Shakespeare I-Fall 2017

by Alyssa Schaefer, Blogging Circle #1

Upon finishing Othello, I was really intrigued by the myth of the handkerchief in the play. In the beginning of the play, Brabanzio believes Othello to have used some sort of witchcraft to woo his daughter: “Judge me the world if ‘tis not gross in sense/That thou hast practised on her with foul charms,/Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals/That weakens motion” (1.2 73-76). Othello is accused of otherworldly means to have won over Desdemona and, although he argues against it, he admits that the handkerchief he gives her is made from “a charmer” (3.4 55). As we discussed in class, the handkerchief only has as much significance as certain characters assign to it. Yet, throughout the play I believe it signifies a character’s betrayal. Emilia gives it to Iago (thus betraying Desdemona), Cassio asks Bianca to replicate it (leading to Bianca feeling cheated on) and it’s Desdemona who pays with her life for Othello’s feelings of her infidelity.

When relaying the history of the handkerchief according to the Charmer, Othello tells Desdemona “if she lost it,/Or made a gift of it, my father’s eye/Should hold her loathed” (3.4 58-60). As Desdemona believes the handkerchief to be lost and Othello thinks she has given it to Cassio, it’s interesting that the Charmer’s prophecy comes to fruition at the end of the play. It’s all because of the handkerchief that Othello believes he has proof of her cheating.

When comparing the handkerchief’s prophecy to the “song of willow” (4.3 27) that Desdemona sings, I think both tell tales of tragedy. Just as the charmer’s prophecy rings true, so does the willow song. “She was in love, and he she loved proved mad/And did forsake her” (4.3 26-27). I can’t help but wonder if Desdemona knew her love for Othello would lead to her doom or if she was truly blinded by her goodness. Having been hit and yelled at by Othello, didn’t she see something was going terribly wrong? As much as this is a tragedy of Othello, I think Shakespeare was also conveying the dangers of extreme goodness (or in modern terms, “nice guys finish last”). That is not to say I believe Desdemona was ignorant but that extreme evil or extreme goodness can lead to tragic ends.

As good as Desdemona is, Iago represents the complete opposite of her in his evilness. In class, we have often questioned what Iago’s motivations are for his betrayal. What position will he assume if there is no Othello to serve under? Even at the very end of the play, when his true form is revealed, the audience does not get the satisfaction of knowing his motives. In fact, he literally commits himself to silence: “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know./From this time forth I never will speak a word” (5.2 309-310). It’s one of the most frustrating things when reading this play that such evil exists with no outright motivation. Shakespeare didn’t have the medical terminology we use today, but I think he would argue that sometimes there is no motivation. As Iago declares, we only know what we “know” and the audience will have to be satisfied with that. Like the real tragedies of today, we cannot provide an explanation for every evil act.

by Meg Melvin, Blogging Circle #6

This week “Fake Love” by Drake came on my radio and I noticed some strong parallels to Othello. When I pictured Othello singing this song I not only laughed, but it made me realize the constant irony in the story. I thought I would share some of the lines that informed my thinking. In the first verse Drake says, “I got fake people showin’ fake love to me/ Straight up to me face.” This is something Othello could definitely say in a modern rendition of the play. He would say this about Desdemona, but the irony is that it should be said about Iago. “Straight up to my face” is the perfect way to describe Iago’s duplicity to Othello. In Drake’s next verse the paranoia of Othello is heard. He says, “somethin’ ain’t right when we talkin/ Somethin’ ain’t right when we talking’.” The repetition reminded me of the way Othello acts right before he “falls into a trance” over the thought of Desdemona’s infidelity (4.1.41). Drake goes on to sing, “Look like you hidin’ your problems/Really you never was solid.” This line reminded me of how every doubt Othello has about Desdemona is based on presumptions and “looks” instead of facts. One of these presumptions is based on the words of Desdemona’s father (and later echoed by Iago in 3.3.204) that if she breaks faith with her father she will not be “solid” for anyone. While Othello plots the murder of his wife he has an attitude towards Desdemona that reflects something like Drake’s lines, “you won’t never get to run me.” The irony here is that at this point Iago completely “runs” Othello. Othello says he will kill her with poison, and immediately Iago says, “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed” (4.1.195). Drake’s third verse again voices something Othello would say and reminded me of his complete misdirection of sentiments. Othello would totally say Cassio “smile[s] in my face/ whole time… [he] wanna take my place.” Again, the irony is that Iago wants to take Othello’s place, and creates a “vibe switch like night and day” in Othello to turn him against the people who are loyal to him. Another “vibe switch” could be seen in Othello’s tumble into hopeless jealously after his original claim, “’Tis not to make me jealous to say my wife is fair” (2.2.181). This connection to “Fake Love” made me happy because it could also be turned it into a lesson about the difference between the information the characters know and what readers know. Also through this connection I began to think how interesting it is that dramatic irony can be used both for comic and tragic affect. Perhaps this is because it accentuates the frustration that the tragedy could be avoided and highlights the absurdity in comedy. What do you guys think? I hope to teach high school English some day and I would just love to hear about any pop culture connections that you guys think are relevant to teaching Shakespeare!

