Othello, The Moor Of Venice Essays - Othello, Film, Fiction

Othello, The Moor of Venice Othello has been described as William Shakespeare's most perfect play. Since 1604, this Shakespearan tragedy has captivated audiences of all ages. The play begins when Othello, a Moorish nobleman and soldier of fortune, unconsciously evokes the spirit of evil in the villainous Iago by choosing Cassio as his lieutenant and not him. Partly for vengeance, but mostly for wicked delight, Iago soon plans to bring about the downfall of Othello and his new officer. Enjoy! Act IScene I. [Venice. A street.] Scene II. [Venice. Before the Sagittary] Scene III. [Venice. A chamber in the Senate House] Act IIScene I. [A seport in Cyprus. An open place near the harbor] Scene II. [Cyprus. Before Othello's Castle] Scene III. [Cyprus. Within the Castle] Act IIIScene I. [Cyprus. Before the Castle] Scene II. [Cyprus. Within the Castle] Scene III. [Cyprus. The garden of the Castle] Scene IV. [Cyprus. Before the Castle] Intermission ...................................................................................... Act IVScene I. [Cyprus. Before the Castle] Scene II. [Cyprus. Within the Castle] Scene III. [Cyprus. Another room in the Castle] Act VScene I. [Cyprus. A street.] Scene II. [Cyprus. A bedchamber in the Castle] _______________________________________________________________ CAST Othello, the moor..........................................Denzel Washington Cassio, [his] honorable lieutenant.............................Tom Cruise Iago, a villain..................................................Tommy Lee Jones Roderigo, a gulled gentleman....................................Val Kilmer Desdemona, the yound, devoted wife of Othello....Claire Danes Emilia, wife of Iago.................................................Glenn Close Bianca, Cassio's jealous mistress.....................Heather Locklear Brabantio, father to Desdemona............................Sean Connery Clown, servant to Othello...........................................Jim Carrey Montano, Governor of Cyprus...............................Richard Gere Duke of Venice......................................................Harrison Ford Gratiano, brother to Brabantio......................................Brad Pitt Lodovico, kinsman to Brabantio.....................Anthony Hopkins ___________________________________________________________________ WHO'S WHO IN THE CAST Denzel Washington (Othello) has been seen gracing the screens of movies such as Philadelphia, Courage Under Fire, and the recent The Preacher's Wife. His honorable presence and charm do not hinder his ability to take on the serious role of the jealously inflicted Othello. Tom Cruise (Cassio) never fails to win the ladies hearts with his courteous behavior and boyish good looks as seen in Top Gun, Cocktail, Interview with a Vampire, and Jerry Maigure. His commanding personality is also displayed in the film, A Few Good Men. Glenn Close (Emilia) has stared in 101 Dalmatians, Paper, and Fatal Attraction. Her fragile and lady-like appearance well masks her strong willed attitudes and values. Tommy Lee Jones (Iago), with his devilish looks and cunning demeanor, is a professional at playing the role of the villain by now. Why shouldn't he be after appearing in such films as The Fugitive, Batman Forever, and the recent Men in Black? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________- Othello Essays 1.Without a doubt, one of the main themes that runs throughout William Shakespeare's tragic play, Othello, is that of honesty. In the play, the most interesting character is Iago, who is commonly called and known as "Honest Iago." However, this could not be farther from the truth. Through some carefully thought-out words and actions, Iago is able to manipulate others to do things in a way that benefits and moves him closer to his own goals. He is smart and an expert at judging the characters of others. Because of this, Iago pushes everyone to their tragic end. Iago knows very well that trust and deceit must go hand in hand in order for him to achieve his vengeance on Othello and Cassio. Hence, as he plans the downfalls of them, he is continually trying to obtain their undoubting trust. He slowly poisons people's thoughts, creating ideas in their heads without implicating himself. Iago even says himself that the advice he gives is free and honest and thus, people rarely stop to consider the possibility that Iago is fooling them. One person Iago deceives is Roderigo. Throughout the play, Iago tells him that he hates Othello and that Roderigo should make some money so he could give gifts to Desdemona, who he admires from afar. Thinking that this is sound advice, Roderigo does just that. However, Iago is actually keeping the gifts that Roderigo plans to give Desdemona for himself. Eventually, Roderigo begins to catch on to the act and confronts Iago, but he falls right into Iago's trap again when he tells him that killing Cassio will help him win over Desdemona. Roderigo is then lead to his death by the hands of "Honest Iago." Like Roderigo, Cassio also believes in "Honest Iago," for he thinks that Iago is only trying to help him. On the night of Cassio's watch, Iago convinces him to take another drink, knowing very well

The Discarded Phlogiston Theory in Early Chemistry

The Discarded Phlogiston Theory in Early Chemistry Mankind may have learned how to make fire many thousands of years ago, but we didnt understand how it worked until much more recently. Many theories were proposed to try to explain why some materials burned, while others didnt, why fire gave off heat and light, and why burned material wasnt the same as the starting substance. Phlogiston theory was an early chemical theory to explain the process of oxidation, which is the reaction that occurs during combustion and rusting. The word phlogiston is an Ancient Greek term for burning up, which in turn derives from the Greek phlox, which means flame. Phlogiston theory was first proposed by the alchemist Johann Joachim (J.J.) Becher in 1667. The theory was stated more formally by Georg Ernst Stahl in 1773. Importance of Phlogiston Theory Although the theory has since been discarded, its important because it shows the transition between alchemists believing in the traditional elements of earth, air, fire, and water, and true chemists, who conducted experimentation that led to the identification of true chemical elements and their reactions. How Phlogiston Was Supposed to Work Basically, the way the theory worked was that all combustible matter contained a substance called phlogiston. When this matter was burned, the phlogiston was released.  Phlogiston had no odor, taste, color or mass. After the phlogiston was freed, the remaining matter was considered to be deflogistated, which made sense to the alchemists, because you couldnt burn them any more. The ash and residue left over from combustion was called the calx of the substance. The calx provided a clue to the error of phlogiston theory, because it weighed less than the original matter. If there was a substance called phlogiston, where had it gone? One explanation was the phlogiston might have negative mass. Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau proposed it was simply that phlogiston was lighter than air. Yet, according to Archimedes principle, even being lighter than air couldnt account for the mass change. In the 18th century, chemists did not believe there was an element called phlogiston. Joseph Priestly believed flammability might be related to hydrogen. While phlogiston theory didnt offer all the answers, it remained the principle theory of combustion until the 1780s, when Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier demonstrated mass was not truly lost during combustion. Lavoisier linked oxidation to oxygen, conducting numerous experiments which showed the element was always present. In the face of overwhelming empirical data, phlogiston theory was eventually replaced with true chemistry. By 1800, most scientists accepted oxygens role in combustion. Phlogisticated Air, Oxygen, and Nitrogen Today, we know that oxygen supports oxidation, which is why air helps to feed a fire. If you try to light a fire in a space lacking oxygen, youll have a rough time. The alchemists and early chemists noticed that fire burned in air, yet not in certain other gases. In a sealed contained, eventually a flame would burn out. However, their explanation wasnt quite right. The proposed phlogisticated air was a gas in phlogiston theory that was saturated with phlogiston. Because it was already saturated, phlogisticated air did not allow the release of phlogiston during combustion. What gas were they using that didnt support fire?  Phlogisticated air was later identified as the element nitrogen, which is the primary element in air, and no, it wont support oxidation.