NESA Student Sample Response

“Of all Shakespeare’s tragedies … Othello is the most painfully exciting and the most
terrible.” To what extent does this view align with your understanding of Othello?

Engagement with the dramatic form of tragedy creates a personal cathartic

experience in the audience, revealing the underlying complexities of the human
condition. In William Shakespeare’s 17th Century play Othello, the cynical realities of
human nature are exposed to terrifying effect. The exploitation of our deeply-held
fears to bring human frailties and vulnerabilities to the surface, exemplified in the
character of Othello, exposes the mental susceptibility of emotions as a result of
jealousy. Through Iago’s distortion of the reality of those around him, we are able to
come to the terrible realisation that humanity is truly capable of dissembling and
manipulation. The emotional turmoil of the play is driven by jealousy, creating a most
painful experience of undesirable enthusiasm.

The exploitation of the emotional state reveals the cathartic experience of jealousy
for one’s own gain within Shakespeare’s play Othello. By manipulating the
vulnerabilities of the upstanding and respected Othello, Iago reveals the underlying
human condition that is jealousy and the audience comes to the terrible realisation
that we are all susceptible and flawed. Shakespeare explores the confronting
emotions that reveal the disguise worn by humanity. The audience is forced to work
through creating a kind of release that is unsatisfied due to the confrontation of the
terrible condition of humans. The selfish nature of Iago plays on the conflict creating
tension between appearances and reality to represent the personal motives of
humans as only being true to themselves. “...Beware, my lord, of jealousy: It is the
green eyed monster…” Iago, Act 3, Scene 3, lines 167-168. The visual imagery
metaphorically exposes the vulnerabilities of Othello allowing Iago to create a facade
of sincerity. He abuses his power and manipulates Othello’s susceptible emotions.
Ironically, Iago uses discouragement to intensify Othello’s previously repressed
jealousy. Here, Shakespeare reveals the potentially selfish natures of society to
expose the realities of our true motives. The revelation of selfish intentions can easily
be overlooked, in order to abuse another’s reality. Iago creates a false sense of
innocence to encourage Othello to second guess his emotions. The manipulation of
Othello suggests that human nature puts our beliefs and needs above the good will
of others. “I should be wise; for honesty’s a fool...” Iago Act 3, Scene 3 line 383. The
intentional revelation of Iago’s dishonest nature juxtaposes his advice to Othello.
Shakespeare skillfully portrays the jealousy and selfishness of Iago to gain control
over Othello’s subconscious and reveals the personal motives that underlie human
nature. The personification of honesty, convinces Othello of Iago’s honest nature, but
in truth exposes the control and manipulation that Iago uses to fulfil his selfish
motives. The nature of this selfishness indicates the effect that information can have
on our subconscious thoughts.

“The moor already changes with my poison:...” Iago, Act 3, Scene 3 line 326. The
revelation of the true motives of Iago exposes the underlying condition of selfishness
for ones own gain. The soliloquy reveals Othello as the outsider and shows how his
segregation has greatly affected his mentality. Iago is able to control and alter
Othello’s reality through subtle manipulation creating a most terrible cathartic
experience. By poisoning the mind of Othello, Iago exposes the dependent natures
of humans, as well as how the idea of being an outsider makes us more susceptible
to manipulation. The exploitation of human emotions and the need to be accepted,
reveals how the mind can be abused through the jealousy of others. The human
condition reveals the intensity of emotions and exploits the vulnerability of these
emotions. The cathartic experience of jealousy results in the abuse of emotions to
ensure the security of our own personal motives.
How to Write an Introduction
(Don’t Lose this, it applies to Year 12 too!)

Introductions function to orientate your marker as you embark on your argument.

You’re introducing your:
- Thesis in response to the essay question
- The text you’ll be discussing and the author (in this case it’s a play and a
playwright)
o A one sentence overview of what the play is about
- Your key points that you will use to prove your thesis
o These should be short overviews of your concept statements that form
the start of each body paragraph within the essay

Have a look at the exemplar introduction below and identify each component of an
introduction the student has included.

This introduction is a draft for the practice question below.

Characterisation in Shakespeare’s Othello is used to explore manipulation and

jealousy.

To what extent does your interpretation align with this view.

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice

(1604) offers a rich exploration of manipulation and jealousy
through the characterisation of a naive protagonist Othello, and a
deceptive antagonist Iago. Throughout the play, Iago develops and
exerts careful control over Othello’s thoughts and way of seeing the
world, deceiving him, and ultimately prompting Othello to take the
life of his wife, Desdemona, who he believes has cuckolded him.
Shakespeare’s characterisation of Iago and Othello provides insight
into how a person’s insecurities may be manipulated, the power of
one’s belief in their ability to determine their own fate and
manipulate others, and how jealousy is a consuming force that can
overwhelm reason.

Identify each of these essential features:

- Highlight the thesis statement in blue
- Highlight the one sentence overview of the play in pink
- Highlight the overview of the key points in green
- Underline the title
- Circle the date of publication
 - Check if first name and last name of the playwright has been used the first
time he is mentioned and then referred to as Shakespeare thereafter

Using this exemplar as a model, construct your own introduction for the practice
question provided. When you have done this, identify each of the essential features
listed above using the same key and email Ms Best to check it.

Key Ingredients of a Body Paragraph for

a Critical Essay
Your body paragraphs develop and prove the argument stated in your introduction
and should all work to prove your answer to the essay question.

The key ingredients of a strong body paragraph

include:
- A concept statement that explains what you have learned about the concept
by studying the text
- 3-5 pieces of contextualised textual evidence (at least 3 analysed, two can
be supporting without being analysed)
- Relevant techniques or features
- An analysis of how your evidence, techniques and features shape meaning
in the text (you can usually spot these because you’re using an analysis
verb)
- An explanation of how your textual evidence supports your concept
statement and answer to the question

Steps to writing a body paragraph:

1. Once you have a concept in mind, choose your evidence
2. Write a concept statement about that evidence + what the play has to say
about the concept as a whole
3. Contextualise your evidence (What does the marker need to know about the
who, what, when, where, why to make sense of your evidence?)
4. Analyse your techniques and link it back to the question + the concept
statement
5. Proofread your paragraph checking that it makes sense

Exemplar Body Paragraphs

Read the following exemplar paragraphs and highlight the required components using the
code below:

 Concept statement = pink

 Contextualised evidence = blue
  Techniques/ features = green
 Bold the analysis verbs and analysis = yellow
 Links back to the concept statement (and where you would make links back to the
question) = Pink

