c.certa – Great Works of Literature, Fall 2016 (hybrid)

The plot involving the handkerchief points in at least a couple of directions, namely: what was once intimate–the sharing of a personal memento–is somehow debased by being shared with another and the item itself copied (1) and turned into a piece of evidence (2) in the service of an accusation. Why do you think Shakespeare chose to make this a story at least in some sense about the perversion of intimacy and the process of accruing evidence in service of an accusation? What could this plot tell us about the way our minds work, especially when we are jealous?

I think Shakespeare chose to make this a story about the perversion of intimacy and the process of accruing evidence in service of an accusation because it makes for an interesting plot that brings up feelings people can relate to in one way or another. The handkerchief shows that when you’re jealous you really can’t think straight. Othello believes Desdemona is cheating just from the handkerchief being found in Cassio’s possession. To the reader, this can seem a bit ridiculous, it is just a handkerchief. But, Othello, who is already very jealous, sees this as the definite sign that Desdemona is cheating. Iago knows Othello will jump to conclusions if the handkerchief is found with Cassio and uses this to manipulate Othello. When we are jealous, our minds deceive us by seeing the tiniest details as major signs.

How and why does Dante choose to combine allusions to Classical mythology and Ancient Greece and Rome with Christian theology?

The Christian theology in the Divine Comedy is the whole concept of heaven, hell, and purgatory. He also places people like Plato and Socrates in Limbo because they did not believe in God/ were never baptized. He alludes to Classical mythology by including the River Styx and Acheron. He also places people like Helen, Achilles, Dido and Paris in the Inferno. He also includes Minos in the second circles of Hell. I think Dante included both because he had a great respected for the two cultures. I also thought maybe he himself was referencing his journey with his faith.

How does Dido’s experience affect our perception of the work as a whole? To what degree do we have sympathy for her? Is she a victim of fate or has Aeneas mistreated her or her both?

Dido’s experience affects our perception of the work as a whole because it emphasizes the importance of Aeneas’ journey to found Rome. Although Aeneas is temporarily distracted from his duties, when Mercury reminds him of them he immediately goes back to them without hesitation. Dido is a victim of fate. The romance only began because of Venus and Juno protecting their own wishes. Aeneas has to put aside his emotions to carry out his duty. He also mentions to Dido that they were never actually married which seemed as if he was saying if they were he would not leave her. Aeneas did not mistreat Dido, he had to carry out his fate.

Do you totally trust in Odysseus’s desire to return home? Do you think Homer does? Why or why not?

I do not totally trust Odysseus’s desire to return home. While he does state his desire many times throughout the book, his behavior sometimes says otherwise. He spends unnecessarily long periods of time with Circe (1 year) and Kalypso (7 years). It also was not until Athena intervened that Odysseus was able to get out of these two situations. I think that he did want to go home but it was not his top priority all the time. I think Homer probably thought similarly. He emphasizes that he wants to go home many times throughout the book but he also tells of these exciting adventures on his journey. Odysseus did have a desire to return home but it was not always his main concern.