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*************************************************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * THE MERCHANT OF VENICE * * * * * * * * * * * *************************************************************************** Activities and Notes for Students Programme and Notes by Steve Herbert (p1) Table of Contents ================= Introduction to The Merchant of Venice.....................3 Introduction to the Programme..............................3 System Requirements........................................4 Installation...............................................4 How to get Started.........................................5 Using the Menus............................................5 The Main Menu..............................................6 Quizzes and Games Menu.....................................7 Notes Menu.................................................8 Instructions...............................................9 The Competition............................................9 Customising the Programme..................................10 About the Programme........................................11 Entry Form.................................................12 Registration...............................................13 (p2) INTRODUCTION TO THE MERCHANT OF VENICE ====================================== 'The Merchant of Venice' is one of Shakespeare's best known plays, and it introduces two of the most famous characters in all English Literature; Portia, the fair lady of Belmont and Shylock the Jew. Written in about 1597, it comes before the period of Shakespeare's great tragedies, although Romeo and Juliet was also written about this time. As usual, Shakespeare did not create an original story. His characters are taken from the history books, and the works of other authors. As in the case of Romeo and Juliet, his story here comes from an Italian source. Shakespeare may have acquired his material from an English translation of the old Italian tale Il Pecorone. As usual, he introduced new characters and added some elements of the final plot. For instance, the story of the caskets was not in the original version. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAMME ============================= The programme consists of a series of activities to assist high school students learning Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant of Venice'. The student can select the activity of his choice from a series of menus. Activities include several quizzes or games, notes on a wide variety of topics, graphics of the Globe Theatre and even a competition with the chance to win worthwhile prizes. The games are designed to be fun and at the same time to provide a fairly painless way to memorise quotations, learn important speeches, and in general, to become familiar with the plot, characters and themes of the play. (p3) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS =================== The programme will run on IBM and Compatible computers with 512Kb of memory or more. CGA card is required, although it is not necessary to have a colour monitor. However, colour is recommended, especially for the games. The programme is normally supplied on two 5.25" floppy disks and the default set up is for the programme disk to be in Drive A and the data disk in Drive B. These defaults may be changed, however, from the SETUP option on the Main Menu, and the programme will also run from a single drive (of 720Kb or more) or from a hard disk. INSTALLATION ============ You are advised to use the DOS DISKCOPY command to back up your disks before you use them. If you intend to run the programme from the original disks, or from back- ups of the originals, no installation is required. If you want to run it from a hard disk or from a high capacity disk, just follow the simple steps below to install it successfully. 1. Insert the Programme Disk (the one containing the main programme file, MOV.EXE) into Drive A (or Drive B). 2. Change to that drive by typing A: <Enter> (or B: <Enter>) and type INSTALL <Enter>. Now follow the instructions to copy all the programme and data files from the distribution disks. 3. If error messages occur when you first run the programme, select SETUP from the Main Menu, and check that the Drive/Directory setting accurately reflects the drive and directory where the data files are installed. (p4) HOW TO GET STARTED ================== A. Two 5.25" Floppy Disks Boot your computer using a bootable DOS diskette. You can make the Merchant of Venice Programme Disk into a bootable diskette by using the DOS command SYS. See your DOS manual for more details. Once your computer is running and the DOS prompt is on the screen, insert the Programme Disk into Drive A and the Data Disk into Drive B. Now change to Drive A if necessary by typing A: <<Enter>> To run the programme, type AUTOEXEC <<Enter>> B. One 3.5" disk Boot your computer using a bootable DOS diskette. You can make the Merchant of Venice Programme Disk into a bootable diskette by using the DOS command SYS. See your DOS manual for more details. Once your computer is running and the DOS prompt is on the screen, insert the Programme Disk into Drive A. Now change to Drive A if necessary by typing A: <<Enter>> To run the programme, type AUTOEXEC <<Enter>> C. Hard Disk Make sure you have followed the instructions in the previous section to install the programme. Now change to the programme directory.(If you used the default installation, then the Directory is C:\MOV so you would type cd\MOV <<Enter>>) Now type AUTOEXEC <<Enter>> or MOV <<Enter>> USING THE MENUS =============== You find your way around the different parts of the programme by using a very simple system of menus. The choices offered at each level are shown on the screen, with the first one high-lighted. Use the arrow keys to move the high-light to the selection you want. Then press the <<Enter>> key to go to that selection.If your computer has a numeric key-pad, you may use those arrow keys as well, but remember to turn off the Num Lock function. To Find A Menu If a menu is not currently showing on the screen, you can almost always get to one by pressing the <<Esc>> key. This will halt the current activity,and display the active menu. (p5) THE MAIN MENU ============= The Main Menu Options are described briefly below. Introduction This is a welcome to the programme and a brief description of its features. Quizzes And Games Choose one of the quizzes and games available from a further menu. See the next page for further