ACT+V+straun,+andrew,+naomi

//ACT V: Summary //

Scene i: Act V opens with Iago and Roderigo waiting for Cassio, with the intention of ambushing him. Iago disappears, Cassio enters and Roderigo stabs him, but fails to pierce his armour. In return, Cassio stabs and wounds Roderigo. Iago reappears, stabs Cassio in the leg, and disappears again. Without seeing who has stabbed him, Cassio falls. Othello enters and believes that Iago has killed Cassio and, inspired, goes to kill Desdemona. Lodovico and Gratiano enter, hear Cassio’s and Roderigo’s cries, but do nothing, fearing it is a trap. Iago enters and secretly kills Roderigo under the pretense of helping him. Bianca enters, and Iago places the blame for Cassio’s death on her before sending Emilia to tell Othello of what has happened.

Scene ii: In his apartment, Othello prepares to kill Desdemona. She awakens, and asks Othello why he wants to kills her, whereupon Othello explains her infidelity with Cassio, citing the handkerchief as proof; Desdemona denies being unfaithful to Othello, but weeps when she hears of Cassio’s death, which only angers Othello. Othello smothers Desdemona, but is interrupted by Emilia, who tells him that Cassio has killed Roderigo, but is still alive. Desdemona cries out that she has been murdered by her own hand but dies straight afterward. Emilia’s response brings Montano, Gratiano, and Iago to the room, and eventually the truth of Iago’s treachery begins to unfold. In the ensuing chaos, Iago kills Emilia, Othello stabs, but does not kill, Iago, and after knowing the full truth, mortally stabs himself.

//Focusing questions and stopping points //:
Stopping point 1: “Thy bed, lust-stain'd, shall with lust's blood be spotted.” (V.i.36)
 * Quick recap of plot, paying attention to Iago’s manipulation of Othello. Note the language Othello uses to describe Iago. Why should Othello be so //happy// in the knowledge that he is about to kill his wife?
 * We know already that Othello has decided to smother Desdemona. Why, then, is he talking of “lust’s blood”? Why would Shakespeare / Othello use this imagery when smothering is bloodless? What does it suggest?

Stopping point 2: “This is the night / That either makes me, or forgoes me quite” (V.i.128-29)
 * In what ways could Iago be “made”? In what ways could he be unmade? (be specific)
 * How does this aside further / alter the opinions we have already formed of Iago?
 * Make a prediction for the final scene.

Stopping point 3: “So, so.” (V.ii.90)
 * Do you agree that Othello “that am cruel, am yet merciful”? Explain your response.
 * Othello mistakes Emilia’s voice from without for that of Desdemona. What does this tell us about his character at this point?

Stopping point 4: “O, the more angel she, / And you the blacker devil!” (V.ii.132-33)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Compare Emilia’s characterisation of Othello to other characters’ perceptions of him at earlier points in the play. Has the view other characters have of Othello changed?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Earlier in the play the audience was encouraged to sympathise with Othello’s position as an outsider to the European characters. How is the audience positioned by Emilia’s remark? (be aware that different historical periods will be positioned differently.)

**Pre-reading**
Students, in groups of 4, to construct a spiderweb diagram, with Iago at the centre, that illustrates the extent of his manipulation. Who, at this point, is Iago manipulating, and how? In their diagram, students should indicate the likely effects and consequences of Iago's actions. Students to share responses with the rest of the class.

During Reading
Whole class to read whole of Act V, scene i as performance. Teacher using stopping points and focusing questions as guide.

Post Reading
Students remaining in groups; hot-seating of secondary characters: Bianca, Lodovico, Gratiano, also Roderigo's ghost in modern media format of students' choice.

=﻿Other Ideas=

'Othello' face-book
As an ongoing reading exercise, students could create an 'Othello' face-book page like this one. They could start it as they begin reading and add to it as they read and continue post-reading.


 * Possible Post-reading tasks**
 * Have students rewrite the ending to the play as a classical comedy where the “good guys” and the “bad guys” get their just rewards. Tell the students to respond to this question: What other aspects of the play will have to be changed to make a happy ending believable?


 * Have students rewrite act 5, or in groups the whole play, as a soap opera, perhaps through a week of episodes. After the script has been drafted, they might perform and video it.

=﻿In the news!= Students could use a newspaper format to write a plot summary, or several key plot points as separate news stories.
 * Have students write a letter from Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, or Roderigo to Dear Abby or some other advice columnist. Another student should write a reply from the columnist.
 * Have students stage Iago’s trial. They should be careful to determine the specific charges against him. Remind them to include a defense, a prosecution, a judge, and a jury. Remind them also to pay attention to what the play itself says

=﻿Mini-movie.= Students could create a film version of Othello, in a genre of their choice; making their intentions clear in a written report. media type="youtube" key="0rJmaqMkqfo?fs=1" height="385" width="480"