Bye

Iago. A closer look.

Click the image to access some key critical thoughts about Iago. 

• Read through all of the ideas as a class. Ensure we understand what each critic is saying about Iago.
• You will be split into 4 groups. You will each be given one of the critical quotations to work with
• Imagine the quotation is the starting point for a whole-text question about Iago, and you are going to have to respond 'to what extent do you agree with this view?'. In your group: create the outline of an argument in response to the critical quotation. Your argument must:
• Have a clear angle/viewpoint
• Track through the play chronologically, explaining which quotations you would use to support your groups' argument (make sure you track right through to the end of the play)
• Address the possible counter-argument (BRIEFLY)
• Conclude.

Type up the outline of your response either using Word of PowerPoint, then upload it to your blog using Scribd (for Word doc) or Slideshare (for ppt).

Work to do: key quotations.

Create a 'key quotations' sheet for the character of Othello. Choose the quotations that best demonstrate his journey from respected, dignified soldier, to his tragic fall. Keep them short. You can present your sheet in whichever way you prefer i.e. mind map/list etc - it is for your revision purposes. Include act, scene and line references. Minimum 12 quotations.

Create a 'key quotations' sheet for the theme of reputation/honour. You can present your sheet in whichever style you prefer i.e mind map/list etc. Include act, scene and line references.

Print these off and bring them to the lessons next week.

Othello - Act 5 scene 2. Lines 1-233

"Good gentleman, let me have leave to speak./ 'Tis proper I obey him - but not now!" Emilia [5.2.192-193]

Questions: Act 5 scene 2 lines 1-233

Answer in full sentences, with quotations. Type your responses and post to your blog.

1. What reasons does Othello give for having to kill Desdemona?
2. What evidence is there to suggest that Shakespeare adhered to racial stereotypes in this scene? Consider:
• irrational behaviour
• emotions
• danger
• the 'mystical negro' stereotype
• representations of the 'other'
3. Othello tells Desdemona that Cassio has confessed to sleeping with her (line 68). What was this 'confession'?
4. Emilia says "Good gentleman, let me have leave to speak./ 'Tis proper I obey him - but not now!" [5.2.192-193] what does this indicate about Emilia and society? Consider the circumstances the characters are in.
5. How is Emilia presented in lines 125-233. Consider the language she uses, how she behaves and what she says to Othello and Iago.
6. List all of the names Emilia calls Othello when she realises what he has done. How does this contrast with how Othello was portrayed at the start of the play?

Othello - Act 5 scene 1

How does Shakespeare create a sense of fear and confusion in Act 5 scene 1? Consider:

• Setting
• Language
• Structure of lines
• Use of characters
• Other dramatic methods

Your response should be no less than 1/2 a side of A4, and no more than 1 side of A4.  It should include quotations. Track the scene chronologically. Upload your response to your blog.

Helpful revision material for Othello

Two sections of the AQA exam will be based on the play Othello. 

Section A: an extract from Othello. You will be asked to explore the significance of the extract in relation to the tragedy as a whole. You will be asked to link to the dramatic methods in your answer. You should also remember to use the elements of classical tragedy in your response. You will be assessed on all of the AOs in this section. Spend approx 50 minutes on this section.

Section B: you will be given a choice of two questions about the play Othello. You pick one question, and answer it. This question will have a statement about the play, and you will be asked to what extent you agree with that view. You will be assessed on all of the AOs. Spend 50 minutes on this section.

[Section C: you will answer a question using two texts to support your response. You will use Death of a Salesman and Keats' poetry in your response. Spend 50 minutes on this section. You have been preparing for this question on the other side of the course.]

Click on the hyperlinks to access the revision resources:
Revise themes
Revise key quotes
Revise key symbols


Your class notes, annotations and homework are also revision materials. There are some useful links on the links list on the right hand side of this blog.

Critical essays that may be of use for your handout.

If Othello is NOT morally good or brave, what is he anyway?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_LYFPCz7eJHLW90bmpMblJXRGs

Act 4 Scene 3. The Willow Song

Cast Cassio

The bright lights of Broadway are calling once again!