Shakespeare represents the power of an individual's sense of self-determination in

contrast to a world where people believe their lives are fated or ordained by God.
While common cultural beliefs in Shakespeare's time such as the Great Chain of
Being and the Wheel of Fortune reinforced the belief that a person's life was out of
their control, Iago offers a Renaissance Humanist perspective that juxtaposes with
this through the metaphor of the garden. He attempts to instruct Roderigo in his self-
determinism: "Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners", his
extended metaphor suggests that an individual's will is what determines decisions
made and that our lives are the product of such choices. He goes on to explain that
what we choose to plant or how we manage the garden, if it is "sterile with idleness
or manured with industry", is an individual's choice, conveying the belief that what
we do with our lives will have consequences as "'tis in ourselves that we are thus or
thus." Likewise, Iago assures Roderigo he follows Othello “to serve [his] turn upon
him”, the pun of “serve” indicating a willingness to subvert traditional hierarchical
authority. The way Iago seeks to take control is again evident in his musical
metaphor. As he notes Desdemona and Othello are “well-tuned now”, he
showcases his self-determinism: “But I’ll set down the pegs that make this music.”
Within his metaphorical comparisons, Iago’s diction reveals his belief in his agency,
he is the subject who will “set down” the pegs, thus directing the music. Likewise, he
declares he will turn Desdemona’s “virtue into pitch” and thereby “make the net that
shall enmesh them all” and “pour this pestilence” into Othello’s ear. These
declarations of his intention repeatedly showcase his agency, as he is the
instrument of destruction, the active participant controlling the lives of others. Iago’s
self-determinism that contrasts with the providentialism of the Renaissance and the
naivety of other characters, empowers him to exert influence over others and is
critical to his power in the play.

Another source of Iago’s power is his acute ability to identify weaknesses in others
and immoral willingness to exploit these. Iago is financially aided by Roderigo,
though it is never clear what has happened to the money he implores Roderigo to
“put in [his] purse”. Iago exploits Roderigo’s emotional attachment to Desdemona
that makes him susceptible to manipulation. Likewise, he plans to take advantage of
Othello’s “free and open nature/ That thinks men honest that but seem to be so”
because he believes it will allow Othello to “be led by th’ nose/ As asses are.” The
animalistic language of his simile displays his belief in his racial and intellectual
superiority to Othello’s trusting naivety. Indeed, the dramatic irony of Othello’s
repeated references to Iago’s honesty, declaring him to be “a man of honesty and
trust” and entrusting his wife’s care to him, emphasises the faith he misplaces in
Iago, and testifies to the “free and open nature” Iago takes advantage of. The power
of Iago’s ability to both accurately identify and then manipulatively exploit the
weakness of his opponents is best showcased as he suggests to Othello that the
union between himself and Desdemona is “unnatural” as Othello is a outside of
Desdemona’s “clime, complexion and degree” evoking an extreme self-
consciousness within Othello based on his race and class. That this fosters a new
awareness in Othello is clear, as the language he uses about himself starts to reflect
the animalistic comparison of Iago’s own and a racial consciousness not hitherto
demonstrated by Othello. He ponders if it is perhaps (haply) “because I am black”
and “declined/ Into the vale of years” that he has been abused by Desdemona, the
reference to his skin colour the first in the play to be made by Othello himself.
Likewise, his lament, “I had rather be a toad/ And live upon the vapor of a dungeon/
Than keep a corner in the thing I love/ For others’ uses” exemplifies the way
Othello’s language, and therefore mind, has been influenced by the animalistic
language of Iago, with his racially vilifying metaphors like “black ram”, “barbary
horse”, and “asses”. Even at the play’s conclusion, the stain of Iago’s influence is not
erased entirely, as Othello’s declaration of his intended suicide is proclaimed as “I
took by th’ throat the circumcisèd dog, / And smote him, thus.” Iago’s power to
manipulate others relies on his ability to accurately identify individuals’ weaknesses
and exploit these, and the racism of Venetian society ensures Othello’s racial identity
is a weakness Iago can exploit.
 1. ‘Shakespeare’s Othello presents us with a sinister and cynical view of human
relationships that continue to engage modern audiences.’
To what extent does this view align with your own?

