Othello: Acts I-III

Othello, the Moor of Venice
William Shakespeare

In the beginning of Act III, Shakespeare provides the audience with comedic relief by introducing the clown. As one would suspect, this clown makes jokes that make the audience smile.

"Cassio: 'Dost thou hear, my honest friend? '
Clown: 'No, I hear not your honest friend, I hear you.'" (Shakespeare, Act III, i, 19-20)

One question that came to mind though was 'Why did Shakespeare include a clown in this story, and why is the clown important?'The clown draws attention to situations that are humorous or silly. Perhaps the clown holds relevance in this story to bring light to the ridiculous plot of the play. Iago seeks retribution on Othello because Othello promoted Cassio and Othello is rumored to be sleeping with Iago's wife. The rumor has no concrete evidence, but Iago seeks revenge anyway. Iago feels entitled to be the Lieutenant arguing that he is more qualified because he has more experience. His desire to be Lieutenant holds more reasonable weight than the rumor about his wife. Still, Iago's extreme desire for revenge seems humorous to the reader. By introducing the clown, Shakespeare helps the audience to recognize the humorous events of the play.

Identity Unit 1 (Hazel Tells LaVerne)

"Hazel Tells Laverne"
Hatharyn Howd Machan

An obvious observation of this poem is its lack of punctuation. This greatly reflects the character Hazel. She seems uneducated and rather gruff. She uses words such as "sida", "flushm", "hitsm", and "talkin" among others. This diction displays poor grammar, and along with the lack of punctuation, Hazel's diction leads the reader to surmise that she is uneducated. In addition, Hazel's poor display of grammar lends humor to the poem.

This poem is a parody of "The Frog Prince". Hazel refused to kiss the frog even when offered royalty. Hazel seemed to be in need of money because she worked cleaning toilets. The situation was ironic because where most women would seize an offer of royalty, Hazel did not. By not kissing the frog, Hazel missed out on an opportunity for an easier life. Perhaps a message that Machan wished to convey was that hard work will open opportunities in life , but we must be wise enough to recognize them.