So far you've cast Iago and Desdemona, and now it's time to make another star: cast an actor to play Cassio in your production of Othello!



Think about who else you have chosen so far, and make sure that your chosen actor fits with the rest of your production.

Remember, your chosen actor can't have played the role before.

Post your chosen actor to your blog, with reasons for your choice.

Othello and Iago

Watch the video and answer these questions. Type up your responses and post to your blog:

1. According to Adrian Lester, how long has Othello been fighting for?
2. According to Adrian Lester, Othello is not born into a 'sense of nobility', like those around him. How does Adrian Lester say this impacts the character?
3. What increases Othello's status in Venice?
4. Why does Rory Kinnear say Iago is disgruntled with Othello?
5. What do Othello and Iago have in common, according to Rory Kinnear?
6. Around 4.20, Rory Kinnear lists some of the ways Iago aims to bring down Othello and Cassio. What are they?

Cast Desdemona

Give an out of work actress her big break! Or at least a break from her job as a waitress that pays the bills!

Imagine you are a director about to stage a production of Othello. Cast Desdemona. 

You need to post an image of your choice of actor and reasons for your choice to your blog. You CANNOT choose someone who has played her before, so check that your chosen actor has not already played the character.  

Desdemona and Emilia in Othello.

Watch the video, then answer the following questions. Post responses to your blog.

1. What differences are there between Desdemona and Emilia?
2. Why do you think Emilia does not mention the handkerchief to Desdemona? Use what you hear in the video, as well as your own ideas. Consider the relationship between Iago and Emilia, as well as the relationship between Desdemona and Emilia.

Thinking question:

“Desdemona is presented in the play as a sexual subject who hears and desires, and that desire is punished because the non-specular or non-phallic sexuality it displays is frightening and dangerous.”

Karen Newman: Femininity and the monstrous in Othello.

To what extent do you agree with this view? Discuss and write down your ideas - post to your blog. Be ready to feedback.

HINT: Non-specular = not reflective; different.  (Consider, not reflective of what?  Different to what?)

Glossary of drama terms to help with Dramatic Methods

Click the image to download and save the glossary.

Glossary of Drama Terms by teachermisskp

Classical Tragedy elements and definitions.

Click the image to download and save the grid.

Othello Tragic Structure Grid by teachermisskp

Act 3 scene 3 BIG QUESTION 1

O beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. (3.3.167-169)

These questions concern Act 3 scene 3 up to line 303.

opportunist

ɒpəˈtjuːnɪst/

noun

1. 1.

   a person who takes advantage of opportunities as and when they arise, regardless of planning or principle.

   "most burglaries are committed by casual opportunists"

strategist

ˈstratədʒɪst/

noun

1. a person skilled in planning action or policy. A person responsible for implementing a plan or strategy.

   "he is a cunning military strategist"

1. Reflect on Act 3 scene 3 so far. Do you think Iago is an opportunist or a strategist? You must give reasons for your response, with quotations from the play to support your opinion.  

Post your answer to your blog, and be prepared to share what you think with the rest of the class. (You can present your answer in whatever form you like, as long as it can be posted on your blog.)

Act 3 scene 3 BIG QUESTION 2

She did deceive her father, marrying you,

And when she seemed to shake, and fear your looks

She loved them most. (3.3.209-211)

For she had eyes and chose me. (3.3.192)

1. How do ideas about difference and otherness help Iago's manipulation of Othello in this scene? Consider:
1. How Othello is reminded of the fact that Cassio helped him to woo Desdemona (lines 70-74) (Remember, Othello is insecure about how he speaks compared to Italian people 'rude am I in my speech')
2. How Iago reminds Othello of how different he is to Desdemona (lines 232-242)
3. The reasons Othello thinks that Desdemona may fall out of love with him (lines 267-270)

Post your answers to your blog and be ready to share with the rest of the class. You can present the work in whatever format you wish, as long as it can be uploaded to your blog.

