Ziheng Liu's Journals

Journal #1 4/23

(At the beginning of this part of soliloquy, Iago talks to Othello with slow speed and loyal tone. While he is talking, he puts his hand on his breast to show how loyal he is and all the stuff that he says is from his heart.)

That Cassio loves her, I do well believe ’t.

That she loves him, ’tis apt and of great credit.

(Iago talks to Roderigo with slow and deep voice in order to show how smart he is and how correct he is. Iago wants to persuade Roderigo to support his plan. While he is talking, he puts his right hand on Roderigo’s right shoulder in order to indicate the deep friendship between him and Roderigo.)

The Moor, howbeit that I endure him not,

Is of a constant, loving, noble nature,

(Iago talks to himself with evil and vicious tone, and he smiles a little bit, when he talks. He touches his own face during his talking, so that we all can know how evil and horrible he is.)

And I dare think he’ll prove to Desdemona

A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too,

Not out of absolute lust—though peradventure

I stand accountant for as great a sin—

But partly led to diet my revenge,

(Iago talks to his wife, Emilia, with angry and excited voice, because he suspects that both Othello and Cassio have sex with her wife. He needs to show how deeply he hates Othello and Cassio and how jealous he is, and he wants to find a fantastic excuse for his evil plan.)

For that I do suspect the lusty Moor

Hath leaped into my seat. The thought whereof

Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards,

And nothing can or shall content my soul

Till I am evened with him, wife for wife.

Or, failing so, yet that I put the Moor

At least into a jealousy so strong

That judgment cannot cure. Which thing to do,

If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trace

For his quick hunting, stand the putting on,

I’ll have our Michael Cassio on the hip,

Abuse him to the Moor in the right garb

(For I fear Cassio with my night-cape too)

Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me

For making him egregiously an ass

And practicing upon his peace and quiet

Even to madness. 'Tis here, but yet confused.

Knavery’s plain face is never seen till used.

Journal #2 4/24

I choose Roderigo to investigate. In the Act II, Scene I, Roderigo thinks that Desdemona doesn’t fall in love with Cassio, and Desdemona is a noble and pure lady. Iago tells him that Desdemona does fall in love with Cassio. Othello is too old for Desdemona, and Desdemona does need a handsome and young man instead of Othello. Iago tells this to Roderigo in order to persuade Roderigo to help him with his plan. We know that Roderigo loves Desdemona, and his motivation is his love to Desdemona. The words that Iago tells Roderigo affects Roderigo a lot. He trusts Iago and believes that Desdemona falls in love with Cassio. Therefore, Roderigo hates Cassio and it is easier for him to kill Cassio. In the Act IV, Scene II, Roderigo thinks that Iago cheats him and doesn’t help him get Desdemona. Iago tells Roderigo that he does help him and Othello and Desdemona will leave. He tries to persuade Roderigo to kill Cassio and tells him that this is the only way to make Desdemona remain, and Cassio believes Iago again. Roderigo’s motivation is also his love to Desdemona, and he wants Desdemona to remain, so he agrees Iago to kill Cassio.

Journal #3 4/25

Roderigo is a Venetian gentleman. He meets Desdemona once, and he falls in love with her. He is attracted by her beautiful appearance and noble temperament, and he really wants to get her. He is a person who is easy to believe in others. He trusts Iago and gives him a lot of jewelry and money in order to let Iago persuade Desdemona to love him. He wants to have sex with Desdemona, but he doesn’t reach his goal yet. Therefore, he is suspicious about Iago, and he asks Iago whether Iago has already told Desdemona about his plan or not. Iago cheats him again, and he trusts Iago again. He wants to have sex with Desdemona as soon as possible, and the only person who can help him with his plan is Iago who is good at cheating. His impatience makes his judgement gone, and Iago’s skills of cheating also makes him in a mess. He is a mediocre gentleman, and he doesn’t have the alert to others. It is impossible for him to identify Iago’s evilness immediately because of his mediocrity.

Journal #4 4/29

At the beginning of the scene, Roderigo is very angry at Iago, because he suspects that Iago cheats him. I need to use the body language such as pointing my finger at Iago and speak aloud in order to show Roderigo’s anger. After Iago persuading Roderigo, Roderigo calms down. I need to use a smooth tone to talk to Iago in order to show the convert of Roderigo’s emotion. When Roderigo talks to Brabantio, he is scrupulous, because he regards Brabantio as a signior and respects him. I need to speak these lines slowly in order to show Roderigo’s respect to Brabantio. I want to gesticulate, when Roderigo promises Brabantio in order to show Roderigo’s certainty. The item that my character is going to have is a set of keys, because Roderigo is a gentleman and rich, and a set of keys can show his wealth. Also, I want to wear a scarf to show Roderigo’s noblility. Using real emotion to work on our presentation will make it stand out. As a performance, we can be a little exaggerated, and I think that will make our performance look better. All of us memorized our lines and practiced over and over again. We talked about when Iago should exit and Brabantio should enter the scene, we also talked about what kinds of tones should we use when we present. All of use agreed on these.

Journal #5 4/30

“If she be in her chamber or your house let loose on me the justice of the state for thus deluding you.”(Scene 1A) This line is said by Roderigo, and he is talking to Brabantio. He promises Brabantio that Desdemona, who is Brabantio’s daughter, is living with Othello, and they have already fallen in love. If he is lying, he will be damned and punished. This line is important, because it makes Brabantio trust Roderigo and confirm that he will go along with Roderigo in order to check whether her daughter falls in love with Othello or not. I emphasized this line and struck my crutch during the performance in order to show this line’s importance. The tone of this line is steady, because this is a promise.

Our performance went as we expected and planned, and I think we did a good job on it. I’m so proud of our properties, for example, we had a scarf, a set of keys, a crutch, and a light. I want to mention that the crutch is really important to our performance, because when I wanted to emphasize something, I just stuck my crutch, so that I could show the importance of this point. If I had an opportunity to do it again, I would speak my lines more loudly and clearly, and I would express more emotion just like the performance of Haji and Nikki. Performing our scene more exaggeratedly could make our performance look funnier and better.

I understood better about the the relationship of different characters by performing it. For example, I was really confused about the relationship between Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio at first, but after the practice and performance, I knew that Brabantio knows that Iago is a bad guy, and that’s why Iago needs to hide when Brabantio appears. Roderigo respects Brabantio, because Brabantio is a signior. Also, I understood more about Roderigo. Roderigo is a Venetian gentleman, and he is polite and his brain is easy. That’s why he is cheated by Iago over and over again. He is a rich man, so he gives his money and jewelry to Iago in order to get Desdemona, and that’s why I needed a set of keys when I performed.