details of the games and quizzes available. Notes This also leads to another menu, listing the different topics for which notes are available. Competition This reveals details of the competition, and gives the coded message which makes up Level 1 of the competition. The Globe This segment reveals interior and exterior views of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, with associated notes. Set-Up Use this selection to change the colour of the text and the menus, or to alter the speed at which the programme runs; also to set the drive and directory in which the data files are stored, and to toggle between a dot matrix and a laser printer. Register Select this option to print out a registration form so that you can register your copy of the programme. Quit Return to DOS (p6) QUIZZES AND GAMES MENU ====================== These are the options available on this menu. Plot Swap Re-arrange events from the plot into their correct order. MatchMaker Try to remember the position of the last card you turned up in this adapted version of the card game Concentration. You have to match up characters with a correct statement about them or a reference to them from the text. Quotation Quiz Tests your detailed knowledge of the book by asking you to choose the correct speaker of each quotation. Over 90 quotations to really test you. A good score here earns you a clue to the competition code. Missing Words Vital passages from the text can be learnt by heart, as you guess the words missing from the screen. Great revision value! Pound of Flesh An addictive word-guessing game. To save Antonio from Shylock's threatening knife, you must guess the mystery word in time. Antonio's life depends on you! To Save a Friend A simulated board game in the Snakes and Ladders tradition. Become Bassanio as you follow his changing fortunes through the plot of the text. Try to beat your own record for completing this game! Printed Quiz This option allows you to print out a 20-question quiz on your printer. The questions are chosen at random from a database of more than 100 questions, so you will get a different quiz each time. Print out the answers too. (p7) NOTES MENU ========== Major topics are: Plot Summaries This leads to another menu allowing you to select summaries of individual Acts or key scenes. Character Studies Another menu to select notes on any of the major characters Exam Questions A selection of notes on how to handle different exam questions. Themes Discusses the major ideas of the play Setting/Background Brief notes on relevant points. Language/Imagery A discussion of Shakespeare's language, including his verse. The Author Notes about Shakespeare's life and a portrait. To read the notes, select the desired topic from the Menu. Then use Page Up and Page Down to page through the notes. You can change the colour of the text and the background in the SETUP option (on the Main Menu) if the default colours are not to your taste. You can also print out the notes if you like for easier study. When the desired notes are on screen, press <P> to enable this option. (p8) THE COMPETITION =============== One of the unique features of this programme is the on-disk competition. To take part in the competition, you must first solve a code. To see the coded message, select COMPETITION from the Main Menu. Once you have cracked the code, you will be able to discover how to proceed with the next level of the competition, a treasure hunt in the Globe Theatre. The code will reveal the hot-key to press to search for the treasure, which is a chest containing five questions. Once the treasure is discovered, you have to answer the series of questions to successfully complete Part Three of the competition. Write your solution to the coded message on the Entry Form (Included as page 12 of this manual), and also write the answers to the five Buried Treasure questions. Please note that you must be a registered user of the programme to be eligible to enter the competition. First prize is cash to the value of approximately US$50 plus computer products. Second prize US$15 plus computer products. Twenty consolation prizes of computer products. The value of the prizes may vary slightly from year to year, but should increase rather than decrease (assuming enough of you lovely people out there in Computer-land buy my programmes). The competition is an annual one closing at the end of November each year,and with the winning entries drawn at the beginning of December. All prize-winners will be notified by post, and all entrants in the competition will receive a list of results. INSTRUCTIONS ============ The programme has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible. Most of the activities have on-screen help. Where more detailed instructions are necessary, this option has been included in the menu for that particular activity. Activities which include their own instructions are: All of the Games and Quizzes listed on the Games Menu The Globe (Main Menu) In addition, you can receive help on any menu by pressing <H>. (p9) CUSTOMIZING THE PROGRAMME ========================= With a modicum of knowledge and the ability to use a text processor, you should be able to customise some of the data used in the programme, if you so desire. The most obvious areas where this can be accomplished are as follows: QUOTATION QUIZ - The data for this quiz is contained in the text file QUOTES.QQZ on Disk 2. The first item in the file is the number of quotes currently in the file. Don't forget to update this if you add or delete quotes. Each question must contain the following items: The quotation itself, the correct answer, 3 incorrect answers, a sentence explaining the context of the quotation, the Act number, the scene number. Use ordinary Arabic numerals for Act and scene numbers, not Roman numerals. When typing in quotations, use a * to indicate line breaks. A quick look at the file should make it clear what to do if you are still confused. POUND OF FLESH - This is my version of the Hangman game. You can easily add new words by altering the file HANGMAN.DTA on Disk 2. The first item in the file is the number of words. Don't forget to update this if you add or delete words. Each word used in the game also has an accompanying definition; this must be included. PLOTSWAP - The data for this is contained in the files ???SWAP.DTA. The first item in the file is the number of 'events' listed. The more events included in this file, the more difficult the game becomes. You could use this fact to make the game more challenging or more simple, but remember the minimum