Othello

Othello by Shakespeare

Oh, Othello! You frustrate me so much!

This story, for those of you who haven't read it, touches on the idea of race first of all. In fact, race plays a fairly big role. But the lesson I took away from this book was not about race. The thing that stood out most to me was Iago's ability to manipulate people and Desdemona's inability to prove herself innocent. Of all the people in the story Desdemona is who I felt most sorry for. Iago's lies got to Othello. He spread them through Rodrigo and Cassio and really covered his tracks.

Maybe this was just me being naive, but I feel like Othello should have at least let Desdemona talk.

I think that, even though kids know Shakespeare as "some old, dead guy" that they're forced to read (usually multiple times), his stories still have a lesson to teach. In the case of Othello maybe it's that seeking revenge isn't worth it. Or maybe it's that you should be weary of the trust you put in people's gossip. Or that you should trust your heart.

No matter which lesson you pick up on, I think that we all walk away from this play with some lesson we can use in life.

A Midsummer Nights Dream

Oh boy! Okay, I don't usually mind Shakespeare. I think he was a pretty great story teller and I really enjoy some of his works. But I just had to read A Midsummer Nights Dream in preparation for student-teaching, and I have to admit that I'm not looking forward to teaching this one. I'm looking for ways to spice it up right now, but honestly, this was not (by any means) one of my favorite books. I understood what was happening, and the part with the Fairy King and Queen in the woods and all of the magic and confusion about who-loves-who and all that was exciting, but otherwise I thought this one was pretty boring. Sorry, Shakespeare, not your best play, but I guess I'll be teaching it anyway (since I don't have a choice)! We'll see how it goes!