Othello 4? (Act 3, Scenes 3 and 4)

            Iago meets some unexpected turns in his plan, but successfully causes Othello to become insanely jealous and paranoid of Desdemona's unfaithful feelings towards Cassio. Othello for once realizes the many desirable qualities Cassio has that he does not: light skin, charm, intelligence, and Brabantio's approval. Iago highlights him as being, "Of her own clime, complexion, and degree" (III.iii.270). Once Othello becomes fully aware of his disadvantages, and once he is told of some possible proof of Desdemona's infidelity, he is outraged and begins to act on his emotions. His actions greatly contrast his collected and dignified presence in the beginning of the play. With each word he spoke, he sounded eloquent and powerful, despite his race. Othello believes that Desdemona, the main source of his happiness in the middle of the play, has noticed his imperfections and does not approve of them. This insecurity of Othello's is the cause of his verbal downfall.

Excersice: Connecting Sound with Sense

1. The version a) is the better of the two. The syllable count in both lines is 10 and they have a similar flow. They also seem to follow the same meter: iambic pentameter. The repetition in the phrase "your guide by day, your guard by night" creates more unity than "shall point your way by day, and keep you safe at night".

2. b) is the better of the two. The words are more concise and are able to flow well.

3. The first excerpt seems to be the most correct solely for the beautiful assonance used: "crows croak hoarsely over the snow". Option b) does not follow this poetic device.

4. b) seems to follow a more rhythmic route than a). The word "attests" in a)'s first line disrupts the flow and meter, whereas b) successfully does not: "low voice tells how...".

5. Option b) tries to incorporate too many flowery and excessively long words that disrupt the rhythm of the piece. The use of "immemorial" and "innumerable" makes the piece seem choppy and wordy. a) uses both iambic pentameter and general rhythm to successfully embody the beauty of the garden.

6. a) has a more parallel and uniform meter (iambic pentameter) than b), as well as a more pleasant rhythm.

7. Option a) seems too literal and entirely devoid of rhythm, almost as if it were meant to be a sentence instead of in a poem. The list of words in the first line of b) provide a congruent, repetitive rhythm, with some loose consonance with both 'b' and 's': "bastions, batteries, bayonets, bullets".

8. Though a) seems more cluttered with syllables, its word choice is more effective than that of b). The word "incessantly" used in a) is more descriptive than "repetitive". The connotation of incessantly is that the work continues even when there is no resolve--it is done endlessly.

9. Excerpt b) seems to be the more successful of the two. Its lines have a similar count of syllables and meter, whereas some lines in a) extend and seem to not follow any rhythm. For example, as a) says in line three, "The plowing goes wearily plodding his homeward way," which is a mouthful. Then option b) makes the idea more concise and easier to follow: "The plowman homeward plods his weary way". The second line is more musical and pleasant.

10. Option a) has too many cluttered and misplaced syllables. b) has much better rhythm and flow, as well as having both alliteration and assonance at the end: "stinks and stings".

Othello 3

        As Iago continues with his evil plan to become lieutenant continues unfurling, he continues to seem the most honest of men to all his enemies. One piece of his stealthy plan is revealed to the audience: "If I can fasten but one cup upon him / With that which he hath drunk tonight already, / He'll be as full of quarrel and offense / As my young mistress' dog" (II.iii.49-53). After it follows through, his duality is truly exposed when he pretends to soothe Cassio after his being fired as lieutenant. Cassio condemns the alcohol that has caused him to get into a quarrel, and Iago responds with, "Come, come, good wine is a good familiar crea- / ture, if it be well used. Exclaim no more against it" (II.iii.328-329). His statement hold so much irony, as Cassio would never suspect Iago as being one that would set him up for such a loss of reputation and dignity. At the end of the night, Cassio calls his traitor "honest Iago" (II.iii.355), when he is anything but. All the characters are so easily fooled to think best of Iago, especially the wise Othello, when all the while, Iago plays a different role for each of his acquaintances.