by Shelly Karan, Blogging Circle #4

The character of Othello has grasped my attention more so than any other of Shakespeare’s characters. Unlike many of the more vapid characters of his comedies, Othello is very deep and complex. He has issues that go beyond simple romance and vanity. One distinctive trait of Othello is his characterization as isolated. Othello is visibly isolated from the other characters by his physical stature and the color of his skin.Throughout the play, Othello is often referred to either ambiguously to a “he” or “him” with racial slurs, and not his name. These include “the Moor” (I.i.57), “the thick-lips” (I.i.66), “an old black ram” (I.i.88), and “a Barbary horse” (I.i.113). Throughout the entirety of the play, Othello is exoticized and portrayed as an outsider. Othello’s relationship with his wife, Desdemona, seems to be built on his exotic qualities. Othello does not deny this and recalls Desdemona’s father inviting him over to tell his life tale. He explains how he woo-ed his wife with tales of struggle, strife, and war are so captivating that these exotic tales enchant even the duke. Othello getting sent to Cypress seems to be crucial to the development of his character as an outsider. While in Venice, he is a revered soldier and leader; in Cypress he is isolated from this world of glory. In fact, Cypress seems to serve as a metaphor for Othello’s isolation. As Iago’s influence over Othello increases, we see this great character receding into further and further isolation. As he sees his world crashing around him, Othello begins retreating into a state of instability. Earlier in the play he scoffed as the idea of his possessing any magical ability but as the play evolves he begins to internalize the racism he experiences. A gift, which he gave, Desdemona as a token of his love becomes a spell-bound item that was charmed by a witch. His speech, which was one noble and proud, regresses to that of a madman. When in the beginning of the play, Othello was able to use language so elequently despite denying it, by scene 4 his rambling is reminiscent of Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Iago uses  isolation to his advantage. It is his tactic against all his enemies, as well as Othello. Iago has a bizarrely intimate relationship with many of the characters, which works to his advantage as he aims to manipulate them with different lies and stories. This is most prevelent with Othello, he even has Othello hiding in the darkness to see the false proof of Iago’s lies. Ultimately this isolation truly leads to madness and this leads to Othello’s suicide.

 

by Christina Tortorici, “The Denmark Dames” Blogging Circle

In Shakespeare’s “Othello,” the concept of jealousy fueled by female infidelity is a prevalent theme of this work. With the newlyweds Othello and Desdemona, this theme is manipulated around them by Iago due to his jealousy of Cassio. For example, in Act 1.1 Iago is envious, saying to Roderigo: “This counter-caster,/ He, in good time, must his lieutenant be/ And I, bless the mark, his moorship’s ensign,” significant because Iago’s lower position conjures up his ultimate plan to manipulate both Othello and Cassio (lns. 29-31, pg. 2,085). With Desdemona, Iago references the first hint of female infidelity where he says: “She that being angered, her revenge being nigh,/Bade her wrong stay and her displeasure fly;/She that in wisdom never was so frail/To change the cod’s head for the salmon’s tail;/She that could think and never disclose her mind,/See suitors following and not look behind;/She was a wight, if ever such wights were” (lns. 148-154, pgs. 2,103-2,104). The term “wight” is a playful spin on the white race, Iago referencing the racial difference between Othello and Desdemona. This unnatural pairing contributes as to how quickly Iago is able to manipulate Othello into believing Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio (Cassio and Desdemona are both racially white, a more “natural” couple for their time period). Jumping ahead to Act 3.3, Iago tells Othello his “thoughts”: “Look to your wife; observe her well with Cassio./ Wear your eyes thus: not jealous, nor secure./ I would not have your free and noble nature/ Out of self-bounty be abused. Look to’t./ I know our country disposition well:/ In Venice they do let heaven see the pranks/ They dare not show their husbands; their best conscience/ Is not to leave’t undone but kept unknown” (lns. 195- 202, pg. 2,121). Although there are many examples where Iago’s warning to Othello to not display his jealousy that he naturally possesses, have gone astray in Othello’s numerous fits of madness, this line is important because it plants the seed into Othello’s mind that Desdemona might not be as loyal to him as he assumes. This is even symbolically represented by the loss of the handkerchief (in reality, Iago intentionally places it in Cassio’s chamber to implement him in his revenge schemes), but to Othello it is a sign that Desdemona gave his prize away as a token of her infidelity. According to Othello, “To lose’t or give’t away were such perdition/ As nothing else could match,” the handkerchief is perceived to be a family heirloom that Desdemona promised to guard and protect when Othello was still wooing her (lns. 64-65, pg. 2,129). Now, in Othello’s ill mind, he perceives her carelessly losing it as her essentially throwing away the validity of their marriage and love. While Desdemona conceives these thoughts as signs of mental illness and falsity, this only fuels Othello’s jealousy more, empowering Iago through his repetitious utterings of the derogatory term ‘whore’ and desires to kill Desdemona on just storytelling.

