I have something more to say . . . .

Here is the open-ended prompt you may use to start your own thread. Feel free to post an original observation, question, or elaboration from an earlier class discussion.  You may also respond to other students' comments here.  Every relevant, thoughtful, and original comment here garners points towards your discussion grade.

What cost, freedom?

Imagine yourself a slave, confined to the most deplorable, inhumane conditions and subject to another's every whim.  You have no rights, no voice, no lawful claim on life, and no expectations for a future.  Toiling in the field non-stop, seven days a week, with no respite from either the blazing 120-degree sun or the skin-frosting blasts of negative-20-degree days, your only rest is found in brief sleep on a scratchy straw bale in a decrepit hut you call home.  Occasionally, you are driven and whipped like a horse, an iron bit in your mouth. You have had your children ripped from your arms and sold to others; your little girl screamed and held out her arms for you, not understanding why you did nothing to save them and certainly not understanding the life that awaited them on another slave farm.  You have seen friends, and your own parents, hanged from tree limbs and left dangling for days to rot and stink in the sun.

            If this were – truly – your lot in life, would you risk death or torture to free yourself?  Honestly, pragmatically, to what extent would you go to breathe freedom?  If you did win emancipation, how far would you go to avoid capture?  At what cost freedom?  What if your kids were facing capture and a return to that life of utter debasement?

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?

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 and domestic drama about jealousy, cuckoldry, and personal spite suddenly turn into something much more dire and dangerous? Who propels such a bloody ending? How? When?

The Devil is in the details

Many consider Shakespeare a secular writer who avoids overt religious themes and references. Do you agree this is also the case with Othello? Where in Othello do you spy religious symbolism, characterization, allusion, and theme?  Why does Shakespeare do this with this story?  What effect do these allusions have?

"Don't look so bored. Imagine how I must feel."

After "reading" any good piece of literature (or even film, for that matter), we are often left with that memorable scene that speaks to us in some way.  Perhaps it crystallized the character or theme for you, or articulated a philosophy of life that is important to you, or even just made you laugh or cry.  What is one of those scenes from Grendel that you will probably long remember (and Why?)?

The world is but a question, inscribed in our souls

We all have particular, specific questions about the text that we ask in order to better understand the characters, plot, and message.  If you have any of these types of questions, pose them here and offer an idea or two in response -- "Reactions to Grendel" (Ex.: Why does Grendel's mother have no name? Why does Grendel meet the Dragon? Why is he fascinated with Wealtheow, Unferth, the Shaper? What is this story really about? Is this a story about the power of our democratic society or about the destructive nature of man? About Hope and a Higher Purpose or Existentialism?)  You may also respond to others' questions here.