Othello

Assignment:

The significant writing requirement for Term 4 is a student-generated research and criticism paper. This means that you must choose a topic of interest, develop your own essential question, and find at least two academic sources. This is your opportunity to put together all of the skills from this year and compose a well-organized MLA formatted paper with parenthetical citations and reference pages. The only topic requirement is that your paper must relate to Othello.

Honors page requirement: 3-5 pages

College prep page requirement: 2-4 pages

Objectives:

• Demonstrate ability to choose and access reliable and academic sources from a database
• Cite textual evidence appropriately to support inferences, assumptions, and interpretations
• Analyze a central idea and its development throughout a text
• Demonstrate understanding of theme as a universal and timeless statement about the human condition
• Use the writing process to organize a set of ideas and evidence to support a thesis and revise a paper with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion
• Demonstrate command of standard written English and MLA rules for formatting and citing sources

Suggested Topics (you are not limited to these):

• Othello as The Tragic Hero (classic, modern, in film, in another work of literature, according to Shakespeare, …)
• Iago, The Villain (the archetypal villain, modern villains, Disney villains, …)
• Racism (History of the Moors; Race during Elizabethan times; the relevance of Shakespeare’s theme in current events; …)
• Psychology in Othello (jealousy, manipulation, …)
• Shakespeare's concept of romantic love (Elizabethan views, response to Petrarch...)
• If you have another topic suggestion that will meet the assignment objectives, please ask before you begin.

Grading Criteria:

• Step 1: Topic brainstorm and 2 sources – Choose your topic, brainstorm first thoughts, develop an essential question, and find at least two academic sources (1 informative and 1 criticism – read and highlight at least 3 ideas/ facts that you might use. The essential question should be big enough to guide a whole paper, but not too big to manage; brainstorm should demonstrate careful consideration of topic choice – first thoughts and evidence from the text; two sources must be academic (author, publication information, reliable source; sources must be highlighted) (30 points).
• Step 2: Highlighted notes and Outline –Outline includes a clear thesis statement and shows how main points and research findings will be organized to prove the thesis. Along with this outline, you must turn in all research printouts with usable portions highlighted – this means at least two sources (40 points)
• Step 3: First Draft – Looks like a final paper – typed, attached reference page/s, parenthetical citations, MLA format; completed on time and edited in class (30 points)
• Step 4: Final Draft – Typed, MLA format, few to no errors, revised from first draft, neat; accompanied by first draft and all highlighted notes (100 points)

Total points available for this assignment = 200

Step 1 Format and Requirements:

Topic Brainstorm (30 points)

• Topic:
• Essential Question:
• First thoughts and evidence: (list at least three main points with at least 6 specific references to the text)
• Hypothesis: (This is your answer to your own question as of now)
• *2 sources must be attached with at least 3 ideas/facts highlighted. 1 source must be a criticism and 1 source must be informative.

Resources

The following two overviews include plot summaries, character overviews, literary criticisms, and historical context.

Othello from Shakespeare for Students

Othello from Literature and its Times

Othello as the Tragic Hero

In what ways does Othello meet the criteria to be considered a classic tragic hero and what themes are developed through this concept?

• "Othello" from Shakespearean Criticism
• "Aristotle on Tragedy" (includes section on definitions of tragedy and the Tragic Hero - continue to page two for Shakespearean Tragedy)
• "Aristotle and the Elements of Tragedy" from Ohio University
• "What Traits Would an Archetypal Character Have?" from Classroom Synonym
• "Archetype" from Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology

Iago, the Villain

What makes Iago the archetypal villain and what larger ideas does Shakespeare's play convey about villainous characters in literature?

In what ways can Iago be compared to typical villains from Disney movies? What common themes are revealed through these archetypal characters?

• "Iago" from Early Modern Literary Studies
• "Shakespeare's Villains" from Shakespearean Criticism
• "Anatomy of Evil" A website created for Chapman University's class "Disney: Race, Culture, and Religion"
• "What Traits Would an Archetypal Character Have?" from Classroom Synonym
• The Villain as Hero in Elizabethan Tragedy by Clarence Valentine Boyer
• The Journey of the Villain in the Harry Potter series: An Archetypal Study of Fantasy Villains
• "Archetype" from Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology
• "Unmasking the Villain"by Mariam Kushkaki
• "Deviance in Disney: Representations of Crime in Disney Films" A Master's thesis by a student at Wesleyan University. Includes section on race and gender.

Citations:

Boyer, Clarence Valentine. The Villain as Hero in Elizabethan Tragedy. London: George Routledge and Sons, Limited, 1914. Print.

Kushkaki, Mariam. "Unmasking the Villain: A Reconstruction of the Villain in Popular Culture." San Diego: San Diego State U, 2013.

Rabison, Rebecca. Deviance in Disney; Representations of Crime in Disney Films: A Qualitative Analysis. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University, 2008.

Soares Faria, Paula. "The Journey of the Villain in the Harry Potter Series: An Archetypal Study of Fantasy Villains." Minas Gerais: Universidade Federal De Minas Gerais, 2008.

Racism

In what ways does race play an important role in Othello, and what is Shakespeare's purpose?

What would Shakespeare say about racism based on the characters and events in Othello?

• "Racism" from the International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
• "Racism" from the Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
• "The Moors in African History" from New History of Africa
• "Race and the Spectacle of the Monstrous in Othello" from CLIO
• "Making More of the Moor: Aaron, Othello and Renaissance Refashionings of Race" (LONG) from Shakespeare Quarterly
• "Othello" from Shakespearean Criticism
• "Othello" from Shakespearean Criticism

Psychology in Othello

What does Shakespeare's play tell us about nature of jealousy?

In what ways does Iago use manipulation to achieve his goals, and what themes are revealed through his character?

• "Delusions" from the Gale Encyclopedia of Science
• "Jealousy" from Psychology Today
• "Jealousy and Othello" from Psychology Today
• "Jealousy" from Shakespearean Criticism

Shakespeare's concept of romantic love

How is romantic love portrayed throughout Othello, and what themes are revealed through this portrayal?

In what ways is Shakespeare's Othello a response to Petrarchan concepts of romantic love?

Othello’s Handkerchief: “The Recognizance and Pledge of Love”

"Justice and Love in Othello" by Winifred Nowottny