Unit 1: Shakespeare Speaks
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Session 17
King James needs to stay awake during this performance of The Merchant of Venice to find out why Shylock is talking about a pound of flesh. We'll explore the origin and modern day usage of a pound of flesh - and bring you some great expressions for talking about revenge.
ድምር ነጥቢ ናይዚ ክፍለ-ስራሓት 17
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Activity 2
A pound of flesh in the news
Shakespeare's phrases in the news!
William Shakespeare's phrase a pound of flesh is still in common use today and is often used in the news.
In this video, Finn from BBC Learning English discusses two news stories which include the phrase pound of flesh. One of the stories is about rugby and the other story is about a court case.
To do
Here are sentences from the two news stories. Which story do you think is about rugby and which story do you think is about a court case?
Story one
- "California get $5m pound of flesh from Samsung, LG and others in price-fix scandal."
Story two
- "professional clubs in the Premiership want their pound of flesh"
Now watch the video to find out if you are correct.
Do the activity
Hi there, Finn here and today we're looking at Shakespeare's phrase pound of flesh – which originally comes from The Merchant of Venice. Now, it's a really colourful phrase, but it can be slightly tricky to use. So I've got some news stories here to help us out - to look at this phrase in context.
First up, we have the IT website,The Register, and it has the headline:
"California gets $5m pound of flesh from Samsung, LG, and others in price-fix scandal."
OK, so, what are we talking about here? This story tells us about a court case, where technology companies were found to have committed a crime and had to face a severe punishment. Now, it's called a pound of flesh here in this story, because it's a very harsh punishment, it's a lot to pay and it could almost be seen more as seeking revenge rather than just paying a fair amount.
So there we go, "California gets $5m pound of flesh from Samsung, LG, and others in price-fixing scandal."
Next we have this story from BBC Sport, which is about rugby, and in this story a senior Welsh rugby official is talking about playing professionally in different countries. He says that you get paid more in the French league and the English Premiership than you do in Wales, but in return they expect you to play extra hard. So they say:
"… professional clubs in the Premiership want their pound of flesh."
That's a quote from this official. So, they pay you a lot, but you have to work hard - a pound of flesh!
And you know what? I think I've given my pound of flesh in this video – I've given you two examples in just the one video! Actually, I think I've got all my flesh still here! See you.
Answer
Story one is about a court case and story two is about rugby players in Wales.
To do
Well done if you got the correct answer. Now try this quiz to check that you understood the content and vocabulary in these stories.
Shakespeare in the news
6 Questions
Answer these questions about the use of pound of flesh in these two news stories.
ሓገዝ
Activity
Answer these questions about the use of pound of flesh in these two news stories.
ኣመት
Finn tells us that the first story is about "a court case where technology companies were found to have committed a crime and had to face a severe punishment."Question 1 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
Answer these questions about the use of pound of flesh in these two news stories.
ኣመት
Be careful, we hear the words ‘pound’ and ‘dollar’ - but only one of them refers to money.Question 2 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
Answer these questions about the use of pound of flesh in these two news stories.
ኣመት
Finn describes the punishment as 'harsh' which means 'unfair'.Question 3 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
Answer these questions about the use of pound of flesh in these two news stories.
ኣመት
Finn tells us that one rugby official explains that players get paid more in the French league and English Premiership than in Wales.Question 4 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
Answer these questions about the use of pound of flesh in these two news stories.
ኣመት
We learn that the professional clubs want their 'pound of flesh'.Question 5 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
Answer these questions about the use of pound of flesh in these two news stories.
ኣመት
Do you think the rugby clubs have a reason to get revenge on their players?Question 6 of 6
Excellent!Great job!ሕማቕ ዕድል!ዘመዝገብኩምዎ ነጥቢ ...:
Look out for more Shakespeare phrases in the news - there are lots!
Next
On the next page, we'll introduce you to some phrases and expressions for talking about one of Shakespeare's favourite themes - revenge!
Session Vocabulary
For more great Shakespeare content visit our partner,The OU
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A pound of flesh
Meaning
Modern English speakers use the phrase apound of flesh when someone says they want justice, but the punishment they're asking for is so severe that it seems more like revenge.Example sentence
I apologised and paid for the repairs after I crashed his car, but it isn't enough for him. He wants his pound of flesh. I think he's going to call the police…Note
In modern day usage, we can also use a pound of flesh to talk about something which is owed, but will be hurtful or difficult to provide.Example sentence
My boss is making me work so hard at the moment, he really wants his pound of flesh.____________________
Extra vocabulary
lend
give something to someone with the understanding that it will be returnedborrow
receive something from someone with the understanding that you will return itflesh
the soft part of the human bodyrevenge
something that you do to hurt or punish someone because they have hurt you or someone elsejustice
fairness in the way people are dealt withseek revenge
plan to take revengecourt
a formal, legal meeting where decisions are made about a crimerevenge is a dish best served cold
it's more satisfying to wait until the time is right to get revengedon't get mad, get even
get revenge instead of getting angry about somethingget your own back
get revengeit's payback time
it's time to get revengerevenge is sweet
it feels good to get revengeforgive and forget
don't try to get revenge: forget about people's mistakes and move onprice-fix scandal
an agreement between companies to keep prices high
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