Compare the presentations of “honest” Iago by directors Jonathan Miller and Trevor Nunn in their productions of “Othello”. Explore how they interpret the deception that lies at the heart of Iago, “I am what I am”, by compari
Natalie Goharriz Compare the presentations of "honest" Iago by directors Jonathan Miller and Trevor Nunn in their productions of "Othello". Explore how they interpret the deception that lies at the heart of Iago, "I am what I am", by comparing three key scenes or soliloquies. I have chosen three extracts from Shakespeare's "Othello" to compare the presentations of Iago portrayed by different directors; Act I Scene i, Act I Scene iii, and Act V Scene ii. I am going to start with the first scene from the BBC video, directed by Jonathan Miller. The setting and costumes differ to those in Nunn's version. There is little lighting, maybe adding to Iago's deception. He is played by Bob Hoskins, a very vibrant, expressive character; full of contempt and bitterness towards Othello, and always very passionate about what he is talking about. His envy comes through in many scenes, especially this first one. He puts on a posh voice when speaking to Brabantio, like a disguise, as part of his deception, which shows he is having fun getting Othello into trouble when he really shouldn't be. "Awake! What, ho, Brabantio! Thieves, thieves! Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags! Thieves, thieves!" He is winding Brabantio up and manipulating the truth, using bestial imagery and coarse language when talking about Othello, like 'old black ram' and 'Barbary horse'. He hides
With close reference to the representation of female characters in the first three chapters of the White Devil write about the representation of women.
With close reference to the representation of female characters in the first three chapters of the White Devil write about the representation of women. John Webster writes of three Female characters in his play 'The White Devil;' Isabella, Vittoria and Cornelia, only one of which playing a major role. This character weighting may be an initial clue to the under representation of women in the play which is dominated by male characters. Vittoria Corobona represents a strong lustful character, who uses her sexuality to persuade other characters. She is shown to break the stereotype of a 'mistress' and stands on her own two feet giving an impression of a strong wilful character, which would only have been found in male characters at the time. However it may be questionable as to her strength as a character, as she is manipulated into having an affair which she may not have thought otherwise about. We can gain great insight into the representation of her character through the words and actions of the male characters. Lodovicio's opening speech finds him blaming his definition of evil from 'great enemies' to feminine virtues, 'that right whore' (I 8-9) 'a devouring she wolf' (I, 8-9) In Act 1 scene two, Vittoria shows herself to be excersing her sexual nature, she talks in sexual puns in relation to her husband, 'I carved him at supper-time' (I, ii 125) Lines 202 onwards
The portrait of the Hero of Our Time, as defined by Mikhail Lermontov.
Val Vinokurov Major Russian Novels Maxwell Pingeon Mini-Essay The portrait of the Hero of Our Time, as defined by Mikhail Lermontov, is actually that of a villain. Though, to be accurate, not of a single person but rather "of the vices of our whole generation in their ultimate development."1 And even the most conventional of villains, as François Truffaut once put it, "always has a reason."2 Pechorin, as a "superfluous man" disenchanted from a mediocre society represents the "darkly heroic" characters that pervade Russian literature--in the vein of such characters as Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and Turgenev's Bazarov. Notwithstanding Pechorin's romantic sensibilities, his nihilism and negation of basic morality place him in an ambiguous no-man's-land between the Byronic hero as noble outlaw and the simple opportunist. He is just as easily sympathized with as he is condemned and to call Pechorin a common villain would be simply naïve, in light of the romantic qualities, charisma, and savoir-faire that allow any reader to empathize with him on some level. Pechorin's appeal stems from the honesty with which he accepts these ambiguities in his character that sets him apart from the other members of his class who are comfortable living out their superfluous lives amidst the frivolity of decorum. These contradictions are plainly acknowledged by Pechorin. "I was born with a
The play "Othello the Moor of Venice," is one of Shakespeare's great tragedies. That being so, for every tragedy, there is the tragic hero- a man that is, at bottom, truly honorable and good
Kaitlin Weaver Dr. S. Scott English 101.067 29 November 2005 Paradise Lost in Venice The play "Othello the Moor of Venice," is one of Shakespeare's great tragedies. That being so, for every tragedy, there is the tragic hero- a man that is, at bottom, truly honorable and good, but plagued by a flaw that causes his fateful undoing. The question then arises whether there is sufficient evidence to all-together condemn Othello as a malevolent and innately evil man, or such evidence that he was simply deceived by Iago's treachery and should be excused for his actions. Yet, as the play unfolds, it is clear that no such solid line can be drawn. That is, we are given evidence that rather suggests that Othello's dynamic role as the tragic hero manipulates the very virtue of his greatness to his demise. It is Othello's passion, the same one that makes him a great general and noble husband, that sparks his jealousy and leads to his fall and that of those around him. The image first given of Othello and those throughout much of the play provide abundant evidence of Othello's virtue. A passionate and dedicated man, Othello exceeds in all that he does. He is not only a warrior and the general in the army, but a man respected by his contemporaries. The senator endears him as "the valiant Moor" (I.III.47-48) and by the governor, "gentle signior" (I.III.50). We see that Othello has
Adoration of the Mini.