ALWAYS INTRODUCE PLAY FIRST- NAME, YEAR, DESCRIPTION

Shakespeare establishes that human relationships are often founded on deceit, betrayal and
jealousy to clearly highlight the contemporary aspects of sinister and cynical views of human
relationships which are relatable for a modern audience, and this is expressed through the
different characters’ range of relationships in the play. Shakespeare’s incorporates darker,
more volatile aspects of the human experience in his characters to construct the cynical
relationships of today’s society. Emilia’s and Iago’s contrasting relationship with Othello’s and
Desdemona’s provides a comparison of both Renaissance and Elizabethan values towards
love. Iago and Emilia present a more contemporary example of love, where their malice and
rebellion against each other is outwardly portrayed. Emilia, in particular is a cynical character
who embodies the indifference towards Elizabethan practices, such as the patriarchy.
 1. ‘It is Shakespeare’s exploration of intense human relationships in Othello which
continues to appeal to audiences.’
Support your analysis with close reference to the text.
William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is centred around potent
emotions driving a jealous man to murder his wife. By exploring the extreme binaries of love
and hate, and vice and virtue, the play highlights the power of their intensity in the realm
human relationships. Love and hate are two passionate sides of the same coin, since, as
Othello’s rapid descent from the former to the latter conveys, one can be easily transformed
into the other. Love and hate, though they are opposites, are both comprised of a passion
which binds them together. Othello’s rapid descent from his love for Desdemona to hatred,
catalysed by his lack of experience in human relationships, conveys how the mutual passion
of the two extremes can transform relationships. Humans are capable of vice and virtue and
the balance between is influenced and intensified by forceful emotions. The contrasting
characterisation of Iago and Desdemona convey the human capacity of individuals to
embody complete vice or complete virtue and the effect of the composition of the two on
the relationships of others and self.
Othello’s characterisation as a military warrior establishes him as incapable of being in a
position of vulnerability in which he is thrust due to his marriage with Desdemona.
Othello’s military persona, previously void of romantic intimacy, establish him as intolerant
towards vulnerability, which is why he is incapable of balancing the intense emotions that
vulnerability brings, and thus,
The romance of Othello’s marriage to Desdemona is alien to his military background, and
the striking position of intimacy that his love brings is too much for his capacity, thus his
hatred is partially borne of a desire to rid himself of his vulnerability.
Because Desdemona is Othello’s first romance, the love he feels for her is all-consuming and
brings with it a vulnerability alien to him. The agony he is thrust in upon suspicion of her
adultery, borne of his intense love, provokes him to pursue hatred in conflict with love. This
creates an intense inner conflict in that he believes her to be “a fine woman, a fair woman, a
sweet woman”, with a tricolon to emphasise his belief in her virtuous attributes, countered
by his strikingly violent imagery of “I will chop her into messes” and “I will tear her all to
pieces”, highlighting the extreme hatred growing in him. This capricious mania reflects
individuals’ ability to become caught in a discord of intense opposite emotions for their
loved ones. Othello’s abusive anger towards Desdemona is an expression of his confusion
from contrasting emotions, showcased by his used of the third person as he exclaims “I took
you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”, revealing his disillusion in
his sense of self as a result of the weight of his hate and love for her. His hatred is a rotten
product of his love, brought by his inability to withstand the vulnerability that comes with
relationships. His hatred provides contrast to his poignant declaration “that I love the gentle
Desdemona” with his praising diction to describe Desdemona demonstrating his
appreciation of her. Iago is the characterisation of hate in the play, with his four
monosyllabic words “I hate the Moor” expressing his loathe in a summary of his character
and motivations. Othello’s realisation of the evil in his murdering Desdemona prompts a
surge of shame that recognises “when we shall meet at compt, that look of yours will hurl
my soul from heaven and fiends will snatch at it. Cold, cold my girl, even like thy chastity.”
His repetition of “cold” accentuates Desdemona’s lifelessness in the moment, creating a
striking verisimilitude of what he has done in the heat of his passion and that, in taking her
life, he has destroyed his own, as is the assumption of a relationship. The disastrous choices
fuelled by his intense emotions establish Othello as an understandable character as he
presents the mania conjurable by intense intimacy.
Iago and Desdemona are juxtaposing characters that convey extreme vice and virtue
through contemporary and historical attitudes and the damage that too much of either one
can cause to relationships. Their characterisations reflect the human capacity for vice and
virtue and th. Iago’s sinister plots which “hell and night must bring (this monstrous birth) to
the world’s light” relate to his demonic references to the chaos he provokes in the
relationships of others around him. The vice which drives his plots is one embedded in him,
summarised by the four monosyllabic words “I hate the Moor” to amplify his loathing of all
that is good and fair, as represented by characters like Othello and Cassio. Iago’s persona as
an inherently vicious manipulator portrays him as a revealment of the darkest aspects of
human nature. By observing his relish in the pain he causes around him, showcased by his
proud tone in “making him egregiously an ass” in reference to Othello, the audience can
understand the impact of malintent on one’s relationships with those around them and
others’ relationships. Desdemona provides a contrasting devotion for virtue and it’s this
virtue which Iago weaponises against her. Her submission to Othello’s abuse is best
portrayed on her deathbed, when, upon realising Othello’s intention of murder, she
acceptingly replies “then heaven have mercy on me” with her Christian reference
demonstrating the extent to which she will follow goodness. Her loyalty to Cassio is the
catalysis for her death, as her metaphor of “solicitor” in “thy solicitor shall die before giving
away thy cause” emphasises the extent to which she will fight for Cassio’s redemption in
Othello’s eyes, providing dramatic irony as her virtuous persistence will only justify her guilt
in his perspective and intensify the tension in their relationship. By providing these two
representations of extreme oppositions, and exploring the product of the exclusivity in their
personas impacts their relationships, Shakespeare prompts reflection on human attitudes
that intensify relationships.
Overall, Shakespeare explores the tension in human relationships caused by the extreme
actions borne of vice and virtue and the passion of love and hatred. His formulation of the
dichotomies of love and hatred blends them together and highlights the ability of the inner
conflict of the forces to create intense external tension in human relationships. By portraying
the extreme poles of virtue and vice, Shakespeare warns of the threat that too much of one
or the other poses to the intensity of intimacy between two individuals. In his exploration of
the potency of the play’s characters’ interactions, Shakespeare holds a mirror to his
audience, portraying the passionate emotions and attributes the compose intense
relationships with others.
To what extent does Othello’s position as an outsider contribute to his downfall as the
tragic hero?
William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is a tragedy
centred around the peripeteia of a tragic hero, Othello. The xenophobic prejudice of
Venetian society against Othello’s alterity as a Moor provokes an insecure jealousy which
catalyses his downfall. Shakespeare critiques the racial prejudice of Elizabethan society as he
explores its impacts on the human psyche through the degradation of Othello’s great
character. Othello’s jealousy is borne of the vulnerability of his position as an outsider,
amplifying his insecurities in his sense of identity.
Elizabethans were hyperaware of racial differences, and their prejudiced attitudes towards
individuals of other racial backgrounds is showcased in the play as the founding of Othello’s
vulnerability. The play begins with bestial epithets by Iago, Brabantio and Roderigo
describing Othello as “black ram”, “thick lips” and “sooty bosom” which make prominent his
racial otherness and the reactions of Venetians towards it. Upon his marriage to
Desdemona, Othello is accused, by Brabantio, of having “practis’d on her with foul charms,
abus’d her youth with drugs and minerals” with his listing of Othello’s methods of witchcraft
adding emphasis to his prejudice against Othello’s race. Although Othello offers no reaction
to these offensive descriptions at the beginning of the play, his position as an outsider is
accentuated by Iago’s reminders of his own position as a part of Venetian society. He
persuades of his knowledge of Venetian women who as someone who “knows our country’s
disposition well” with his inclusive language “our” contrasting his suggestion that, although
Othello lives in Venice, and may call it his country, it isn’t where he belongs. These subliminal
suggestions embed themselves in Othello’s mind, who becomes more and more susceptible
to his own insecurities of his race. His peripeteia becomes evident through his adaptation of
Iago’s style of language, disregarding his previously elegant composure which responded to
slander with witty humour such as “keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them”
which conveyed his calm in times of stress through attempts to keep peace. This grace of
language decays into “I took by the throat this circumcis’d dog” in his final monologue. The
blunt animalistic language in reference to himself and his race, lacking the previous beauty
in his diction, demonstrates his awareness of being a Moor as an element that consumes his
identity. The fact that this way of speech and awareness has remained even after his
anagnorisis stresses the mental toll that he has taken from society’s xenophobia.
As his character degrades, Othello focuses more on his insecurities of his alterity, allowing
them to fester into his hamartia of jealousy against Desdemona, Cassio and Venetians. His
first reference towards his race, “haply for I am black, and have not those soft parts of
conversation that chamberers have” is immediately linked to Venetian men to juxtapose his
shortcomings against their qualities, conveying a sense of envy for the “soft parts of
conversation” that he ironically believes he doesn’t possess. As his jealousy and suspicion
grows, his awareness of the difference between his own race and Desdemona’s race also
grows, as he “took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”. His
connotation, in choosing to implement Desdemona’s racial background and in referring to
himself in the third person, convey both his disillusionment as he loses his sense of self, and
his consciousness of Desdemona’s race as being different to his, to highlight of his
deteriorating identity. Othello’s jealousy towards Cassio is conveyed by his eagerness to plot
his murder as he asks Iago, “how shall I kill him, Iago?”. His interrogatory sentence being
centred around a method of murder rather than contemplation of it shows Othello’s
certainty in his decision as a product of his jealousy towards the threat Cassio poses which
defies his previous values. He admits his jealousy in his final monologue after Iago’s plots are
revealed and describes himself as “one not easily jealous but, being wrought, preplex’d in
the extreme”, with his use of antithesis between “not easily jealous” and “perplex’d in the
extreme” to convey his downfall from the former to the latter. Othello’s raised sensitivity
towards his racial difference fuels his jealousy towards Desdemona and her Venetian
relations, corrupting his character as he exploits that jealousy and loses himself along the
way.

