UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST – Manila
College of Engineering
Module No. 3
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO AND PAUL KIVEL’S
RECOVERY HORIZON THEORY
Submitted by:
ANDES, James Michael M.
MANALILI, Renz John Paul S.
BAUTISTA, Alfonso L.
MIÑEBE, Dave Gabriel C.
BORJA, Enrico Jr. L.
ROSALDO, Akia Danielle M.
DELA ROSA, Eid Nolyn C.
TORREJA, Ken Gio Franz A.
DRIS, Franz Lenard S.
VENTURA, Ryan Kelly P.
EBUSEO, Christine May I.
VILLAMOR, Andrei Matthew
MABASA, Charles V.
Submitted to:
PROF. FERNANDO Z. BAUTISTA
I.
THEORY
Paul Kivel is an American writer, educator, and a social activist. He focuses on preventing
male violence and a co-founder of the Oakland Men’s Project. He is also called “an innovative
leader in violence prevention. In his career, he mainly focused on writing, education programs,
training programs that are designed to help prevent male and youth violence.
One of his works is a theory called Recovery Horizon Theory. In this theory, Paul Kivel
tackles recovery through four (4) stages – awareness, wholeness, discovery, transformation. Each
stages are associated with each action as well.
AWARENESS
THINKING
WHOLENESS
FEELING
DISCOVERY
SENSING
TRANSFORMATION
DOING
Awareness and Thinking covers the character’s awareness on his situation. This includes
processing of what is happening in one’s life; to what situation he is in. his awareness leads him
to come up with possible decisions he should make in order to deal with his situation.
Wholeness and Feeling discusses one’s way of processing his situation through various
senses. It also him process his situation for the next stage. This stage gives him confirmation of
what situation he is in through senses such as seeing, hearing, and touching.
In Discovery and Sensing, one is processing his feelings. In this stage he evaluates
everything that has happened. This helps and leads him to transformation Lastly, on
Transformation and Doing, one is doing things that help him recover from his situation. This stage
is highly influenced by the previous stages. This stage tackles how someone deals with situation
through various actions.
II.
DISCUSSION
SYNOPSIS
Before Othello begins, Roderigo has been pursuing Desdemona, a Venetian noblewoman.
One night, he hears from his soldier friend, Iago, that Desdemona has secretly married his General,
the Moorish Othello. Iago bears a grudge against Othello for overlooking Iago for a lieutenant
position. Instead, Othello chose Michael Cassio, leaving Iago only at the low rank of ensign. Iago
urges Roderigo to continue his pursuit of Desdemona. He knows Senator Brabantio, Desdemona's
father, will dislike having Othello as a son-in-law. So late at night, Iago and Roderigo wake
Brabantio and tell him the news of Desdemona. Brabantio angrily summons the militia to arrest
Othello. At that moment, officers arrive to summon Brabantio to an urgent meeting of the Senate.
The Senate is concerned about the imminent threat of a Turkish invasion fleet on Cyprus. Full of
fury, Brabantio goes to the council.
Brabantio interrupts the council, claiming vengeance against Othello. Othello is already
there because he has just been put in command of the forces to repel the Turks. Othello explains
how his stories of military prowess have helped him earn Desdemona's love (good storytelling is
the most important trait in a companion, after all). Afterwards, Desdemona is called to reinforce
the tale and defend her marriage. Following Desdemona's defence, her father disowns her, and she
chooses to go with Othello on his campaign. She plans to travel in the care of Lieutenant Cassio
and with Emilia, Iago's wife.
In Cyprus, Montano, the governor of Cyprus, and his soldiers greet Cassio, Iago,
Desdemona, and Emilia as they disembark. Othello soon arrives with news that storms at sea have
dispersed the Turkish fleet. A night of celebration is proclaimed. Roderigo confesses doubts about
his potential to woo Desdemona, but Iago assures him that there is hope. He urges Roderigo to
challenge Cassio to a duel that night, since (as Iago claims) Desdemona is actually falling in love
with him. When the night comes, Iago gets Cassio drunk, and Roderigo incites his anger. Montano,
the governor, is stabbed during his attempt to contain Cassio. Othello is angered by the fight and
blames Cassio, stripping him of his recently conferred officer status.
The next day, Iago convinces Cassio to ask Desdemona for help in regaining his post. When
Cassio asks, Desdemona innocently agrees. Meanwhile, Iago has sown seeds of jealousy in
Othello’s mind, suggesting that Desdemona is overfond of Cassio. With no reason to suspect Iago
of bad intentions, Othello begins to watch his wife. Othello becomes angry when Desdemona
cannot find the first gift (a handkerchief) he had ever given her. The handkerchief is embroidered
with strawberries and especially important to Othello. But Desdemona had not lost the
handkerchief. Iago had instructed Emilia, his wife, to take it. Iago then hid the handkerchief where
Cassio would find it. When Desdemona urges her husband to reconsider Cassio’s demotion,
Othello gets jealous and suspects her of infidelity.
