Cop out ending?

There are two sides to be argued for this topic.  One side would say that yes, Shakespeare did cop out on this ending of The Merchant of Venice.  This could be argued because there is no resolution to a greater, overlying conflict.  Many of Shakespeare's works restore balance or natural order by the end of the plot, but there is no initial disturbance of order in The Merchant of Venice.  Also, Shakespeare failed to touch on the details of the stories of the other characters in the play.  This play's lack of a greater conflict therefore makes it much different from his previous works, which is why I believe that it is not meant to be compared to his other works.

The other argument that states that this was NOT a cop out ending is one that I would be partial to.  After the court scene, there was not much more to be said.  While Shakespeare did not touch on the details of the stories of the other characters in the play, there stories were already resolved.  Shakespeare therefore did not need to elaborate further; he only needed to do as much as would conclude the story of Bassanio, Portia, Gratiano, and Nerissa.

In my case, the depth of resolution at the end was therefore not something that concerned me greatly.  And frankly, this play was one that I truly enjoyed reading, so I am content with whichever interpretation of the ending is used.

Simi