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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s lesson we began our work on Othello, thinking about the historical context of the text. We spoke about what the class thought of the play, learned about England in the early 1600s and touched on issues such as the presentation of gender and religion. We thought specifically about Othello’s outsider status and Jacobean attitudes towards race before finally discussing questions of whether Shakespeare’s presentation of race conformed to or confounded racist stereotypes of the time. Great work today everyone, well done and see you next week 🙂
Video we watched on the context of Othello’s background: https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/shak15.ela.lit.whoisothello/who-is-othello-shakespeare-uncovered/
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s class we looked at the themes and wider philosophies of Othello, thinking about the notions of knowledge, good vs. evil, and biblical imagery used in the play. We spoke about the worldview Shakespeare encourages with the play and thought about how tragedy is utilised, discussing the notion of domestic tragedy vs. political. We read an academic article about knowledge and thought about the implications of this on understanding Othello’s reasons for murder. Finally we watched a video on the central themes of the text. Good work today class- you all thought deeply about some complex philosophical ideas and were able to relate them to the play using quotations and examples. Amazing work- keep it up and see you next week 🙂
Themes video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXabUTUHW4
Tragedy video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maqnczUeoa8
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In my opinion, the most important theme in Othello is prejudice. The theme of prejudice is mainly displayed in two aspects: racism and misogyny.
First of all, other characters have prejudice of Othello because of his Moore background/black race. For more than once, Iago has described Othello as livestocks, showing his despise and thinking Othello as naturally being more lower-classed because of his race. The more others impose this prejudice on Othello, Othello starts to acknowledge this concept in his mind. He begins to become a beast-like character, similarly to what other characters think of him. Eventually, this leads to the supreme tragedy: when he hears the betrayal of Desdemona, his feeling of disgrace drives him to kill Desdemona.
Secondly, the misogynistic prejudice is shown in the play as well. For instance, Iago never exhibits respect when speaking and acting to his wife, Emilia. When Emilia finds the handkerchief Iago’s searching for, only to beg for love from Iago, Iago only cares about the handkerchief his master plan. He shows no gratitude. Another example is Othello chooses to believe the words of the evil Iago rather than his own wife Desdemona, and ends up taking her life. These two examples can both prove one thing: the low position of women in marriage/love relationships at that time. This inequality in power leads to prejudice towards women, since women have less rights to speak and defend for themselves, compared to men. Contrarily, men have a larger right to execute actions or punishments on women, such as Othello taking Desdemona’s life in the end.
To conclude, prejudice is reflected through racism and misogyny, both leading to the ultimate tragedy of the death of Desdemona and Othello. The prejudice is deeply embedded into the views of the characters, and is a huge factor impacting the plot and the logic behind the character’s action. Therefore, prejudice is definitely one of the most important themes in Othello.
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s lesson we focused on character in Othello discussing the relationship between Iago and Othello in particular. We began by discussing the most interesting relationships in the play before watching a video of two famous Shakespearean actors discussing the relationship between Iago and Othello. We discussed the notion of Iago’s “motiveless malignity”, a famous Coleridge quote, and dissected one of his soliloquies. Finally we thought about the different phases Othello’s character passes through, which the class did brilliantly. Well done everyone- you were fantastically astute today. Keep up the great work 🙂
Character video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHqzWyCk6OE
National Theatre video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyoCIwJn9Ic
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we focused on plot and structure, thinking about genre and how it dictates the tragic arc of Othello. We began by analysing step by step the tragic arc, touching on key differences between this and normal story arcs and discussing the parts of Othello each section pertains to. We then spoke about tragedy and how our expectations of the genre shape the play before moving on to thinking about symbolism and how it adds to the tragic force. We discussed the ending and whether it was inevitable, thinking about the line between Shakespeare’s genres and talking through the ways in which characters shape, or do not shape, their own fate. Amazing work today class, well done for your thoughtful contributions. See you next time 🙂
Symbols video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqDUTY2II2E
Tragic structure link (you can read the full page if you’d like!): https://www.sutori.com/en/story/structure-of-shakespeare-s-tragedies-5-tragic-force–UmjWnS3ckfLrS5SCsFPjrn5o
Good video on tragedy in Othello to help with homework: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYlAxdiVPEY
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we dug into the text of Othello, thinking about the women in the play and the way in which misogyny can be understood to form the basis of some of the relationships in the play. We opened by thinking about the character of Emilia, analysing her soliloquy about the hypocrisies of the moral codes of the time, and discussing her character development from silence to speaking out. We then discussed the notion of Iago as a misogynist, thinking about the way he views women in the play and how this feeds into Othello’s worldview. Finally we discussed the deaths of Desdemona and Emilia, linking these to the ideas of restriction for women at the time and the different social norms around marriage that would often trap women in oppressive situations. Fab work today class, well done for all your great ideas. See you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s class we finished our study of Othello, thinking about the art of writing about literature and how to go from description to literary criticism. We began with an overview of literary critique skills before looking at a video that deals with how to write Shakespeare essays to a GCSE Grade 9 standard. The class then completed some excellent group work discussing some of the weirder scenes in the play, thinking about how the stranger scenes can provide interesting debate. Finally the class briefly discussed quotations in prep for the homework. Fantastic work today everyone- well done for all your fantastic ideas and good luck with reading Gone With the Wind. See you next week 🙂
