Short Writing Assignment, Comparison of 5.2
The purpose of this assignment is to have you practice your close reading skills on Othello 5.2, and to learn how to isolate the interpretive angle of a Shakespearean performance.
1. REREAD Othello 5.2. You will need to have the scene very firmly in your memory before you move to the next step. Focus on such matters as imagery, tone, major speeches, and major actions. Pay especially close attention to how the script shapes our evolving understanding of Othello’s tragic actions. Before you view any scenes, jot down some notes about how you imagine this scene being played.
2. From the four performances of 5.2. Choose TWO performances to study. Watch each scene, and take some notes on how the scene is staged. Make those notes mostly about specifics. You might notice such matters as:
- the setting and lighting (which is often both realistic and symbolic)
- noteworthy camerawork or editing techniques
- major cuts to or rearrangements of the script
- Othello’s and Desdemona’s demeanor in their confrontation
- the handling of the murder
- Othello’s changing demeanor after the murder, and his attitude in his final suicide speech
- the performances of Iago and Emilia
- the final tableau (the images on which the viewer dwells at the end of the scene)
You may need to view each scene twice to pick up key details. After collecting specifics, think about how those specifics add up to a particular interpretive angle on the script. Give that interpretive angle a label.
3. Now compare the two scenes. What are the most significant differences in how these performances handle this material? (Note that word “significant.”) Use this comparison to help you sharpen your sense of each scene’s distinctive interpretation of Shakespeare’s script.
4. In a couple of meaty paragraphs, compare and contrast the two scenes. Your goal in these paragraphs is to offer the reader a well-refined, clear analysis of the distinctive way each performance interprets the Shakespeare script. You should have at least one sentence in each paragraph that states the particular interpretation of the scene you’re discussing, and you should include some evidence from each scene (a description of what you see or hear) to support your analysis.
You should send me 3 documents:
- your notes on the Shakespeare script
- your notes on each performance ( totally 4)
- your two paragraphs of comparative analysis
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