated book includes a summary of each scene, an overview of themes and characters, and the full-text of the play. We all need refreshers every now and then. Whether you are a student trying to cram for that big final, or someone just trying to understand a book more, BookCaps can help. We are a small, but growing company, and are adding titles every month.

Easy to use in the classroom or as a tool for revision, Oxford Literature Companions provide student-friendly analysis of a range of popular GCSE set texts. Each book offers a lively, engaging approach to the text, covering characters, themes, language and contexts, whilst also providing a range of varied and in-depth activities to deepen understanding and encourage close work with the text. Each book also includes a comprehensive Skills and Practice section, which provides detailed advice on assessment and a bank of exam-style questions and annotated sample student answers. This guide covers The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

It is not known when The Merchant of Venice was written although it is known that it was performed at the royal Court in February of 1605. The setting is Venice, Italy. The play begins with Bassanio, a friend of Antonio who is a merchant, asks Antonio for a loan. Bassanio wants to woo Portia, the rich heiress of Belmont. Although Antonio is wealthy, his money is tied up in investments, mostly ships, so he asks Shylock, a rich Jewish moneylender, for the loan. Shylock hates Antonio. He tells him that he will lend him the money, but if the loan is unpaid within three months’ time, he must give Shylock a pound of his flesh. Antonio, wanting to help Bassanio who is besotted with Portia, agrees to this unusual arrangement. This annotated edition includes a biography and critical essay.

This carefully crafted ebook: “The Merchant of Venice (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography: The Life of William Shakespeare” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice was probably written between 1596 and 1598, and was printed with the comedies in the First Folio of 1623. Bassanio, an impoverished gentleman, uses the credit of his friend, the merchant Antonio, to borrow money from a wealthy Jew, Shylock. Antonio pledges to pay Shylock a pound of flesh if he defaults on the loan, which Bassanio will use to woo a rich heiress, Portia. A subplot concerns the elopement of Shylock's daughter Jessica with a Christian, Bassanio's friend Lorenzo. Life of William Shakespeare is a biography of William Shakespeare by the eminent critic Sidney Lee. This book was one of the first major biographies of the Bard of Avon. It was published in 1898, based on the article contributed to the Dictionary of National Biography. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, the authorship of some of which is uncertain. Sir Sidney Lee (1859 – 1926) was an English biographer and critic. He was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare. His article on Shakespeare in the fifty-first volume of the Dictionary of National Biography formed the basis of his Life of William Shakespeare. This full-length life is often credited as the first modern biography of the poet.

The Merchant Of Venice Bases Its Dramatic Logic On The New Testament Premise That You Get What You Give, And The Play S Consistent Enactment Of This Looking-Glass Logic Creates A World In Which Mirroring Is A Major Internal Principle Of Order. The Indian Philosophy, Distilled In Our Vedas, Puranas And Epics, Speaks In Almost The Same Vein. Shylock Is Cunning, Cruel And Implacable. For Centuries, The Shylocks Of India, In Various Garbs, Have Tried And Succeeded Partially, To Get Their Pounds Of Flesh From Their Victims. Usury Was Condemned In The Elizabethan Period But We, In India, Still Nourish It. Secondly, Shylock S Sense Of Jessica Is Anti-Human As Well As Anti¬Social. He Is Aware Of Her As Of An Item Of Inventory, As Many Father, In India, Do With Their Daughters.Bassanio Must Have Learnt From Shylock S Example: A Wrong, Even A Small One, Is Always A Wrong And Calls Forth Its Own Punishment Automatically, For, As We Shall See, In Dr. Agarwalla S Interpretation Of The Play, The Law Sleeps Only Until Unoffended, When It Reacts By Reflecting The Offence In Kind. The Law Has No Power To Make Anyone Choose To Do Right, It Can Only Punish Those Who Do Wrong. The Prince Of Morocco, Like Any Prince Of Yester-Years, In India, Is Chivalrous, Amorous, Gracious And Sexually Virile. It Was Unkind Of Portia To Say Uncomplimentary Words For Him But She, Like White-Skinned Ladies, Have Always Done So In The Past And Are Doing It, At Present. Thus The Merchant Of Venice Is As Much Relevant To Indians As It Was And Is To The English And To The World, In General. Dr. Shyam S. Agarwalla Gives A New Approach, A New Presentation And A New Direction To The Reading And Critical Analysis Of The Play. At Times, His Critical Examination Of The Play Is Unconventional, Provocative But Nonetheless Educative. That Marks Him Off From Other Indian Editors Of The Merchant.

Mark Rylance, the Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe says: As an actor and director I use and recommend the Applause First Folio Editions. They are extremely actor-friendly and share the greatest thing to happen for Shakespearean actors at the end of this century, an annotated, unedited original text, spelling mistakes and all.