Prof. Suzanne Miller

Shakespeare on Social Media 

Guidelines:

• Due Date: Wednesday, March 6^th (5pm via Google docs.).
• a minimum of five typed pages, double-spaced, in 11 or 12 pt. font (note: the “social media” section (the posts) may be in any font and may use any spacing).
• submitted on-time.
• formatted according to the MLA style.*
• free of plagiarism: direct quotes must be enclosed in quotation marks and cited using the MLA style; ideas and information from an outside source must be cited using the MLA style.

Note: Please include a Works Cited page formatted in the MLA style.*  Although you will probably only have one source for this assignment (the play), I still want you to get into the habit of creating a proper Works Cited page.

Overview:

If Othello, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia had access to social media, which platforms would they choose and why?

For this project, you will track the characters as they move through the play. You will make observations about the action of the play (plot) and comment and on the play’s theme,

This is a text-based assignment—but you may include graphics if you wish.

Give your project an overall title, and give each section the subheading (from the list below) that corresponds to it:

• Platform Choices
• Character Journeys
• Social Media Posts

* See the Purdue Owl website for help with using the MLA style and with formatting a Works Cited page in the MLA style.

The Assignment:

Think about which social media platform best suits Othello, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia. You might choose a different online forum for each character, or there may be some overlap (i.e. two characters may prefer the same one).

Introduction: (one paragraph)

Give a brief overview of the play’s plot and briefly discuss the play’s theme or themes particularly as they relate to the Iago-Othello-Desdemona triangle (which ensnares Emilia as well).

Section 1:  (three-five paragraphs)

Platform Choices: Knowing what you do about social media, choose a social media platform for each character.

• Briefly explain the platform choice for each character: what is it about this particular platform that connects with this particular character? Why does it make sense that he or she would use it?

Section 2: (two-three pages)

Character Journeys: Depending on how you choose to put this section together, you might have four long paragraphs (one for each character) or several shorter paragraphs. This section will be about two or three pages.

• For each one of the characters, choose three important moments in the play that illustrate the “beginning,” “middle,” and “end” of his or her journey.
• Quote directly from each scene and make it clear how these scenes demonstrate each phase of the character’s journey.

Section 3: (varies)

Posts: Combine Sections 1 and 2: The page length of this section will vary based on the social media platforms you choose, but it should amount to at least two pages. Note: Othello, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia stay where they are in time; in other words, they are not suddenly modern characters. All of their circumstances are the same as in the play, but they magically have the ability to use social media.

• For each of the four characters, write three posts which help to illustrate their journeys as they move through the play (twelve posts in all). The posts should correspond with the scenes you’ve chosen in “Section 2.”
• The language of the text will be in first person (i.e. Othello writes in Othello’s voice, Desdemona in Desdemona’s voice etc.) in the characters’ voices but in YOUR WORDS.
• Use the conventions of the social platforms that you’ve chosen (short bursts for tweets, and perhaps longer, more rambling posts for Facebook etc.)
• While this is a text-based exercise, you may include visual elements—but this is in no way required: you will only be graded on the text-based portion.