Year 9 - Summer Term 1 2013/2014

English Literature:

Shakespeare and Poetry Unit

Resource Booklet

Name: _____________________________________

Class: _____________________________Lesson 1: Macbeth

Plot

Lesson 2: MacbethACT I SCENE VII The same. A room in Macbeth's castle.

Enter LADY MACBETH.

How now! what news?

LADY MACBETH He has almost supp'd: why have you left the chamber?

MACBETH Hath he ask'd for me?

LADY MACBETH Know you not he has? 30

MACBETH We will proceed no further in this business:

He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought

Golden opinions from all sorts of people,

Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,

Not cast aside so soon.

LADY MACBETH Was the hope drunk

Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since?

And wakes it now, to look so green and pale

At what it did so freely? From this time

Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard

To be the same in thine own act and valour 40

As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that

Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,

And live a coward in thine own esteem,

Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'

Like the poor cat i' the adage?

MACBETH Prithee, peace:

I dare do all that may become a man;

Who dares do more is none.

LADY MACBETH What beast was't, then,

That made you break this enterprise to me?

When you durst do it, then you were a man;

And, to be more than what you were, you would 50

Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place

Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:

They have made themselves, and that their fitness now

Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know

How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:

I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,

And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you

Have done to this.

MACBETH If we should fail?

LADY MACBETH We fail!

But screw your courage to the sticking-place, 60

And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep--

Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey

Soundly invite him--his two chamberlains

Will I with wine and wassail so convince

That memory, the warder of the brain,

Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason

A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep

Their drenched natures lie as in a death,

What cannot you and I perform upon

The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon 70

His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt

Of our great quell?

MACBETH Bring forth men-children only;

For thy undaunted mettle should compose

Nothing but males. Will it not be received,

When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two

Of his own chamber and used their very daggers,

That they have done't?

LADY MACBETH Who dares receive it other,

As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar

Upon his death?

MACBETH I am settled, and bend up

Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. 80

Away, and mock the time with fairest show:

False face must hide what the false heart doth know.

Exeunt.

Lesson 3:

ACT I SCENE V Inverness. Macbeth's castle.

Enter LADY MACBETH, reading a letter

LADY MACBETH 'They met me in the day of success: and I have

learned by the perfectest report, they have more in

them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire

to question them further, they made themselves air,

into which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in

the wonder of it, came missivesfrom the king, who

all-hailed me 'Thane of Cawdor;' by which title,

before, these weird sisters saluted me, and referred

me to the coming on of time, with 'Hail, king that 10

shalt be!' This have I thought good to deliver

thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou

mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being

ignorant of what greatness is promised thee. Lay it

to thy heart, and farewell.'

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be

What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;

It is too full o' the milk of human kindness

To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;

Art not without ambition, but without 20

The illness should attend it: what thou wouldst highly,

That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,

And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'ldst have, great Glamis,

That which cries 'Thus thou must do, if thou have it;

And that which rather thou dost fear to do

Than wishest should be undone.' Hie thee hither,

That I may pour my spirits in thine ear;

And chastise with the valour of my tongue

All that impedes thee from the golden round,

Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem 30

To have thee crown'd withal.

Lesson 4: Hitcher By Simon Armitage

I'd been tired, underthe weather, but the ansaphone kept screaming. One more sick-note. mister, and you're finished. Fired. I thumbed a lift to where the car was parked. A Vauxhall Astra. It was hired.

I picked him up in Leeds. He was following the sun to west from east with just a toothbrush and the good earth for a bed. The truth, he said, was blowin' in the wind, or round the next bend.

I let him have it on the top road out of Harrogate -once with the head, then six times with the krooklok in the face -and didn't even swerve.

I dropped it into third and leant across to let him out, and saw him in the mirror bouncing off the kerb, then disappearing down the verge. We were the same age, give or take a week. He'd said he liked the breeze

to run its fingers through his hair. It was twelve noon. The outlook for the day was moderate to fair. Stitch that, I remember thinking, you can walk from there.

Character Mindset Evidence Technique Effect

Lesson 5: Comparison Table

Lesson 6: The Tempest

A T________ is a big s_______ with t_______ l________ and r_______. At the start of the play ‘The T_____’ a b_____ is sailing in the s___. It gets close to a d_______ i_______ and suddenly a terrible storm begins. P_______ lives on the island with his d_________ M________. P_________ is a m__________ and has caused the storm

Rain daughter boat tempest

storm Thunder Miranda Prospero

sea magician lightning

Lesson 7: Prospero Act 5 Scene 1 and Epilogue

[Enter PROSPERO in his magic robes, and ARIEL]

Prospero. Now does my project gather to a head: My charms crack not; my spirits obey; and time Goes upright with his carriage. How's the day?

