Othello is Black...

So... this week, we explored a simple idea (that our protagonist Othello is black) and put into context how that may or may not affect his role on the tragedy...

Othello's character, although we haven't met him yet, has been portrayed a strong leader, but despite this, other characters don't always seem to agree with his acts and decisions.

Ha! well let me explain...

Throughout the first scene, we find that no one - yes - no one- uses Othellos name when referring to him! Not only does this completely take away any form of humanity and individuality, it continually highlights the fact that Othello is different; that is to say, he is the only black man in the play - the ONLY "Moor".

The continual use of the word to refer to him is extremely powerful, and allows us -(without ye old Bill Shakespeare turning round and saying it) - to develop these concepts and ideas about what other characters are like, what Othello must be like and how these ideas - these opinions - are going to effect the cascade of the tragedy...

There is also this powerful imagery that is used throughout the performance in the characters language - a strong racially based image. Iago's description of "an old black ram tupping your white ewe" is not only crude, but an outright jibe at Othello's age and colour, also implying an animalistic characteristic of Othello (again, degrading and dehumanizing). Clearly, Iago's killing two birds with one stone here - not only is he getting away with insulting his master Othello, but he also gets to wind Brabantio up!

...and this just keeps going...

nowadays any form or racism is frowned upon in society, - but hey - not then and Roderigo and Iago carry on, throwing out insults here and there, like "the thick lips" - implying that Othello is not only physically different, but that his words themselves are poisonous, spreading lies and so on and so forth...

My personal favourite, is Iagos (dare i say...clever?) referal to Othello as "His Moorship"..

yeah...I'm going to go ahead and call him clever (or rather, Shakespeare and his literary genius)- he's managed to take "lordship" and "Moor" AND make it sarcastic and condescending! An excellent example of a clever pun to create an idea in the readers/audiences mind about what Iago's true feelings and intentions are...

Obviously....

Othellos not stupid (or so we presume) - he knows hes different...

In this case, we used three different types of mentality that Othello may have - his conscious attitudes, his repressed attitudes and his outward attitudes....

Consciously , Othello must have to bare in mind that people are scared of whats different, that he is a strong leader and that he can achieve what other Venitians may achieve.

His repressed attitudes can be predicted to be that he is not worthy of Desdemona and that perhaps he may not be as good as other Venetian men because of the colour of his skin.

Most of these attitudes would be negative, and probably about himself....

Outwardly, Othello must have to be strong and powerful, exerting an authority over the soldiers he leads and protect Desdemona.

Soooo..... who knows?- maybe Othellos colour won't be an issue...but from the looks of Iagos and Roderigos attitudes, and even Brabantio, this could be the pivotal factor in the tumbling tragedy of Othello.......

Kira

Act 1 Scene 1 Summary & Notes

Quick info of characters:
Othello: A successful black officer working at a white city-country- Venice
Iago: A soldier under Othello
Roderigo: A rich, idiotic nobleman who admires Desdemona, befriended by Iago after being told about the relationship between Othello & Desdemona.
Cassio: Othello’s second-in command of which was chosen over Iago. Well-read nobleman but has never fought in a battle.

Summary:
- Iago is jealous over Cassio’s place, hatred arises
- Roderigo & Iago become friends and plot against the strong minded Othello
- We also learn that the system used in Venice is rather corrupted, it is all about favouritism.

In lesson, we have mainly focused on the speeches of Iago and how through his expressions, have effect on audience to the not yet introduced characters of the play; he mainly gives a subjective perception to the story so far, especially his feelings towards Othello. Through this act, we can build a notion of what Iago’s personality may be like.

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Shakespeare uses metaphors to show the authority in characters (such as from the first five lines of the first page, as printed below), in this segment of the document, there will be a brief analysis of specific parts in Act 1 Scene 1: *the combined coloured, bolded, enlarged words matches with the same coloured annotation under each selected section*

RODERIGO: Tush! never tell me; I take it much unkindly
That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse
As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this.

IAGO: 'Sblood, but you will not hear me:
If ever I did dream of such a matter, Abhor me.

RODERIGO: Thou told'st me thou didst hold him in thy hate.