Overall, the tragedy follows Othello as the tragic hero whose hamartia is borne from the
maltreatment he receives by the society around him. The Elizabethan era’s xenophobic
attitudes impacted individual’s sense of identity in drastic ways, as the prejudice of others
towards an individual became the individual’s own prejudice against themselves. The
exploration of jealousy as an emotion rooted in discontent with oneself connects the
susceptibility of insecurities to alterity. Shakespeare’s understanding of the impact of
societal attitudes on individuals of other backgrounds challenges racial prejudice and warns
of its degrading power.
William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is centred around an antagonist
and protagonist, with the former often more prominent than the latter. Iago is the malignant
villain who fuels the tragedy through spreading his jealousy and manipulating the reality of
situations into sinister appearances, all with the power of implication.
Iago is the dominant character of the play, the action entirely dictated by his evil intentions
and crafty manipulation.
1. Although Othello is the title character (eponymous hero, titular) , Iago becomes
the dominant figure of the play. Do you agree?
William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice” (1604) is centred
around the antagonist, Iago, as much as its eponymous hero, Othello. The tragedy is fuelled
by Iago’s manipulation of the binary of appearance and reality, as he simultaneously asserts
his Renaissance Humanism above the perspectives of other characters. Iago’s dominance in
the play is enforced by his ability to beguile other characters through implication, including
Othello, shaping them to his will. He establishes his humanism attitude to be a focal idea in
the play, which draws attention to his personal beliefs, away from Othello’s.
Iago’s manipulative characterisation conveys his control over appearance and reality, and, as
such, other characters’ minds, casting a shadow on Othello as he propels the plot. Iago
captures the audience’s attention immediately with the open revelation that “I am not what
I am,” where his antithesis encapsulates his dichotomous nature, divided between his
appearance as “honest Iago,” as perceived by all around him and his reality. His skilful
articulation of events around him is what allows for his potent persona, demonstrated by his
implicatory tone as he tells Othello “Well, then I think Cassio to be an honest man,” in order
raise Othello’s suspicions and alter his subconscious, expanding that “men should be what
they seem,” to further strengthen his implications and provide dramatic irony through the
opposition his character creates to this argument t of convenience. Othello’s entire downfall
is fuelled by Iago’s dominance over Othello’s psyche as he strives to “make the Moor thank
me, love me, worship me, for making him egregiously an ass.” His tricolon listing, juxtaposed
by the contrasting “ass” emphases his power over Othello, highlighting his ability to bend
and twist characters to believe an appearance which benefits only his reality. The dramatic
element of soliloquy accomplices the silent audience to his schemes, creating a malignant
intimacy between his character and the audience, overcoming the focus on Othello. The
most pivotal interaction between Othello and Iago is centred more around Iago, as he has
succeeded in burying himself into Othello’s mind. As Othello plots to kill Desdemona and
Cassio, he kneels to Iago, signifying his susceptibility to Iago’s manipulation as he “greet thy
love, not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous.” His grateful diction enforces
Iago’s dominant composure in the moment, demonstrating Iago’s success in leading Othello
completely astray. Thus, it is Iago’s hold over Othello’s perception that conveys his
dominancy over the play’s characters and plot.
Iago’s beliefs provide a contrasting perspective to the Elizabethan context of the tragedy, as
his salient Renaissance perspective of humanism shifts focus onto him. His coercion towards
Roderigo is strengthened by his extended metaphor of “our bodies are our gardens, to which
our wills are gardeners” conveys an unfamiliar perception of self-sufficiency within
Elizabethan society which creates a more prominent picture of Iago’s control, as he is
portrayed as a character primarily in control of himself. The epigram of his concise statement
“’tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus,” highlights his knowledge of human nature, which
is what allows him to masterfully predict and induce certain emotions in those around him,
especially Othello. His dominance over the play is especially showcased as he plots that with
Desdemona’s “goodness I shell make the web that shall enmesh them all,” and is later
reinforced by the same metaphor of “and with as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a
fly as Cassio”. His repetition of the metaphor of a “web” which he creates highlights his
confidence in his ability to influence the characters’ minds, as he “will set down the pegs
that make this music.” His self-deterministic beliefs are an element which catalyse his
encapsulation of the plot as a whole, drawing the concentration of the play to himself.
Overall, Shakespeare’s “Othello” revolves stronger around Iago’s perspective than its titular
hero’s experience, with Iago’s dominance accentuated by his ability to manipulate those
around him. The dichotomy of appearance and reality is exploited by his malignant
intentions and the intrigue that the privacy of his soliloquys strike in the audience, where he
reveals the truth of his actions, shifts the focus onto his choices. His contemporary self-
sufficient humanism makes him an prominent anomaly against the contextual background of
the play. Overall, the tragedy is completely woven by Iago’s motivations and influence.

William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is a Jacobian play structured
around the patriarchal perspectives of Elizabethan society. The play’s characterisation of
Emilia as a contemporary woman of Renaissance values, and of Desdemona as the
embodiment of virtue and Medieval values provides an articulate comparison of their cruel
marginalisation in a patriarchal world.
Through the characters of Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, Shakespeare has crafted resonant
female voices that reflect the changing nature of Elizabethan social and moral values.
 1. The female characters in the play are articulate but frustratingly unable to save
themselves from the cruelty of a patriarchal world.

Evaluate this perspective by exploring the representation of woman in the play.