Act 3 scene 3 BIG QUESTION 3

I had rather be a toad

And live upon the vapour of a dungeon

Than keep a corner in the thing I love

For others' uses. (3.3.274-278)

1. How does this scene relate to Othello and hubris (excessive pride - part of the tragic elements)? How might Othello's pride mean he is more concerned by Iago's suggestions about his wife's possible infidelity? Consider:
1. How he reacts to Iago's suggestions once Iago has left, and what he says about Desdemona (262-281)
2. How Othello may feel, knowing that Iago seems to be holding back information about Desdemona - it seems like Iago knows something he does not

Post your response to your blog and be prepared to share your ideas with the rest of the class. You can present your work in whatever format you wish, as long as it can be uploaded to your blog.

Cast Iago

Imagine you are going to direct a stage production of Othello.

Choose an actor to play Iago.  You must clearly explain why you have chosen this actor, and why you feel the actor would be able to portray Iago effectively.

Post an image of your chosen actor to your blog, along with their name, and reasons for your choice.

Then Estelle, the agent from Friends, will call your chosen actor, and tell them the good news!*

You cannot choose an actor who has already played Iago, but it is useful to see who has taken on the role in the past.

Actors who have played Iago (Google images is your friend here):

Ewan McGregor
Kenneth Branagh
Ian McKellan
Rory Kinnear
Daniel Craig (about to play him)
Tim McInnerny
Christopher Eccleston
Josh Hartnett
Lucian Msamati





*No, she won't.  This is merely an exercise.  Estelle is (unfortunately) a fictional character.

Act 2 scene 3

These questions apply to Act 2 scene 3, lines 1-254. Answer them in full sentences, with quotations. Post to your blog. 

1. Iago switches from verse to prose when he speaks with Cassio, and Cassio follows. What does this indicate about the exchange? What might it indicate about Cassio? AO2 LFS
2. What language does Cassio use when speaking about Desdemona? How does it compare to the language Iago uses to sexualise her? Why do you think Iago is speaking about Desdemona in this way to Cassio? (lines 15-25) AO2 LF  
3. How does Iago persuade Cassio to drink? Use your close reading skills to analyse the language he uses. (Note how ‘but’ is used as an adverb here) AO2 LFS
4.  Why does Iago try to subvert the social order and bring others down to his level, rather than try to climb the ladder and raise himself up? Consider ideas about social order at the time AO3, context.
5. Othello says “My blood begins my safer guides to rule/And passion, having my best judgements collied/Assays to lead the way.” (lines 201-203) What does this quotation reveal about the effects of Iago’s knavery in this scene?

       BIG QUESTION: Why is this scene important in relation to the play as a whole?

     Consider:

       How Iago is presented

      What happens in the scene

      What this scene indicates about key characters

   

Act 2 Scene 1 Questions

Act 2 scene 1

1. Re-read Act 2 scene 1 lines 95-100. What sort of person is Cassio?

2. How does Iago plan to use Cassio’s character traits to usurp and ensnare both Cassio and Othello? (Lines 167-176 will help.)

3. What does Iago tell Roderigo to do, and why does Iago say it will help Roderigo to win Desdemona’s heart? (Lines 249-278 will help you with this question.)

4. What more do we learn about the nature of Iago in Act 2? What is the effect of having him share his thoughts and plans with us through his soliloquies? Pay attention to the language used in Iago's soliloquies. What sorts of descriptive language does he use? How does it contribute to the picture of Iago that Shakespeare is drawing?

Type up your responses and post to your blog.

Othello Audio. Donmar Warehouse version.

"Put money in thy purse". The language of Iago.

Re-read Act 1 Scene 3 lines 320-362 "Put money in thy purse".

1. What is happening in this speech?  Sum it up in no more than 2 sentences
2. What techniques does Iago employ to persuade Roderigo to go to Cyprus?  Use the list below to identify techniques, and explain their possible effects on Roderigo/the audience
3. How does Shakespeare present Iago in this speech? Write a short paragraph to answer this question (around 1/4 side).  Use quotations to support your points.

Language techniques

Agenda setting – the use of statements or questions to lead the direction of a conversation

Topic shifts – changing the topic of conversation through the use of non sequiturs (a topic/statement that does not logically follow the conversation)

Lexical field – words which belong to a particular topic or subject area (i.e. words that get their meaning through the association to other words in their field)

Semantic field – words grouped by meaning (i.e. words linked through their meaning)

Pronouns - we, us.

