Othello #5

          Throughout Act 3 Iago is slowly molding Othello into a character quite opposite than the perfect-souled one presented at the beginning of the play. Othello’s pure heart is darkly clouded by Iago as Iago feeds him the fictitious tale of Desdemona and Cassio. In this first scene of Act 4, Iago continues the prodding, and it becomes clear that he has pushed Othello over the edge. Othello is utterly convinced that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio, and his anger is overcoming him. Othello’s soul is turning the color of his skin. His emotions come to a climax when he strikes Desdemona, exclaiming, “O, devil, devil!/ If that the earth could teem with woman’s tears,/ Each drop she falls would prove a crocodile” (IV.i.273-5). Not only has Othello physically assaulted Desdemona, but also he has called her a devil and claimed that her crying is not real. All of these actions are completely out of character for the Othello “whom passion could not shake” at the beginning of this play (IV.i.299). However, it is clear that this is not the same Othello. Up to this point in the play, Iago has defeated Othello; evil has defeated good.  

Othello #4

          Before Iago begins influencing Othello, Othello is an honest, trusting man. He loves Desdemona greatly and believes that Cassio is a loyal lieutenant. However, as Othello allows Iago’s words to sink in and take on a life of their own, he is easily manipulated. Iago tells Othello an elaborate story of how Cassio and Desdemona have been having a secret affair. Iago claims that Cassio even told him in his sleep that he was in love with Desdemona. Othello, a trusting man, believes everything that Iago is spewing. He considers Iago to be honorable and therefore, believes this fictitious tale. Othello allows his anger to overcome him: “All my fond love thus do I blow to heaven./ ‘Tis gone./ Arise, black vengeance, from the hollow hell” (III.iii.505-7). Othello takes Iago’s tale at face value and decides that he no longer loves Desdemona. He pledges to destroy not only her but also Cassio and lastly, decides to make Iago the lieutenant. Everything is going as planned for Iago. He has been sent by Othello to kill Cassio; he has the position that he originally wanted, and he has ruined Othello’s marriage, just like it has been rumored that Othello did the same to Iago. He has taken advantage of Othello’s trusting spirit.

Sound and Sense #13

Chapter 13

1.       The better version (a) has the same number of syllables in both lines. It also includes the parallel structure of “your guide” and “your guard”.

2.       Version b is better because it uses the harsh b and d sounds in the second line and uses “Apollo” instead of “Phoebus”, which is a softer sound to accompany the description of music.

3.       Version b is better because it is more cacophonous in describing the harsh croaking. Also, it uses consonance with the “c” sound and the harsh “s” sound.

4.       Version b is better because the first line is more euphonious with the assonance in “low” and “voice” and the rhyming of “bells” and “tells”. Moreover, the assonance with “twilight” and “silent” adds to the pleasantness of the bells.

5.       Version b is better because the soft m and r sounds accompanies the repetitive sound of nature and portray a sense of flowing since the sounds are repeated in all three lines.

6.       Version b is better fitted to the meaning because the lines are discussing the harsh singing of a bird, and the hard sounds of “warbles”, “discordant tones”, and “doleful” emphasize that meaning.

7.       Version b is better because the b and t sounds emphasized in the first line complement the words all describing weapons.  The repetition of the st sound serves the same emphasis in the second line.

8.       Version a is better because the repetition of the soft s sound in both lines accompany the image of hands washing something. Moreover, since the sound is repeated many times, it complements the idea that the hands of Death and Night do this action over and over again.

9.       Version b is better because it uses the soft ll sound in the first line and is more euphonious in the following three lines with the alliteration in the third line and the parallel structure of “to darkness” and “to me” in the last line. Since these lines are describing a calm scene, the lines should be euphonious.

10.   Version a is better because it uses more cacophonous sounds to describe this despicable bug. In the first line alone he uses the hard ch, st, g and b sounds.

Othello #3

Reference the previous blog because of the mix-up we had. You told me just to skip this one, so I am.

Iago's Motives in Othello

During the first act of Othello, Iago begins his plot to destroy Othello. In order to justify his actions, he puts forth many motives:

1. Iago’s first reason for his enmity towards Othello is that Othello wrongfully promoted Cassio ahead of Iago when Iago supposedly deserved the position.
1. “He, in good time, must his lieutenant be,/ And I, God bless the mark, his  Moorship’s ancient” (I.i.34-5).

2. Another motive that Iago puts forth is that Othello may have slept with Iago’s wife, Emilia.
1. “And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets/ ‘Has done my office” (I.iii.430-1).