William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is a tragedy established around
a patriarchal society borne from an underlying Elizabethan context. The female characters of
the play provide articulate comparisons between an Elizabethan providentialism mindset,
portrayed by virtuous Desdemona, and a more contemporary Renaissance belief of self-
determinism, expressed by Emilia’s worldly characterisation. Desdemona is the naïve
product of a strictly misogynistic society which forces its women into silence when faced
with abuse. Emilia offers a cynical recognition of how and when to exert her will as an
individual.
Desdemona is characterised as an embodiment of Elizabethan virtue, following Christian
beliefs of fate and accepting that unjust fate unravelled for her by the men in her life. The
controlling attitude of her father, Brabantio, upon hearing of her marriage is highlighted in
his belief that “She’s abus’d, stol’n from me, and corrupt’d.” His tricolon empathises his
grievance at, what he believes to be, Desdemona’s rebellion. Furthermore, the diction of his
words, in “stol’n” subliminally objectify Desdemona, as though she is more his belonging
than his daughter, reflecting the patriarchal mindset which marginalises her character before
she even enters the play. Her devotion to this societal structure is first displayed when she is
asked to choose between her father, Brabantio, and Othello, when Brabantio asks her if she
understands “where most you owe obedience?”. His connotation in “owe” and “obedience”
reinforces his belief in that she is absent of individuality, merely an object to own. Her
response to the question establishes that she is in acceptance of this attitude towards her, as
she believes “you (Brabantio) are lord to all my duty” with a high modality in “all” to
emphasise her devotion to the male figure, who, she believes, has rightful control of her.
Later throughout the play, her submission to Othello’s deteriorating character foreshadows
her inability to save herself from him. It is most clearly seen on her deathbed, where Othello
reveals his intent of murder, to which she responds “then heaven have mercy on me” with
an accepting tone which has no aim of self-defense. The lack of opposition on her part
clearly showcases her naïve succeptibility to the cruelty imposed on her and conveys the
extent of her belief in the providentialism attitude she has been raised to believe in. It is
emphasised further when she denies to reveal that Othello has strangled her, instead telling
Emilia, “Nobody. I myself” when asked who has killed her. Her voluntary restriction of herself
to seek retribution in any form portrays an unnatural and frustrating lack of survival instinct,
further emphasising her commitment to her belief that her fate is immovable. Desdemona’s
willing submission to the cruel patriarchal society around her is a symptom of her piety to
the providentialism attitudes of that same society, ultimately resulting in her death, which
her lack of willingness, out of respect for those attitudes, to save herself catalyses.
Emilia provides a contrasting Renaissance belief of self-determinsism, and a knowledgeable
perspective of the world around her, specifically the reigning mindset of superiority amongst
men, though her intelligence is not enough to save her from death at her misogynistic
husband’s hands. Emilia’s extended metaphor linking men to food, in the fact that “’tis not a
year or two that shows us a man. They are all but stomachs, and we are all but food. They
swallow us hungrily, and when they are full, they belch us,”, portrays their cruel patriarchy,
characterising men as appetites eager to only satiate themselves with the women around
them. Her slight rebellion against this convention is expressed in her admission that “Nor
would I by this heavenly light, but I’d as well do it in the dark”, when asked by Desdemona if
she would cuckold her husband for the whole world. With her humorous irony, she provides
a fresh representation of women in her time, conveying that “though we have some grace,
yet we have some revenge,” in an antithesis which juxtaposes these oppositional elements
in women’s characters, unifying them as the composition of those characters. This
emphasises Emilia’s belief in her and her gender’s own autonomy, expressing a longing to
rebel against her cruel society. Her longing is further reinforced in her want for “husbands
(to) know, that their wives have sense like them (husbands): they see and smell and have
their palates both for sweet and sour, as husbands have.” Her listing of “see”, “smell”,
“sweet” and “sour” accentuate her desire for husbands to know and understand the place of
these senses in women’s characters whilst further extending her contemporary attitude of
self-determinism in her rebellion against the patriarchy. However, all of her private upheaval
against male authority is not enough to save her from her husband, whom she revolts
against in exclaiming “’tis proper I obey him but not now”. Her contradiction of what is
expected from her demonstrates, both her recognition of the expectation, and her
contrasting recognition that it is wrong. Her confidence boldens her belief in herself and her
right to her own choices. Emilia introduces a contemporary rebellion against patriarchy,
which she exercises through her self-assurance in her belief that her life is her own to
control. Despite her articulate character, she is nonetheless unable to save herself from what
she quietly rebels against.
Overall, Shakespeare’s “Othello” contrasts Elizabethan providentialism with Renaissance self-
determinism through the characterisation of Desdemona and Emilia, respectively, who are
frustratingly subjected to death by their husbands. The cruel ending laid out for them by
Othello’s and Iago’s abusively misogynistic attitudes reflects the power that their patriarchal
world has over women, including themselves.

