Please choose one of the following prompts to discuss in a well-developed, well-structured, 2-3 page essay. Be sure to use the text for support, and speak only in third person. Essays will be collected on Monday.
After you have completed your essay, post a brief synopsis of your paper for others to post comments.
Please respond to at least two of your peers' posts.
Prompts:
1) Some have said that the focus of Othello is not the title character, as is the case with Shakespeare's other great tragedies, Macbeth, King Lear, and Hamlet. Is Othello simply too one-dimensional to be considered a great tragic hero? Does his seemingly unrealistic gullibility lessen our interest in him and his suffering?
2) Why does Othello not investigate Iago's accusations? Why does Othello not seek his own proof of Desdemona's betrayal?
3) Samuel Taylor Coleridge once wrote that Iago's soliloquies are the "motive-hunting of motiveless malignity." Is this an accurate observation? Does Iago have a motive or motives for his hatred of Othello?
4) Examine the role of jealousy, love, and/or betrayal in the play. You may want to pick one character (Iago or Othello perhaps?) and focus on one issue.
**check out this funny Othello Rap**
Copy and paste the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC-f0drvdmM
Friday, April 9, 2010
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