P.S. Remember to think about the context of the quotation you chose and link this to wider themes, characters, and historical ideas within the play
Grade 9 essay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xmnunOeLdU
Important quotations video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjxT2Kr2vik
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we began our work on Gone with the Wind, thinking about the history behind the novel. We spoke about how the class found the novel, before moving on to thinking about the life of Margaret Mitchell. We thought about the setting of the book, and about the context of when the book was published, thinking about what this tells us about Mitchell’s intentions. We spoke about the racism in the novel, learned about how the novel tries to justify slavery and why, and spoke about Scarlett as an unconventional protagonist. Finally, the class researched the burning of Atlanta and discussed how this fits into the novel overall. Excellent work today everyone, well done for your impeccable research skills and historical understanding of the novel. Keep up the great work, see you soon 🙂
Podcast link (or attached as MP3 below): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bNCVF4LLe4
Video we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuJ-3BpRGRU
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we continued our work on Gone with the Wind, thinking about the philosophy it pushes. We spoke about the glorification of slavery in the novel and how it distorts the race relations of 1800s America, thinking about how this relates to racism in the 1930s when the book was published. We discussed the homework and looked at four important themes explored in the novel, digging into the way Mitchell builds her philosophy and the way in which this reflects core tenets of American ideology at the time- from the racism embedded within it to the obsession with land ownership and self-reliance. Fab work today class, well done for all your attentive listening and fantastic ideas throughout. See you next week 🙂
Video we watched on slavery in the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRq7nsI33bc&t=8s
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s lesson we continued work on Gone with the Wind, thinking today about character. We began by reading a Guardian article analysing Scarlett’s role in the novel, before moving on to thinking in groups about what they found interesting in particular characters. We spoke about how Scarlett comes to represent both the New and the Old South and learned about how her journey of self-justification mirrors that of the Confederacy after the Civil War. We finished by thinking about her misdeeds and what they show about the ideology of the book overall, digging into what it reveals about her motivations and growth. Fantastic work today class, well done for your astute comments on the characterisation in the novel and use of symbolism too. Keep up the wonderful work 🙂
Lost Cause myth video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0_wnaW-a0#:~:text=Examine%20the%20myth%20of%20the,States%20and%20formed%20the%20Confederacy.
Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/aug/31/books-to-give-you-hope-gone-with-the-wind-by-margaret-mitchell
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Summary for Lesson 10
In today’s class we worked on plot and structure in Gone with the Wind. We began by thinking about the ways in which the book is split into two, connecting this with Mitchell’s political aims in the novel, before thinking about genre and how it dictates structure. We spoke about romance, historical fiction and bildungsroman, thinking about how Mitchell goes against genre conventions. The class then looked at a piece of structural analysis and discussed it before we finally spoke about Scarlett’s romances and how they can be understood to bookend the story, providing a symbolic structure to the historical narrative. Lovely work today everyone and really interesting critiques of the structural analyses I showed you all in class; I was very impressed by your depth of thought today. Well done and see you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 11
In today’s class we completed the penultimate lesson of our course, thinking about close analysis and how it functions. We began with some close analysis theory, thinking about the concept of defamiliarising language and detaching ourselves from the power of storytelling. We then applied this to the novel at large, discussing important and symbolic scenes, before zooming into a passage from Chapter 9 which the class analysed line by line, pulling out significant moments and quotations beautifully and coming up with some really original analysis for it. We finished with a final discussion on themes and motifs. Well done today everyone for all your interesting interpretations and fantastic analysis of the text. You were really astute in your comments today and I really enjoyed hearing the connections you made between the close textual analysis and wider ideas of the novel. Keep up the fab work and see you next week 🙂
Chapter 9 extract: http://www.monadnockfolk.org/?p=3075
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Summary for Lesson 12
In today’s class we finished our work on Gone with the Wind, concluding our course. We looked at parodies, and re-interpretations of the novel that wrestled with the book’s legacy regarding slavery, and finally did some work on feminism in the novel. We thought about an essay question tying the book to dialectical materialism, spoke about perspective and shared some ideas on the satire entrenched in Gone with the Wind itself. Great work today guys and over the past twelve weeks, well done for all your hard work and fantastic contributions to our classes. You should all be proud of the work you have done, see you in the next course and until then enjoy a well-earned rest 🙂
Parody video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=izMt9fcAzno
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