Ariel. On the sixth hour; at which time, my lord, You said our work should cease. 2020

Prospero. I did say so, When first I raised the tempest. Say, my spirit, How fares the king and's followers?

Ariel. Confined together In the same fashion as you gave in charge, 2025Just as you left them; all prisoners, sir, In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell; They cannot budge till your release. The king, His brother and yours, abide all three distracted And the remainder mourning over them, 2030Brimful of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly Him that you term'd, sir, 'The good old lord Gonzalo;' His tears run down his beard, like winter's drops From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works 'em That if you now beheld them, your affections 2035Would become tender.

Prospero. Dost thou think so, spirit?

Ariel. Mine would, sir, were I human.

Prospero. And mine shall. Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling 2040Of their afflictions, and shall not myself, One of their kind, that relish all as sharply, Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art? Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick, Yet with my nobler reason 'gaitist my fury 2045Do I take part: the rarer action is In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent, The sole drift of my purpose doth extend Not a frown further. Go release them, Ariel: My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore, 2050

And they shall be themselves.

Ariel. I'll fetch them, sir.

[Exit]

Prospero. Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes and groves, And ye that on the sands with printless foot 2055Do chase the ebbing Neptune and do fly him When he comes back; you demi-puppets that By moonshine do the green sour ringlets make, Whereof the ewe not bites, and you whose pastime Is to make midnight mushrooms, that rejoice 2060To hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid, Weak masters though ye be, I have bedimm'd The noontide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds, And 'twixt the green sea and the azured vault Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder 2065Have I given fire and rifted Jove's stout oak With his own bolt; the strong-based promontory Have I made shake and by the spurs pluck'd up The pine and cedar: graves at my command Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth 2070By my so potent art. But this rough magic I here abjure, and, when I have required Some heavenly music, which even now I do, To work mine end upon their senses that This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, 2075Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my book. [Solemn music] [Re-enter ARIEL before: then ALONSO, with a] 2080frantic gesture, attended by GONZALO; SEBASTIAN and ANTONIO in like manner, attended by ADRIAN and FRANCISCO they all enter the circle which PROSPERO had made, and there stand charmed; which PROSPERO 2085observing, speaks:] A solemn air and the best comforter To an unsettled fancy cure thy brains, Now useless, boil'd within thy skull! There stand, For you are spell-stopp'd. 2090Holy Gonzalo, honourable man,

Mine eyes, even sociable to the show of thine, Fall fellowly drops. The charm dissolves apace, And as the morning steals upon the night, Melting the darkness, so their rising senses 2095Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle Their clearer reason. O good Gonzalo, My true preserver, and a loyal sir To him you follow'st! I will pay thy graces Home both in word and deed. Most cruelly 2100Didst thou, Alonso, use me and my daughter: Thy brother was a furtherer in the act. Thou art pinch'd fort now, Sebastian. Flesh and blood, You, brother mine, that entertain'd ambition, Expell'd remorse and nature; who, with Sebastian, 2105Whose inward pinches therefore are most strong, Would here have kill'd your king; I do forgive thee, Unnatural though thou art. Their understanding Begins to swell, and the approaching tide Will shortly fill the reasonable shore 2110That now lies foul and muddy. Not one of them That yet looks on me, or would know me Ariel, Fetch me the hat and rapier in my cell: I will discase me, and myself present As I was sometime Milan: quickly, spirit; 2115Thou shalt ere long be free. [ARIEL sings and helps to attire him] Where the bee sucks. there suck I: In a cowslip's bell I lie; There I couch when owls do cry. 2120On the bat's back I do fly After summer merrily. Merrily, merrily shall I live now Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

Prospero. Why, that's my dainty Ariel! I shall miss thee: 2125But yet thou shalt have freedom: so, so, so. To the king's ship, invisible as thou art: There shalt thou find the mariners asleep Under the hatches; the master and the boatswain Being awake, enforce them to this place, 2130And presently, I prithee.

Ariel. I drink the air before me, and return

Or ere your pulse twice beat.

[Exit]

Gonzalo. All torment, trouble, wonder and amazement 2135Inhabits here: some heavenly power guide us Out of this fearful country!

