Friday, January 7, 2011

First post

Here's your first post!  Just let me know that you can see this and answer the following question:

What do you know about Othello?

36 comments:

  1. FIRST COMMENT!!!! OOOOOWOOOOOO:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. yes Kaytlin you might have been the first comment. But you didn't answer the question nor say you can see this post =P. well i have can see the post and what i know about othello is he is african american! thats all >.>

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am not sure if thats an answer tanner. Othello is supposed to be portrayed as a black man, causing conflict seeing as though he is in a wierd position of power. Unfortunately he has a friend named Iago who is plotting against him. Othello's wife, Desdamona, who he believes to have unfaithful to him...with his so called friend Iago. Othello has to choose between his wife or "best friend". I love this play and I havent even read the entire thing, but I know its an incredible piece, and will be one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can see the post! And what I know about Othello, is..... well..... um..... absolutely nothing. Story of my life. Haha!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I do believe I can see the post as well. And as for the question at hand, I know... well, after the discussion in class, I know that Othello is a black soldier--probably an older soldier, I think? That's all.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Othello is a Moorish general in Italy, who receives an important promotion. His comrade, Iago, intensely jealous of Othello's success, hatches a plot to ruin Othello's life by tricking him into thinking that his wife, Desdemona, has been having an affair with fellow soldier Cassio. Iago, with the help of the unsuspecting Emilia, plants on Cassio an heiloom handkerchief that Othello gave Desdemona as a gift. To make a long, awesome story short and... significantly... less... awesome... Othello suffocates Desdemona, Emilia commits suicide, as does Othello, and Iago, though injured, runs off to an uncertain fate.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Man, Aidan kind of covered it all. Anyways, I know that Othello is a moor, he is a general, and he is married to Desdemona. Also, because it is a Shakespearean tragedy, it is safe to assume that a large majority of the characters die at the end.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What I know of Othello is that no, Tanner, he is not and African American, since he is not in America. He is black, and a military leader, and is betrayed by Iago.

    ReplyDelete
  9. All I really know about Othello is that he is a Moor soldier, his wife is Desdemona who he kills, and Iago is the super villain of the play...that's about it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. As we know, Othello is a man of African decent. He is tricked by his supposed friend and ends up doing something that is tragic (I do not know what this tragic thing is as I have not read the play, and yes I know Aidan gives a plot summary above). What we do not know for sure though, is why a black man? Its obvious that it adds a deeper dimension to the play, but I think Shakespeare did it possibly to show his real underlying believes about Africans. In may plays Shakespeare creates very powerful women, something that was very rare in his times. Maybe this, as well as his powerful female roles, is Shakespeare's way of inciting inner thought about this controversial topic without stating his belief either way. All in all I know Othello was a play meant to tug at the heart-strings of its viewers in a way very advanced for its time because its not just Othello versus Iago, or good against evil; its one race versus another. It is black versus white.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I know that the play is a tragedy and the main character is Othello, a Moor soldier. The play takes place in Italy and the majority of the main characters including Othello die...tragically. And yes i can see this post :P

    ReplyDelete
  12. I don't know if this got through the first time, but i do not see it so I am reposting it. Othello is a moorish general ,and Iago, his compatriot, is jealous of his success and hatches a plan to ruin Othello's life. Othello is desperately in love with the Senator's daughter and Iago uses this to his advantage. Othello is always able to fascinate with tales of his travels, but the irony is that while home is supposed to represent peace, the events of this play, the most chaotic life changes he has ever experienced, occur here

    ReplyDelete
  13. Trying not to read what everyone else wrote and go off of personal knowledge of either the play or the person Othello. I know that the character Othello is a moor. He is a general in the Venetian army, as well as an African prince. He is married to a Senator's daughter.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I can see all the posts and like we said in class, Othello is a moor soldier and everyone tragically dies in the end. Im excited to find out more though and fully understand everything that happens!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lauren, I'm pretty sure that Othello does not think that Desdemona is having an affair with Iago. Iago hides his true villianous and manipulative nature, and Othello trusts him.

    Othello is an honorable Moorish general. Like Ryan said, this is a Shakespearean tragedy, so chances are that Othello and many other characters die at the end, and there is probably at least one suicide.