by Danielle Koppie, “The Romeo and Juliets” Circle

As we already know, two primary topics in Twelfth Night are deception and confusion—so many people throughout the play pretend to be other people or become confused by other characters who look alike. I became particularly interested in this when I was listing different situations in which deception and confusion occur, and I realized that the lower-class characters are the only ones who are participating in the deception. Additionally, they not only bend gender as we have discussed—they also bend class status. The lower-class characters are the ones who are disguising themselves, not the upper-class characters. For example, Viola, after losing all of her possessions in the shipwreck, dresses up as a man and deceives both Duke Orsino and Olivia in order to live in the new country until she “had made mine own occasion mellow / What [her] estate is” (1.2.42-43). In another situation, Maria pretends to be Olivia by copying her handwriting in order to trick Malvolio into thinking she is in love with him. The effects that deception has on these upper-class characters (placing Malvolio in that category) is immense, and it may even be a commentary on the intelligence of lower-class members versus the irrationality of upper-class members. Duke Orsino insists that Viola/Cesario help him win over Olivia, but Olivia is deceived as well and falls in love with this imaginary Cesario. Malvolio also instantly falls for the trick, insisting that he “do not / now fool [himself] to let imagination jade [him], for every reason excites to this—that [his] lady loves [him]” (2.5.142-144). Despite having little evidence to support this conclusion, he still manages to convince himself that Olivia is into him. We see something extremely similar occur when Olivia begins to fall for Cesario. Even though Cesario blatantly states that there is no way s/he will ever love Olivia—”I have one heart, one bosom, and one truth / And that no woman has, nor never none / Shall mistress be of it” (3.1.149-151)—Olivia essentially convinces herself that Cesario loves her and arranges for them to be married. Clearly in these situations, the lower-class characters are the ones with level heads and a complete understanding of what is happening around them, meanwhile the upper-class characters are completely blinded to all of the dishonesty surrounding them.
Another way to look at this might also be that the lower class has to pretend to be who they are not in order to benefit themselves, because there is no other way to do so. Clearly Viola is doing this, because she has lost all of her possessions and since she is a woman, the best way for her to get ahead is to pretend to be a man. As a man, she has a better chance of socially advancing and gaining her wealth back. I would also say that Maria, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian trick Malvolio because he is extremely rude to them, and the only way they can get back at him is by hiding their identities and fooling him. These are both ideas that I have not exactly developed fully yet (especially the second one), but I am interested in hearing what anyone has to say about them. Is there enough evidence to support these ideas in the text, or is it too much of a stretch? I know we talked about how Shakespeare often comments on class hierarchy in his plays, so this idea naturally came into my head while reading.

by Michael Tonkin, Blogging Circle #2

The theme of ‘the lunatic, the lover, and the poet’ is certainly extremely prevalent throughout Twelfth Night in the sense that a kind of ‘madness’ inflicts many of the characters in the play. Particularly, Malvolio’s experience shows how the use of words is central to this madness. The concept here is that words can be used to anyone’s advantage, but can just as easily confuse the mind and twists meanings so well that words cease having meaning. Feste highlights this conundrum well in his lines at the beginning of Act III, when he states this in regards to explaining his reason for questioning:

Troth, sir, I can yield you none without words; and
words are grown so false, I am loath to prove
reason with them.