IAGO: Despise me, if I do not. Three great ones of the city,

Strings may suggest many expressions in relation to Roderigo in his speech. The element is used as a link between the manipulator and the puppet; metaphorically Roderigo is pulling the strings, which implies authority to control. Strings can also be found in instruments, a tool used by musicians to write compositions with; this shows resemblance that Roderigo has influence on actions and can perhaps ‘compose’ the future ahead. From studying Greek mythology, Shakespeare may also be conveying the ideology of “the ‘strings’ of life”, meaning fate, in relation to Roderigo, he has power to change destiny and can be the controller.

Iago is accusing Roderigo for hatred, insisting that if he doesn’t believe him, he may certainly as well just hate him. In order to convince, Iago promise hatred. The powerful words used, engages the audience whilst setting a resentment atmosphere.
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IAGO (Line 8- 23):
Despise me, if I do not. Three great ones of the city,
In personal suit to make me his lieutenant,
Off-capp'd to him: and, by the faith of man,
I know my price, I am worth no worse a place:
But he; as loving his own pride and purposes,

Gives impression that Othello is arrogant and to an extent, self centred. (line 12 in the book)

Evades them, with a bombast circumstance
Horribly stuff'd with epithets of war;
And, in conclusion,
Nonsuits my mediators; for, 'Certes,' says he,
'I have already chose my officer.'
And what was he?
Forsooth, a great arithmetician,
One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows

Iago creates impression that Cassio is merely a great mathematician, and nothing more. How can he be second-in command if he still has not set a foot on the battlefield? Nor does he have knowledge of ‘division’ (strategically placing of soldiers), Cassion simply has no experience to relate to in his role.
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Iago (line 41-66):
O, sir, content you;
I follow him to serve my turn upon him:
We cannot all be masters, nor all masters
Cannot be truly follow'd. You shall mark
Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave,

Under the construction of the corruptive system of Venice, everyone is believed to can only be, what they ought to be and that was it, e.g. if you was a servant, forever a servant you will be. Above all, not everyone has the talent to be a master. However, Iago has the idea that he was a special exception, that he was actually born to be a master, although obedient, but he will ultimately never commit ‘knee crooking knave’ (bowing down).

That, doting on his own obsequious bondage,
Wears out his time, much like his master's ass,
For nought but provender, and when he's old, cashier'd:
Whip me such honest knaves. Others there are
Who, trimm'd in forms and visages of duty,
Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves,
And, throwing but shows of service on their lords,
Do well thrive by them and when they have lined
their coats
Do themselves homage: these fellows have some soul;
And such a one do I profess myself.
For, sir,
It is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself;

Iago is simply doing his job only for himself, even being under Othello, he still has his own set of absolute principles he follows. ‘Following’ Othello is only part of his plan to get his own desired agendas.

Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, 'tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

Iago will show no emotions, unlike Othello; therefore no favouritism will be permitted. What he is actually implying is that he is a moron if he actually ‘wear my heart upon my sleeve’, suggesting it would be idiotic if he was to be emotionally honest. Like the ‘heart’, people should instead keep their emotions inside to themselves, where it is safe from the corruptive society we live upon.

Kayin

*To the next chosen blogger(s): if you’re planning to type the document on Microsoft Words beforehand, DO NOT use any arrows or text boxes or images, as the system used by Blogspot does not support those contents.*

AO2 Imagery: Blanche and Stella

In lesson we finished reading the last few pages of scene 1. Afterwards we got into groups and we looked at how Blanche and Stella are portrayed in Scene 1. We also looked at how Tennessee Williams uses allot of imagery to describe his characters throughout the play. Tennessee Williams uses;

v Visual: descriptions of what you could see

v Auditory: descriptions of sound

v Olfactory: descriptions of smell

v Gustatory: descriptions of taste

v Kinaesthetic: describes movement

v Tactile: description of touch

Example of olfactory: “The voices of people on the street can be heard overlapping”

Example of visual: “Two women one white and one coloured”

Example of kinaesthetic: “she ruches to the closet and removes the bottle”

Summary;

Blanche is a school teacher from Mississippi and she comes to New Orleans to come and see her sister. Although it seems that Blanche has fallen out of close contact with her sister she intends to stay at her sister’s apartment. Blanche later explains that she has come to see her sister because her mental strain has forced her to take a leave of absence from her job as a school teacher. Blanche tells Stella that she lost Belle Reve, their ancestral home due to the death of all their remaining relatives. The first impression of Blanche is that she seems like a spoilt and arrogant person this can be shown through the way she is clothed “Dressed in a fine white suit”.