Imperative verbs and sentences - commands, and verbs that are used to command e.g. 'put'

Conditional clauses - a subordinate clause (one that does not make sense on its own) and usually begins with the conjunction 'if' or 'unless'.  Conditional clauses can be used at the start or end of a sentence e.g. "If you want your money back, go and ask for a refund"  "You'll be getting a detention unless you hand in that homework on time."

Tone and intonation of delivery

Prose?  Verse?

Coursework mark scheme. Conventional task.

READ THIS WHOLE POST, CAREFULLY.

The mark scheme for your coursework can be found by clicking the CAT GIF, above.

PLEASE NOTE: this is a big document, and the correct mark scheme for the coursework can be found on pages 30-34 only.  You already have a paper copy of this.

Use it to ensure you have met each AO, and to the standard that you are aiming for.  

Coursework Focus: AO5 Critical Interpretations

You may find some of Mary Wollstonecraft's ideas useful as a critical quotation in your essay.

Mary Wollstonecraft was a writer, philosopher and advocate of women's rights.  She wrote a political text called The Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792.  Click here to access a short list of key quotations from this work.  

Remember: only use quotations that support/develop your argument in some way (read the post below!)

Coursework Focus: AO5. Using critical interpretations and ideas.

This whole piece of coursework is all about using the critical anthology to support your views.

So: you need critical quotations.  

Top tips for using critical quotations:

• Use them to support your argument
• SHOW HOW they support your argument - never leave a critical quotation hanging
• Once you've shown how it supports your argument, question and point out the critical viewpoint's limitations or weaknesses, to show you can evaluate the sources you use
• Use tentative language to do all of this: 'possibly', 'perhaps', 'arguably', 'could', 'may', 'might'.

Critical quotations should be used to frame and shape your argument.  They add another dimension and add weight and authority to your own ideas.  

You have lots of critical essays to choose from, as well as the critical anthology.

Do not miss opportunities to demonstrate that your argument has been influenced by your reading and research.  e.g. if you're going to write about the gaze, you should briefly reference Laura Mulvey, who coined the phrase in her study, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, 1975.

The same can be said about referring to Freud, who influenced the ideas of the voyeur and scoptophilia.

Coursework Focus: AO1. Splicing up your life? Sort it out!

Using a comma when you should be using a full stop?  This is called comma splicing.  You need to stop doing it to get the best AO1 marks! Click here to sort it out with our handy guide.

Coursework focus TYW: getting AO3 (context) embedded in your essay

Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper in 1892.  She was concerned with political and social inequality in general. 

In 1898 (6 years after the publication of The Yellow Wallpaper), she published a study called "Women and Economics: a study of the economic relation between men and women as a factor in social evolution".  In this, she argued that financial independence for women could only benefit society as a whole.  This was a radical viewpoint in America in the 19th Century. 

Below is the preface from her study:

PREFACE

This book is written to offer a simple and natural explanation of one of the most common and most perplexing problems of human life,–a problem which presents itself to almost every individual for practical solution, and which demands the most serious attention of the moralist, the physician, and the sociologist–
To show how some of the worst evils under which we suffer, evils long supposed to be inherent and ineradicable in our natures, are but the result of certain arbitrary conditions of our own adoption, and how, by removing those conditions, we may remove the evil resultant–
To point out how far we have already gone in the path of improvement, and how irresistibly the social forces of to-day are compelling us further, even without our knowledge and against our violent opposition,–an advance which may be greatly quickened by our recognition and assistance–
To reach in especial the thinking women of to-day, and urge upon them a new sense, not only of their social responsibility as individuals, but of their measureless racial importance as makers of men.
It is hoped also that the theory advanced will prove sufficiently suggestive to give rise to such further study and discussion as shall prove its error or establish its truth.

For further critical quotations (AO5) that hint at the context of The Yellow Wallpaper and Victorian literature, (AO3)  click here, or the image of the Gilman quotation, above.

Coursework focus TBC: getting AO3 (context) embedded in your essay.

"During this time" does not count as hitting AO3 in your essay.

You need to be specific, and clear.