I found this line telling because it shows the paradox of using words to explain yourself. Feste knows that his power does not lie in wealth or in his bloodline, instead, he gains his influence through knowledge, and being able to entertain by presenting the truth in an insightful way. However, he also knows that this ability is almost an act of deception. Rather than presenting a list of facts, Feste has the skill of taking facts and making people look at them in another way. In the same scene, Feste managed to twist words on their head in a humorous way in his own defense. When Viola tries to degrade him by mentioning he is Olivia’s fool, he retorts:

No, indeed, sir; the Lady Olivia has no folly: she
will keep no fool, sir, till she be married;

Essentially he twists the words to make fun of husbands, which at the time Feste is likely under the impression that Viola is Cesario, potentially Olivia’s future husband. We see this happen in more depth when Feste begins to interact with Malvolio. Malvolio calls for the fool, demanding his help, and asserting that he is just as sane as Feste so he ought to be let out. Feste retorts slyly saying:

But as well? then you are mad indeed, if you be no
better in your wits than a fool.

Again, Feste turns the words on their head, but here he makes a really important point about the previously referred to ‘madness.’ He shows that madness is a subjective affliction, essentially proposing the question: Who gets to decide who’s mad and who isn’t? Especially when so little of madness has to do with evidence, and so much of it has to do with the opinion of those who are calling you mad. The power lies in words, and the way they are used to ones advantage. Surely, Feste and Malvolio are no idiots. The difference between them lies is their passion. Malvolio who is otherwise extremely sane albiet a little stiff, has grown mad because these words involve something he cares about deeply, his love for Olivia. Surely, if Feste had such passion, his words too would sound insane. And this is ultimately the point that Feste succeeds in making, even though he is being sarcastic. It’s that nothing separates the madman from the sane man besides what everyone else thinks about them.

by Maria Evanko, Blogging Circle #4

Despite woman not being allowed to preform on the main stage, they serve quite a significant role within Twelfth Night. In fact, without them there would be no play, for without them there would be no plot. Viola, a woman who was rescued form a shipwreck has, in my opinion, the biggest influence as to how the plot develops. I find her thinking of dressing like a man in efforts to work for Orsino to be quite deceptive and done with haste as she decides she will dress as a man and work for Orsino in order to get closer to him. During her conversation with the Captain, Viola takes command and expresses her bizarre and somewhat morally unjust plan aloud

“prithee, and I’ll pay thee bounteously,
Conceal me what I am, and be my aid
For such disguise as haply shall become
The form of my intent. I’ll serve this duke:
Thou shall present me as an eunuch to him:
It may be worth thy pains; for I can sing
And speak to him in many sorts of music
That will allow me very worth his service.
What else may hap to time I will commit;
Only shape thou thy silence to my wit.(2.1.100)”

Due to her craving to work for Orsino based on her desires of gaining his love, she is willing to change herself in order to find out his needs and wants from a woman to compete with his true love Olivia. In desperation for Orsino’s love, Viola is willing to go to extremes by pretending to be a man just to get close to Orsino.  This poses the question; is Shakespeare commenting on what it means to be a man?  Viola has changed her dress and hair and is passed off as a man quite easily. How can this be? Is he saying that man is created from woman, for they are the core that keeps them going? Perhaps, that observation is a stretch. I  find it quite odd that in the play a woman cross dresses as a man, while in reality during that time period the men would dress as woman and play their parts on stage. I think Shakespeare is also poking fun at male intelligence for he does not have his male characters see through Cesario’s façade.  Even though the male characters feel something is not quite right about Cesario with his woman like qualities they never question his gender. The role of Viola/Cesario allows the reader to get caught up within this love triangle, which almost seems normal. As I started to read deeper into the play I forgot that Cesario was Viola. Maybe that was Shakespeare’s goal all along.

To further develop my argument that Shakespeare is commenting on what it means to be a man. and man holds greater status in the world than women all we have to do is look at Olivia’s character. Olivia has the attention of two men as the play opens, the Duke Orsino and Sir Andrew. Unimpressed and unbothered by her two possible love interests, Olivia decides to mourn seven years for her late brother; therefore, delaying her fate as having lower status then her husband when she chooses one.  We discussed in class that this could be a way for Olivia to hold onto her power, because in that time period it was common for married woman to be under their husbands control. To connect Twelfth Night and Midsummers Night Dream, both works challenge woman roles within society.

by Gabby Figueroa, “The Denmark Dames” Circle

I find the way that Shakespeare plays with identity in Twelfth Night to be incredibly interesting. Personally, it seems to me that Shakespeare is pointing out that the titles and labels that we give to each other are much more arbitrary than we might want to acknowledge. The society that we set up acts as if these titles and labels make hard-line distinctions between people. When in reality, the distinction is in how much we buy into those differences. I wonder if Shakespeare is specifically trying to call attention to social constructs of social hierarchy and gender roles? I also wonder if this might be a slight caution on following the ‘rules’ of societal identity too closely.

