Journal 16: Act V.
I think Act V shouldn't be done away with. I'm still not sure why it began with Lorenzo and Jessica comparing themselves to other lovers. After reading the line 'Did Thisbe fearfully o'ertrip the dew' I thought to myself, is Shakespeare trying to advertise or reference his other works? Or perhaps it is because they stayed in Belmont and since Belmont is the scene of Act V why not open it up with the courtly love Jessica and Lorenzo? I think Act V is a nice way to end with the 'Happyily Ever After' except for Shylock. Which from the beginning, it was a given that Shylock wasn't going to have a happy ending. Portia and Nerrisa have some fun with Bassanio and Graziano about the rings. Antonio finds he still has ships and money. The play is called: The Comical History of the Merchant of Venice, or Otherwise called the Jew of Venice. Act V is the first half of this title, the comedy. The second half of the title was supported with Acts I-IV. I think Act V should be kept because it is a nice way of winding down from the intensity of Act IV.
Not so sure
I think that you are right in the idea that this last Act gives some kind of conclusion to Antonio's story and that it may leave the reader with some feelings of "happy endings," but don't you feel that Shylock has been cheated out of his happy ending. I understand that his wanting to take a pound of flesh may have been a bit drastic, but I feel that he wanted what the pound of flesh represented to him, justice. I don't think that he is right for his blood thirst, however, I don't feel that he should have been denied this happy ending that everyone else is getting and I think that Act V just reinforces the idea that he or his happiness doesn't matter as much as the rest of the characters. Veronica Sparks
He kinda did it to himself though.
We knew from the beginning that Shylock was the scapegoat. Shylock's ending wasn't going to be a good one. It is the way that life went for Shylock. Regardless if he got cheated out of his happy ending or not, it's a literary work. And it is meant to make different emotions arise of different people. So, I still think that Act V is necessary. It wraps everything up. And lets the audience figure out what they get out of the play.
Megan Baeth-Brison
staging the end
The end of the BBC version has Jessica reading the letter from her father with a look of anguish on her face. It makes it seem that she's not entirely happy with the treatment her father has received, but not so unhappy she is willing to leave her new Christian life behind. For her, it seems safe to say religion doesn't matter in the way it does to her father. Bradley
Bradley
happiness denied
It might be that his happiness is denied because he is, of course, The Jew, the outsider and troublemaker, even though he is also the source of Bassanio's initial salvation.
One other thing I see in the final act that may tie to Shylock's situation is the emphasis on the broken oaths made by Portia and Nerissa when they confront Bassanio and Graziano about the "missing" rings. Portia plays up the importance of one adhering to an oath. This might be seen to be at odds with her recent performance in the prosecution of Shylock and call into question her integrity, maybe the integrity of the "system" at the time. Bradley
Bradley