ADV. Soph. English Journal Response 27

Othello by William Shakespeare (Journal Entry 5)

The character of Othello is the main character of the play by far.  In the play he is unknowingly the victim of a plan of Iago’s.  Aside from his epilepsy, he is fully capable of understanding the situation that unfolds before him.  In a string of jealous acts towards the end of the play, we see that Othello has a dark side to him.  It also shows how easily he could be tricked into a kind of steadfast emotion that had him kill his wife.  He seems to be a protagonist that had been overcome by the plans of the antagonist.  When the protagonist realizes that he/she has been tricked, death is usually near.  Apparently, this is the case in the play when it takes a bystander in one of the last scenes to make him realize his costly mistake.  From thereon, he makes a permanent fix to a temporary problem by exterminating himself. 

ADV. Soph. English Journal Response 26

Othello by William Shakespeare (Journal Entry 4)

In Othello, William Shakespeare frequently uses tone to affect the readers thoughts.  For example, the author attaches woe and jealousy as a connotation and a tone connection to Othello’s and Desdemona’s relationship.  In Act 4, Othello strikes Desdemona creating yet another tone of unrest.  These three tones seem to help reveal the theme regarding how jealousy can always be inserted to a scenario and have disastrous repercussions.

The author also uses mood to let the reader differ sometimes from the actual tone.  For example, when Iago speaks, we commonly associate him with deception, therefore giving the situation that unfolds around him which is a gloomy disposition.  Some aggression is also related to Iago’s relation with Othello, adding a quarrelling atmosphere to it.

The pace of the play seems to affect how we view the main characters.  For example, Desdemona expresses herself quickly as she comes to terms with Othello.  This shows us that the opinions of this gender were not necessarily respected in this play.  When Othello or Iago speaks, the story slows down to show a tense moment or influencing taking place.  The only actual times when the females get to express their thoughts in a slower pace is mainly between Desdemona and Emilia.

Comment on Joshua Zheng’s Blog:

That is an interesting viewpoint. Certainly if we understand the play, it would be more benefitial. The use of metaphors is indeed well crafted by Shakespeare, if one understands the meaning of it.

ADV. Soph. English Journal Response 25

Othello by William Shakespeare (Journal Entry 3)

Key passage from Othello:

(Iago speaks) “Work on, my medicine, work! The credulous fools are caught, and many worthy and chaste dames even thus, all guiltless meet reproach.-What, ho! My lord! My lord, I say! Othello!

Explanation: 

This short excerpt from act 4 scene 1 shows many things that can be foreshadowed from this point on.  For example, from here we could say that Iago has set his plan in motion which was to stir up some sort of jealousy in Othello.  It seems as if Iago knows that Othello has passed a point of no return with regards to his relations with Desdemona.  Now that a Othello seems to be aware of Cassio’s interest in Desdemona, he might make many more suspicions about what happens between them.  This can result in rising tension that might lead to a violent situation.

Comment on Olivia Everton’s Blog:

That is an interesting point you made. I also find that Othello does not only change his behvior due to jealousy, but also gets a fit of epilepsy. The author seems to make the impression that his medical condition is tied to this.

ADV. Soph. English Journal Response 24

Casting from Othello by William Shakespeare

Quotes from Characters:

Othello:

1.      “Make me to see’t, or at the least so prove it that the probation bear no hinge or loop to hang a doubt on, or woe upon thy life!”

2.      “This fellow’s of exceeding honesty, and knows all qualities, with a learned spirit, of human dealings…”

Iago:

1.      “And nothing can or shall content my soul, till I am evened with him, wife for wife, or failing so, yet that I put the Moor at least into a jealousy so strong that judgment cannot cure…”

2.      “How poor are they that have not patience! What would did ever heal but by degrees?”

Cassio:

1.      “Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh, I have lost my reputation!”

2.      “I am very ill at ease, unfit for mine very own purposes.”

Emilia:

1.      “I am glad I have found this napkin. This was her first remembrance from the Moor.”

2.      “Oh, is that all? What will you give me now for that same handkerchief?”

Character Descriptions along with Reasons:

Othello:

The main character of the play might be dressed in the fashion of a person of some rank in the 1600’s.  This may compose of clean white robes worn in a formal Greek fashion.  He would have his own handkerchief with some other intricate possessions.  This may be fit for him because the play seems to model him as a person with rank and honor.  Since he is interested in Desdemona, he would naturally want to be presentable at least so the clean robes give a sense of that.

Iago:

This secondary main character would be in similar clothes, but a bit dull white and worn like a shirt in a way similar to the outfitting of the 16^th century.  A smoothed out toupee would cover his graying hair.  He would also have some cleanliness to him and some fashion.  This casual appearance may be fit for this character because he is the one who does most of the influencing and directing of certain schemes.  In order to hide his interior motives, he must dress casually.

