Transcript Title: Othello: Act 3 Sc 3 L.O: The Art of Conversation

Who is this
character and why
was a film made
about him?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzI4D6dyp_o
Title: Othello: Act 3 Sc 3
L.O: To analyse the ‘Art of Conversation’
1. How did Othello “woo” Desdemona?
His use of language.
2. How do we know Othello is losing his
confidence and is becoming jealous and insecure?
He loses his gift for language and speaks in a different
manner.
Art of Conversation: Questions
As we read today consider
the following:
- Who is questioning who?
- What is the purpose of the
questions?
- How are the questions
asked?
L/O: To understand significance of conversation within Othello.
Art of Conversation: Iambic Pentameter
- What is iambic pentameter?
- What does it suggest?
- Intelligence
- Romance
- Power over speech
- Othello starts to lose this
structure as he begins to
lose his mind.
- Who is using it? For what
purpose?
L/O: To understand significance of conversation within Othello.
Say this out loud..
Ta-tum ta-tum ta-tum ta-tum ta-tum
Say it again…
Ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM ta-TUM
IAMB
TaTUM
Living Iambic Pentameter
What other
examples can
you find?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYBtchCqPao
Art of Conversation: Domination/brevity
- Why might someone be
purposefully brief?
- Dominance can
sometimes show power
but couldn’t it also show
desperation?
Rambling?
- If coupled with iambic
pentameter it suggests
control, order and poetic
licence.
L/O: To understand significance of conversation within Othello.
Art of Conversation: Form of address
•How would you greet these people?
•What does your chosen greeting show about your
relationship with them?
L/O: To understand significance of conversation within Othello.
Homework
• 2 A4 PAGES
• What role does incoherent language play
in Othello? How does Othello’s language
change over the course of the play? Pay
particular attention to the handkerchief scene
in Act III, scene iii, and Othello’s fit in Act IV,
scene i.
• You must use quotation to support your points
Key points Act 3 Scene 3
• Desdemona decides that she wants to advocate
for Cassio.
• Iago then plays on Othello's insecurities about
Desdemona, and gets Othello to believe,
through insinuation, that there is something
going on between Desdemona and Cassio.
• Othello begins to doubt his wife
• Othello is incensed to hear that Desdemona
would give away something so valuable (the
handkerchief)
• Othello then swears to have Cassio dead, and to
be avenged upon Desdemona for the nonexistent affair.
Title: Developing our opinion
Starter
• 3 important events in Act 3 Sc 3
• 2 reasons why they are important
• 1 way these events made you feel
Walking debate
Agree or disagree or unsure?
•
Be ready to give a reason for your answer:
1. Othello is gullible
2. Desdemona cannot be trusted
3. Othello is not secure in his relationship with
Desdemona (even before Iago begins his
manipulation)
Analysis: Desdemona
– use your character map
• • Desdemona's
choice of words
to describeat this
What is your impression
of Desdemona
Cassio
is the
unfortunate:
stage in
play?
– she calls him a "suitor," not meaning it in a romantic
sense, although Othello could certainly take it that
way. a P.Q.E response.
• Write
• Desdemona binds her reputation to Cassio's in
an unfortunate way
• She says that if Cassio is wrong, "I have no
judgment in an honest face".
• Of course Desdemona means well, but she
gambles too much on another person's honor.
Title: Othello: Act 3 Sc 3
L.O: To identify symbols and discuss their purpose
Starter: Define ‘symbols.’
Give 3 examples and explain what they
represent/suggest.
Symbolic? Suggestive?
Analysis: Jealousy
1. What is the “green-eyed monster” a symbol
for in Shakespeare’s Othello?
Sample Answer – edit it.
• The "green-eyed monster" becomes a symbol
representing Othello's dark feelings, a specter
lurking in his mind and beginning to steer his
behaviour. Iago's speech is also deeply ironic,
since it points out Othello's flaws, and the root of
his tragedy. Othello has no idea of the
significance of these statements, and so neglects
to take them to heart.
Analysis: Handkerchief – symbolic?
• The handkerchief, the most
crucial symbol and object in
the play.
• The handkerchief, to
Desdemona, symbolizes
Othello's love, since it was his
first gift to her.
• Othello thinks that the
handkerchief, quite literally, is
Desdemona's love
• When she has lost it, that
must clearly mean that she
does not love him any longer.
