I have a story to tell. It is a story of love and hatred. A story of giving and taking. A story of laughter and tears. This story was told a long time ago. But it still has as much meaning today as it did then. It happened in a city called Venice in Italy. This beautiful city rests like a crown jewel on the Adriatic Sea.

There lived a moneylender named Shylock in Venice. He earned a lot by lending money to merchants. Many people hated Shylock. Some people hated him because he forced merchants to repay him in terrible ways. Others hated him simply because he was Jewish.

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616)was an English poet, playwright and actor, 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 collaborations, consist of approximately 39 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.