5 thoughts on “Action- Beginning at the beginning”

  1. hannah, this is a great idea for mapping out the action, good job! My only question is, does every previous action have to necessitate the next (in other words like does it absolutely have to cause the next action?) – because if so, there are a few places where one doesn’t necessarily cause the other, like Portia making her possessions Bass’ as well, that doesn’t necessitate Bass settling Antonio’s debts, does it? Also, I think we could add Bassanio’s decision to take Portia’s dad’s challenge and him asking Antonio to help him fund the journey in between the first action and Antonio promising Bass the credit.

  2. I tend to agree with Chelsea… It is kind of hard to map these out correctly and find exactly why one thing causes another, but I think you did a good job of finding correlations and what not. One thing that really intrigues me is how the whole plot starts with a growth of love for Portia. I think it’s a very Shakespearean concept that an entire plot, full of subplots (especially in relation in Triggers and Heaps) starts with a love that is generally extremely conflicting.

    Love, while it may be beautiful and extremely intriguing, is very complex in the way it triggers actions and subplots. It tends to cause a lot of problems that extend far beyond the true love of two individuals.

  3. I do think it is a great mapped out version of the plot forwards, but is it detailed enough? it’s hard to say how detailed we should go. i don’t know, Antonio’s portion of this text is essential but is it all a part of the forwarding action? we should look at that.

  4. I think the actions involving Antonio are definitely part of the forwarding action – without his agreement with Shylock to help fund Bassanio’s trip, what sprouts arguably the largest conflict, much of the rest of the play wouldn’t be possible. I think it’s also important to remember that Shylock, as the antagonist, doesn’t really have a problem with Bassanio, he is acting out of a desire for revenge against Antonio, so while it may be easy to focus on Bassanio, we can’t discount A’s important to the advancement of the plot.

  5. Chelsea, in response to your comments, my thought was that, since Bassanio is poor, getting access to Portia’s wealth allows him to settle Antonio’s debts. Also, I am hesitant to say that he asks Antonio for the money because, while he hints at it, Bassanio never directly requests that Antonio give him money. He waits for Antonio to offer his assistance. Also, I think Antonio’s importance is much more noticable in the backwards analysis of the action.

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