Rhythm and Meter

Chapter Twelve: Rhyme and Meter

Rhyme – wavelike recurrence of motion or sound
- Accented and unaccented syllables provide some degree of rhythm
- Designates flow of pronounced sound

Rhetorical stresses – make intentions more clear

Pauses: help structure thought

End-stopped line – when the end of the line corresponds with a natural speech pause

Run-on line – when the sense of the line moves on without pause into the next line

Caesuras – pauses that occur within lines

Prose poetry – uses many poetic elements, including connotation, imagery, and figurative language

Meter – identifying characteristic of rhythmic language where accents are arranged to occur in equal intervals of time
- Can make reader more aware of how the poem should be read
- Certain effects can be analyzed to have meaning
- Patterns that sounds follow when arranged into metrical verse
- Foot – unit of meter that consists of one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables
- Stanza – group of lines whose metrical pattern is repeated throughout the poem
- Metrical variations: call attention to some irregular sounds
            substitution: replacing a regular foot with another one
            extrametrical syllables: added to beginnings or endings of lines
            truncation: omission of an unaccepted syllable at either end of a line
- Scansion – process of defining a poem’s metrical form:
            1) Identify prevailing foot
            2) Name number of feet in a line
            3) Describe the stanzaic pattern

Rhythm -
- Expected rhythm – the rhythm our minds construct when reading poetry
- Heard rhythm – actual rhythm of words
- The two are counterpointed

The Stranger Outline

Thesis: The indifference demonstrated by Mersault's narrative, as well as the tendency for others to try to construct meaning of his actions, illustrate Camus' ultimate absurdist message.

1. Physical needs vs emotional needs
   
   • "I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings" (65)
     Mersault tries to tell his lawyer the reasons why he was quite withdrawn and insincere in the most honest fashion. He shows his complete emotional indifference, stating that he felt more tired than sad at the funeral of his mother. The lawyer is not satisfied with his answer, as he knows how ruthless the trial will be. Most of the characters of the book presume his lack of emotion was due to his heartlessness, filling in information that makes sense in the shadow of a murder trial. However, Camus tries to hint at the idea that sometimes everyday life can cause repetitive exhaustion that then leads to questioning the meaning of life. Mersault lives a life where he does not assess his emotions, losing sight of priorities and feeling.
   • "The scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes. That's when everything began to reel...My being tenses and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave" (59)
     Mersault is faced with severe physical discomfort as he approaches the Arab on the scorching beach. Mersault cannot ignore the amount of strain the sun's glare is putting on his eyes, and the only way to stop the pain is to kill the one producing it: the Arab. Once in trial, Mersault declares that the reason for committing his convicted murder was because of the sun. He does not put meaning to his actions and emotionally detaches himself from the decision he has made. His physical needs in the case of the beach were to stop the glare from reaching his eyes, and they overpowered his ability to bring emotion and reason into his fateful mistake. Mersault does not try to formulate a meaning or motive to his murder in his absurdist ways. The four extra shots fired also lead the reader and the court to construct meaning when really none is explained.
     
2. Relationships with others
   • "Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn't make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to" (41)
     The way Mersault meets Marie's interest with such indifference shows his lack of priorities and knowledge of the meaning of life. To Mersault, a future of neutrality is satisfying, and that is enough for him. There is no meaning ti assess or brightness to look forward to for him. Meanwhile, Marie constructs meaning from his actions. She perceives them in different perspectives to try to make sense of him but finds it very frustrating to. Mersault is indifferent to her and her feelings that result from his actions.
   • Mersault interacts with two parallel relationships of abuse and reacts to them the same way as he does the rest of life. When he sees Salomano treating his dog roughly, he does not intervene and treats it as a normality. The reader can assess his lack of values for the well-being of domesticated animals, but it can be said that such lack can be common. When Mersault befriends Raymond, he discovers that the man beats his girlfriend due to suspicions of cheating. Mersault treats the severe situation with the same indifference, tellings Raymond on the subject that he "didn't think anything but that it was interesting" (32). The calm detachment leads one to believe that Mersault thinks of the woman and the dog as equally insignificant. With the absurdist belief that life has no meaning, he finds himself staying neutral throughout. He does not adhere to objective values, especially since the dog and the woman do not impact him in any way.

The Stranger #5

              When Mersault discovers his fate with the guillotine, he finally begins to truly experience human emotion. It is only when he realizes his time will be cut short that he begins to care about the way he lives it. He develops priorities: "All I care about right now is escaping the machinery of justice" (108). He imagines freedom, and as he does so, "a wave of poisoned joy rose in my throat" (110). The word 'joy' has never been used in Mersault's life's narrative before this pivotal moment. He is learning to feel and to care, just in time for his execution. For once, he is suffering a consequence for an action that he did not take the time to consider. Had he realized that killing the Arab could most indefinitely end with the death penalty, he might not have followed through. Never before had he truly paid for his indifference towards making decisions. Showing Marie his indifference towards their relationship never caused her to leave him, so therefore he continued with that indifference. He always gets the best of each situation, even without putting any emotional effort into it. Now, he can fully appreciate his mistakes, now that he can never see Marie again or enjoy the freedom of long life.