Cassio:

This character who was one of the right hand men of Othello wears casual clothes but has some rank.  He would have some grime on his clothes due a recent brawl with one of the other characters.  His hair would be greased in grimy sweat and leaves.  He would wear a dull tunic that fits very loosely to further show that he had gone through some intense event.

Emilia:

This character can wear a long wig and a long, fitting dress to come with it.  She would come barefoot to reveal some history about her past relations.  A ring of leaves shall decorate her already leafy headband.  This all would show how indigenous she is to her native land.

Comment on Michelle Vollmuller's Blog:

The quotes chosen for the character of Emilia were interesting and did describe her personality somewhat.  These quotes though could be shortened a bit to better show how she expresses herself.  Besides that, the actor you chose to impersonate Emilia looks best fit for a “desperate” aura.  

ADV. Soph. English Journal Response 23

Othello by William Shakespeare (Journal Entry 2)

In general this scene focused partly on Montano talking to another gentleman about some fear of the Turks entering Cyprus’s waters.  They also mention about Cassio’s and Iago’s relationships with them and others.  As the other ships arrive, carrying Iago, and Cassio, they talk somewhat about the plans for Othello.  Near the end, Othello arrives and meets Desdemona with no idea of the attention he is getting from the other characters it seems.  Overall, I think that this is the first actual time that these combinations of characters meet except for the senator in the first scene.

ADV. Soph. English Journal Response 22

Research on Cyprus in the 16^th Century

During the time period of the 16^th century, Cyprus was an island mainly ruled by the Turks until the 19^th century.  At this time, the royal tradition of kings and queens were diminishing and were replaced by feudal lords which were the high, controlling social class.  Their justice system was controlled by the Venetian courts.  In the category of territorial issues, the Ottoman Empire took interest in certain parts of the island for their strategic fort placements.  Overall, the condition of the land was politically fragile and it’s future still not decided.

Comments on:

Harrison Le’s Blog (on Turks):

The Ottoman Empire at the time was the most powerful.  I agree, fear of control from this empire must have been common in neighboring countries.

Paul Kwak’s Blog (on Moors):

If the Moors really controlled Spain from the 700-1300’s, then some of culture and tradition must have remained by the 16^th century.

Andrew Rood’s Blog (on Veniece):

Venice must have been more of a tourist attraction later in the 16^th century then.  I think Venice might have had a role in judicial decisions of the century.

Shelby Marquez’s Blog (on Epilepsy):

It’s interesting how the people viewed this disease back then as compared to nowadays, when we have the actual medications that can halt the symptoms.  However, there are still connotations to this word until now depending on different people’s beliefs.

ADV. Soph. English Journal Response 21

Othello by William Shakespeare (Journal Entry 1)

In Act One, Scene One of this play, the part with most importance was the part when Barbantio’s daughter has went missing along with Othello.  Iago and Roderigo seem to be the messengers of this tragic news.  The search for Othello and Barbantio’s daughter seemed to be set at the dawn of the next day.  Based on the text from this scene, there is a fairly large amount of “old English” involved along with how the characters communicate to each other.  It seems as if they use figurative language to convey their feelings about things such as the lost people in this scene.  Overall, I started reading the play with some difficulties regarding the use of language and how to get the gist of the characters intentions.

ADV Soph. English Journal Response 20

The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (Journal Entry 8)

In Act One, Scene Two of The Piano Lesson, August Wilson uses tone and pace to attract the readers attention to certain characters in this passage.   In the context preceding the quote, Boy Wille talks a lot about his opinions regarding how the piano should be handled based on his experiences in the past.  In one of his longer talks to Bernice, he mentions, “You can’t make more than that. Now I want to get Sutter’s land and I can go down and cash in the crop and get my seed. But that piano don’t put out nothing else. You ain’t got nothing working for you. Now, the kind of man my daddy was he would have understood that. I’m sorry you can’t see it that way. But that’s why I’m gonna take that piano out of here and sell it.” (51) 

            The author inserts a hopeless tone for Bernice when Boy Willie mentions his strong motives about selling the piano.  This hopeless atmosphere that was created will make Bernice resist anything that happens to the piano, all the more.  After all, this is a case where, whatever happens, someone is going to benefit from what happens to the piano.  In addition, the author also gives Boy Willie a sense of empathy when he mentions how nothing is working out for her and the piano which counteracts this hopelessness that he gives her. 

            Near the end of the quote, the author speeds up the pace in order to make the impression on the reader that Boy Willie’s decision with regards to selling the piano is final and could not be changed.  It also gives the reader a chance to foreshadow what might happen with the piano and how Bernice is going to react to this kind of response by Boy Willie.  So, overall I see that the author uses tone and pace in Boy Willie’s speech to make it seem as if one character is impacting another in an assertive way.