Q4-BM: Othello Journal

Journal # 1: Find a soliloquy in Othello when Iago might be addressing more than one of the possible audiences discussed today. Write out / copy and paste the soliloquy, and add your own "director's notes" indicating where Iago would switch delivery techniques to appeal to a higher power, and then to himself, etc. Indicate how his line delivery and physical movement might change to show he is changing audiences.

“I have rubbed this young quat almost to the sense,

And he grows angry. Now, whether he kill Cassio

Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other,

Every way makes my gain. Live Roderigo,

He calls me to a restitution large

Of gold and jewels that I bobbed from him

As gifts to Desdemona.

It must not be. If Cassio do remain

He hath a daily beauty in his life

That makes me ugly. And besides, the Moor

May unfold me to him—there stand I in much peril.

No, he must die. But so, I hear him coming.”

Here, Iago is speaking to himself about his plan. He is speaking is a low, hushed tone because if someone overheard him, his plan would get out and be ruined. Towards the end Iago says “But do, I hear him coming,” He could either be talking to himself, realizing to himself that someone is approaching or he could be talking to Rodrigo to warn him. If he were talking to Rodrigo his voice would raise slightly so that Rodrigo could hear him. Also when he says “That makes me ugly,” he would say this in a disgusted, or sneaky tone. This whole speech is sneaky because he's scheming and plotting against people, and thinking to himself how he will do it.

Journal # 2: Choose another secondary character from Othello (that is, not Othello or Iago or Desdemona) and investigate the play for his/her perspective. Answer the following prompts in paragraph format (150-200 words.)

Name a couple of important scenes that this character appears in. (You'll have to look them up, and include the act and scene numbers.)

- What does this character observe first hand? (What do they see personally?)

- What does this character observe second hand? (What are they told by other characters?)

- How can we understand this character's motivations better when we concentrate only on their scenes?

Scenes:

Act 1, sc 3: Emilia first appear in the book.

Act 3, sc 4: Othello questioned Desdemona about the handkerchief after Emilia took the handkerchief and give it to Iago.

Act 4, sc 2: Emilia help proof Desdemona is inderstion  

Act 4, sc 3: Emilia discuss with Desdemona about how men use women

Act 5 sc 2: Iago kill Emilia.

What Emilia sees happen is that Othello  is angry with Desdemona. Emilia does not know why he is angry, she just thinks that he is jealous of her. As the scenes go on, she also sees Iago wanting Othello’s handkerchief, but she doesn’t know why. She see’s Othello get angrier and angrier, for some reason, and Desdemona getting more and more worried about Othello. At the end, she see’s Desdemona dead, Othello kill her, and Iago was the one who lied all along. Emilia’s husband Iago leaves Emilia in the dark for most of the book. He tells her to give him the handkerchief, which is why she picked it up, but he never gave a reason for needing. In addition, Othello told Emilia that Cassio and Rodrigo are dead which was true. At first, it seems that Emilia only wants to please Iago and is on his side because she steals Othello's handkerchief, and does not tell Desdemona she gave it to him later. But, later in the play, she tries to comfort her and even stands up for her. She even dies because she tried to avenge Desdemona by telling everyone the truth. At first, her motivation was to please her husband, but later in the book it was to get justice and serve desdemona.

Journal #3: Write a character background using your Character Sheet as a guide. Tell the story of the life of the character before they enter the play. Explain how these events influenced them to be the kind of person they are during the events of the play.

Othello lived with his parents until he was 13. When he turned 13, his mother died and she gave him a handkerchief. She told him it was cursed, so he had to be careful with it. He escaped slavery when he was 19. He went on many adventures after, looking for work. Later in his 20’s he became a moor and worked for Venice. While there, he met Desdemona, and told her about all of his adventures. They fell in love and married. These events influenced his actions in the play because Othello probably was worried about losing Desdemona like he lost his mother. He wanted to in control of everything, and that was why he became so jealous. Also, at that point, he’d been threw so much that he couldn’t take anymore grieve. Desdemona was special to him and the idea of losing her made him crazy.

Journal # 4:This is your last journal before your group's performance on Tuesday! Please respond to the following prompts in paragraph format (150-200 words):

- What specific actions, movements, and tone of voice are you bringing to your character during your performance?

- What PROP and/or COSTUME item is your character going to have? (It is your job to brainstorm one item that you are responsible for. Some props are clear, like a handkerchief or a wine glass. Others will take a little more creativity!)

- What is going to make your group's presentation stand out? What have you worked on and agreed on as a group for your scene?

The scene that I am playing in is when Othello gets angry with Cassio because  he thinks that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio. In the scene I, as Othello in the scene, hide in the shadows listening to Iago and Cassio talking to each other. The tone of my voice will be mad and angry. I only had a few line to say but through those lines I will express a lot. When I stand a side I will try to do more then just stand. I will act like I am trying to hear what they really saying to each other. When I see the handkerchief I will express madness with my face. My voice will be strong and I will stand tall because Othello is strong man. For the performance I will wear all white. I had a hard time picking what should I bring for my character. Some of the suggestion that my group had was to wear what Othello had in the film. I went online and google Othello most of the characters were wear white. I thought it would be a good idea to wear white. I also decided to bring a toy gun. The reason is because he is a soldier and of course all soldiers have guns with them. I also could use the gun during my scene when I say my line “ How should I murder him, Iago.....” I can show my madness through the prop that I bring.

One of the thing that our group agreed on is to show a lot of expression and stay true to the character during the scene. The presentation will be more interesting when the we express our feeling out without being afraid to speak low and clear. We have a very small scene therefore every emotion needs to be expressed in words and in actions. For example when Liza and Wendy suppose to run they were really running not acting or just stand . This will help to bring an intensity to the scene and make it more realistic.

Journal # 5:

- Analyze one of your lines from your scene. Quote it directly and then explain why it is important to the play, and how you showed its importance in your performance. How did you deliver this line?

- How did performing the play change your understanding of it?

- Did your group's performance go as you expected and planned? Now that it is over, what are you proud of? What would you have done differently in your performance?

Othello-

“How should I murder him. Iago, a fine woman, a fair women a sweet women”

This quote shows that at that point in play Othello was crazy. Even though he loved his wife, he was driven to kill her. He even knew she was fair and sweet because he said “ fine woman, a fair women a sweet woman”. This was important to the play because it tells the audience that Othello is about to kill Desdemona, and that Othello has finally gone crazy. This also shows that Iago’s plan is working. I showed it was important by sounding angry, because in my mind, it seemed like Othello would be angry. He'd be mad about the handkerchief and even madder at his wife I delivered this by showing my anger and taking out my gun to show I was angry.

Our group performed better than I would expected. During the morning practice at the beginning of the class we changed a lot in the scene. I change how I speak and how to use my hand for emotion. We were able to look at each other more then the paper the performance went so well then I though. Wendy also was able to express more feelings and be true to the character. I’m really proud that my group was able to perform and express our characters as well as we did. The little small detail when Loyd start to laugh or when Wendy give the handkerchief to Liza it took a couple line scene to a whole new level. If we could do the performance different I would want our group to do the scene without the script because then more expression and eye contact can be shown.

When I performed this, I understood how Iago was smart enough to make Othello think Cassio had Desdemona’s handkerchief. Also, Othello was so crazy and jealous he couldn’t think straight and by acting like this I could see how angry and crazy he was. Also, I could see how angry Bianca was. Before I thought she was angry, but now I saw she was. It helped me understand why Othello was mad and why Bianca was. She thought Cassio was cheating on her, and Othello thought Cassio was with Desdemona.