Wow, fourth post in September already, and we've come to yet again talk about Othello. Jeez, hopefully next month we'll get a new choice. Anyways, let's get right into it.
So our first passage comes from Daniel J. Vitkus, and his article titled: Turning Turk in Othello: The Conversion and Damnation of the Moor. Located in the second paragraph on page 18 of the article and page 161 of the Shakespeare Quarterly it was posted in:
We may infer from Iago's comment at 4.2.216 that Othello is a native of Mauritania, but the play makes it clear from the beginning that Othello is or has become a Christian. Shakespeare may have known from Pory's translation of Leo Africanus that some Moors "are Gentiles which worship Idols; other of the sect of Mahumet; some others Christians; and some Iewish in religion."
Along with this, I found the specific passage in Otherllo referred to in the article and will use that with today's post. Located on page 94 in Act 4, Scene 2, Line 216 it reads:
Iago: ...I mean purpose, courage and valor-this night
show it. If thou the next night following enjoy not
Desdemona, take me from this world with treachery
and devise engines for my life.
Roderigo: Well, what is it? Is it within reason and compass?
Iago: Sir, there is especial commission come from
Venice to depute Cassio in Othello's place.
Roderigo: Is that true? Why, then Othello and Desdemona
return again to Venice?
Iago: O no; he goes to Mauritania and taketh
away with him the fair Desdemona, unless his abode
be lingered here by some accident; wherein
none can be so determinate as the removing of
Cassio.
Though the passage confirms the articles point that Othello is a native of Mauritania, why does the later half of the passage seem more like Iago is explaining that Othello is taking Desdemona there for a lovely getaway?
The article made some excellent points about religion, telling how the Moors weren't all associated to the same views; most were, but there were some who saw something different and would pursue that religions views, much like how Othello is. Vitkus might not have been seeing what Shakespeare had intended, but that doesn't change how his points are important. When we look at the passage itself, it's mainly with the last line by Iago that makes me feel like instead of going for some important guidance or political reason, that Othello is just taking Desdemona there to have sex somewhere different or something. It's a bit extreme, but I can't blame how a character talks in a play that was made somewhere near 400 years ago, that would be impossible to ask the author about. Either way, this passage seems more dirty than religious to me than what Vitkus was aiming for, but that could just be me nitpicking.
Well, pretty short and to the point today, but hope you like it. Hopefully in October my posts will get a little more exciting. I know I'm looking forward to it. Until next time then. ^^
Monday, September 24, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Week 3- Double Othello
So for today's journal entry, I'll be using Othello again as my main literary source. However, I'm essentially using it for both my sources today. The first is from a review of Othello called Unproper Beds: Race, Adultery, and the Hideousness of Othello, by Michael Neill, appearing on page 385 of Shakespeare Quarterly.
Even more striking is the fact that these images were often designed to draw readers into texts whose bowdlerizing maneuvers aimed, as far as possible, to conceal everything that their frontispieces offer to reveal.
The second quote of course comes from Othello since that is where I keep getting my good points from. Coming today from page 90 in our books, located in Act 4, Scene 2.
Emilia: Alas, Iago, my lord hath so bewhored her,
Thrown such despite and heavy terms upon her,
That true hearts cannot bear it.
This is integral with the first quote because as it indicated with the first passage, they conceal what they intended to reveal earlier. In the passage from Othello, Emilia is telling Iago about the names and words Othello said to Desdemona, but she doesn't explain the whole story to him, so Iago naturally would take Desdemona's side. Depending on the way a person tells a story will determine how it will affect them in the end. How this plays out with future events will only be determined by reading on. Ergo, hiding stuff when telling a story that was revealed earlier does affect the outcome in the end.
Short one today, but I don't know what else to write, so that's it for now. Until next time. ^^
Even more striking is the fact that these images were often designed to draw readers into texts whose bowdlerizing maneuvers aimed, as far as possible, to conceal everything that their frontispieces offer to reveal.
The second quote of course comes from Othello since that is where I keep getting my good points from. Coming today from page 90 in our books, located in Act 4, Scene 2.
Emilia: Alas, Iago, my lord hath so bewhored her,
Thrown such despite and heavy terms upon her,
That true hearts cannot bear it.
