Othello Journals

Journal #1

 

Bade him anon return and here speak with me,

The which he promised. Do but encave yourself,

And mark the fleers, the gibes, and notable scorns

That dwell in every region of his face.

(Look out onto the audience) For I will make him tell the tale anew

Where, how, how oft, how long ago, and when

He hath, and is again to cope your wife.

I say (whisper low to Othello), but mark his gesture. Marry, patience,

Or I shall say you are all in all in spleen,

And nothing of a man.

 

This whole soliloquy will be spoken somewhat to Othello. Iago should speak this in a low and devious voice, almost whispering to him.

 

 

Journal #2

Barbantio

In the beginning sequences of the play, Barbantio is told by Roderigo and Iago that The moor is having sex with his daughter. This makes Barbantio angry and causes him to send out a search party for his daughter and Othello. Once he finds them, Othello is taken to the duke where Barbantio expresses his disgust and anger. It may have been different had he been told that the moor “fell in love with Desdemona”.

 

Journal #3

 

My Role: Othello

Othello is a Moor. The word "moor" is a word for the black people that inhabited Europe during that time period. The Moors brought over a lot of new cultures and ideas, including warfare techniques. This is was allowed Othello to serve as a general in Venice. Before, Othello was a slave of the Persian’s. The army of Venice and the Persian’s were at war, with the Persian’s losing severely. Othello was one of the last men standing, with no intentions of holding back. Barbantio took notice of this. With Othello’s blade staring down the face of one his soldiers, Barbantio commanded him to stop. He then asked Othello to stop killing his men. Barbantio offered to make him a general in the Venetian army. That was the birth of his new life in Venice.

 

Journal #4

 

The way I perceive Othello is nothing like myself. I’ll try to overcome this by standing up very tall and straight, to show his masculinity and firm build. Also, My voice is not as low as I imagine Othello’s to be, so I’m going to make my voice a little deeper. As a prop, I’m going to try and find a turban or a kufi. More than any of the props, I hope that our understanding of the lines will make our scene stand out from the others.

 

 

Journal #5

 

“Why, why is this? Think’st thou I’ld make a lie of jealousy, to follow still the changes of the moon with fresh suspicions? No, Iago; I’ll see before I doubt; when I doubt, prove, and on the proof, there is no more but this,-- away at once with love or jealousy!”

 

 I said this line as if I was telling Iago he was jumping the gun. He was making too many assumptions. Our scene went exactly as planned. We all played our parts as we rehearsed. If I had more time, I’d have memorized my lines so that I could make contact with the other actors. The language in the book is a little hard to read so, acting it out gave me a sense of what the characters’ words actually meant.