A Cop out Ending
It could be argued both ways that William Shakespeare did
and did not use a cop out ending
in his play A Merchant of Venice.
Many may thing that Shakespeare did go the way of a cop out ending because of
his conclusion of the bond. Shakespeare in act 4.1 stripped Shylock of his
bond, pride, and religion leaving him with nothing and letting Antonio go free.
In the final act he also has Antonio’s merchant ships return restoring him of
his wealth. This could be seen as a cop out because instead of taking another
stand on religious prejudice and having Shylock, the Jew, get his bond fairly
he let the audience have what they wanted, which was the Christians emerging on
top. On the other hand Shakespeare ending could be very true to his character. He always restored the
natural order of things at the end of his plays, and the natural order of
Christians dominating Jews was restored at the end of The Merchant of Venice. He also wraps up all the different story
lines he has going in the book, with Portia forgiving Bassanio for giving away
the ring, Antonio’s ships returning, and Lorenzo and Jessica becoming Shylocks
heir.
I personally like the ending for all plots are brought fully
to close, even though I truly sympathize for Shylock and wish he has been able
to keep his religion and sense of self.
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