Reading Shakespeare‘s Othello

Content Experience of reading Othello in class  issues to consider when planning  negative experience  positive experience  testing

issues to consider when planning I Parameters class  19 students, 6 th grade (Matura-class) level of English  also consider interest in English > C-profile time frame  8 weeks > 6 weeks + test, 1 lesson per week edition  annotated version, side by side modern English or German, Reclam, etc.

issues to consider when planning II What is the aim of the reading?  limited time > work with the actual text  be able to read & understand the original text  contextualise crucial scenes  have knowledge about the language used  know about the time the play was written in  compare different enactments of a scene (different stagings, productions, etc.)  Focus on text; select 2-3 elements to work with throughout the text (animal similes, Iago’s honesty, jealousy)  at the expense of “fun projects”

negative experience actual reading and comprehension first lesson:  group-work:  show pictures of book covers and movie posters (book covers)(book covers)  task: What could the play be about ?, Name 3 emotions which are important in the play.  watch movie-trailer (trailer)(trailer)  hand out and explain the book  sections; annotations; III, 3,  introduce reading-companion > map first charactersreading-companion  start reading together (!) > demanded too much audio book

lessonplan lessonread as HWfocus ontheory / background 1introduction, awake interest 2I, 1-2Desdemona‘s desicion (character) verse the theatre (The Globe Th.) 3I,3; II 1Iago‘s soliloquidramatic irony 4II, 2-3 (finish Act II)Shakespeare’s time setting 5 (double lesson) III, 1-2animal similes > language What is a tragedy? Freytag‘s Pyramid 6III, 3-4 (finish Act III)Iago‘s plans honesty 7 (double lesson) (IV) V, 1-2 end (watch Act IV) jealousy questions compare to model 8test 9discuss test, watch movie “O” (Shakespeare taken to the 20 th ct., American High School) most lessons have 3 parts: comprehension, working with the text, theory

positive experience focus on one specific scene  OHP & worksheet > audio book audio bookworksheetaudio book  Contextualising: Who is talking to whom?, What is this excerpt about? / What is happening?, Can you place it in the play?, Can you comment on the language (verse/ rhetorical devices)?  How would you stage this scene?  Watch different adaptations of the excerpt.different adaptations

testing “literature comprehension test”literature comprehension test Show that you can work with an excerpt of the original text and that you have a good understanding of the text as a whole and the language used in it. 3 parts:  A) Comprehension & Contextualising (excerpt) (22 points)  Paraphrasing, put into context, 2 specific questions  B) Language & Structure (11 points)  on 4 given lines explain the verse (blank verse, iambic pent.)  explain a theoretical term (“turning point”) and place it within the play  C) Themes & Characters (5 points)  Explain the relevance of “jealousy”, give an example and explain how it is important to the whole play 1 lesson, use of a bilingual dictionary

conclusion too teacher-oriented (trying to make up time) time period very / too short > text in action only presented, not by class itself good level of comprehension achieved by focusing on text helpful to work with different audio / visual material