    ReplyDelete
  16. well i know nothing of the play so i'm only going on what was said in class haha

    ReplyDelete
  17. It seems that most everything of general knowledge about Othello has already been covered, but what I know about the play is basically that it is a tragedy, and that though Othello is the hero, many argue that Iago (the villain) is the protagonist because he is the one who ultimately moves the plot along and triggers Othello's undoing. I'm excited to actually read this and find out more than just the surface information!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Everything that can be said, really has already been said; Othello was a Moor and in a position of power. I think that Kale makes a very good point. This was done, I think, to provoke thought about race, without really seeming to. This could be why Shakespeare allows Othello to come undone. That format allows him to say, "Here, look, is a powerful Moor. He's in charge and civilized, and he's doing a pretty good job, too," and before any of the audience members start to call for his head, Shakespeare tells his audience members "look, he can be lead astray, maybe he isn't so good." This would plant the seed of thought of social injustice without it being so obvious that he had done anything against the prejudices.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ok folks, it looks as if most of you have a basic idea of the plot, although there are some misconceptions, which is to be expected. So .... you will be reading Act One. With Leo Africanus in mind, pay attention to the animal references, and discuss their significance.
    A reminder to all - these posts are worth points, so make sure the word is out. All who contributed earned 5 points.
    love
    Fergie

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sooo.....I know he's black. I'm pretty sure his significant other (his wife, I think?) is Desdemona and the bad guy is Iago. That's about it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I know that Othello is a tragedy and Othello is the main character, I honestly know nothing else about the play, nor did I understand a single word I read in the Leo Africanus essay. However I am eager to read Othello.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Running the risk of sounding rather redundant, I'll say what I know about Othello. My monologue was from Othello so I had to at least know what the play was about :)

    Othello is a Moor, (excellent observation Robby, it is rather hard to be African-American when you aren't American) and he is a high-ranking officer in the Venitian army. He is married to Desdemona, who is the daughter of a senator. One of his best friends is Iago, who is a captain under him. There is a rather complex plot, but Iago becomes jealous of another captain, Cassio. Iago hatches a plot to convince Othello that Desdemona is being unfaithful with Cassio. Iago has his wife, Emilia, leave a handkerchief of Desdemona's at somewhere affiliated with Cassio, or something to that effect. Othello thinks that Desdemona has been unfaithful (although she fervently denies it), and at the end of the play he suffocates her. She lives only long enough to defend Othello's innocence, saying that she committed suicide. Othello and Emilia kill themselves, and Iago runs off, pursued by those who have heard the truth. This play is full of brilliant themes and a lot of underscoring aspects about race.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What i know about Othello... well without googling it, all i know is that Othello is a high ranking moore and Iago is the villain. Iago tries to sabotage Othello's relationship with Desdemona by convincing him that she is unfaithful. That is about all i know. But now i am going to read the first act to further my knowledge on this wonderful tragedy and think of the BEST discussion points, here i go.

    ReplyDelete
  24. What I know is Othello is black and is because of that he is treated poorly. Also I know he dies at the end, because he is the title character in a sad play. And I know the bad guy is suppose to be the worst ever.

    ReplyDelete
  25. So I know that Othello is a moor and he is married to Desdemona. And I believe she dies. And Iago is a bad man.... That's about all I got.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Okay, So don't know too much but I know that Othello is a tragedy and there and Iago is the villian.I'm also pretty sure Desdemona is Othello's wife, and unfaithful to him? maybe? That's it! Time to start reading.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I know absolutely nothing about Othello other than that it is a tragedy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I honestly don't know anything about Othello either. I just learned about it a little from the earlier posts.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I know nothing about Othello

    ReplyDelete
  30. What I know of the play is that it is a tragedy about a moor(or colored man) who's so called friend, Iago, is a conniving fiend who hates Othello(and apparently one of the worst villains ever) and causes Othello to doubt his true loves faithfulness. Woo! Now that's what I call a run-on sentence. Murder! Betrayal! Trust! Love! Hate!

    ReplyDelete
  31. This entire post see, I can. Instead of being a jerk-face and shooting down what someone said I'm gonna stick with the classic "this is about a black guy" response.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Before I started reading Othello, I didn't know anything about it. For me, it's never been a play that people always talk about when they think of Shakespeare, it's always something like Romeo and Juliet

    ReplyDelete
  33. OK guys - go on to the next blog!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Fergie.
    I got my blog working :D

    ReplyDelete
  35. I didn't know much more than Othello was an African leader of some sort and his wife was Desdemona. Iago is a jerk, and possibly one of the best villians of all time. And I know Othello kills Desdemona, but I din't know why until reading through these comments...

    ReplyDelete
  36. Can finally post yay!!! and i know that Othello is black and in love with Desdemona....

    ReplyDelete