Othello and Islamic textiles

So, is the handkerchief just a "trifle light as air" as Iago suggests? Well, actually textiles are quite important to the Islamic culture Othello comes from. These textiles come in the forms of rugs, drapes, clothing, and yes, handkerchiefs. They often use geometrical shapes, and include fine embroidery and scripture from the Qua ran. So you could imagine how upset Othello would be to think that his wife Desdemona has given away what is essentially a family heirloom.

Here are various pictures of Islamic textiles to give you an idea of how important textile art is in Islamic culture. See if you can spot the fine embroidery or scripture on the textiles. Hint: the scripture is in Arabic calligraphy.

"To be or not to be" Sesame Street style

Punch Shakespeare

Shakespeare's London

Shakespeare's Globe

Globe virtual tour

Click this link to view the Globe virtual tour.

The Ultimate Shakespeare webquest list

Links on Elizabethan England
England in Shakespeare's time
An Elizabethan Age timeline
Clothing
Houses
The plague
Inheritence
Schools and education
Beliefs and superstitions
Religion
Science and health
Medicine and illness
Love and marriage
Betrothal and weddings
Wedding feasts

Links for biographical information on Shakespeare
Shakespeare portraits
Shakespeare-Online biography
Absolute Shakespeare biography
Shakespeare FAQ at Absolute Shakespeare
Shakespeare FAQ at Shakespeare-Online
Shakespeare timeline
Shakespeare key dates
WilliamShakespeare.info
Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet

Links on theatre in Shakespeare's time
Elizabethan theatre
Theatres, playhouses, inn-yards, and amphitheatres
The Globe
Building of the Globe Theatre
Who owned the Globe Theatre?
Elizabethan actors
The meaning of colors

Links on Shakespeare's language
Elizabethan as a second language
Shakespeare's archaic words
Shakespeare: verse or prose?
Invented words and famous phrases
You vs thou
The royal we

Stream audiobooks for American Lit

Click on the title to go to the audiobook.

My Antonia

Pudd'nhead Wilson

Catcher in the Rye

Slaughterhouse Five

The Scarlet Letter

You can also try googling the title of your book with the phrase "audiobook" and see what you find. There are some free streaming versions and free downloads. There are also audiobooks available for purchase.

A Raisin in the Sun: Here's some good background on housing discrimination

The Valley of Ashes today

Click on the image above to see more photos.

The Great Gatsby chapter Powerpoints

Click here to view Mr. Wilson's Powerpoints.

Gatsby audio books

Click here to listen to a Gastby audio book. If you don't like this one just google "Gastby audio book" and try a different one.

Huck Finn: To edit or not to edit?

Chris Bosh on the N-word

Bosh on N-word: 'They should ban all slurs'

Miami Heat center Chris Bosh would support the NBA following the NFL's lead in efforts to consider penalizing players for using the N-word and other racial slurs during games.

Bosh, who is black, said he hears the N-word used by players during games and that it creates uncomfortable situations, although he says it's used primarily "in a friendly" way.

Click here to read the entire article.

Some interesting reading as we preview Huck Finn

Exporting the N-word

Navigating foreign lands is a big part of Coleman Collins' life as he pursues an overseas hoops career

Click here to read the whole article.

Ian Mckellen on the Tomorrow speech

Searchable Huck Finn

Click here.

Macbeth banquet scenes

Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth

Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth

RSC As You Like It Preview

Huck Finn first edition illustrations

Click here to see them all.

Women as Shakespeare's Men

Click here to read the New York Times article.

Hamlet according to "Big Hutch"

Approaches to Shakespeare 2013 Google Docs

Click here to access all of the Approaches to Shakespeare Google Docs.

The Beatles as Pyramus and Thisbe

Some fun Othello videos

The Piano Lesson webquest

40 Acres and a Mule
Wiki: 40 Acres and a Mule
Land and Freedom: 40 Acres and a Mule

Sharecropping
Wiki: Sharecropping
Digital History: Sharecropping
University of Illinois: About Sharecropping

Jim Crown
What Was Jim Crow?
The History of Jim Crow
Wiki: Jim Crow Laws
Louisiana Black Codes
Google: Jim Crow Images
Examples of Jim Crow Laws

Slave Raparations
Debate Continues Over Reparations for U.S. Slavery
Wiki: Reparations for Slavery

Slave Songs
Songs of Freedom
Coded Slave Songs

Parchman Farm
Wiki: Parchman Farm
The Mississiippi Blues Trail: Parchman Farm

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois
Wiki: Booker T. Washington
Wiki: W.E.B. Du Bois

The Great Depression
The Great Depression: An African-American Perspective

Ghosts
Wiki: Ghost

Othello test review questions

Click here to view the Othello test review questions.

