TOTS Act 5

1.

Analyze Kate's final speech. Is she sincere or ironic? Should we take her at her word? Or should we imagine a gap between what she says and what she means? Does the context of her words change their meanings? What are different possibilities in performing this scene? Kate's final speech speaks loudly to how she has been "tamed" and is actually very sincere when delivering her message to Bianca and the widow. As an audience, we should take Kate at her word because she speaks of her husband as her Lord and slanders the women for not being more obedient and thankful to their husbands, who in that time period were considered the better half of  relationship. I do not think the context of her words changes the overall central meaning, because she speaks as a woman who knows her place in marriage and simply wants to get on with her life; I believe she is actually trying to advise the other women about this to make sure they too can become happy like she has become by accepting her role in life/marriage.

2.

What happens to the power dynamics in this scene–between mem and men, women and women, men and women? In this scene many dynamics between genders are depicted. For example, the men bet upon the women as if they were nothing but a possession to them and thought no more of it. On the other hand, the women found no wrong doing in this act because they know that the men are their superior and if they want to do that they can. Surprisingly the women have no objection, but thanks to the time period there isn't much they could do about it anyway. The woman to woman interaction n this last scene surprised me because I expected to see amore unified, common house issue that the women together unite to fight for a solution. However, this was not the case, in fact, Kate even scolded the other women for not being obedient and "loving" to their husbands.

TOTS Act 4

1.

How is Petruchio's masculinity represented? Examine his treatment of servants, Kate, etc. Pertruchio's masculinity is represented strongly throughout this Act. He treats his servants as animals, while yelling and criticizing everything they do. Kate tries to stop him, but he blows her off and continues scolding the servants, hatmaker, and tailor. His masculinity is stronger than ever and shows Kate that he is not the guy to mess around with. He denies her of any food or rest and keeps her from taking back. In a sense Pertruchio is acting like Kate, ill-mannered and naïve, giving her a dose of her own medicine.

2.

Many critics mark the sun/moon scene in the road to Padua (scene 5) as the turning point in the play which indicates Kate's taming. What is different about this scene? If she is tamed, what is she submitting to? Is it really a "submission," or can it be interpreted in other ways? I think this scene is the turning point in the play, in which Kate becomes tamed by Pertruchio. All of his actions leading up to their ride to Padua is meddling with Kate and she accepts the fact that Pertruchio is going to get his way or she will never be able to speak or do things for herself. Kate gives in to Pertruchio and his commanding/dictating ways and condones her acceptance that she sees what he sees. This scene is different because Kate is finally accepting the fact that she must deal with Pertruchio or she will be miserable. When she finally becomes tamed, Kate submits to Pertruchio, in that she tells him what he wants to hear in order to avoid arguments and be peaceful. On the other hand, if interpreted another way, Kate could simply just be telling Pertruchio what he wants to hear in order to get her way which is different than before when she used to be the "dictator".

TOTS Acts 2-3

1. Pertruchio "tames" Kate by always having a witty answer to her disputes and slanders against him. He calmly tells Kate that she is the opposite of what everyone thinks of her, that she is kind, beautiful, and well-mannered. He also comes on as a strong man who will put up with no nonsense and defines her role to him as one to birth his child.

2. Katherine most likely acts out wildly to her father trying to dispute anything Pertruchio is trying to say, but Pertruchio probably talks without much room for her voice to be heard that she just becomes silently enraged with anger. Katherine probably also tries to respond to her father and tell him the truth but Pertruchio forces her fathers hand and acts too quickly for Kate. In the scene where Pertruchio tells Kate to kiss him she probably was trying to escape and get away, but Pertruchio most likely forced himself upon her and the two walked off in different directions.

3. a)Tthe bickering back and forth between Kate and Petruchio in their battle of wits.
    b) The dimwitted servant who when told to knock on the door couldn't comprehend and thought he meant to knock (beat) his master.
    c) The Lord playing a prank on Sly, the drunkard.
    d) The man who dresses up as a woman in order to play the role of Sly's pretend wife, to play the joke on him.