Prospero. Behold, sir king, The wronged Duke of Milan, Prospero: For more assurance that a living prince 2140Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body; And to thee and thy company I bid A hearty welcome.

Alonso. Whether thou best he or no, Or some enchanted trifle to abuse me, 2145As late I have been, I not know: thy pulse Beats as of flesh and blood; and, since I saw thee, The affliction of my mind amends, with which, I fear, a madness held me: this must crave, An if this be at all, a most strange story. 2150Thy dukedom I resign and do entreat Thou pardon me my wrongs. But how should Prospero Be living and be here?

Prospero. First, noble friend, Let me embrace thine age, whose honour cannot 2155Be measured or confined.

Gonzalo. Whether this be Or be not, I'll not swear.

Prospero. You do yet taste Some subtilties o' the isle, that will not let you 2160Believe things certain. Welcome, my friends all! [Aside to SEBASTIAN and ANTONIO] But you, my brace of lords, were I so minded, I here could pluck his highness' frown upon you And justify you traitors: at this time 2165I will tell no tales.

Sebastian. [Aside] The devil speaks in him.

Prospero. No.

For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive 2170Thy rankest fault; all of them; and require My dukedom of thee, which perforce, I know, Thou must restore.

Alonso. If thou be'st Prospero, Give us particulars of thy preservation; 2175How thou hast met us here, who three hours since Were wreck'd upon this shore; where I have lost— How sharp the point of this remembrance is!— My dear son Ferdinand.

Prospero. I am woe for't, sir. 2180

Alonso. Irreparable is the loss, and patience Says it is past her cure.

Prospero. I rather think You have not sought her help, of whose soft grace For the like loss I have her sovereign aid 2185And rest myself content.

Alonso. You the like loss!

Prospero. As great to me as late; and, supportable To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker Than you may call to comfort you, for I 2190Have lost my daughter.

Alonso. A daughter? O heavens, that they were living both in Naples, The king and queen there! that they were, I wish Myself were mudded in that oozy bed 2195Where my son lies. When did you lose your daughter?

Prospero. In this last tempest. I perceive these lords At this encounter do so much admire That they devour their reason and scarce think Their eyes do offices of truth, their words 2200Are natural breath: but, howsoe'er you have Been justled from your senses, know for certain That I am Prospero and that very duke Which was thrust forth of Milan, who most strangely Upon this shore, where you were wreck'd, was landed, 2205

To be the lord on't. No more yet of this; For 'tis a chronicle of day by day, Not a relation for a breakfast nor Befitting this first meeting. Welcome, sir; This cell's my court: here have I few attendants 2210And subjects none abroad: pray you, look in. My dukedom since you have given me again, I will requite you with as good a thing; At least bring forth a wonder, to content ye As much as me my dukedom. 2215[Here PROSPERO discovers FERDINAND and MIRANDA] playing at chess]

Miranda. Sweet lord, you play me false.

Ferdinand. No, my dear'st love, I would not for the world. 2220

Miranda. Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle, And I would call it, fair play.

Alonso. If this prove A vision of the Island, one dear son Shall I twice lose. 2225

Sebastian. A most high miracle!

Ferdinand. Though the seas threaten, they are merciful; I have cursed them without cause.

[Kneels]

Alonso. Now all the blessings 2230Of a glad father compass thee about! Arise, and say how thou camest here.

Miranda. O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, 2235That has such people in't!

Prospero. 'Tis new to thee.

Alonso. What is this maid with whom thou wast at play? Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours:

Is she the goddess that hath sever'd us, 2240And brought us thus together?

Ferdinand. Sir, she is mortal; But by immortal Providence she's mine: I chose her when I could not ask my father For his advice, nor thought I had one. She 2245Is daughter to this famous Duke of Milan, Of whom so often I have heard renown, But never saw before; of whom I have Received a second life; and second father This lady makes him to me. 2250

Alonso. I am hers: But, O, how oddly will it sound that I Must ask my child forgiveness!

Prospero. There, sir, stop: Let us not burthen our remembrance with 2255A heaviness that's gone.

Gonzalo. I have inly wept, Or should have spoke ere this. Look down, you god, And on this couple drop a blessed crown! For it is you that have chalk'd forth the way 2260Which brought us hither.

Alonso. I say, Amen, Gonzalo!

Gonzalo. Was Milan thrust from Milan, that his issue Should become kings of Naples? O, rejoice Beyond a common joy, and set it down 2265With gold on lasting pillars: In one voyage Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis, And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife Where he himself was lost, Prospero his dukedom In a poor isle and all of us ourselves 2270When no man was his own.

