This play is about the idea that people usually get what they deserve in the end, good or bad. Antonio, a businessman, borrows money from Shylock, a money lender. If he doesn’t pay back this money in time,
Shylock will cut off a piece of his body. Antonio loses all his business and must pay this terrible price … but is saved by love.
William Shakespeare
was a poet and a playwright and is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the
English language. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, in central England, in 1564 and he died in 1616.
His surviving work consists of 38 plays, 154 sonnets and some other poems. He is best known for his
plays, which have been translated into every major language and are performed more than those of any
other playwright in the world.
When William Shakespeare was 18 years old he married Anne Hathaway, and they had three children.
Shakespeare went to London to work as an actor and a writer. In 1599 the Globe Theatre was built in
London and it was in this theatre, situated on the banks of the River Thames, that some of Shakespeare’s
plays were first performed. In 1613 the theatre was destroyed by a fire. However, a modern reconstruction
of the theatre was built near the original site in 1997 so even today you can go to the Globe Theatre to see
one of Shakespeare’s plays.