This is integral with the first quote because as it indicated with the first passage, they conceal what they intended to reveal earlier. In the passage from Othello, Emilia is telling Iago about the names and words Othello said to Desdemona, but she doesn't explain the whole story to him, so Iago naturally would take Desdemona's side. Depending on the way a person tells a story will determine how it will affect them in the end. How this plays out with future events will only be determined by reading on. Ergo, hiding stuff when telling a story that was revealed earlier does affect the outcome in the end.
Short one today, but I don't know what else to write, so that's it for now. Until next time. ^^
Monday, September 10, 2012
Week 2- Of Gallypots and Cannibals
So the first of today's poem excerpts comes from Jonathan Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room." I don't have page numbers but it is from lines 31 to 36:
With Puppy Water, Beauty's Help
Distill'd from Tripsy's darling Whelp;
Here Gallypots and Vials plac'd,
Some fill'd with washes, some with Paste,
Some with Pomatum, Paints and Slops,
And Ointments good for scabby Chops.
And for the second excerpt, we again go to Othello. This time in a conversation between Othello himself and the Duke of Venice:
Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven,
It was my hint to speak,--such was the process;
And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders.
I found these two quotes interesting, since they seem to counter one another in terms of the words I put in the title. It makes me wonder if the two could be related in any way, or if comparing gallypots to cannibals is an impossible task?
On one hand, we have the gallypot; which in this passage is used to mean a jar of some sorts. It is also spelled close to the word "gallipot" which is a small pot used by pharmacists to hold medicine. In the passage from poem one, it is used to describe the jars holding various items to clean oneself before returning to a dinner, or a party or some other event to be held, so they are part of the constant quest for beauty, typically sought after by women who have to keep up appearances and care about how they look. Though it can be a vain quest that many undertake, I see it as a piece of illogical insanity, because what everyone calls "beautiful" can vary in any number of ways and make the goal of it almost impossible for others. I don't know how other people view it, but it's just one little dose of insanity in the making when I see these so called gallypots.
Then we have cannibals in the othello excerpt, certifiable crazy people who for one reason or another, consume human flesh to eat. I realize that this isn't the main point of the excerpt, but it was my comparable point and I think it makes sense; cannibalism is just another form of insanity. How or why these people began to partake of human flesh as a meal, I do not know, but I do know that it is something frowned upon by our modern day society, and I'm sure it wasn't all that big either in the time of this poem. It's something that, like the unobtainable goal of everlasting beauty, is beyond a normal person's means to understand and leaves us with many questions. So next time you think about your next haircut or meal, think about just how far some people go with these simple things for their own wants.
There we go, another post down. =( I'm not as happy with this one as I am with my first, but I think it still makes a good point to think about, which is what I want. Until next time then, later viewers.
With Puppy Water, Beauty's Help
Distill'd from Tripsy's darling Whelp;
Here Gallypots and Vials plac'd,
Some fill'd with washes, some with Paste,
Some with Pomatum, Paints and Slops,
And Ointments good for scabby Chops.
And for the second excerpt, we again go to Othello. This time in a conversation between Othello himself and the Duke of Venice:
Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven,
It was my hint to speak,--such was the process;
And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders.
I found these two quotes interesting, since they seem to counter one another in terms of the words I put in the title. It makes me wonder if the two could be related in any way, or if comparing gallypots to cannibals is an impossible task?
On one hand, we have the gallypot; which in this passage is used to mean a jar of some sorts. It is also spelled close to the word "gallipot" which is a small pot used by pharmacists to hold medicine. In the passage from poem one, it is used to describe the jars holding various items to clean oneself before returning to a dinner, or a party or some other event to be held, so they are part of the constant quest for beauty, typically sought after by women who have to keep up appearances and care about how they look. Though it can be a vain quest that many undertake, I see it as a piece of illogical insanity, because what everyone calls "beautiful" can vary in any number of ways and make the goal of it almost impossible for others. I don't know how other people view it, but it's just one little dose of insanity in the making when I see these so called gallypots.
Then we have cannibals in the othello excerpt, certifiable crazy people who for one reason or another, consume human flesh to eat. I realize that this isn't the main point of the excerpt, but it was my comparable point and I think it makes sense; cannibalism is just another form of insanity. How or why these people began to partake of human flesh as a meal, I do not know, but I do know that it is something frowned upon by our modern day society, and I'm sure it wasn't all that big either in the time of this poem. It's something that, like the unobtainable goal of everlasting beauty, is beyond a normal person's means to understand and leaves us with many questions. So next time you think about your next haircut or meal, think about just how far some people go with these simple things for their own wants.