number is 12. The events in the file must be listed in the exact order in which they occur in the play. NOTES - I don't recommend that you alter the notes, as my system for printing them to the screen is a little peculiar to say the least, but if you must experiment, then go ahead. Plot summaries can be identified by the file suffix .PLT , Character studies have .CHR , while other notes have the suffix .NTS The first item in each file is the number of screens or pages of data, then each 'page' has the number of data items on that page. Beginning an item with a * indicates that the item is to be high-lighted in the text. To print a blank line, include an item consisting of 4 or more spaces enclosed in quotation marks. You may need to experiment a little to find out just how much will fit on each page. MISSING WORDS - If you have a lot of time on your hands, and are by nature a patient and tolerant person like me, then you can try writing different speeches for the Missing Words game. I'll leave you to figure out how it's done! Unfortunately, you won't be able to change the reference to the speech in the GAMES Menu. Files end in .MWD TO SAVE A FRIEND - Not much you can change here, except for the True/False questions. These are contained in the file BORDATA.DTA Take care not to make the questions too long. I guess that's about all, unless you are one of those people who can't resist seeing what Shakespeare looks like wearing spectacles and a false nose. The pictures are all in BLOAD format. (p10) ABOUT THE PROGRAMME =================== This programme began its life as a set of quizzes I programmed for my own Literature students at a High School here in Singapore. Over the last two years, the programme has grown and developed and gone through a variety of versions, to become what it is today. It has been quite well-received by students here who face a compulsory Shakespeare component in their Cambridge GCE O Level examinations. Originally, as the new owner of an Apple II clone, I programmed in Applesoft Basic. The programme fitted easily onto one 5.25" floppy disk,and consisted mainly of three games and the segment on the Globe Theatre. I believed then as I believe now, that people do not really want to sit and read pages of notes from a computer monitor. However, feedback from users indicated a desire for more notes, so the programme quickly grew. It also changed direction to become IBM-compatible to run on the computer of choice of 80% of the student population here in Singapore. So I put my prejudices aside and picked up a smattering of GWBasic. As the programme grew and became more sophisticated, I felt the need for something a little more powerful and faster than interpreted Basic, so Microsoft QuickBasic made its appearance. I still see room for improvements and additions to the programme, and each new version on each different text is a little more sophisticated than its predecessor. Who knows what the future will bring? Currently, available titles are: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE MACBETH ROMEO AND JULIET OF MICE AND MEN ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS VILLAGE BY THE SEA TRILLIONS MRS FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH WALKABOUT THE GHOST OF THOMAS KEMPE TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee (p11) ENTRY FORM ========== LEVEL ONE - CODE BREAKING Write the decoded message clearly and accurately on the lines below ........................................................................... ........................................................................... ........................................................................... ........................................................................... ........................................................................... ........................................................................... ........................................................................... LEVEL TWO - Buried Treasure and LEVEL THREE - Question Answers Write your answers to the five buried treasure questions clearly and accurately in the spaces below. 1. ........................................................................ ....................................................................... 2. ........................................................................ ....................................................................... 3. ........................................................................ ........................................................................ 4.......................................................................... ........................................................................ 5. ........................................................................ ........................................................................ NAME............................................................. ADDRESS.................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... (p12) REGISTRATION ============ There are two levels of personal Registration plus Site Licence Registration. A. Basic Registration costs US$20. For this amount, you will receive a printed manual and instructions on how to remove the Registration screen at the beginning of the programme. B. Full Registration costs US$30. As well as the benefits above, you will receive our quarterly newsletter free for one year, and you will be entitled to a free update of the programme when available. C. Site Licence Registration (US$150) entitles you to make as many copies of the programme as necessary for use within a single institution. This is especially suitable for schools who want to use multiple copies of the programme for use in classrooms or Computer Laboratories. To register, run the programme, and select REGISTER from the main menu. This option will ask you for name and address information and then print out a completed Registration Form. Post the Registration Form together with your cheque for the appropriate amount as stated above to STEVE HERBERT 39 GREENLEAF VIEW SINGAPORE 1027 REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE Please note that a cheque in any currency is acceptable. Prices are quoted in US Dollars for convenience. If you live elsewhere, simply convert to your own currency before paying. For any further information, please feel free to contact me. I have a number of other Literature programmes available for both Senior and Junior High School. For a full list, run the programme and read the Introduction (Main Menu). (p13)