Critical Essay Past Paper 2003 Lewis Millen Adoration of the Mini In the following essay I will exam how in 'The Adoration of the Mini 'the author uses the theme of conflict to explore another side to the characters and how this arises. I will do this by using description of characters, key incidents and setting. Firstly, there are two main characters, the first being the daughter and the second being the father. The whole story revolves around the relationship between these two and develops from an early point that they have not been in contact for some time and there is a certain degree of resentment between the two. The daughter is still in her youth and seems to be made out of place when visiting her father at an old peoples hospital. When she first approaches her father and initialises a conversation, her father takes no notice to her being there. This shows how the author has established a sense of angst between the two. A possible disagreement between the two in the past which led to there relationship breaking down. This is the first point of conflict. The father obviously shows a certain contempt towards his daughter, for one reason or another. The daughter, seeming some what uneasy about the situation continues to talk with no answer but eventually her father replies but says something completely off topic. This starts the connection between the two which leads
Honest Iago?
Honest Iago In Othello, the evilest of protagonists Iago, is able to make himself seem noble and honest by means of skillful manipulation of language. A puppeteer of the mind, Iago pulls the strings of each character, thus exploiting their weaknesses with an armory of verbal weapons. In his speeches he reveals himself to the audience to be a master of connotative and metaphoric language, provocative imagery, meaningful repetition, subtle hesitation--all wrapped together with hopes of executing his revengeful plot. What makes Iago is so influential is that he posses the attribute of being a great liar. With out any proof Iago can have those around him hanging on every last syllable. Iago's powerful persuasion techniques are awakened very early on in the play when Iago rouses Barbantio in the middle of the night carrying on about thieves. All Iago had to do was inform Barbantio of Othello and Desdemona's elopement. In the evil realm of Iago, this was not an option. He needed to portray an attitude of grave disturbance so that he could worry Barbantio about Othello. Iago's master plan was focused on destroying the Moor and he seized upon this opportunity to damage the Moor's character with the concerned father-in-law. In this first speech Iago puts vivid imagery into Barbantio's mind that disturbs him deeply, as it does any human. "Your heart is burst, you have lost half your
…and Have We Not Affections? Research in to feminist theory in Shakespeares' Othello and Hamlet.
Airica Rushing English 316 Shakespeare Research Paper ...AND HAVE WE NOT AFFECTIONS? In both feminist theory and Shakespearean criticism, questions of sexuality have consistently been conflicted with questions of gender and gender bias. Feminist theory has been enormously influential in putting issues of sexuality and sexual bias on the critical agenda of Shakespearean text. In particular, the issue of sexual bias in Shakespearean drama can be summed up as simply, male anxiety about female sexuality. In both Othello the Moor of Venice and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Feminist criticism proves useful in revealing the bias and anxiety that occurs in the plays with regards to the female characters. In Shakespearean drama, what engenders the female body is her sexuality. Shakespearean drama idealizes the woman who is "subject to the male gaze; she is the reflector and guarantor of male identity" (Callaghan 14). Hence the male anxiety about women's independence, for her liberty puts masculine self-estimation at risk. In Othello the Moor of Venice, the need to suppress the anxieties that female sexuality engenders is tragically manipulated into the murder of the women who brings about those anxieties. Othello is both emotionally vulnerable to Desdemona and even ambivalent about women in general. It is these anxieties alone which cause Othello to be subject to Iago's
A close reading exercise discussing and evaluating A piece from Shakespeare's 'Othello'.
