Boo!

[Antarctican]

Enough black humour from you, Hertz!




(Okay, okay, Iago now)

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Dere's de moana!

 

[Antarctican]

Better than a wimper. Cuz as you know, it's preferable to go out with a bang than a wimper.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

So... you would prefer to go on a date with Mr Nobel rather than a famous climber?

 

[Antarctican]

Tough choice....I'd like to hear more about the big bang theory, of course, but grappling has its allure as well.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Sounds more like a choice between scorched underwear and hobnail boots

 

[Antarctican]

Oh dear, seems I find myself on the horns of a dilemma

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Hobson's choice, mate.

 

[Antarctican]

More like "Sophist's Choice"?

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Streep wise, are you?

 

[duncanp]

lolled at some of the othello stuff, writing it now....

so far:

To what extent do you consider Othello responsible for his own downfall?​

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Othello is a tragedy written by Shakespeare in the renaissance period. It features the Venetian empire in the 16th century. The central protagonist Othello marries the senator’s niece and causes uproar. Throughout the story he becomes jealous and has a dramatic downfall. As the play is a tragedy and Othello is the tragic hero, the Shakespearean audience would ultimately hold Othello responsible for his own downfall.

During the time when Shakespeare wrote this play himself and many other writers where influenced by Greek tragedy (first used by Aristotle) which had evolved into a form called renaissance. The concept of this is similar to that of Greek tragedy to the extent that the tragic hero will either want to seek revenge, rise above his social status, or fall from greatness. Whereas in Greek tragedy the tragic hero’s status is affected by the will of the gods, in renaissance tragedy, it is affected by the human’s own actions. Othello at the beginning of the play starts off as an esteemed and respected officer, chosen for leading vital wars. However over the duration of the play he, due to his own actions, falls; continuing in the Shakespearean form of tragedy, to his death.

Othello starts the play at a high status, crucial for a tragedy involving De Casibus (the fall from greatness). Othello’s speech is eloquent, his sentences are formed with a sense of meaning and the imagery evoked by them often involves his only experiences in life; war. He is called upon by the council but is interrupted by Desdemona’s uncle, who is furious over their secret marriage. While justifying himself Othello uses a lot of this war imagery. “Of hair-breadth escapes I’th’imminent deadly breach.” Here Othello refers to a fortification giving way, an image that is rewarding if you have spent days attacking a fortification, it could be interpreted as key idea of this speech he is making, to break down the senator’s hatred of Othello for marrying his niece. However this is all in show of his true, passionate love for Desdemona, and to show that he does not have any black magic that he used on her. The main purpose of Othello being called upon was to inform him of his role as the leader of army that is to be taken to Cyprus. During this conversation the council’s respect for Othello is made evident. “Valiant Othello” is one of his many titles given to him by the Duke, the ruler of Venice at the time. Venice itself was a good location for Shakespeare to use for his play. Travel abroad in the time of his writing was not widely available and Venice and Cyprus would have an air of mystery about them, enticing more viewers.

Cyprus however is the main place of Othello’s tragic downfall. Here one of his trusted soldiers; Iago, has motives to remove Othello from his position and cleverly manipulates Othello. In keeping with renaissance tragedy Iago only places a few thoughts and ideas into Othello’s brain and that is all that is required for Othello