Othello Dramatic Reading Found At https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNlG-3gwP9s&feature=youtu.be

I chose to perform Desdemona's monologue from Othello. Othello is angry because he thinks she is being unfaithful. is getting prepared to kill his wife, Desdemona. This particular monologue is filled with emotion and conflicting feelings which helped me to determine where tone, emphasis, and pauses, should be. During this scene, Othello is very angry with Desdemona because he was tricked into thinking she was unfaithful to him, but he is also overcome admiration of her beauty and the love that they shared. In her monologue, I decided to put an emphasis on phrases such as, "I know not how I lost him," and, "Here I kneel" because I felt she said them to convince herself that she feels she is responsible for his anger. I felt a sense of urgency in these lines where she wanted Iago to go to him. After saying, "What shall I do to win my lord again?," I paused before reciting, "Good friend, go to him," in order to put an emphasis on her sense of urgency. When delivering the line, "For by this light of heaven, I know not how I lost him," I used a gentle, sweet, and loving tone to portray how Othello still adored Desdemona and her sorrow that she knows hes mad at her. After "becoming" Desdemona for two minutes, I learned how hurt he was by the idea that Desdemona had cheated on him and how he suffered from the conflicting feelings of love, anger, and jealousy all at once. Before I had prepared for this dramatic reading, I solely thought of Othello as an overpowering man who made rash decisions based on questionable information, and put myself in her shoes. While part of that is true, I have now recognized Othello's true love for Desdemona and the grief and rage that he felt after being tricked into thinking she cheated on him. After finishing the dramatic reading, I realized how dangerous and detrimental jealousy can be. I also found that people really need to analyze important pieces of information judiciously before making a decision. This particular soliloquy really defined Desdemona's emotions and it defined her as a character. This scene was not the climax or the resolution, but the audience gets a better understanding of Desdemona's struggle and her confusion, all laced with her overwhelming love.