Alonso. [To FERDINAND and MIRANDA] Give me your hands: Let grief and sorrow still embrace his heart That doth not wish you joy!

Gonzalo. Be it so! Amen! 2275[Re-enter ARIEL, with the Master and Boatswain]

amazedly following] O, look, sir, look, sir! here is more of us: I prophesied, if a gallows were on land, This fellow could not drown. Now, blasphemy, 2280That swear'st grace o'erboard, not an oath on shore? Hast thou no mouth by land? What is the news?

Boatswain. The best news is, that we have safely found Our king and company; the next, our ship— Which, but three glasses since, we gave out split— 2285Is tight and yare and bravely rigg'd as when We first put out to sea.

Ariel. [Aside to PROSPERO] Sir, all this service Have I done since I went.

Prospero. [Aside to ARIEL] My tricksy spirit! 2290

Alonso. These are not natural events; they strengthen From strange to stranger. Say, how came you hither?

Boatswain. If I did think, sir, I were well awake, I'ld strive to tell you. We were dead of sleep, And—how we know not—all clapp'd under hatches; 2295Where but even now with strange and several noises Of roaring, shrieking, howling, jingling chains, And more diversity of sounds, all horrible, We were awaked; straightway, at liberty; Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld 2300Our royal, good and gallant ship, our master Capering to eye her: on a trice, so please you, Even in a dream, were we divided from them And were brought moping hither.

Ariel. [Aside to PROSPERO] Was't well done? 2305

Prospero. [Aside to ARIEL] Bravely, my diligence. Thou shalt be free.

Alonso. This is as strange a maze as e'er men trod And there is in this business more than nature Was ever conduct of: some oracle Must rectify our knowledge. 2310

Prospero. Sir, my liege, Do not infest your mind with beating on

The strangeness of this business; at pick'd leisure Which shall be shortly, single I'll resolve you, Which to you shall seem probable, of every 2315These happen'd accidents; till when, be cheerful And think of each thing well. [Aside to ARIEL] Come hither, spirit: Set Caliban and his companions free; 2320Untie the spell. [Exit ARIEL] How fares my gracious sir? There are yet missing of your company Some few odd lads that you remember not. 2325[Re-enter ARIEL, driving in CALIBAN, STEPHANO] and TRINCULO, in their stolen apparel]

Stephano. Every man shift for all the rest, and let no man take care for himself; for all is but fortune. Coragio, bully-monster, coragio! 2330

Trinculo. If these be true spies which I wear in my head, here's a goodly sight.

Caliban. O Setebos, these be brave spirits indeed! How fine my master is! I am afraid He will chastise me. 2335

Sebastian. Ha, ha! What things are these, my lord Antonio? Will money buy 'em?

Antonio. Very like; one of them Is a plain fish, and, no doubt, marketable. 2340

Prospero. Mark but the badges of these men, my lords, Then say if they be true. This mis-shapen knave, His mother was a witch, and one so strong That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs, And deal in her command without her power. 2345These three have robb'd me; and this demi-devil— For he's a bastard one—had plotted with them To take my life. Two of these fellows you Must know and own; this thing of darkness!

Acknowledge mine. 2350

Caliban. I shall be pinch'd to death.

Alonso. Is not this Stephano, my drunken butler?

Sebastian. He is drunk now: where had he wine?

Alonso. And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they Find this grand liquor that hath gilded 'em? 2355How camest thou in this pickle?

Trinculo. I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.

Sebastian. Why, how now, Stephano! 2360

Stephano. O, touch me not; I am not Stephano, but a cramp.

Prospero. You'ld be king o' the isle, sirrah?

Stephano. I should have been a sore one then.

Alonso. This is a strange thing as e'er I look'd on.

[Pointing to Caliban]

Prospero. He is as disproportion'd in his manners As in his shape. Go, sirrah, to my cell; Take with you your companions; as you look To have my pardon, trim it handsomely.

Caliban. Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter 2370And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass Was I, to take this drunkard for a god And worship this dull fool!

Prospero. Go to; away!

Alonso. Hence, and bestow your luggage where you found it. 2375

Sebastian. Or stole it, rather.

