If you were the playwright, how would you alter The Merchant of Venice?

The answer to this question will be pretty subjective, depending on how you respond to The Merchant of Venice and how you feel about different parts of the play. However, many readers notice that Shylock is suspiciously absent from the final act, and so you might consider altering this aspect of the play. Though Shylock is not the main character, he's received a lot of critical attention as a marginalized Jewish minority living in a mostly Christian society. Indeed, it's possible to sympathize with Shylock at several points, and so his complete humiliation and defeat during the trial scene (he's essentially forced to give up his wealth and convert to Christianity) can be hard to stomach, even though he has his villainous qualities. As such, it's frustrating that Shylock is absent from the final act and that we do not get any closure regarding his experience in court. If I were to alter the play, I would include Shylock in Act 5 to show how he deals with his experience in the trial and what happens to him after the main events of the plot have taken place.