Shakespeare's Cop Out Ending ML

ML Sparrow on The Ending of A Merchant of Venice:

After finishing Act IV, I was exhausted from the tense scenes and cruel ending for Shylock. I was hoping for Shakespeare to show Shylock growing and making peace with his punishments or show character's compunction for the mistreatment of Shylock. Shakespeare did no such thing. Act V of A Merchant of Venice consisted of an entirely new plot line brought in at the very end of Act IV having to do with the rings given to Bassanio and Gratiano by their wives. The Bond plot closed in Act IV with Shylock's punishments, the elopement plot was solved the same way, and the Casket plot was solved after Bassanio chose the correct casket. Where could Shakespeare have gone? He could have concluded the book amicably by having someone show compassion for Shylock, or show a sense of amity between Shylock and a Christian. By creating a seemingly random ending Shakespeare left the book uneasily ended; the books ends with a sense of unrest. I wanted a nice conclusion for Shylock because I felt bad about how he was treated and after finishing the book my frustration was heightened because there was no resolve. I think Shakespeare wanted the audience to feel so off balance by the ending that it would require them to think about the treatments of Jews more intensely. Shylock ends the book as a victim and loses everything, not giving the audience a strong reason to resent him. Shakespeare did so in hopes of making change in society.