• The handkerchief also
becomes a symbol of
Desdemona's alleged betrayal
Starter: Peter Dinklage Replaced
for Game of Thrones Season 4
Peter Dinklage Replaced for Game
of Thrones Season 4
EXCLUSIVE: Leading Game of Thrones actor and Emmy
winner Peter Dinklage will not return to HBO’s flagship
program for a fourth season in 2014. Members of the press
began to stir and murmur in anticipation of what the show
creators, who had seemed so stable and reliable up until
this moment, had to say next. Producer Dan Weiss
continued the explanation adding, “It was a unanimous
decision between David, myself, Peter and George. We
want to take Tyrion in a more comedic, farcical direction
and everyone including Peter agreed that he just wasn’t
the man for the job. I’ll let the other guys speak for
themselves but for me the choice was as clear as a crystal
crown. Warwick Davis will be our new Tyrion Lannister!”
Role-play: Creating conflict
1. How do you know when
someone is lying?
2. Do you believe this shocking
story?
*If you’ve heard this story then
wait….
Act 3 Scene 3 – The Art of Conversation
Othello and Desdemona line 41 - 89
Find examples of:
Structure
Iambic pentameter
Sentence types
Brevity
Dominance of converstion
Language
Subject
Form of address
Lexis (words with added significance)
i.e. ‘suitor’ line 42
Act 3 Scene 3 – The Art of Conversation
Iago and Emilia line 302 – 320
Find examples of:
Structure
Brevity
Sentence types
Language
Form of address
Topic
Actions
Stage directions
Act 3 Scene 3 – The Art of Conversation
Othello and Iago
Find examples of:
Iambic Pentameter
Dominance of conversation
Imagery used
Soliloquys
Use of questions
Other elements of significance
Recommended Reading
• On the following slides you will find
additional notes
• Select key words/phrases from the
points
• Add these to your notebooks
Analysis: Insecurity
• Othello is deeply insecure about his personal qualities
and his marriage
• Insecurity becomes a theme that weakens his resolve
not to doubt Desdemona.
• Othello uses his black skin as a symbol for how poorly
spoken and unattractive he thinks he is.
• All of his claims are very much beside the point; his
words are actually more complex and beautiful than
those spoken by any other character in the play.
• Because he begins to believe that Desdemona cannot
love him, he starts to believe her guilty of infidelity.
• The leap is great, but it is all a product of Othello's own
insecurities and his incorrect conception of himself,
another theme of the play.
• How Othello sees himself directly influences how he
views Desdemona's love
Analysis: Imagery
• Othello begins to use the black/ white imagery found
throughout the play, to express his grief and rage at
Desdemona's alleged treachery.
• "My name, that was as fresh as Dian's visage, is now
begrimed and black as mine own face," Othello says.
• Although the allegations against Desdemona are personally
hurtful to him, Othello focuses more on the public
ramifications, rather than the private
• There is great irony in this concern, since this rumored
betrayal is a private one, and also since Othello's name is
highly regarded, because nothing has really happened.
• Iago's "proofs" also rely on the animal imagery which has run
throughout the play
• he makes Desdemona and Cassio seem like lustful lovers, by
describing them as "prime as goats, as hot as monkeys"
(400).
• This comparison is calculated, since Iago knows that thinking
of Desdemona as lusting after another man disturbs Othello
greatly.
Analysis: Proof
• "Proof" is a key word in this scene
• Othello demands that Iago prove
Desdemona unfaithful by actually seeing
evidence of her guilt.
• Iago manages to work around this
completely; he plays off of Othello's
jealousy, telling him stories that damn
Cassio and mention the handkerchief
• Othello trusts Iago's words to convey
proof, and is thwarted by Iago's
dishonesty
• Othello only realizes later that he has
been tricked and has seen no proof,
when it is too late for him to take his
actions back.
Analysis: Language
• This act represents the beginning of Othello's giving up
language
• From this point forward, notice how Othello's use of
imagery and story become less and less frequent, and how
he begins to rely upon Iago for speech and explanation.
• Othello is reduced by Iago and his own jealousy to single
lines of speech, monosyllabic utterings of "O!" and the like.
• And just as language is the power with which Othello was
able to woo Desdemona, his loss of it is a resignation of
this power which attracted her to him.
• Othello suspects his wife's language, and Cassio's as well;
he is distracted from suspicion of Iago
• Othello begins to lose his power over himself, and over
others, when he loses his beautiful language
• This resignation marks a huge shift in the balance of power
between Othello and Iago
• Iago becomes more dominant in the relationship, and
begins to steer Othello.
Analysis: Chaos vs. Order
• In the battle between order and chaos, chaos
seems to be winning out.
• Othello abandons his reason in judging Iago's
"proofs," and his abandonment of language also
marks a descent into chaos.
• Although it is a chaos controlled by Iago, order
and reason are on the losing side
• Raging emotions and speculations begin to rule
Othello's fate, as he comes closer and closer to
his tragic end.