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  1. Last 7 days
    1. Call up her father

      When Iago says "Call up her father," it is the beginning of his manipulation and how he gets others to be tools of his own cunning devices. On the surface, the line can be interpreted as simply an order, but in fact, it shows how cunning and devious Iago is. Instead of confronting Othello or Desdemona himself, he uses Roderigo to set things on fire for him. By waking Brabantio at midnight, Iago knows that he will be provoking anger, confusion, and fright, emotions that make humans vulnerable to manipulation. This is significant because it makes clear that Iago's evil does not result from aggression but from his ability to provoke reaction and manipulate feelings. He is aware of how to use timing and fright to make fighting break out in moments of peace, and this line alone is the start of that. It also shows one of the prevailing motifs of Othello: the idea that destruction is oftentimes started quietly in suggestion and manipulation and not in outright brutality. By having others "call up" the trouble for him, Iago gets to preserve his good name while the damage is being done, highlighting how risky lying can be when clothed in peaceful words.

  2. Sep 2025
    1. ‘Oh, have you slain me, you false thief?’ I said,

      This is a key line since it captures the Wife's mix of pain, outrage, and calculation in a dangerous predicament. As she cries, "Oh, have you slain me," she lingers over her wound to the point of declaring herself dead, not merely alleging pain but making her husband's offense all the greater. Instead of taking the blow quietly, she converts her pain into public condemnation, painting herself as the victim of a crime on his part. In accusing him of being a "false thief," she is not only accusing him of violence but of being the author of a crime against something valuable that he has stolen from her, whether it is her dignity, her security, or her right in the relationship. This utilization of the term emphasizes betrayal and duplicity and identifies him as morally evil as well as physically abusive. Her words also turn the power around: whereas she is only physically attacked, she uses language to shame him and to make him take on the role of the guilty party. It's important since it highlights how the Wife employs language as a weapon; in a society where she is physically broken, she employs her voice to turn into the instrument through which she reclaims control and writes history in her own terms.

    1. Suffered great sorrow, sighed for his liegemen, When they had seen the track of the hateful pursuer, The spirit accursèd: too crushing that sorrow, 20 Too loathsome and lasting.

      The king was deeply upset and felt sorry for his people due to the immense pain Grendel was causing. When the men saw the monster’s tracks, they knew just how terrible and hateful he was. The grief they felt was almost too heavy to handle, like a weight that crushed their spirits. What Grendel brought on them was so awful that it felt both disgusting and never ending.

  3. Aug 2025
    1. Though a single approach will always prove insufficient, the concept of “open pedagogy” can help teachers and students create learning experiences that are both more enlivening and foster higher-order thinking.

      I truly find the concept of "open pedagogy" a valuable one. I was unfamiliar with this concept before reading through this. It could be a very useful approach for the fact that I feel like many students have their minds closed in a way. Being able to hear students' interesting opinions and ideas rather than just being a consumer of knowledge allows students to be more confident within themselves when it comes to learning. Overall, this will help students be more open-minded and invested in their learning.