3. A less apparent motive of Iago’s is that he simply has an evil spirit and enjoys plotting. It is a form of a game for him.
1. “I/ hate the Moor. My cause is hearted; thine hath no/ less reason…If thou canst cuckold him, thou dost/ thyself a pleasure, me a sport” (I.iii.408-412).
4. A motive that Iago slightly alludes to though could be speculation is that he is somewhat jealous that Othello was able to make Desdemona fall in love with him, and therefore, he is plotting to also destroy their marriage.
1. “It/ cannot be that Desdemona should long continue/ her love to the Moor…When she is sated/ with his body she will find the error of her choice” (I.iii.384-394).

Sound and Sense Ch.12 Notes

Chapter 12

Ø  Rhythm: natural rise and fall of language

Ø  In every word of more than one syllable, one or more syllables are accented or stressed

o   Rhetorical stresses- make our intentions clear

Ø  End-stopped line vs. run-on line

o   Caesura pauses in the middle of lines

Ø  The poetic line is the basic rhythmic unit of free verse

Ø  Meter: identifying characteristic of rhythmic language that we can tap our feet to

o   Foot: one accented syllable plus one or two unaccented syllables

§  Iamb- short, long

§  Trochee- long, short

§  Anapest- short, short, long

§  Dactyl- long, short, short

§  Spondee- long, long

o   Stanza: group of lines whose metrical pattern is repeated throughout the poem

o   Metrical variations:

§  Substitution: replacing the regular foot with another one

§  Extrametrical syllables- added at the beginning or end of lines

§  Truncation: omission of an unaccented syllable at either end of a line

Ø  Expected rhythm coincides with meter whereas heard rhythm can diverge

Variation can be introduced by grammatical and rhetorical pauses

The Stranger Essay Outline

The Stranger Essay Outline

Prompt: How does Meursault embody Camus’ absurdist philosophy?

Thesis: Meursault is the perfect embodiment of Camus’ absurdist philosophy through his refusal to construct meaning for his own actions, his indifference to the world’s actions around him, and his lack of faith in God.

1.       Meursault has the peculiar ability to remove his actions from the scope of the world and look at a situation as simply black and white.

a.       “Everything came to a stop there… It was then that I realized that you could either shoot or not shoot” (56).

                                                               i.      Talking about shooting the Arab at the beach when he is with Raymond

                                                             ii.      Doesn’t consider what effect shooting the man will have on his own life

b.      “I answered that… at one time or another all normal people have wished their loved ones were dead” (65).

                                                               i.      Meursault’s response to his lawyer, talking about his mother

                                                             ii.      Disregard for the crime he has committed and just says what is on his mind even though it does not help his case

2.       Through tragedy, pleasures, and all the events in between, Meursault acts in true absurdist fashion, acting as if nothing has changed.

a.       “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t’ know” (3)

b.      “It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now…and that, really, nothing had changed” (24).

                                                               i.      In the face of his mother’s death, Meursault lives his life as if nothing has changed.

                                                             ii.      He never truly expresses any sort of remorse.

c.       “she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” (35).

d.      “Marie…asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to” (41)

                                                               i.      Meursault is completely indifferent to the emotions that Marie is feeling.

                                                             ii.      Even for something such as marriage, he does not express any positive or negative emotions.

3.       Meursault’s lack of faith further portrays him as an absurd character.

a.       “I didn’t believe in God…what he was talking about didn’t interest me” (116).

b.      “I was guilty, I was paying for it, and nothing more could be asked of me” (118).

                                                               i.      Meursault doesn’t believe in God because quite frankly, he doesn’t have many beliefs at all.

                                                             ii.      He doesn’t waste his time thinking about things that don’t directly pertain to his life.

                                                            iii.      His actions are not caused by God, and they won’t be saved by Him either.

The Stranger #5

             During the time lapse between when Meursault is set to receive the death penalty and his sentence is assigned, Meursault states that “there were two other things I was always thinking of: the dawn and my appeal” (112). Though his focus on the dawn seems pretty in line with Meursault’s character that has been portrayed throughout the novel, his focus on the appeal is surprising. For the first time it appears the Meursault actually cares about a decision. He is weighing the pros and cons of each decision in the appeal and having general feelings about each direction the case could go in. He tries to pretend that he has accepted his looming death, saying “whether it was now or twenty years from now, I would still be the one dying” (114). He tries to argue that his forthcoming death does not scare him at all. However in considering the alternate decision in the appeal that the court would decide to set him free, he states, “I would somehow have to cool the hot blood that would suddenly surge through my body and sting my eyes with a delirious joy” (114). This burst of emotion is something completely uncharacteristic of Meursault. It is only in death that he is able to finally show some life. It takes death to finally crack him out of his absurdist shell.