The Merchant of Venice

William Shakespeare began his career as an actor, writer and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as King's Men, in London. Often regarded as the ' Bard of Avon' he is one of the world's pre-eminent dramatists. Most of his known works have been produced between 1589 and 1613. His plays demonstrate the expansiveness of his imagination and the extent of his learning. A Midsummer Night's Dream, is one of his most delightful creations. Romeo and Juliet is his most famous romantic tragedy of sexually charged adolescence, love and death. Shakespeare's sequence of great comedies continue with Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It and Twelfth Night. Until about 1608, he mainly wrote tragedies including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus-- his last major tragedies, contain some of his finest poetry. A true genius, Shakespeare's popular characters and plots are studied, performed, reinterpreted and discussed till today.