A pound of flesh - Learn English vocabulary & idioms with ’Shakespeare Speaks’ 🎭

🎭 Have you ever demanded your ‘pound of flesh’? This useful English idiom, used by William Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice, is a great British expression for talking about justice and revenge. Watch and tell us about a time when you demanded justice was done! 🎭 More videos in this series: ✔️What’s done is done 👉 ✔️The green-eyed monster 👉 ✔️All that glitters is not gold 👉 ✔️Greek to me 👉 ✔️There’s method in my madness 👉 ✔️Wear my heart on my sleeve 👉 ✔️A pound of flesh 👉 ✔️In a pickle 👉 ✔️Cruel to be kind 👉 ✔️As dead as a doornail 👉 ✔️Mum’s the word! 👉 ✔️I’ll send him packing 👉 ✔️Strange bedfellows 👉 ✔️Forever and a day 👉 ✔️Spotless reputation 👉 ✔️The world’s my oyster 👉 ✔️Not budge an inch 👉 ✔️A fool’s paradise 👉 ✔️Wild-goose chase 👉 ✔️A tower of strength 👉 For activities and extra materials connected to this episode: Shakespeare Speaks is a co-production between BBC Learning English and The Open University. TRANSCRIPT Narrator It was late in the evening. William Shakespeare is at the palace of King James I. King James Mr Shakespeare! Welcome, welcome. Will Your majesty, it is a great honour to perform The Merchant of Venice for you a second time. King James The Queen and I enjoyed it so much we just had to see it again. The Queen You fell asleep halfway through dear, that’s why you want to see it again. King James Nonsense. Mr Shakespeare, I particularly enjoyed your character Shylock. But what was all that about a pound of flesh? Will Well, Shylock lent some money to the businessman Antonio. And Antonio promised that if he didn’t pay the money back, Shylock could cut a pound of flesh from his body. King James That’s right, that’s right. I remember it well now. What did he say? If you repay me not on such a day… Shylock If you repay me not on such a day, In such a place, such sum or sums as are Express’d in the condition, let the forfeit Be nominated for an equal pound Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken In what part of your body pleaseth me. Narrator We’ll leave them there for now. A pound of flesh? That’s nearly half a kilogram! Modern English speakers use the phrase ’a pound of flesh’ when someone says they want justice, but the punishment they’re asking for is so severe that it seems more like revenge. In the terrible case of US cinema gunman James Holmes, former prosecutor Bob Grant said: Clip 1 The district attorney will argue that although the defendant is mentally ill, he is not insane under the law, and society deserves its pound of flesh from him. Clip 2 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. The Queen Mr Shakespeare, please tell the King what happens in the end, just in case he falls asleep again. King James I did not fall asleep! But yes, do tell me. Will Well, Antonio didn’t pay the money back. The court agreed that Shylock could have his pound of flesh, but the court also said that he could not take even a single drop of blood. King James Aha! So Antonio was saved. Will Yes, your majesty. The Queen Ooh, the play is starting. Now do stay awake this time, dear… King James To sleep, or not to sleep: that is the question… #Englishidioms #Shakespeare #Idioms