English 433
Dr. Desmet
Summer 1996
Due: Thursday, June 27
Write a 3-5 page paper, typed on one of the following topics.
1. What do the frequency, distribution, and significance of the following imagery clusters tell you about the characters and themes of this play? By "frequency," I mean where in the play do they occur? By "distribution," I mean what characters use these images? by "significance," I mean how are the images used and what do they tell us about both speaker and subject? For instance, images of "blackness" can refer to good and evil or to skin color, race and country of origin. They tell us about Othello, but also about the nature of persons who talk a lot about blackness.
Blackness and "Moors"
devil*, vice*, and angel*
animals such as goat* ram* and monkey*
monster*, monstrous*, and beast
magic and conjur*
devil* vice*
whore strumpet
2. Read the Elizabethan "Homily on Marriage" in MCDonald 278-87. Focusing on one idea or paragraph, discuss how well either Desdemona or Othello lives up to the ideal of marriage outlined there.