William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is the tragedy of a jealous man
driven into murdering his wife. Although the antagonist, Iago manipulates reality and
appearance to provoke paranoia in him, he predominantly utilises Othello’s hamartia, his
passionate jealousy, to propel the tragedy.
Othello is a character who permits jealousy to gnaw away at his rational conscience,
however, jealousy is not the sole contributor to his downfall
 1. Is it adequate to say that Othello’s tragedy is caused by his jealousy? Discuss.
William Shakespeare’s “Othello: The Moor of Venice” (1604) follows the tragedy of a jealous
man, Othello, who murders his wife. Othello’s peripeteia, although it was strongly provoked
by the antagonist’s, Iago, subliminal manipulation of appearance and reality, was more
dominantly catalysed by Othello’s own hamartia of jealousy. Iago’s powerful implications,
and understanding of human reactions and emotions, throughout the play plant the seed of
jealousy in Othello’s mind. Once that seed is planted, it consumes all reason in Othello, until
the appearance created by Iago becomes his reality.
Othello is susceptible to Iago’s intricate manoeuvring of the innocent reality of situations
around him to create a sinister appearance which beguiles Othello enough to initiate the
downfall in his character. Othello’s first decision made unknowingly in Iago’s favour, is to
strip Cassio of his role as lieutenant. He does this because Iago “I had rather have this
tongue cut from my mouth than it should do offence to Michael Cassio”. The dramatic irony
here creates the appearance to characters that Iago is a noble man, defending another
soldier. However, to the audience it is clear that he is cleverly revealing Cassio’s
misdemeanour without directly stating it. This paints him as equally dramatically ironic
“honest Iago”, who recounts the reality of situations plainly. His similar recount of Cassio’s
apparently secretive conversation with Desdemona, as he asks “I cannot think it, that he
would steal away so guilty-like, seeing you coming.?” uses the interrogatory sentence and
suspicious tone to twist Cassio’s and Desdemona’s innocent interaction into one of
malpractice. Iago’s plotting against Othello is predetermined from the beginning of the play,
in his private soliloquys where he plans to “make the Moor thank me, love me, worship me,
as I make him egregoriously into an ass”. His tricolon of “thank”, “love” and “worship”,
juxtaposed by the degrading metaphor of “ass” emphasises his dichotomy in his relationship
with Othello. Iago’s masterful manipulation of Othello, to the extent where Othello is
completely unaware of the reality of Iago’s actions, is the fuel of Othello’s descent. Othello’s
susceptibility to Iago’s implicatory appearances is demonstrated in his stern calm tone as he
asks “How shall I kill him Iago?”, in reference to Cassio, whom Iago has just framed for aiding
Desdemona’s infidelity. The pose of the interrogatory sentence, in its asking “how” and not
contemplating “whether” Cassio should die highlights Othello’s certainty in the dark path he
is choosing. His decision is fuelled by having heard Cassio talk of Bianca, his mistress, to Iago,
though Iago has twisted this reality, which he tells the audience in an aside to be “Now I
shall question Cassio of Bianca” into the appearance that Cassio talked of Desdemona, in
order to deceive Othello, who is gullably convinced. Othello’s complete trust in Iago’s
recounts of Cassio’s supposed dream of Desdemona, where Iago uses hyperbole to
exaggerate how Cassio “then laid his leg over my thigh, and sigh'd, and kiss'd; and then cried
'Cursed fate that gave thee to the Moor!'”, is a product of Iago’s intelligence of the human
psyche, as he recognises the degree of pressure and words to use to provoke a certain
reaction.
However, despite Iago’s prominent role in Othello’s tragedy, his implications would not have
been so effective in degrading Othello, had Othello not allowed his hamartia of jealousy to
be exploited, thus making his hamartia the stronger of the two forces in his tragedy.
Othello’s graceful indifference to the bestial and racial epithets, such as “old black rum”,
“thick-lips” and “sooty bosom” made by Venetians around him, in prejudice to his alterity, is
an element of his great character in the start of the play. Thus, the main signifier of his
peripeteia is his consideration of “haply for I am black, and lack those soft parts of
conversation that chamberers have” where his diction of “haply”, “lack” and “soft parts”
implicate an underlying jealous tone towards “chamberers” who he begins to believe have
more attributes than him. Iago ironically warns him, “O beware of jealousy my lord, for it is
the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on”, using the metaphor of food
to accentuate the power of jealousy to gnaw away at one’s reason. This ability of jealousy is
best demonstrated as Othello tells Desdemona, “I took you for that cunning whore that
married with Othello”, where he uses the third person to convey the disillusionment in his
psyche, provoked by his jealous attitude to Desdemona. His conditional mood in “If I do
prove her haggard, (…) I’d whistle her off (…) and let her pray at fortune” juxtaposed by his
shortly following “she’s gone, I am abus’d and my relief must to be to loathe her”
accentuates the chaos in Othello’s mind, as his jealousy is tearing an inner conflict between
his love and hate for Desdemona. However, his hate, as it is fuelled by jealousy, proves more
powerful and this is reinforced by his violent language in “I’ll chop her to messes” and “I’ll
tear her all to pieces”, which demonstrates both the downfall in his character, through his
brutal words, much different to his previous elegant composure of language, and the cause
of this downfall to be the corruption of his mind and heart by jealousy.
Overall, Othello is a man who allows his potent jealousy to be exploited by Iago’s deceitful
twists of appearance and vice, to deteriorate his character. His jealousy towards
Desdemona’s supposed affair is the main reason Iago’s implications prove so successful in
the tragedy.

William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is one of his most intense plays,
with a pivotal expression of the extreme dichotomies of the human condition. Shakespeare
explores the contrasts and commodities between the binary oppositions of virtue and vice,
and love and hatred which synthesise human nature.
Shakespeare’s great tragedy is framed upon binary oppositions, the most central of which is
the tension between good and evil.
 1. Shakespeare’s Othello presents the very best and the very worst in human nature.

Justify this perspective of the play.

Quotes used: vice/virtue
“hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light”
“divinity of hell!”
“So will I turn her virtue into pitch, and out of her own goodness make the net that shall
enmesh them all.”
“No by this heavenly light!”
“No one. But I myself”
“I am not what I am”

Quotes: love/hate
“I love the gentle Desdemona”
“O excellent wretch. I love thee, and when I love thee not, chaos is come again”
“If I do prove her haggard, (…) I’d whistle her off (…) and let her pray at fortune”
--- “she is gone, I am abus’d, and my relief must be to loathe her”
“I’ll tear her all to pieces” ----- “I will chop her into messes”
“then heaven have mercy on me!”

William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is one of his most appealing
tragedies because of its timeless ability to challenge historical and modern society and their
impact on the human experience. Like many of Shakespeare’s other dramatic tragedies,
“Othello” reflects the darkest and lightest aspects of human nature, highlighting the
passionate emotions of jealousy and love as enduring elements of the human condition.
Shakespeare’s Othello will continue to resonate with modern audiences due to the enduring
nature of its key concerns, in particular discrimination of the other, and patriarchal power.
 1. ‘There is a timelessness to Shakespeare’s dramatic works’.
What in your opinion is the enduring appeal of Shakespeare, discuss with close
reference to Othello?
Themes: jealousy, xenophobia
Quotes: jealousy
“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“Cassio must die, for he hath a daily beauty if his life which makes me ugly”
“but jealous souls will not be answered so. They are jealous not for the cause but jealous for
they are jealous. ‘tis a monster begot upon itself, born on itself.”
“pour this pestilence into his ear” ---- “jealousy so strong that judgement cannot cure”
Quotes: xenophobia
“old black ram” – “thick lips” – “sooty bosom”
“I hate the Moor”
“haply for I am black and lack those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have”
“many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion and degree, whereto we see in all
things nature tends”
“I take by th’throat this circumcis’d dog and smote him thus”

William Shakespeare’s “Othello: the Moor of Venice” (1604) is an Elizabethan tragedy which
follows the Aristotelian model, including a tragic hero and his hamartia. Although Othello’s
downfall is driven motivated by his hamartia of jealousy, this hamartia is inherently derived
from the Elizabethan societal prejudices of xenophobia against his alterity to exploit his
insecurities.
From a contemporary perspective it is the endemic prejudices within society which lie at the
heart of the tragedy of the play.
 1. ‘Societal prejudices, rather than Othello’s hamartia, lie at the core of the play’s
tragedy.’
To what extent does this view align with your reading of the play?

