Implications: The implications of doing the backwards and forwards in conjunction with each other is that it allowed us to break down the relationships better between couples. We were able to find a through-line that extended both through a backwards and forwards analysis, which is that the attraction between Portia and Bassanio kind of controls the movement of the play and the plot.
It was interesting to find that the backwards analysis was more heavily focused on Antonio, while the forwards was mostly focused on the relationship between Portia and Bassanio.
The backwards analysis seemed to require a much stricter observance of detail. It was interesting too because it was hard to find a straight line from the end to beginning, there seemed to be a lot of splits and "coming togethers."
Based on our analysis we found that strict observance to the law (and its nuisances and loopholes) ended up helping Portia and Bassanio achieve their end goal, marriage based on their true love for each other. This strict observance also helped Antonio get out of his bond to Shylock.
great thanks pat! i’ll take these little gems and expand upon them for our final blog post. hannah’s posting our backwards actions after the meeting
There also seems to be a theme about greed/stinginess v. generosity. Even though Antonio faces a bunch of problems, he ultimately ends up better off than Shylock, whose primary goal was to acquire more money for himself. Also, Bassanio wins Portia’s love because he does not choose a casket based on which one contains the most wealth. Generosity and disregard of material goods wins out in the end.
i’ll add it to the list.