Beware the Green-Eyed Monster: The Power of Language in Othello
Objective: SWBAT apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening by assessing whether the language is used for positive or negative purposes.
Big Idea: A battle of words erupts into a green-eyed monster.
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Students will be assessed on the vocabulary given to them at the beginning of the play. This test is on the first two Acts. Students were given a list and asked to find the word in the play and devise a meaning based on context. At the end of each Act, students looked up the definitions to find the exact meaning. The attached vocabulary test is CCSS aligned as it requires students to assess the context of the sentence and input the correct vocabulary word.
In this section of the lesson, I want to point out how Shakespeare uses language as power in the play. This idea is extremely obvious in Act III, scene iii where Iago wields language like a weapon to plant the seed of jealousy within Othello. In introducing this concept, I play an excerpt from a video from the Folger Library which addresses this very issue. It is not necessary to play the entire video. I play from :48 to 1:58. This section describes how language is used in both negative and positive ways in the play.
Following the excerpt, I have students review the language in the Act so far and categorize its use: is it used in a postive or negative way? Accordingly, I have them complete the graphic organizer attached in this lesson. They will find three examples of language used in a positive way and three examples of how it is used in a negative way.
Students often look to the comic relief scene at the beginning of Act III as their positive example. They do not recognize that the clown has been sent to remove the musicians from Othello's window. The clown is actually using language in a passive/aggressive way by sarcastically twisting language into puns to belittle the musicians. This example is a great way to discuss how language in its negative sense may be disguised as positive. The best negative use of language is in Act III, scene iii, where Iago skillfully manipulates language to impress upon Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful. I have attached a few students responses.
My intention in this assignment is for students to see some of Shakespeare's language in a three-dimensional way. Therefore, I assign students to consider Shakespeare's coinage of the term, the green-eyed monster and I assign them to create a physical representation of it. Their depiction may be a drawing or a 3-D representation. See the attached outline for further instructions. I have included a few examples below.