Themes: jealousy and xenophobia

Jealousy :

“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“thinkst thou, I’d make a life of jealousy?”
“Is this man not jealous?”
“but jealous souls will not be answered so. They are jealous not for the cause but jealous for
they are jealous. ‘tis a monster begot upon itself, born on itself.”
“one not easily jealous, but being wrought, perplex’d in the extreme”

Xenophobia:
“black ram”, “thick-lips”, “sooty bosom”
“thou hast practis’d on her with foul charms, abus’d her delicate youth with drugs or
minerals.”
“what she fears to look at”
“many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion and degree, whereto we see in all
things nature tends”
“haply for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have”
“I take by th’throat this circumcis’d dog and smote him thus”
Shakespeare’s play Othello demonstrates the weakness of human judgement” (2008)

Themes: appearance vs reality, jealousy

Quotes A vs R

“no sure I cannot think it that he would steal away so guilty-like, seeing you coming”

“what does thou say, Iago?” – “what does thou ask?” – “why of thy thought Iago?”

“honest Iago”

“I am not what I am”

“greet thy love not with vain thanks but with acceptance bounteous”

Jealousy

“put him into a jealousy so strong, that judgement cannot cure”

“prove my love a whore”

“I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”

“is this the noble Moor who our full senate call all in all sufficient?”

“one not easily jealous but, being wrought, perplex’d in the extreme”
 1. ‘Shakespeare’s Othello presents us with a sinister and cynical view of human
relationships that continue to engage modern audiences.’
To what extent does this view align with your own?
Themes: jealousy, love vs hate
Quotes : jealousy
“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“thinkst thou, I’d make a life of jealousy?”
“but jealous souls will not be answered so. They are jealous not for the cause but jealous for
they are jealous. ‘tis a monster begot upon itself, born on itself.”
“cassio must die, for he hath a daily beauty in his life which makes me ugly”
“one not easily jealous, but being wrought, perplex’d in the extreme”
Quotes: love vs hate
“’tis not a year or two that shows us a man. They are all but stomachs and we all but food.
They swallow us hungrily and when they are full, they belch us”
“I love thee and when I love thee not, chaos is come again”
“I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”
“I’ll tear her all to pieces” – “I’ll chop her into messes”
“The destructive power of jealousy is tragically presented in Shakespeare’s play Othello”

Themes: jealousy, virtue vs vice

Jealousy:
“cassio must die for he hath a daily beauty in his life which makes me ugly”
“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“I will put him into a jealousy so strong that judgement cannot cure”
“but jealous souls will not be answered so. They are jealous not for the cause but jealous for
they are jealous. ‘tis a monster begot upon itself, born on itself.”

Virtue vs vice:
“keep up your bright swords for the dew will rust them”
“turn her virtue into pitch, and with it, I shall create the web that will enmesh them all”
“I take by th’throat this circumcised dog, and smote him thus”
“haply for I am black, and lack those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have”
“I love the gentle Desdemona”
“I’ll tear her all to pieces” – “I’ll chop her into messes”
“In Shakespeare’s play Othello, we witness a profound inability to distinguish between appearances
and reality, central to the human experience”

Themes: appearance vs reality, jealousy

A vs r:

“put money in thy purse”

“I am not what I am”

“honest Iago”

“I greet thy love not with vain thanks but with acceptance bounteous”

“make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me for making him egregiously an ass”

Jealousy:

“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“look to your wife. Observe her well with Cassio”

“haply for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have”
“one not easily jealous, but being wrought, perplex’d in the extreme”
“

Shakespeare’s play Othello powerfully portrays a world dominated by jealousy and revenge”

Themes: jealousy, love and hate

Quotes: jealousy

“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“jealous not for the cause but jealous for they are jealous”
“cassio must die, for he hath a daily beauty in his life which doth make me ugly”
“one not easily jealous, but being wrought, perplex’d in the extreme”

Quotes: love and hate

“I love thee and when I love thee not, chaos is come again”

“I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”

“I’ll tear her all to pieces” – “I’ll chop her into messes”

“loved too well”

“Evil ultimately conquers good in Shakespeare’s play Othello”

Themes: jealousy, vice vs virtue

Jealousy quotes

“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“jealous not for the cause but jealous for they are jealous”
“cassio must die, for he hath a daily beauty in his life which doth make me ugly”
“one not easily jealous, but being wrought, perplex’d in the extreme”
“I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”

Vice vs virtue quotes

“I am not what I am”

“no by this heavenly light!”

“turn her virtue into pitch and, with it, create the web that shall enmesh them all”

“divinity of hell”

“tear her all to pieces” – “I’ll chop her into messes”

“Love and hate are presented as opposite sides of the same coin in Shakespeare’s play Othello”

Themes: love and hate, jealousy

Love and hate:

“I love the gentle Desdemona”

“My life upon her faith!”

“I took you for that cunning whore that married with Othello”

“I’ll chop her into messes” – “I’ll tear her all to pieces”

“if I do prove her haggard, I’d toss her to the wind and let her prey at fortune”  “She’s gone, I’m
abus’d and my relief must be to loathe her”

Jealousy

“observe her well with Cassio”

“O beware my lord, of jealousy, for it is the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meet it
feeds on”
“jealous not for the cause but jealous for they are jealous”
“haply for I am black and lack those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have”

“many proposed matches of her own clime, complexion and degree, whereto we see in all
things nature tends”
To what extent is one’s sense of identity affected by one’s perspective of being accepted or
estranged? Refer to Shakespeare’s “Othello”.

Xenophobia, reputation
xenophobia
“black ram”, “thick-lips”, “sooty bosom”
“thou hast practis’d on her with foul charms, abus’d her delicate youth with drugs or
minerals.”
“I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello”
“haply for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chamberers have”
“I take by th’throat this circumcis’d dog and smote him thus”

Reputation
“I have lost the immortal part of myself and what remains is bestial”
He who steals my purse steals strash. But he who finches from me my good name robs me of that
which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed

I have done the state some service and they know’t

“is this the noble Moor who our full senate call all in all sufficient?”
“Othello is a tragedy without any heroes.”

To what extent does this statement align with your study of the text?
Shakespeare’s endurance relies on his ability to represent and question core human
experiences.
To what extent has your critical study of Othello confirmed this statement?
PRACTICE CREATIVE
I had a dream last night.

A dream of grandeur and terror. I have never seen the clouds so furious. Never looked into the Sun’s
disappointed eyes and seen myself staring back. They were so angry with me I thought they would
eat me whole and I would never open my eyes to the waking world again. The thunder roared in
laughter as I cried for my mother. Roared in pity as I yelled her name into the wind. She didn’t
answer. I tell myself now that it was because the wind drowned out my cries.

I remember the day I gave birth. From the moment I woke that day, I felt a pit in my heart that had
not been there the night before. As if I somehow knew that, come nightfall, my life would not be my
own anymore. Because a mother is a mother, and all else are adjectives. Well, if that is the case, I am
nothing, like my mother before me.

