OTHELLO DAY 2
English 12
Warm up 1
As you come in, take a card.
1s head to the desks closest to the computer lab
2s head to the desks closest to the wall with slanted
windows
3s head to the desks in the center
Please grab your journals. I confess I didn’t even look at
them. I will collect a little further into Othello
Imagine: you are the screenwriter
1.
Two men are talking. One, whom we will call the lover,
has a girlfriend. The other whom we will call the friend,
tries to plant seeds of doubt in the lover about the
girlfriend's loyalty.
• In your journals, write some of the dialogue for this conversation.
How might he plant doubt? How might the lover respond?
Warm up part 2
• Two men are talking. This time the friend tries to convince
the lover that his girlfriend has eyes for a particular man.
• Again write some of the dialogue
The Love Triangle
Othello
(the lover)
Iago
(the “friend”)
Desdemona
(the girlfriend)
In Othello
• The lover is black and the girlfriend is white
• There is a significant difference in the social background
between the two
Today’s Objectives
• To begin to understand why it is important to learn about
Othello.
• To begin to understand the plot of Othello and the
relationships between the characters.
Today’s Agenda
• Announcements:
• Agenda:
• Othello Background
• Act 1 Scene 1
All I’m asking you to:
• Open your mind
• Try your best
• Have fun
Actor’s Circle
1. We will read one line of text at a time, regardless of
where the sentences end
--As we read, underline words and phrases you don’t
understand.
Actor’s Circle continued
• 2. Now we will read full sentences. Read until you come
to a full stop (period, exclamation mark, etc.)
• In your journals write:
• What’s happening in this scene? Who are these people?
Actor’s Circle continued
3. Now read by parts, but still going around the circle. Read until
your section of dialogue is done.
Response Questions #1
• 1. What is going on in these scenes? Who are these
people and what are they doing?
• 2.Who are Roderigo and Iago? What kind of people are
they? Who’s in control? What has just happened? What
about Brabantio’s daughter—how do you picture her?
Why is it that neither Othello or Desdemona is mentioned
by name in this scene?
• What sort of language does Iago use to tell Brabantio of
his daughter’s elopement? On what sort of fears and
prejudices is Iago playing?
Voices for the characters
• What are the differences between the readings? How do
these differences affect your impression of the character
Homework
• Read all of Act 1 scene 1 and answer the following
questions
• Why do Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio hate the man they are
discussing?
• What reasons does Iago give for continuing to follow his master?
• What kind of person do you expect the man they discuss to be?
How do you imagine him? Count the number of times “Moor” is
used in 1.1 can you draw any conclusion?
Works Cited
Jamieson, Lee. "Common Phrases Invented by Shakespeare." About.com Shakespeare. 2009. About.com. 24 Feb. 2009
<http://shakespeare.about.com/od/shakespeareslegacy/a/Common_Phras
es.htm>.
Kemmer, Suzanne. "Shakespeare's Legacy." Shakespeare's Legacy. 2003.
Rice University. 24 Feb. 2009
<http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words04/history/shakespeare.html>.
"She's the Man." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 7 Feb 2009, 09:06 UTC.
24 Feb 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=She%27s_the_Man&oldid=2690
97522>.
Smith, Bruce R. "Shakespeare, William." Shakespeare, William. 18 Nov.
2002. Glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,. 23 Feb. 2009
<http://www.glbtq.com/literature/shakespeare_w,9.html>.