If you are writing about The Bloody Chamber, it was published in 1979, thus Carter was writing during the second wave of feminism.

The second wave of feminism:

Second-wave feminism is a period of feminist activity that first began in the early 1960s in the United States, and eventually spread throughout the Western world and beyond. In the United States, the movement lasted through the early 1980s. It later became a worldwide movement that was strong in Europe. 

Whereas first-wave feminism focused mainly on suffrage and overturning legal obstacles to gender equality (i.e., voting rights, property rights), second-wave feminism broadened the debate to a wide range of issues: sexuality, family, the workplace, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalities. At a time when mainstream women were making job gains in the professions, the military, the media, and sports, second-wave feminism also drew attention to domestic violence and marital rape issues; establishment of rape crisis and battered women's shelters; and changes in custody and divorce law. 

The political became personal. It was society's expected behaviours of gender roles that was questioned.  Rather than focusing on 'big' political issues, such as women getting the vote, this wave of feminism highlighted the inequality of everyday life for women.  

Carter: 

Carter questions the stereotypical gender roles and plays with the reader's expectations of gender, too.  Her writing reflects the context in the way that she questions the "latent content" of traditional fairy tales, and the characters' gender roles within them.  She is questioning and transforming readers' understanding of well-known stories that have been told for centuries, by challenging and experimenting with expected character traits.  Her characters are not fixed in their gender roles, but fluid. Just as Carter rewrites or recreates elements of previously accepted stories and the gender roles within them, gender roles were being questioned and rewritten in the wider context, too.   

Contemporary Views. Leo Africanus.

Click here to access an extract from The History and Description of Africa (1600) translated by John Pory.

1. Print the extract
2. Read the extract from the subheading "What Vices The Foresaid Africans Are Subject Unto" to the end
3. Underline/highlight any racial stereotypes that you can find (these can be new stereotypes, or ones we have already covered)
4.  How do you think this extract might have influenced Shakespeare when writing the play Othello? Consider the parallels between the extract, and the character of Othello himself.
5. Bring the annotated copy of the extract, with your responses to the above questions, to the lesson.

Othello - pre-reading activities

Use the internet to research the following things about the play Othello (post findings to your blog):

1. Where and when is the play set?
2. When was the play written?
3. Who are the main characters?
4. What are the settings of the play? (i.e where do the scenes take place?)

On the right hand side of this blog, there is a list of links that are useful when studying Classical Tragedy and Othello.  Use the clips and links to find out the following (post your notes, thoughts and findings to your blog):

1. What are some of the issues with representations of race in Othello? 
2. What can you find out about Othello as a character?
3. What can you find out about Iago as a character?
4. What can you find out about the relationship between Iago and Othello?
5. What can you find out about the women in Othello?

Research for Classical Tragedy, or Aristotle's theory of tragedy

In the lessons this week, you are going to produce an information sheet about Classical Tragedy (Aristotle's theory of tragedy).  It needs to be logically and clearly presented, as well as detailed.  i.e imagine that you are going to use it to teach someone all about Classical Tragedy.

It needs to contain answers to the following questions:

1. What is the definition of Classical Tragedy?
2. Where and when did the concept of Classical Tragedy originate?
3. What are some of the earliest examples of classical tragedies, and when were they written?
4. Who was Aristotle, what was he known for, and when was he alive?
5. When did Aristotle write his study of tragedy, entitled Poetics?
6. What, according to Aristotle, is the aim of tragedy?
7. What are the 6 component parts of tragedy, according to Aristotle? List them in order of importance.
8. According to Aristotle, what makes a good tragic structure, or tragic plot?
9. What is the role of the tragic hero in Aristotle's theory of tragedy, and how important is the tragic hero in Classical Tragedy?
10. Define the following elements/ingredients of Classical Tragedy:
1. Hamartia
2. Tragic flaw
3. Hubris
4. Peripeteia
5. Anagnorisis (recognition)
6. Catharsis

The following websites will help you to answer these questions; click to access the sites:

SparkNotes on Aristotle and Poetics

Cliffsnotes on Aristotle and Poetics

Quizlet on dramatic elements of tragedy

NOTE: you may need to use some other websites to help you to answer the questions.