Suzanne Parry 03056922 A close reading exercise discussing and evaluating A piece from Shakespeare's 'Othello'. On first looking at this piece from Shakespeare's play, 'Othello', most people might afraid of the language and of not understanding what is going on. Some come to love his work and others choose to never embark on a piece by Shakespeare again. However, it is possible to see the works of Shakespeare in a new light or a different direction. This piece of writing is an attempt to lift some of the clouds through the beliefs and theory of Levi- Strauss and Ferdinand de Saussure. While using the extract from Othello, we will try to see how these theories work. In the private soliloquies of Othello that is given as the extract, we find that the theory of Levi-Strauss is present here. All through the play, there are opposites. However, in this part, it is highlighted between the two characters. On the first hand, we have the bad Othello, who for the most part of the play has been a hero character, now he has to do something that is considered wrong. In contrast, we have his wife, Desdemona, lying peacefully asleep, unaware of the things that Othello is saying. The innocence and goodness of Desdemona shines through out of the words of Othello, who through out the play has spoken clearly and purposefully, now becomes confused and indecisive. '..........When I have
Explain your interpretation of Iago's character and role in the play so far.
By Tom Fowler Explain your interpretation of Iago's character and role in the play so far I think it is easy to see that Iago is a horrible person from the start of the play. Iago is manipulative, scheming and nasty. I will now use evidence to support my ideas for this. 'And I - God bless the mark - his Moorship's ancient.' (L32.A1.S1) This quote is about Iago not being made lieutenant but being Othello's ancient. Shakespeare shows us that Iago is very unhappy about this. We can see that Iago refers to Othello as 'his Moorship'. This shows that Iago does not like Othello because he refers to him as a Moor and not as Othello. I think Iago feels that he is too good to be Othello's ancient because he said 'God bless the mark' which means God help me. This shows Iago can not believe he is going to work for Othello. 'I follow him to serve my turn upon him' (L42.A1.S1) This quote is from Iago talking to Roderigo about why he is going to be Othello's ancient. We can see that Iago said he is going to 'serve my turn upon him.' This shows us that the reason he is working for Othello is so that he can take revenge on him. This once again shows us that Iago is a nasty person. Iago want's to take revenge on Othello because he was not made lieutenant. 'Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago.' (L57.A1.S1) This quote shows that Iago said that if he were Othello, he would not want to be
Analyze how the title of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" relates to the story itself.
In this essay I will analyze how the title of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" relates to the story itself. I will do this by looking closely at the use of these words as well as the use of "good man" and 'good woman" through out the short story. I will look at these words with special regard to tone and motivation. I will argue that Flannery O'Connor uses this as a title for her short story in a rather hopeless way as it comes across that; in fact, there are no good people, let alone men, in the world. I will also argue that it comes across that, if any thing, the best people are those that we least expect to be in any way good. The short story was written at a time of extreme moral change and upheaval in America and this comes through within the story in several ways. A good example of this is at Red Sammy's, where The Grandmother first uses the words "a good man", when The Grandmother talks to Red Sammy about the state of people at that time. She seems to recall halcyon days when people were all good and there were no problems in the world. She then calls Red Sammy a "good man", and promptly says that she trusts no one as if a good man cannot be trusted. She calls Red Sammy a "good man" despite the fact that he is awful to his wife and very dismissive. The reason that she calls him a "good man" is unfounded as in fact he has just been terribly stupid and trusting and given