Seeds of Tragedy (5/10/10)

We started off the lesson with a task involving facebook updates, but of course, no actual facebook. We were asked to write a comment about Othello, based on what we know, and literally give any opinion about him that came to mind. A few opinions were given, but cause I’m not that fast of a scribe I’ll share my opinion: that Othello is a man of false modesty, as he often talks down about himself and his achievements, but then quotes the in his favour, and possibly even pride, to boost his footing when describing his tale to the Duke.We then discussed a few things to do with writing essays, which when simplified comes out as:

• Use examples from the text, in quotes, and then integrate them into the Essay.
• Stay on task, and don’t ramble. Be sure to always link back to the question.
• Use Word-Level Analysis, basically analyse the words in the quotes with exquisite detail
• Be sure to paragraph, organise your points into them to make it flow, rather than stutter.

After that was discussed, we started, and hopefully finished this task- that if done properly, could be a paragraph in our impending essay
(Mentioned later on):
Task: What does Othello’s Speech reveal about him in both public and private terms?
• Use evidence from the speech, integrate it, then analyse it in detail
• Write at least half a page.

Just put that in there to (1) Take up space, and (2) Fill in anyone who wasn’t there to ‘experience’ it. I recommend doing this for practice if you weren’t there, due to what happened next... We then did the ‘Two Stars and Wish’ system, where we reviewed our own work and decided upon two good points and one thing that we need to work on- which would in turn help us with the essays.

As a fun example, I put my stars as:
• Successfully integrated evidence into the text
• Linked to the question, to a questionable degree of success.

And my Wish was:
• Could have analysed d in much more detail, and should get in more practice to help out with that. And of course, get to the point faster.

Then we went through more of Scene 1 in Othello, and I’m pretty sure that we finished it. We all came across some interesting points whilst going through and here’s what I got down. From Lines 187-196, Brabantio gives his speech about Desdemona, and uses repetition to emphasise his broken heart- the repeating of ‘I have done’ and ‘All my Heart’ show how he has given up on his daughter altogether, and from his speech we can see how dramatically this has affected him. Then we were informed that we are attune to any changes in the situation, and this affects our mood- like a change in lighting or music in a movie may signal an approaching terror or upcoming joy. This is seen when the Duke speaks to Brabantio about the situation with Desdemona and Othello, as he uses a rhyming couplet, in verse, to signal the end of the situation, and alert us to a change in tone. For those of you who are interested, this was:

“To mourn the mischief that is past and gone”
“Is the next way to draw mischief on”

This can be observed again after that point, when that particular issue is brought up. It can be speculated that this is a differentiation from ‘Public’ and ‘Private’ affairs.


Now for some quick notes about various helpful thingies:
• Dramatic Irony: When the Audience clearly knows more than a character on stage. Can be seen when Othello proclaims Iago as “a man of honesty and trust”, and at various other points..
• Prose: Normal Speech, as me or you would talk.
• Verse: 10 Beats per line, and possibly rhyming. Can be seen to signal a change of tone.
• Soliloquy: A speech in which a character, alone on the stage, expresses his thoughts and feelings.

And finally, the H/W was:
Essay 1: How does Act 1 of Othello establish the tragedy?

• AO1 – Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 – Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts.
• AO3 – Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers.
• AO4 – Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

Also, things to consider for your Essays may be:
• Iago as a Character/ 2 Faced? Using Roderigo, Manipulating Brabantio? Villainous?
• Racial Language/Stereotypes
• Othello’s name unused for the entirety of Scene 1
• Othello as a Tragic Hero (What this means, Quotes from Speeches?)
• Foreboding, Dramatic Irony, Iago’s Soliloquy
• Othello’s trusting nature.

Heres a link to something we did in Class, if it doesn't work, please say so <_<

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-jCyWPORublOTk3ZTdiMGEtNjFiYy00ZjI3LTliZjgtM2UzMzc3MzBhM2E3&hl=en&authkey=CKHurJ4O
Thanks all, D. Hughes (:3)