There are so many characters in this play that “dissemble” themselves, as the fool says. Specifically, people adopting new roles, or having new roles thrust upon them, that afford them significantly more power than they previously had. Viola takes on the role of a man to keep herself safe. The fool tricks Malvolio into believing he is a priest, and the only one able to secure his freedom. All it takes is a new outfit and a silly voice for Malvolio to be taken in by this fake priest character, effectively flipping their previous power balance. It’s a funny scene but also unnerving to a degree. It takes so little for the previous balance to be thrown completely. Even less so for the situation between Sebastian and Olivia. Sebastian is mistaken for a man who does not even exist (Cesario) and gains a powerful marriage because of it. All of these people are launched, unexpectedly, into roles that then never anticipated. But because the other characters believe in their roles, their power is real. Even if their identities are fake. Our best example of this is Viola. She creates a male version of herself that is so compelling to most of the other characters that she ends up in a love triangle. She goes from an orphan to the object of a rich woman’s affections. She accomplishes this with a few lies, half-truths and a beard. If Viola can so easily mimic maleness to such a degree than what does that say about our actual construction of maleness in society. I highly doubt that Shakespeare had trans individuals in mind when he wrote this but he accidentally makes a very good case for gender as a social construct. If someone looks like a man, ‘acts’ like a man, identifies as a man, and is accepted by society as a man is he not a man? We are still having this argument to this day, and Shakespeare outlines one of this biggest arguments that trans activist point out when having arguments with people that believe trans identities are not real. That your lived reality is different from your assigned label.

It really feels like Shakespeare is doing a bit of satire on society’s dependence on these labels. He’s pointing out how much they determine the path of our lives but how fragile the system is if someone is just bold enough to test the boundaries of those titles.

by Amanda Jennings, Blogging Circle 5

One of our questions on Tuesday in class included four questions lumped into one, and three of those questions really struck me. The questions that made me really think were: Is theater an arena of abuse and cruelty? Is it necessary to have someone deceived in order to create dramatic illusion? Is art a form of madness?!? These are questions that of course most people probably have their own opinions on, myself included. I’m not a theater geek; I’ve never seen a play on Broadway; and I haven’t seen a play since I saw my high school perform Mary Poppins at least 12 years ago. I am however still entitled to my opinions on these questions.

The first question seemed rather preposterous to me, so it struck me in a negative way. The Oxford English Dictionary defines abuse as, “Improper usage; a corrupt practice or custom; esp. one that has become chronic,” and “Wrong or improper use (of something), misuse; misapplication; perversion.” There are many other definitions but those are the two closely related to what most people would see as the definition of abuse. Cruelty is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as, “The quality of being cruel; disposition to inflict suffering; delight in or indifference to the pain or misery of others; mercilessness, hard-heartedness: esp. as exhibited in action. Also, with pl., an instance of this, a cruel deed.” Nobody is forced to perform in theatrical performances of anything, they audition, and if they don’t like a part they’re given they can decide not to act in the performance.

Now onto the next question, this, of course ties in with Twelfth Night, and the title of my blog post. In the very first scene of the play, Viola decides to disguise herself as a young man and will go by the name of Cesario. Viola’s original plan was to become a servant to Olivia, but when that’s out of the question, she decides to disguise herself and serve Duke Orsino. While serving Orsino as Cesario, Viola must deliver love messages to Viola from Orsino. Let’s just take a moment to think of all the deceit that’s happening here: Viola disguises herself as a teenage boy, Cesario; Cesario serves Duke Orsino; Cesario delivers love messages to Olivia. The only person who truly knows about Viola’s disguise is the Captain. Orsino and Oliva are both completely unaware of who Cesario truly is. The question remains: is it necessary to have someone deceived in order to create dramatic illusion? I don’t think it’s necessary for someone to be deceived in order to create dramatic illusion, but I do think it adds a certain element. From the perspective of someone who has read the play, there wouldn’t be any dramatic illusion knowing exactly who Cesario is because the watcher would not be deceived. I do believe that from the perspective of someone who has never read the play that deceit and dramatic illusion would go hand in hand.

Is art a form of madness? I think this question is solely a matter of opinion. I personally think that some of Shakespeare’s works are madness (fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, disguises in Twelfth Night), but I wouldn’t say art is a form of madness as much as madness can be expressed in the form of art.