Act 3 Scene 4 UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE

1. Read Act 3 Scene 4 or use the audio guide HERE (password: girlsaloud)


2. Next answer the following questions in full sentences as well as supporting references and post to your blog

Act 3 Scene 4

1. In line 25, why do you think Emilia lies to Desdemona about the handkerchief?

2. In line 107, how does Emilia's view of men differ from Desdemona's view of Othello?

3. In line 126 what is the irony in Desdemona's statement?

4. Who is Bianca? How does she endup with Desdemona's handkerchief?

5. What does Bianca agree to do for Cassio?

6. Do you think Othello is telling the truth about the handkerchiefs curse?

BIG QUESTION 1

booby

(ˈbuːbɪ)

n, pl -bies

1. an ignorant or foolish person

2. Brit the losing player in a game

Othello: A Bloody Farce
by THOMAS RYMER

Thomas Rymer on the handkerchief


So much ado, so much stress, so much passion and repetition about an Handkerchief? Why was not this call'd the Tragedy of the Handkerchief? … Had it been Desdemona's Garter, the Sagacious Moor might have smelt a Rat: but the Handkerchief is so remote a trifle, no Booby, on this side Mauritania, cou'd make any consequence from it. [160]


1. Reflect on Act 3 scene 4 so far. Do you think Rymer's criticism that Shakespeare's use of the handkerchief as a dramatic device is flawed is valid? You must give reasons for your response, with quotations from the play to support your opinion.
 - Consider what Othello says about the handkerchief
 - Consider Emilia's feelings towards the handkerchief




Post your answer to your blog, and be prepared to share what you think with the rest of the class. (You can present your answer in whatever form you like, as long as it can be posted on your blog.)

UPDATED GUIDANCE/THINKING

Perhaps we might think about the handkerchief as Iago does:

Trifles light as air

Are to the jealous confirmations strong

As proofs of holy writ.


•

Judged by this reasoning, it is no wonder that Othello is driven to distraction and illness, bringing on a fit of epilepsy, by something as seemingly trivial as a handkerchief. Its very triviality highlights the infectious, irrational nature of jealousy and in so doing, highlights the weak foundation of this tragedy: which is, in its essence, that a piece of mundane fabric can destroy even the most loving of relationships. Such is the fragility of the tragic hero. (FutureLearn website)

BIG QUESTION 2

‘Othello’s nature is all of one piece.  His trust where he trusts is absolute.  Hesitation is almost impossible to him.  He is extremely self-reliant and decides and acts instantaneously.  If stirred to indignation … he answers with one lightning stroke.  Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must live or bear no life.  If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-nigh incontrollable flood.’

 

A. C. Bradley Shakespearean Tragedy  (Palgrave Macmillan)

1. Reflect on Act 3 scene 4 so far. Do you think Bradley's view that Othello is 'extremely self -relient' is accurate? You must give reasons for your response, with quotations from the play to support your opinion.
 - Consider whether this contradicts the belief that Othello's status as an outsider is his fatal flaw.
 - Consider whether you think Othello required a lot of persuasion to doubt Desdemona or whether Iago was able to easily manipulate him


Post your answer to your blog, and be prepared to share what you think with the rest of the class. (You can present your answer in whatever form you like, as long as it can be posted on your blog.)