4. Proverbs 26:24-26    
Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

TOTS Act 1

• Katherine - an ill-tempered shrew full of rage and the older sister to Bianca
• Bianca - nice, well-mannered, and beautiful woman who is the younger sister to Katherine
• Gremio - a suitor to Bianca, teams up with Hortensio
• Hortensio - a suitor to Bianca, teams up with Gremio
• Petruchio - a resident of Verona, intent on finding a wife, but just worries about the woman's money. He is interested in marrying Katherine.
• Lucentio -  a studious man who came to Padua to pursue his education, but loses focus on his goals when he sees Bianca, in whom he instantly falls in love with
• Compare Katherine and Bianca to modern day people - Katherine and Bianca can very well portray a modern day sisterhood, barring the custom that older sister must first be wed before the younger sister can also. Many modern day siblings do in fact get angry at one another at some point, its just human nature. Like in the play Katherine seems to be angry all the time because her younger sister is getting more attention than herself, including more suitors. This is relevant and like modern day people because in today's society many people become jealous and as a result become ill-tempered and envious of the other.

1.

The Induction portrays role-playing. Who acts the part of whom? Why? How does such role-playing address issues of gender and class? What effects might these representations have on the play? The Lord acts the part of a servant and the Page acts the part of Sly's wife, because they are playing a prank on Sly, making him look as if he is a royal. The role-playing seen in the induction culminates both gender and class issues. One gender issue is that women were not allowed to do certain things in this time period and the men would sometimes have to act as a woman. At the same time social class played a critical factor in that the upper-class were not the ones dressing/acting as women, but the lower-class men was. The play could lose key elements that an audience may have perceived better with characters being the right gender.

2.

From the outset, we learn from Bianca's suitors that Katherine is the less desirable of the two sisters. Examine and question this claim. How are Biance and Katherine different? What makes Katherine rather than Bianca the shrew? Katherine is the less desirable because she is ill-tempered and angry all the time, as well as being claimed a shrew by many. The big difference in Katherine and Bianca are their mannerisms; Bianca is very well-mannered, nice and easy to get along with, but Katherine on the other hand is very brutal and full of rage. Katherine is the shrew because at the very outset of the play she is seen as ill-tempered, fiery, and sharp-tongued, while her younger sister is meager, fragile, and nice to everyone.

Othello Film Review "O"

          Although the times have changed, Shakespeare’s literary masterpiece still is recumbent as the modern day movie “O” depicts the play-write Othello. Tim Nelson set out to update Othello by placing his characters in an American prep school. Although the filming was completed in 1999, the movie did not debut until 2001 because the initial release date was the same year as the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado which would have been very controversial as a result of the gun violence in “O”.

         So the movie was finally brought to the public in theaters by Lions Gate. The creationists titled the movie “O” in trying to make Othello more lifelike and appealing to an audience. However the title adaption does very little to fulfill the audiences needs and the new “improved” title does very little to emphasize the work the producers have created. This is partly because "O" has been overused throughout the years in numerous other movies that the representation is actually useless.

The title character – which is the title character in Othello as well – has been christened Odin James or O. Odin (Mekhi Parker) is a black basketball standout and an athletic scholarship recruit who attends an all-white private high school – this is already looking bad. As a playmaker and great teammate on the court, O is very popular and a great guy, who provokes jealousy in Hugo (Josh Hartnett), the Iago figure. As a result of Hugo’s jealousy, he deceives Odin by any means necessary to benefit him only. To feed his selfishness Hugo plans the downfall of Odin throughout evil deeds in which he intrudes O’s love-life with Desi (Julia Stiles) and planting seeds of jealousy in his head as well. After all, "White girls are snakes, bro,” said Hugo.

     This movie has provoked more than enough controversy…even before it was released! The movies malicious plot, oversees racial and sexual connotations deemed ignorant and crude. The unbarring language, violence, and drug use was also a big controversy throughout the movie. As we now know, the movie was held from the public because its set release date was the same year as the Columbine Shooting, but even more so the violence was picked apart by many critics calling it, Inexcusable – Rotten Tomatoes and Nasty – IMDb. The drug use taking place in a high school setting was another big issue with the movie, in that it compels an audience to feel as if that’s all high school students do, party and do drugs. Overall many facets of the movie were harshly criticized by multiple sources.

              The idea the producers remade of Shakespeare's moor as a kind, hard-working, but fierce ballplayer on the court was quite intelligent as the basketball serves as the war going on in the play Othello. The added drama towards the ending of the play in which O publicly humiliates Desi before he breaks the backboard with his forceful dunk in the contest, truly shows that he has changed and has bad intentions. Although some picture the scene as overly dramatic, I feel as if it added a much needed piece towards the movie that really modernized it from the old play-write.