Blanche;

Relationship with Stella;

v “You’re a fine one to sit there accusing me of it” this shows us that Blanche has allot of anger towards Stella. This is because Blanche was the one who had to deal with all the emotions and responsibilities due to Stella leaving Belle Reve and coming to New Orleans.

v “you’ve put on some weight yes you’re as plump as a little partridge” this shows us that they have an open relationship with each other however it seems that Blanche does not know much about her sister Stella. It also shows us that they have been apart for such a long time.

Attitudes towards the past;

v “ I took the blows to my face and my body” this is showing us that even though they have had a bad past blanche wants to hold onto her past and not let go. It seems as though her bad past is a major part of her life.

v “I stayed at Belle Reve and tired to hold it together” this is becasue the lifestyle she had at Belle Reve suited her very well and she did not want to leave it behind. Also it shows us that she does not belong in Stella’s world.

Attitudes towards the future;

v “Her head falls on her arms” Blanche is not too hopeful about her future and also she does not really think about her future however she tends to hold onto her past.

Attitudes towards men;

v “Yes I was quite young” Blanche seems to have got married at a very young age and this may be because she might have fallen in love or she might have had to get married.

v “the boy, the boy died. I’m afraid I’m going to be sick” something bad must have happened to the person she was married to causing them to die however we still need to find out what happened to him.

Stella;

Relationships with Blanche;

v “You never did give me a chance to say much Blanche” when Blanche and Stella was younger stella was the quite one whereas Blanche always has something to say and she never really gives Stella a chance to talk.

v “(They both laugh uncomfortably)” it’s quite awkward between them however they are both trying to get along with each other.

Attitudes towards the past;

v Blanche: “the summer dad died and left us” Stella: “it’s just incredible Blanche how well you’re looking” there is a sudden change of subject by Stella because she does not really want to talk about the past as she has forgotten her past. Also it seems like she has already had this conversation with Blanche and she does not want to talk about it again.

Attitudes towards the future;

v “The best I could do was make my own living. Blanche?” Stella had to get away from her past and the only way she could do this was to leave Belle Reve.

v “but of course there were things to adjust myself to later on” although Blanche is finding things difficult in New Orleans Stella also found it difficult to move from Belle Reve however Stella had to adjust herself to fit in.

Attitudes towards men;

v “Oh you can’t describe someone you’re in love with!” Stella understands love but she cannot put into words how much she loves Stanley.

v “i can hardly stand it when he is away for a night” Stella is attached to Stanley also she loves him so much that she cannot be without him even for a minute as she always cries when he comes back from work.

sadia

Introduction to Tragedy & Tragic Language

We started by considering the function of tragedy; looking at a brief summary of key events in Hamlet we discussed why plays which have such awful events might be so popular. We decided that tragedy could be a genre in which people find solace and empathy for their own personal struggles; that many of the most dramatic events in storylines have naturally tragic outcomes (eg. murder); that a writer can use tragic occurrences to teach a moral lesson; that life is marked with unfairness and suffering and so as a genre it may have a close affinity to life as we live it; that as an audience we feel a greater emotional connection to characters who suffer in a play.

Focussing on AO3, we looked at a range of quotations on tragedy from different sources, and from them identified some of our key expectations in terms of Plot, Character, Attitudes and Themes. Some of the key points were that tragic events are often highlighted by the increasing isolation of a central character, the breakdown of their relationships, and an "emotional death" within them; we saw that tragedy can involve a small trigger which sets of a story which seems inevitable, and becomes increasingly chaotic; we agreed that tragedy is mostly focussed on the individual rather than the masses, because it enables a deeper emotional connection with the audience; that tragedy may explore a lack of purpose in life, and expose the fragile nature of what seems strong - such as morality and relationships.

We then focused on AO2 and looked at examples of literature from different times, places and contexts to explore tragic experience, and the main features we find in writing about tragedy. We analysed texts from Ancient Greece, The Bible, Victorian England, and post-Holocaust. Among the key points we found were ideas of things which had once been a protecting force disappearing; powerlessness to control the circumstances of your own life; being engulfed by hostility. We found heavy use of metaphor, imagery and symbolism, often using an image which seems out of place to highlight the unnaturalness of a situation, or taking a positive image and using language to invert it to a negative. Rhythm can often be repetitive and flowing, highlighting the way tragedy can seem inevitable and a constant cycle.

Comments could perhaps focus on how these introductions to Tragedy inform your understanding of the first scene from Othello.


Mr. Nussbaum

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