Today, we talked through the sonnet assignment that students were to do at home.
Students then went to the library and signed out the play The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare.

I put the following summary of the play on the board

Summary of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

This play is about a merchant (Antonio) who decides to help a friend (Bassanio) win a girl in marriage (Portia). Antonio acts as a co-signer on a loan.
A Jew (Shylock) who lends the money to Bassanio, HATES Antonio. They sign an agreement that if the loan is not paid on time, then Shylock gets to cut off a pound of Antonio's flesh.

I then explained some of the relationships between the characters in order to introduce some of the sub-plots.

For homework, the students are to read the following from their play text:

Getting Started (page 3)
Dramatis Personae (page 5)