Completely overtaken by Iago's influence, Odin and the movie loses track dramatically because there is a lack of understanding and the scenes move too quickly for an audience to comprehend. Not only is the ending very gruesome and controversial, but now the audience has no time to digest it and settle down and by that point feel remorse for the movie as a whole.  

Another controversy, by more studious Shakespearians, detects the substance of the play being lost in the content of the movie. For example, in the movie Hugo (Iago) feels as if his own father, who is also the team’s basketball coach, loves O more than him and treats O like his own son. This compiles when Odin receives the M.V.P. award and Hugo finally snaps. The controversy in this is that it was clear in the play Iago’s motives for not liking / deceiving Othello, though in the movie it is never clear if Hugo was deranged because of his father ignoring him, doesn’t like blacks, or mad about his role on the team.

            In summary the modernized movie "O" is a rutting process, but watching this picture is not just covering the Shakespeare play Othello. I’d like to believe that Tim Nelson tried to incorporate real world issues such as race or violence, because if not this movie would be insignificant and majorly controversial as many believe it to be.

 

"O" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for violence, strong language, drug use

Directed by Tim Blake Nelson; based on Shakespeare's "Othello"

Cast: Mekhi Phifer (Odin James), Josh Hartnett (Hugo Goulding), Julia Stiles (Desi Brable), Martin Sheen (Coach Duke Goulding), Andrew Keegan (Michael Casio), Rain Phoenix (Emily) and Elden Henson (Roger).

Othello Act 5

1. At the end of this scene we witness the murder of several characters. Did this ending satisfy you? Why or why not?

 

Yes, the ending did satisfy me becuase it was both saddening and exuberant. The death of Desdemona saddens me, but she died as she always had been- faithful and loving. Although saddness was a part of the ending, I was also happy because Iago finally got caught up in the very mess he had started and was to be tortured as a result.

 

2. This play is considered to be one of the greatest tragedies of all time. Why is it so tragic (avoid the answer: they all died).

 

This play is tragic because it connects to the audience, meaning that no matter the time period the concept of "trust not what others say" still rings true today. This is a key factor into why Othello is so tragic. It also display a lot of passion and affection, which becomes manipulated by a villain.

 

3. What does the handkerchief symbolize?

 

I believe the handkerchief symbolizes Othello's jealousy and love for Desdemona at the same time, becuase if he didnt really love Desdemona in the first place, he most likely would not have become jealous.

 

4. Examine Othello's last words. What do these words show us about him?

 

I feel as if Othello redeemed himself, because he shows he is more than what has become of him in the time that the viewer has known him. Although he does seem a little more worried about the chances of a stain in his title than his wife who he murdered, he restores peace with the audience in a sense that he kills himself to get rid of the evil that has consumed him.

Othello Act 4

1. In Act 4 we learn the character of Desdemona. Choose two quotes that you believe best illustrate her character.

"So would not I. My love doth so approve him

That even his stubbornness, his checks, his frowns—

Prithee, unpin me—have grace and favor."

"And his unkindness may defeat my life,

But never taint my love."

2. How is Othello changing in Act 4? What is the effect of his public humiliation of Desdemona by slapping her?

Othello has drastically changed in Act 4 due to Iago's evil plan. He has become more ill tempered and jealousy has gotten the best of him. Othello's anger now overflows from the once suttle man. His anger runs so deep that he actually slaps Desdemona, which brings him a great deal of public humiliation because the others who witnessed it (aside from Iago) did not know of why he would commit such a harsh act of cruelty to a perfect and faithful wife, such as, Desdemona. He is publicly viewed as a crazed man who is losing his head and the people are questioning if he is really fit to govern.

3. At the end of Act 4 we get a glimpse into the private world of women. How does Shakespeare portray this world?

Given the time period, Shakespeare takes a deep risk, meaning that women were viewed as a prize and not really treated as they should be. Shakespeare depicts how women take advantage of their husbands without their knowing and get away with it. This was very risky considering that this is indeed a play, which was on stage with an audience watching. He shows the world that this does indeed happen and that women are capable of being regular people rather than just prizes; I also believe he raised a couple eyebrows of the men watching the play.

4. Analyze "The Willow Song". What is the literal meaning of this song? What does this song symbolize?

The Willow Song is about how both men and women are unfaithful to each other. Desdemona sings this song because she seems to feel weak and is promptly accepting the fact that the man she loves is slipping away from her, sort of like an acceptance. This song also leads the two women, Desdemona and Emilia into talking about the private world of women.