English Blog

In following him, I follow but myself.

Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,

But seeming so for my peculiar end.

For when my outward action doth demonstrate

The native act and figure of my heart

In complement extern, ‘tis not long after

But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve

For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.

-Iago, 1.1.64

    The above passage really gives the reader an insight into Iago’s true character and his malicious intentions. The first three lines are essentially Iago telling the audience of how he has no plans to ever follow the orders of his superiors. The next line explains that Iago “seems” to obey orders but only to benefit himself in the end. The rest of Iago’s speech to Roderigo tells of what would happen if he obeyed his superiors. In modern day terms it means, “ when my true intentions, hidden within my heart, are revealed it will not be long before I will be vulnerable to the cruelty of my masters (daws).” It is no coincidence that Iago compares daws, stupid birds, to his superiors, which he has no respect for. Finally, the last sentence of this speech, and probably the most important is, “I am not what I am.” By this Iago means to say, “though I may appear to be loyal to my master, Othello, and have his best interests at heart, I do not I only have my own.” In simpler terms Iago is saying, I am not who I appear to be. This is an important passage, foreshadowing the future. Iago will do whatever he needs to do to achieve his goals no matter how many people he hurts along the way.

Have you ever been “taken in” by someone who pretended to be your friend, but who really wanted to hurt [use] you?  Why were you “blinded” by their actions or words?

            It was the first day of seventh grade.  There were four new boys joining our class, Ryan, Andrew, Sam and Spencer.  As soon as I saw him, I knew I liked him, though I did not know why.  Maybe it was his curly hair or his big hazel eyes or maybe it was his big, straight, perfect white smile.  As time went on, Spencer told me he liked me too.  I was so happy to finally know that I was not living the lie of a one-sided relationship.  Little did I know, it would be a very short-lived happiness.  One day Spencer asked me to help him with his English homework.  Of course, I was happy to do it and had no hesitation in thinking that he might have the intention of hurting or using me.  After a few weeks, I began to notice a pattern, Spencer was asking me fore help with his homework, whether it was Math or English, almost every morning.  Finally, one morning came when Spencer just asked to “see” my homework.  Reluctantly, I surrendered the piece of graph paper containing my math homework.  I told him that he could not copy the answers, but if it helped him to have an image of the graphs in his head before he began the problem that was fine.  It was then that I made my tragic error; I got up to go to the bathroom, leaving my homework alone with Spencer.  It just so happened, that while I was in the bathroom, our math teacher walked by and saw him copying my homework.  We were both chastised thoroughly and received strong admonitions that if this sort of incident was to ever happen again it would result in serious consequences.  It was then that I realized Spencer was only interested in using me to achieve higher grades than he would otherwise receive.  I thought for days about whether or not could still like someone who had used me in such an awful way.  I began to think about why or how I could have ever had feelings for him in the first place.  I finally came to the conclusion that he was very suave and a very smooth talker.  I realized that had I not been partial to him, I might have seen what kind of person he was from the beginning and possibly avoided getting in trouble.  In addition, if Spencer had not made himself seem so helpless, because he had trouble with homework, and made me seem so valiant, because I understood and was able to help him with the homework, I might have avoided the entire scenario. The relationship I shared with Spencer is very similar to that shared by Iago and all the other characters in Shakespeare’s play, Othello.  Iago is a very smooth talker who makes himself seem nice when he really has only bad intentions at heart.  Iago uses other people to get what he wants no matter what the consequences for that person are.  For all intensive purposes, Spencer might as well change his name to Iago.

Have you ever felt angry or jealous when someone whom you thought not as deserving as yourself was rewarded with a special honor or accolade (look it up!).

