The Devil is in the details

Many consider Shakespeare a secular writer who avoids overt religious themes and references. Do you agree? Where in Othello do you spy religious symbolism, characterization, allusion, and theme?

It's all fun and games until someone puts his eye out . . .

At what point does the tragedy TURN in Othello? Where does a relatively innocent drama about jealousy, cuckoldry, and personal spite suddenly turn into something much more dire and dangerous? Who propels such a bloody ending? How? When?

A conspiracy of cartographers

How does (do) the physical setting(s) of this play highlight and mirror the inner conflicts at work in the characters? To think about this from another angle, why would Shakespeare move the action to Cyprus after just the 1st Act? Is Geography an important element/character in this play?

The beat of a different drummer

How is the character of Othello more "modern" and believable than Hamlet, King Lear, or Macbeth? If you'd prefer (and haven't read the above works), consider Othello's character in light of other older heroes/protagonists such as Odysseus, Gilgamesh, and King Arthur.  How does Othello depart from the stock associations and values of these more "typical" heroes?

The Horror! The Horror!

What is the nature of the evil that pervades the story of Othello? What is the central motivating factor for Iago? Is he aware of his own monstrosity? Why has Iago been characterized as THE most chilling and evil villain ever?

HeHeHeHawHeHeHawHawHaw

Shakespeare often uses humor NOT ONLY to offer a bit of comic relief, BUT ALSO to underscore a certain key idea. How does he use humor in Othello to highlight a key message of the play? (Please do not merely comment on the "comic relief" aspect of the humor; these responses will not count for credit.)

Original Student Entries for Othello

What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Othello and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?

Original Student Entries for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?

Heads or Tails? A selection of prompts for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

If you're looking for . . . direction? purpose? a sunset? . . . and would like a few questions to get you going, feel free to respond to any of my sampling below.  Have fun!

1. Why open with a stupid game of chance?  With a gambling game?  A child's game?  A game of simple statistics . . . that doesn't go very statistically?

2. Why is so much of this story surreal?  So unbelievable? Beyond assigning it merely to the genre of Absurdism, which in itself, of course, is just a name, a genre, a device, . . . WHY does Stoppard do this?  And all this obfuscation and abstraction from characters who are two very normal fellows from a normal, linear, straight-forward classic like Hamlet?

3. Yes, yes, I know . . . Alfred is a bit over the top, as far as social commentary goes. But what other social critiques emerge from this short, distracted, frenetic play?

4. Was it only me, or were you too also REALLY FEELING for Guildenstern as he reacted to and despaired over the very real and impending death waiting for him just a few leagues away?  I was very tense and sympathetic. And then I realized, "Oh wait . . . !"  And then I thought, "But then again . . . ."
And then I was like, "Oh that crafty Player, he was so right!"

5. Rosencrantz, even when he's most insane, is really quite sage. Consider: would you rather be buried alive in a coffin or be buried dead in a coffin? And how does this idea resonate within the larger context of the play, and of the "other" play, Hamlet?

6. So it's easy to fault Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for how they so easily muck up their interview with Hamlet and bumble their attempts to sleuth his real motive and "madness."  But, honestly, how would you have done it?  What would you have said to Hamlet, or done, to help the whole Royal family?

7. Do you think, by referencing us and yelling "Fire!" that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern REALLY know we are sitting there?  If we can agree that's a Yes, then what does it mean that we're sitting there, just another "character" hanging around?

8. Ok, ok, so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are crazy. But look at the whole thing from THEIR perspective. What do all the others, and this situation, look like to them?

9. Do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe in God?  Does Hamlet?  Does Claudius?  What is their world view, their philosophy on life?

10. I don't get his bad jokes. Do you?  And what's with the sudden outbursts of color?

11. Why is it so easy to amass so many questions?  What's the point of this play?

12. We know Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are similar. How are they so very different?

13. Time for me to get my AP on: what archetypal situations and issues are present here that would make for good lead-ins to open-ended AP essay questions?

14. Another one: as you know, literature is nothing without irony. What ironies are present here that slap one across the face, Guildenstern-style?  Or that make you laugh?

Original Student Entries for Grendel

What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Paradise Lost (and/or the Bible) and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?

A Rose is never just a Rose . . .

In keeping with the last blog, archetypal symbols and metaphors are a powerful tool for writers.  They help us see through the specifics and get a firmer hold of the larger, more universal idea at work.

What important symbols do you see at work in Grendel?  Do these abstract connections lead us to a greater understanding of character or theme?

Wait a minute . . . isn't that a Hamlet reference?

Good works of literature often "borrow" images, references, symbols, and characters from other great literature and cultural myths in order to advance a certain idea and get us -- the reader -- thinking in new ways.  These allusions and reference-points remind us of larger ideas and themes and thus get us to experience the text in a different light.
What connections to other literature, myths, stories, cinema, and art do you see in Grendel?  Why does Gardner draw this parallel (what is the significance of this connection)?

Heavenly incongruencies . . . .

In examining closely the character and consequences of both Satan and Adam, consider the following questions and feel free to respond to one or more than one:

1) Is Man just another Satan, another Fallen angel?  How are the two alike, different?

2) Why is Man offered an opportunity for redemption, but Satan is not?  Looking at this closely, what seems to be the preeminent sin in God's book, according to Milton?

3) How does this epic serve as both a prophecy of things to come for Mankind and a social critique from Milton of his day and age?

4) How involved is God in the actions of the story?  What becomes part of the message, given his level of involvement?

5) Why does Milton include so many references to older mythologies?  Does Milton seem critical of Christian orthodoxy or conservatively faithful?

Original student entries for P.L. and the B.

What observations, theories, or questions are you playing with as you read Paradise Lost (and/or the Bible) and consider one of our listed ** Essential Questions?

"I'm mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!!"

How does Milton play with the original story in his epic Paradise Lost?  Who should we regard as his central character, protagonist, antagonist?  Is Satan a sympathetic villain, a tragic hero, a simple stock character, or a mere catalyst of action?  Given his liberal tweaking of the source material, what new questions and themes emerge in this version of Man's beginnings and Fall from Grace?