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Act 4 Questions

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Act 4 Questions
As always, ensure your answers have quotes!
1. How is the extremity of human behaviour depicted in the opening of Act 4? What does
Shakespeare suggest we need to do to balance these extremes in order to live a fruitful
existence?
Depicted through Shylock's need for revenge through taking a pound of flesh by Antonio which
he agrees to due to their belief in the value of the law. Shakespeare suggests that we need to
be able to balance mercy with justice in order to live a more fruitful existence which is evident
through Portia’s speech.
2. Was justice served with Shylock? Why is it important that mercy was shown to him? How
is Shylock being used as a lesson to teach the importance of bringing mercy into justice
system?
Justice was not fully served to Shylock as he was not truely accounted for, for the money which
he lost. However him being pardoned for his immoral actions highlights how mercy can be
placed on those even though they are not Christian, this showcases how giving mercy is not
limited to those whom we consider equal or higher than but is to be placed even on those that
we consider to be lesser than us. Practice what we preech. It is important to bring mercy into the
justice system to maintain our humanity and our moral values, we need to keep people in the
centre of it in order not to lose our sense of humanity.
3. Why do we feel sympathy for Shylock in this moment and what does this complicated
feeling reveal about the nature of our humanity?
Everything has been stripped of him and his chance for justice has been taken from him. It
complicates our feelings for him as his rights have been srripped of him and he is forced to give
up his own religious beliefs, somerhing which defines him as a person. This then allows us to
sympathise with Shylock while still believing that he is immoral for the ways in which he goes
about the justice which he believes he deserves after being wronged and treated as lesser than
his whole life. However the way in which he goes about extracting justice is immoral. Sylock is
repsodning to the treatment he is subjected to. We cannot excuse everything that he is done but
we are able to understand what and sympathise with him. Shows we are multifaceted.
4. In this way, how is the complexity of Shylock’s character diminished by the end of this
act? How is he being used as a tool to impart Shakespeare’s message about mercy and
balance? (Consider the contrast in the way Shylock speaks and acts at the end of this
scene compared to the beginning of the play, and the amount he speaks for himself by
the end of this act).
Complexity of sylocks charactr is diminished by the end of this act as his sens eof morality and
humanity is stripped of him. When he speaks its very repetitive and wrong - he is getting more
anrrow minded - symbolistic of him dimishment of his identity. Highlights how if someone if fully
driven by revenge that they lose their sense of humanity of what makes them of their identity his experiences become less and less diverse - he has mothing else. Portia has all this
experience and is bringing these values and morals to make this world a better place - we need
a range of things to fing balance and be fruitful memebers of society.
5. This play is often considered a ‘problem play’ because it is neither a clear comedy nor a
clear tragedy. The comedic elements come through in the ring plot and the dramatic
irony of Portia. In this act, we see a subversion of the typical tragic character (think
Othello) in Shylock. While he never really starts as a heroic or admirable figure, we still
see the impact of hubris on his experience. What is that hubris? What warning is
Shakespeare giving us about how we live our lives?
His fatal flaw is his relentless persuit for justice and revenge and his full comitment to the law highlights how we should not live our lives to the letrter of the law and should bring mercy and
humanity to balance justice. Form and portias costuming. Blending of the tragic and the
comedic. Giving different ways into the message.
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