Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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"Tiger, Tiger.." ( anyone know that poem?)
Check out the various book covers and artwork. Which is your favourite? Why?
Your participation in postings, pictures, links and your responses to other student's posts will determine your final grade. The goal of this blog is to supplement what has been discussed, read or written in class. Occasionally I will post a query or task with the expectation that you will eagerly respond. The same respect and diplomacy that is expected of you in the classroom extends to blogging space.
Helpful Links for research on background info.
"Tiger, Tiger.." ( anyone know that poem?)
Catch!
Meet Yann Martel!
Check out the various book covers and artwork. Which is your favourite? Why?
Blog Archive
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2008
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February
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- Gentlemen, Your Verdict
- Stories
- We discussed this a bit in class today but I thoug...
- Desdemona's Death
- Movie Comparison
- Positive Or Negative Loss of Control
- Emotional Turmoil
- Evil or Good?
- Question 5: p. 170
- Question 4: p.170
- Hockey/Character card extension granted: Due Thurs...
- The hockey cards.
- Othello believing Iago over Desdemona
- For those of you working on Emilia's character:
- Why Did Shakespear Write The Way He Did?
- Characters
- Shakepeare
- Othello
- p. 86 Question 4
- Question 7 p.61
- Question 4 p. 60
- Shakespeare's Audiences
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February
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13 comments:
Hm, that's a good question. I never really thought about the women, mostly because they haven't been shown in as much detail yet. I'm kind of under the impression that one of the possible themes in Othello is the imperfection of man (literally, men as opposed to women). Of course there's Roderigo who's weak and naïve, Iago who is anything but perfect, and any man that Iago has (or will) manipulated (eg., Cassio, Othello...). The women, on the other hand (though we have yet to see much of them) seem overall more likeable and strong. An early example could be Desdemona going against her father's will in act one to be with Othello, which is definitely unlike how easily influenced many of the men are manipulated by Iago. I guess we'll see more of Desdemona and Emilia in act three.
I'm rather looking forward to the character development of the ladies in the book. Desdemona has proved that she has a spine, at least concerning her father, as many women of the time did not. I am hoping that the portrayal of the other two leading ladies in the play will be equally develloped and atypical of the time period.
I never really thought about the women in this play but opefully it elaborates more on the women because they do seem like strong characters that stood up for what they wanted(at least we've seen this in Desdemona), unlike the way women are normally portrayed as weak and insecure.
Shakespeare really pushed the boundaries in all aspects and sometimes you do not realize all the levels that we was throwing at the audiences in one take.
This was a really good question..I probably wouldnt have thought about it at all.
Unfortunately, back in the day of Shakespeare, women didn't play a very important or prominent role in society, and because of this, not a lot was written about the women of the era. I am, however, interested to see how the female characters begin to develop throughout the story. So far, we've been able to see - as Winnifred said - that Desdemona is not a shy character, she is able to stick up for herself in the situation against her father. I don't know how much of an antagonistic role the female characters are going to play, however, I do feel they will soon begin playing very important subordinate roles within Othello.
I agree with adam that woman in Shakespeare's time period did not play a big a role in society. But they were oftern very powerful when married to a powerful man or coming from a powerful family. Desdemona became more powerful by marrying Othello. She may not have the direct command over soldiers but she can for sure influence her husband to act in her interest.
Desdemona could or will (we will see) use this influence on Othello to turn things in her favour.
This is definetly a good question. I'd have to say I agree with both winifred and adam about two things. First of all it is very true that women played a minor or less important role in lofe other than making babies, so I guess you could say that shakespeare was being very bold by making desdemona such a strong woman. But then Shakespeare seemed to like the idea of being somewhat controversial. In shakespeares plays, women often seem to be in the middle of some kind of mess. Whether it be an implication in murder or disobeing their parents and ending up dead. I wonder why this is?
For the female characters in Othello, I don't think they really speak what is really on their mind. It's like Desdemona is putting on sort of an act because she seems to be unsure of if she really loves Othello. If she was sort of having a relationship with Rodrigo then suddenly fall in love with Othello, it's kind of odd. Then comes Cassio and she comes to be flattered by his compliments. Obviously comliments are nice but she was sort of flirting back to him. The women also seem to have a very powerful stance in Shakespear's work because they seem to be the ones that cause the conflicts between the men. Another question comes up to that as well..
Was there more of a popularity of men then women? Was there not enough women to go around for the men and why would only particular women be so valued and special?
Like "Stephanie" and others I've never really thought of the female characters because they don't play a prominent role in the play. I'm curious to see the rest of Emilia's character unfold because she never questioned why Iago wanted Desdemona's handkerchief and I want to see if she is just as decietful as Iago.
Wow, flashing_lights really took a different spin on their answer. I'd have to say that, for the most part, I disagree. However, I definitely agree about the women being the main cause of conflict (in Othello, at least). Their roles are small but important, paralleling real women of that time.
There aren't very many women in this play to begin with and so far Desdemona is the only one to show some sort of control and strength. As most have already said she denied her father to be with Othello, and she is also trying to defend Cassio and change Othello's mind. Emilia as we read on, see that she is a bit weak towards Iago, for she does what he says and doesn't directly question him about it too much. Looking through the book I haven't really found anything strong to see what type of character Bianca is. I don't believe there are very many women dominated books that Shakespeare has written because back then men played all the roles.
All of your responses have been amazing! Thanks to everyone who responsed to my question :)
The women seem to be more stable than the men in the play. They are keeping level headed and not acting foolishly like Othello. But on the other hand, they seem to be very easily overpowered. Emilia and Bianca are the more naive ones and are falling for Iago's plot, whereas Desdemona is keeping strong but is still trying to find out what is going on. I want to know how Desdemona handles the situation and how Bianca and Emilia react as well.
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