Models of stage reviews

To get an idea how you could write your review on As You Like It or Macbeth here are some review of other productions:

Macbeth, RSC, 2011 in The Telegraph
Macbeth, RSC, 2011 in The Guardian
As You Like It, RSC 2011 in The New York Times

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Slings and Arrows explains Macbeth's tomorrow speech:

Anthony Sher's Macbeth:

I won't play Mackers!

Shakespeare in Ashland

Click here for information and intinerary for Shakespeare in Ashland.

Julius Caesar journal #1

One page: What does the play have to say so far about...
politics
character (as in moral character)
the common people
trust (or mistrust)
ambition
conspiracy
something else?

(include 1-3 of your favorite lines from acts 1 or 2)
Click here to search for good lines.

Hamlet final project

Here are some helpful links for the final project:

Film reviews
Branagh's Hamlet reviewed in Variety
Branagh's Hamlet reviewed in The New York Times
Gibson's Hamlet reviewed in The New York Times
Gibson's Hamlet reviewed by Roger Ebert
Tennant's Hamlet reviewed in The Guardian
Tennant's Hamlet reviewed in The Telegraph
Tennant's Hamlet reviewed by the BBC

Stage/ acting history
A stage history of Hamlet from the Royal Shakespeare Company
"Hamlet" from theatrehistory.com
"Acting Hamlet" from theatrehistory.com
"All Sorts of Hamlets"

Click this link if you want to read some excerpts from a review of the OSF 2010 Hamlet.

Click this link if you want a copy of the Hamlet film comparison graphic.

"Slings and Arrows" explains Ophelia

Mariah Gale as Ophelia

Mariah Gale as Ophelia (part 2)

“To be or not to be” journal

This speech has been called the “most famous and most misinterpreted speech in all of literature."

Pick one or more of these questions for your journal:

Why do you think this speech is so famous?

What is Hamlet’s state of mind at the moment he delivers the speech?

What is he thinking about?

What is this speech about?

What’s your favorite line from the speech besides “to be or not to be”? Why?

Freewrite topics for Lord of the Flies journal #6

1. What does Golding wish for us to believe about the role of shame in a society?

2. What does Golding wish for us to believe about the effect of anonymity on the individual?

3. What does Golding wish for us to believe is the primary component of a civilized society?

4. What does William Golding wish for us to believe is the primary cause of the descent into savagery?

Hamlet FYI

Click here for background pages on Hamlet that I mentioned in class.

An actor prepares to perform Shakespeare

Gregory Linington prepares for roles at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Cick here for the video.

Click here for the article.

Click here to see what his script looks like.

Passages for act 3 reading log

3.3.19-28

3.3.155-161

3.3.342-354

3.3.407-423

3.4.56-76

Approaches to Shakespeare

Greetings Approaches to Shakespeare students. Click the link below to access all documents for our course.

Approaches to Shakespeare documents

And here are some useful links for you:

Shakespeare Insulter

Shakespeare Help

Open Source Shakespeare

Folger Shakespeare Library

Shakespeare Competition

Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare's Globe

Heritage Institute (where you will find the Shakespeare course in Ashland)

Hamlet Act 5 (This American Life episode on Shakespeare in prison)

Third Quarter Extra Credit-- 10 pts

Does literature still matter?

To earn the 3rd quarter extra credit, read the article below and write a comment of no less than 50 words about it. You may either leave your comment here on the blog in the comments section (be sure to leave your name) or write one out and hand it to me on Monday morning before 7:45.

Does Literature Still Matter

The Piano Lesson key passages

Here is a link to the key passage list for The Piano Lesson: key passages

The Piano Lesson essay topics

1. How does Wilson use the motif of haunting to develop an important theme?
2. How does Wilson use the motif of ownership to develop an important theme?
3. How does Wilson use the symbol of the piano to develop an important theme?
4. What does Boy Willie symbolize and how does that symbol develop an important theme?
5. What does Maretha symbolize and how does that symbol develop an important theme?
6. What does Berniece’s relationship with Maretha symbolize?
7. How does the conflict between Berniece and Boy Willie over Maretha develop an important theme?
8. How does the conflict between Berniece and Boy Willie over the piano develop an important theme?
9. How does the contrast between Boy Willie’s and Avery’s attitudes about white people develop an important theme?
10. How does the contrast between Boy Willie’s and Avery’s attitudes about power develop an important theme?
11. How does Wilson express his theme on the American Dream through conflict, characterization, symbolism, motif or some other device?
12. How does Wilson express his theme on work/craft/labor through conflict, characterization, symbolism, motif or some other device?
13. What important theme is embodied in one of Boy Willie’s “soliloquies” in Act 2 scene 5?
14. How does Wilson use the motif of the epithet nigger to develop an important theme?