[Exeunt CALIBAN, STEPHANO, and TRINCULO]

Prospero. Sir, I invite your highness and your train To my poor cell, where you shall take your rest For this one night; which, part of it, I'll waste 2380With such discourse as, I not doubt, shall make it Go quick away; the story of my life And the particular accidents gone by Since I came to this isle: and in the morn I'll bring you to your ship and so to Naples, 2385Where I have hope to see the nuptial Of these our dear-beloved solemnized; And thence retire me to my Milan, where Every third thought shall be my grave.

Alonso. I long 2390To hear the story of your life, which must Take the ear strangely.

Prospero. I'll deliver all; And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales And sail so expeditious that shall catch 2395Your royal fleet far off. [Aside to ARIEL] My Ariel, chick, That is thy charge: then to the elements Be free, and fare thou well! Please you, draw near. 2400[Exeunt] EPILOGUE

[Spoken by PROSPERO]

Prospero. Now my charms are all o'erthrown, And what strength I have's mine own, 2405Which is most faint: now, 'tis true, I must be here confined by you, Or sent to Naples. Let me not, Since I have my dukedom got And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell 2410In this bare island by your spell; But release me from my bands With the help of your good hands: Gentle breath of yours my sails Must fill, or else my project fails, 2415Which was to please. Now I want Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,

And my ending is despair, Unless I be relieved by prayer, Which pierces so that it assaults 2420Mercy itself and frees all faults. As you from crimes would pardon'd be, Let your indulgence set me free.

Lesson 8: Horse Whisperer

by Andrew Forster

They shouted for me when their horses snorted, when restless hooves traced circles in the earth and shimmering muscles refused the plough .

My secret was a spongy tissue, pulled bloody from the mouth of a just-born foal, scented with rosemary, cinnamon, a charm to draw the tender giants to my hands.

They shouted for me when their horses reared at burning straw and eyes revolved in stately heads.

I would pull a frog’s wishbone, tainted by meat, from a pouch, a new fear to fight the fear of fire, so I could lead the horses, like helpless children, to safety.

I swore I would protect this legacy of whispers but the tractor came over the fields like a warning. I was the life-blood no longer.

From pulpits I was scorned as demon and witch. Pitchforks drove me from villages and farms.

My gifts were the tools of revenge.

A foul hex above a stable door so a trusted stallion could be ridden no more.

Then I joined the stampede, with others of my kind, to countries far from our trade.

Still I miss them. Shire, Clydesdale, Suffolk. The searing breath, glistening veins, steady tread and the pride,

most of all the pride.

Lesson 10:

Iago plants Desdemona’s handkerchief in Cassio’s room. Cassio gives it to his mistress, Bianca. Othello believes Bianca’s possession of the handkerchief is proof that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. He verbally abuses his wife in front of others, who are shocked at the change in the noble and powerful man.Emilia enters and Desdemona revives for a moment, declaring herself guiltless but saying, as she dies, that Othello is innocent of her death. Iago and others enter, and Emilia defends Desdemona’s innocence, recognizing that Iago is behind the tragedy. Othello sees the truth and tries to kill Iago. Iago asks Roderigo to tell Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, that his daughter has left to marry Othello, a marriage Brabantio opposes because Othello is a Moor. Brabantio confronts Othello, and they take their argument to the Duke, who has summoned Othello to ask him to sail to Cyprus to stop a Turkish invasion. Convinced by Othello and Desdemona that they love each other deeply despite their differences, the Duke gives Desdemona permission to travel with Othello. By the time they reach Cyprus the foreign threat has gone.Iago decides to make Othello believe his wife is unfaithful. He encourages Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead with Othello to be reinstated. Iago suggests to Othello that Desdemona is Cassio’s lover. Trusting Iago, and mad with jealousy, Othello promotes Iago and asks Iago to help him kill Cassio and Desdemona.Iago kills Emilia and flees; Othello condemns himself and commits suicide. Iago is seized and taken away.Othello reaches the sleeping Desdemona first. He kisses her, wakes her, and accuses her again. Over her protests that she loves him and is innocent, he smothers her.Iago manipulates Cassio to make him drunk and gets Roderigo to draw him into a street fight. Iago has his revenge on Cassio when Othello strips Cassio of his rank for misbehavior.Iago complains to Roderigo that Othello, his Commander, has passed him over to promote the handsome young Cassio to be his Lieutenant. He vows to get revenge.Iago has manipulated Roderigo into trying to kill Cassio. The attempt goes wrong, and Cassio wounds Roderigo; Iago stabs Cassio in the leg. Othello hears Cassio cry out and thinks Iago has killed him. He returns home, ready to kill Desdemona. Meanwhile, Iago “finds” the wounded Cassio and accuses Bianca of causing Cassio’s injury. Iago quietly kills Roderigo and sends Emilia (Iago’s wife) to

Desdemona with news of what has happened.Othello Plot Summary

Lesson 11: Othello - Act 1 Scene 3

IAGO

Thus do I ever make my fool my purse:

For I mine own gain'd knowledge should profane,

If I would time expend with such a snipe.

