The Ring Plot – Act 4 Scene 1 to Act 5 Scene 1

The Ring Plot – Act 4 scene 1 to Act 5 scene 1

Following Shylock’s exit at the end of the trial, all of the ‘problems’ throughout the play have been resolved; Jessica and Lorenzo, Portia and Bassanio and Nerissa and Gratiano have all married and Shylock appears to have met his fate. It therefore seems to me strange that Shakespeare would continue the play beyond this point of resolution, when fictional stories would usually conclude after the climax. However, perhaps by not finishing the play at this point, Shakespeare has tried to make the play not like most stories and make it more realistic. By placing the events of the play in context and continuing the story afterwards, we are able to see that like in real life, life in the fictional Belmont continues with other, perhaps more superficial, problems like the ring plot happening. We also get a closer look at the relationships between the characters, particularly the newly married couples, meaning we not only see plot lines ‘concluding’, we get to see how they carry on, for example these couples like in real life have arguments and are not just fictionally perfect.

I feel that the ring plot in particular gives us a chance to further evaluate the stereotypes of men and women, two opposites that are compared and challenged during the play. After Portia and Nerissa have showed themselves as able to fill the role of men and outsmart mean (Shylock) we see them appear to return to their gossipy female stereotype. The fact that they are testing the loyalty of their husbands and trying to trick them, they seem jealous and gossipy; something that is furthered by the large number of asides which feel like secretive whispers. This apparent plotting and jealousy means they appear to fall back into their role as women despite still being dressed as men. However, by saying ‘we’ll outface them’ and ‘we’ll outswear them’, we see that the two women are competitive, something largely associated with the men, and are able to once again outdo the men in the play. This seems to perhaps challenge the fact that women are only able to stay at home and chat, like Portia and Nerissa have done so far in the play, and instead they can be intelligent – but this intelligence is in a cunning, tricksy way which feels inherently female. By showing the women easily fitting into male roles while retaining their female characteristics, Shakespeare seems to be evaluating the female and male stereotypes and allowing the audience to also think for themselves about this.