About a year ago, I was graduating eighth grade from St. Matthew’s Parish School. Four to five students from my class would be chosen to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. One day, after school, everyone who was interested in giving a speech at graduation recited their speeches in front of the class and the entire faculty. I had worked for weeks, constantly changing my speech until I thought it was sure to impress everyone. I was however, disappointed when I discovered that I was not one of the five people chosen to speak at graduation. I was jealous of my fellow classmates who had been chosen for such an honor and I wished I were the one receiving that privilege. My feelings were similar to those of Iago, in William Shakespeare’s, Othello. When Iago found out that Othello had chosen Michael Cassio for the position of his lieutenant as opposed to himself, he was enraged and disappointed. Just as Iago feels that he deserves the position of Othello’s lieutenant, I felt that I deserved the position of giving a speech at graduation. I felt as though I was entitled to the privilege of giving a speech because I had been at St. Matthew’s since “Mommy and Me.” On top of my long history at St. Matthew’s, I worked hard to be a stellar student and receive excellent grades. I felt that after all of my hard work I deserved to receive an accolade such as giving a speech at graduation. Iago feels that he has worked hard enough to earn the position and that he deserves it. However, unlike Iago, I realized there was nothing I could do to change the decision my classmates and faculty had made. Iago is determined to get even with Othello while I just wanted to let go and move on.

What are things that make a relationship work?  What kinds of things can destroy a relationship?  Are they the same things?

            For a relationship to function in a comfortable, balanced manner, both people involved in the relationship need to contribute many components.  A few important components of a relationship are trust, commitment and love.  Trust is the foundation of every relationship.  Without trust, a relationship is sure to fail in a very short time.  It is extremely important that both people involved in the relationship are able to share their feelings with each other openly.  If this is not able to occur then secrets will be formed and lies will be told to cover up the secrets and any relationship based on lies is doomed to fail.  Commitment is also an important aspect of a relationship because if both people in the relationship are not committed to the relationship, it will never work.  It is not enough for one person alone to be committed to the relationship and for the other person not to be committed to the relationship because this means that each of them has different intentions and are not communicating clearly, which is also “bad news” for a relationship. Love is probably the most important component of a relationship.  It is necessary for a relationship to contain love because if it does not the relationship is pointless.  For a relationship to be successful there needs to be a mutual love.  Whether that is discovered right away or later on, it nonetheless needs to exist for a relationship to work.  The components that can tear a relationship apart are the same as the components that can make one strong.  Lack of trust, commitment and love will doom a relationship from the beginning for the above-mentioned reasons.  In closing, a good relationship is a difficult thing to find and a lucky thing to have.  

            First, the flour, salt and sugar.  Next, the butter, vanilla extract, eggs and water are added to the dry ingredients.  The batter, now a light yellowish, creamy color smells like a sweet, fresh spring day.  All of a sudden, nothing else exists in the world; the only existing smell is that of overpowering cake batter now making its way slowly into the glass pan in which it will bake.  The batter, glides down the side of the metal cooking bowl into the cloudy, greased, thirteen by nine inch glass-baking dish.  The clanging of the dish on the metal racks of the oven brings a sugar-filled mind back to reality.  The timer is set for thirty minutes.  Sitting in the other room, the smell of the rising batter soon wafts in tempting the taste buds of anticipation.  After thirty minutes, the only sound to be heard is the beeping of the incessant timer.  The cake, now golden brown, smells of sweet fields of vanilla and sugar cane on a hot summer day.  As the cake cools, its smell drifts throughout the entire two-story house until it has invaded every possible corner and crevice.  About an hours time has passed, now ready for the cool vanilla icing, the cake waits on the stove.  The knife jabs into the smooth, untouched, whipped vanilla icing allowing the scent of it to float into the open nostrils directly above it.  Gliding over the cake the knife spreads the icing evenly over the rounded top of the golden brown vanilla cake.  Once the whole cake had been coated in icing, it is ready for a topping.  Strawberries, raspberries, other fruits, sprinkles, candy; there is an endless amount of choices.  As the fresh cut strawberries sink into the icing the two smells mix causing an aroma of sweet vanilla strawberries to circulate around the kitchen.  Lastly, the sprinkles are added to lightly to the top of the cake.  They create a swishing sound as then leave the jar and fall lightly onto the blank, white icing.  The cake’s aroma now to tempting to resist in enjoyed until there is only the dish left on which it was placed for display.