There we go, another post down. =( I'm not as happy with this one as I am with my first, but I think it still makes a good point to think about, which is what I want. Until next time then, later viewers.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Week 1 Response- The Joy In Question
My first quote is taken from Wordsworth's poem "Nuns Fret Not at Their Convent's Narrow Room" on page 727.
"Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power."
And my second quote shall be taken from William Shakespeare's "Othello", towards the beginning on pages 8 and 9, spoken through the character Iago.
"...Though that his joy be joy,
Yet throw such changes of vexation on't
As it may lose some color."
I've looked over both these passages and it makes me wonder: Is joy a necessary thing for all people in life, or do some give it up for what they must do?
Taking a look at the first quote, Wordsworth appears to be using this passage to describe how the nuns he is describing relinquish their less than holy ideals and wants in order to carry out their duty as women of god's work, then decrees men as selfish creatures of want, then asks for redemption on our part. Though I agree not everyone is the purest cuts of the cloth, I don't think it's wrong to demonize everyone; I believe that yes, I'm better than some people, but at the same time, I know I'm worse than others. I'll admit that freely, but I wonder how others think of themselves. The other quote takes place in a conversation between Iago and Roderigo, where Iago tells the venetian gentleman about his own goals and reasons for following Othello, then tells him of a plan which appears to be demonizing the father of Othello's wife, to cause confusion and trouble in the royal house so that even the man's joy seems rather dull. I've always had trouble understanding Shakespearian events, but I do know back-stabbing selfishness when I see it, and Iago's spewing it out here. An interesting take on happiness in both forms with these two quotes that is truly curious.
Whether or not someone has compared the two before, I can say this about them; one does a good job for the other. Wordsworth's quote about men being selfish creatures of the want is a good description for Iago in this part, who has his own plans and desires that we will certainly see later in the acts to follow. Iago may have his reasons, but he certainly isn't proving to be a better person than Othello within these first few pages, so giving him freedom and power like in Wordsworth's passage might be a bit of a bad idea. Either way, I find that joy is lopsided in these two passages; whereas one would give it up in the name of duty and grace, and the other would try to ruin the happiness of another to one's own means. The different ways different people think can be fascinatingly reflected when you put them close together.
Well, that's my post for this week. More to follow and I hope you like this one on my opinion. See you all next time.
"Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power."
And my second quote shall be taken from William Shakespeare's "Othello", towards the beginning on pages 8 and 9, spoken through the character Iago.
"...Though that his joy be joy,
Yet throw such changes of vexation on't
As it may lose some color."
I've looked over both these passages and it makes me wonder: Is joy a necessary thing for all people in life, or do some give it up for what they must do?
Taking a look at the first quote, Wordsworth appears to be using this passage to describe how the nuns he is describing relinquish their less than holy ideals and wants in order to carry out their duty as women of god's work, then decrees men as selfish creatures of want, then asks for redemption on our part. Though I agree not everyone is the purest cuts of the cloth, I don't think it's wrong to demonize everyone; I believe that yes, I'm better than some people, but at the same time, I know I'm worse than others. I'll admit that freely, but I wonder how others think of themselves. The other quote takes place in a conversation between Iago and Roderigo, where Iago tells the venetian gentleman about his own goals and reasons for following Othello, then tells him of a plan which appears to be demonizing the father of Othello's wife, to cause confusion and trouble in the royal house so that even the man's joy seems rather dull. I've always had trouble understanding Shakespearian events, but I do know back-stabbing selfishness when I see it, and Iago's spewing it out here. An interesting take on happiness in both forms with these two quotes that is truly curious.
Whether or not someone has compared the two before, I can say this about them; one does a good job for the other. Wordsworth's quote about men being selfish creatures of the want is a good description for Iago in this part, who has his own plans and desires that we will certainly see later in the acts to follow. Iago may have his reasons, but he certainly isn't proving to be a better person than Othello within these first few pages, so giving him freedom and power like in Wordsworth's passage might be a bit of a bad idea. Either way, I find that joy is lopsided in these two passages; whereas one would give it up in the name of duty and grace, and the other would try to ruin the happiness of another to one's own means. The different ways different people think can be fascinatingly reflected when you put them close together.
Well, that's my post for this week. More to follow and I hope you like this one on my opinion. See you all next time.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)