Iago continues to inflame this jealousy. He encourages Othello to listen in on, and
misinterpret, part of a conversation between Cassio and his mistress, Bianca. Cassio and Bianca
discuss how Cassio obtained the embroidered handkerchief that he then gives to Bianca to copy.
Othello’s agitation at what he hears brings on an epileptic fit. After recovering, he orders Iago to
kill Cassio. Desdemona cannot understand Othello's change of attitude towards her. Othello even
strikes her in the presence of her relative, Lodovico, who has arrived as an ambassador from
Venice. As she prepares for bed, she talks with Emilia, singing to relieve the distress she feels at
losing the trust of her husband.
Meanwhile, Roderigo has begun to suspect Iago is not quite the friend he seems. Still Iago
persuades him to attack Cassio that night (again, to be able to court Desdemona). In the fight that
ensues, Iago goes undetected and wounds Cassio. He then enters again as himself to accuse and
kill Roderigo for the act of wounding Cassio.
Othello comes to his sleeping wife's bedroom to murder her as punishment for her supposed
adultery. He smothers her with a pillow as she asserts her innocence. Emilia alerts the household,
causing Iago and others to come to the scene. Othello defends himself, mentioning the
handkerchief as evidence. Emilia realises what has happened and betrays Iago‘s plots against
Othello. Iago, reacting to his wife's accusations, stabs and kills her. Iago is arrested and sent to trial
after Othello wounds him (he doesn't even die). Othello, facing the inevitability of his own trial,
uses a hidden weapon to commit suicide. The play ends with Cassio reinstated and placed in
command as Governor of Cyprus.
SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO AND PAUL KIVELS’ RECOVERY HORIZON THEORY
AWARENESS
THINKING
AWARENESS – THINK
Lago duped Othello into thinking his wife "Desdemona" and his old subordinate Cassio were
having an illicit romance behind his back. This has lead Othello to become upset and moody. This
motivated Othello to develop rage and jealously.
WHOLENESS
FEELING
WHOLENESS – FEELING
His rage and jealousy got worse when (SEEING) Othello witnesses Cassio give the handkerchief
to Bianca with his own eyes. The same handkerchief he gave to Desdemona. The situation got
worse when (HEARING) Othello overheard the conversation between Iago and Cassio about her
affair with Bianca but was misled to think that it was Desdemona who are they talking about.
These situations led Othello to come up with the conclusion that Desdemona is cheating on him
with
Cassio.
DISCOVERY
SENSING
DISCOVERY – SENSING
In Othello the discovery is used on a grand scale. First is the hero's mistaken discovery that
Desdemona is unfaithful to him. This has led him to feel extreme anger that resulted into violence
towards Desdemona. This was succeeded by his counter discovery that he has been deceived and
that his wife is innocent. This altered Othello’s situation leading him to killing himself due to
regret.
TRANSFORMATION
DOING
TRANSFORAMTION – DOING
Othello’s transformation was caused by Cassio’s. The situation controlled by Cassio has caused
Othello to completely change from being a wise, rational man to a jealous and vengeful person.
The tragic flow of Othello has pushed him to his limits causing him to kill the love of his life,
Desdemona. Later pn, when he found out that he was deceived by Cassio, he surrendered to his
fate by taking his own life.
III.
CONCLUSION
William Shakespeare is known for his tragic plays. To name a few, Romeo and Juliet,
hamlet, and Macbeth. Othello is not an exception. Othello showed its patrons how deception can
alter someone’s life and how it could permanently affect someone’s life. Paul Kivel’s Recovery
Horizon Theory helped the readers of Othello to further understand how Cassio’s deception
changed Othello as the story progress.
The Recovery Horizon Theory tackles different stages of recovery including the steps that
a person does during these stages. Though Othello was not able to recover positively from what
happened, it can be said that Othello recovered through acceptance of his fate by taking his own
life. It was his way of taking over his life for the last time. Hoping that it would be enough as a
redemption for Desdemona’s demise.
IV.
REFERENCES
Famous Quotes | Othello | Royal Shakespeare Company. (n.d.).
https://www.rsc.org.uk/othello/about-the-play/famousquotes#:~:text=O%2C%20I%20have%20lost%20my,and%20what%20remains%20is%2
0bestial.&text=The%20meat%20it%20feeds%20on.&text=Farewell%20the%20tranquil
%20mind%3B%20farewell%20content.
Othello: Full Book Summary | SparkNotes. (n.d.). SparkNotes.
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/summary/
Othello: The Moor of Venice. (n.d.-b). Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/shakespearesplays/othello-moorvenice/#:~:text=Iago%20is%20furious%20about%20being,Desdemona%2C%20and%20t
hen%20kills%20himself.