But for my sport and profit. I hate the Moor:

And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets

He has done my office: I know not if't be true;

But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,

Will do as if for surety. He holds me well;

The better shall my purpose work on him.

Cassio's a proper man: let me see now:

To get his place and to plume up my will

In double knavery--How, how? Let's see:--

After some time, to abuse Othello's ear

That he is too familiar with his wife.

He hath a person and a smooth dispose

To be suspected, framed to make women false.

The Moor is of a free and open nature,

That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,

And will as tenderly be led by the nose

As asses are.

I have't. It is engender'd. Hell and night

Must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light.

Exit

Othello - Act 2 Scene 1

IAGO

That Cassio loves her, I do well believe it;

That she loves him, 'tis apt and of great credit.

The Moor, howbeit that I endure him not,

Is of a constant, loving, noble nature,

And I dare think he'll prove to Desdemona

A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too;

Not out of absolute lust, though peradventure

I stand accountant for as great a sin,

But partly led to diet my revenge,

For that I do suspect the lusty Moor

Hath leap'd into my seat; the thought whereof

Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards;

And nothing can or shall content my soul

Till I am even'd with him, wife for wife,

Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor

At least into a jealousy so strong

That judgment cannot cure. Which thing to do,

If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trace

For his quick hunting, stand the putting on,

I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip,

Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb—

For I fear Cassio with my night-cap too—

Make the Moor thank me, love me and reward me.

For making him egregiously an ass

And practising upon his peace and quiet

Even to madness. 'Tis here, but yet confused:

Knavery's plain face is never seen till used.

Lesson 12: Medusa – Background Information

Medusa was the daughter of Phorkys and Keto, the children of Gaea (Earth) and Oceanus (Ocean). She was one of the three sisters known as the Gorgons. The other two sisters were Sthenno and Euryale. Medusa was the only mortal out of the three. She was originally a golden-haired and very beautiful maiden, who, as a priestess of Athena, was devoted to a life of celibacy; but, being wooed by Poseidon, whom she loved in return, she forgot her vows, and became united to him in marriage. For this offence she was punished by the goddess in a most terrible manner. Each wavy lock of the beautiful hair which had so charmed her husband, was changed into a venomous snake; her once gentle, love-inspiring eyes now became blood-shot, furious orbs, which excited fear and disgust in the mind of the beholder; whilst her former roseate hue and milk-white skin assumed a loathsome greenish tinge. Seeing herself thus transformed into so repulsive an object, Medusa fled from her home, never to return. Wandering about, abhorred, dreaded, and shunned by all the world, she now developed into a character, worthy of her outward appearance. In her despair she fled to Africa, where, as she passed restlessly from place to place, infant snakes dropped from her hair, and thus, according to the belief of the ancients, that country became the hotbed of these venomous reptiles. With the curse of Athene upon her, she turned into stone whomsoever she gazed upon, till at last, after a life of nameless misery, deliverance came to her in the shape of death, at the hands of Perseus.

Lesson 12:

Medusa

by Carol Ann Duffy

A suspicion, a doubt, a jealousygrew in my mind,which turned the hairs on my head to filthy snakes,as though my thoughtshissed and spat on my scalp.

My bride’s breath soured, stankin the grey bags of my lungs.I’m foul mouthed now, foul tongued,yellow fanged.There are bullet tears in my eyes.Are you terrified?

Be terrified.It’s you I love,perfect man, Greek God, my own;but I know you’ll go, betray me, strayfrom home.So better by far for me if you were stone.

I glanced at a buzzing bee,a dull grey pebble fellto the ground.I glanced at a singing bird,a handful of dusty gravelspattered down.

I looked at a ginger cat,a housebrickshattered a bowl of milk.I looked at a snuffling pig,

a boulder rolledin a heap of shit.

I stared in the mirror.Love gone badshowed me a Gorgon.I stared at a dragon.Fire spewedfrom the mouth of a mountain.

And here you comewith a shield for a heartand a sword for a tongueand your girls, your girls.Wasn’t I beautiful?Wasn’t I fragrant and young?

Look at me now.