The wind was not loud enough if she was only an arm’s length away, staring at me like a soulless
statue.

I listen as Judy packs her bags. The sound of the zipper is the same as when I would pack her bag for
school. But now, that bag isn’t going to school. And I am not the one packing it.

I want her to yell at me. I want her to cry or laugh or scream. I want to see something in her eyes.
Something other than the pit I have dug out for her. I raised her the way my mother raised me. I was
always scared of becoming the same kind of mother as her. But fear didn’t stop it from happening.
And now she is leaving. And why wouldn’t she?

Condemn my soul to hell. A hollow shell. I gave birth to a cornucopia and I turned it into a hollow
shell. Condemn my soul to hell.

I had my chance to be a mother. If I were offered it again, would I take it? I would want to.

“Can you drive me to the airport?” she asks me. I want to. Yes. The word formulates in my mind. But
my voice won’t release it. Because the pathetic gesture of my driving her will not make up for twenty
years of indifference.

“I can’t, I’ll be late to work if I do.”

No. I would not take it.

The dream was rather odd. I met someone. Someone like me. She told me her story. A story of
infidelity and abandonment. And though she told it with regret, it was fantastical. Though, the storm
didn’t agree. Because as she told me of how she left her husband, the clouds darkened. And as she
told me of how she abandoned her children, lightning crackled closer to where we sat in the muddy
field, leaving sizzling shadows of cracks in the grass.

As I listened, I felt bewildered at how a mother could leave her children for her own selfish cause. It
seemed impossible, as though one would be cutting the golden thread of fate to do so. I told her she
was a terrible mother and she laughed. She said, “but are we so different?”. While I didn’t physically
leave my daughter, I abandoned her nonetheless.

It isn’t me crying out for my mother but my daughter crying out for me. I am the soulless statue,
carved in the shape of my predecessor.
The woman was so familiar, I felt as if I knew her, in another life. Before she left, I asked her for her
name.

“Anna,” she said. “Anna Karenina.” I remember the sound of a train as she said it. Then a sharp
screech. And she was gone.

I grab the car keys and put on my coat. “Let’s go, Judy,” I call. I hear her surprise in the halt in her
steps. She shouldn’t be surprised. Any other daughter wouldn’t be surprised at the prospect of her
mother giving her a car ride. If I had been better, she wouldn’t be surprised.

The car ride is silent but the thunder still echoes in my subconscious. There is nothing to say. Is
there? Is there something I should be saying? There must be something.

“Buy some ear muffs at the airport. You’ll sleep better with them on the plane.”

“Ok.”

No that’s not right.

“Did you pack light? They charge extra for overweight baggage.”

“I know.”

That’s even worse.

Maybe silence was better.

The neon sign ahead reads AIRPORT.

As she gets out of the car, I feel something shift in my heart. A shift eerily similar to that of the day of
her birth. But not quite the same.

She is leaving. She is walking away, suitcase following behind her. Back turned. Without good bye,
without a second glance.

Her figure becomes smaller and smaller as she walks down the airport aisle. Someone passes and
blocks her from my view. Then another. And then she is gone, swallowed by a crowd of faceless
heads.

I close my eyes.

I reach out, stretching my arm so far it hurts.

She turns around. A warm smile hugs my heart and warm hands hug mine.

I pull her in. Hollow, hollow, my cold shell.

Is it too late? No.

I will pour my soul to fill that shell.

I open my eyes.

I am running, running, running. My legs cry as though I’ve been running for years.

I reach out.

I had a dream last night. And my limbs still ache from it.
CREATIVE ADAPTIVE
They found her in a deep red bath, encapsulated by the rich maroon essence of her life which she
had freed from the capsule that was her body. Limbs so pail, her veins seemed to crack through her
skin. He had not been shocked. His only worry was for his son, Jonathan, and the grief he would
descend into when he found out. But Jonathan had not even faltered in step when he was told what
had happened to his mother.

The man still remembered the night he’d met her. He’d told his friend that he’d wasted his time with
this rubbish book reading he’d brought them to. He’d told him the author was equally rubbish. He
hadn’t known it then but she had listened as he slandered her.

Their first night out together, he’d wanted only to impress her. He told her some nonsense about “his
insight on the duality of the characters in your novel”, whatever that meant. She’d laughed at his
feigned nonchalance. And then she told him of her philosophy. Life and death, love and hate. She
poured her vision of the world into his eyes and his ignorance was blinded by the sheer light of it. But
as the light faded, there was only her.

The next morning, he’d taken to her door a most romantic bouquet of flowers. She’d savoured only a
glance at them before throwing them in the bin. “they’re going to die anyway,” she’d told him
blatantly, “better get rid of them before I have to grieve them”.

So, for her wedding ring, he’d gotten her a diamond cut in the shape of a flower. “This way, it’ll never
die,” he offered her. But that was not what she had truly meant, and his silly little ring was more a
scribbled drawing from a child than a romantic gesture to her heart.

She would often fall into days of silence. Silence and immobility. “Speak,” he’d tell her. “Speak!” he’d
scream and yell and cry. Silence. Cheeks paler.

He’d thought having a child would make her better. But when she brought Jonathan into this world,
something died out in her eyes and darkness replaced it. She was hollow, nothing but a shell. And he
wondered if she’d ever been anything more.

“I want mummy to tuck me in,” Jonathan had told him one night.

“Mummy’s not feeling well, Jonny.” He’d kissed his son goodnight. He’d returned to their bedroom
and laid down next to his wife. Cold. He’d reached out his hand, and, finding some lifeless mould of
flesh, he’d squeezed and whispered “I love you”. And then he’d cried himself to sleep.

And now she was gone. And all that remained of her were her books. The stories she’d written that
he’d never read.

He opened her last, unfinished book.

To my husband and son,

Remember me as this

As he read, he felt her materialise next to him. Her warm cheeks were no longer pale but rosy with
life, the darkness around her eyes gone. Soon, he was no longer reading but listening as she read to
him, her voice as sweet and calming as it had been in her readings.

She read “I tucked my son into bed tonight and I kissed him goodnight. Then, I laid next to my
husband, squeezed his hand, and whispered how much I loved him.”
Question: 15 marks

“Many of us state values we wish we had as a way to cover up the values we actually have.
In this way, aspiration can often become another form of avoidance. Instead of facing who
we really are, we lose ourselves in who we wish to become . . . So, when we are
disconnected from our own values . . .our beliefs and ideas get disconnected from our
actions and emotions.”

Use the above quote as inspiration for a piece of writing. You may choose between
Discursive, Persuasive or Imaginative