Othello Creative Writing Project

English 30-1
Has it been 3 years already? Grade 12 marks the third year you have studied Shakespeare, and
even moreover, his tragedies. From the love affair between two ill-fated teenagers in grade 10’s
Romeo and Juliet in grade 10, to the tragic downfall of a Scottish thane in grade 11’s Macbeth,
you conclude your Shakespearean journey with deception and jealousy in Othello.

You are tasked with a creative writing project that asks you to summon your three years of
Shakespearean knowledge and craft a scene which sees a charter from Othello engage in
conversation about a problem/ situation they are facing in their life with one character from
Romeo and Juliet and one character from Macbeth who share the same character archetype and
experience. The creative writing will take the shape of a scene which embodies the conventions
of a Shakespearean play. The scene will including setting, characters, dialogue, stage direction,
line numbers, translations and footnotes.

Character Archetypes
Archetype Groupings Romeo and Juliet Macbeth Othello

The Leading Ladies Juliet Lady Macbeth Desdemona

The Antagonists Tybalt The Three Witches Iago

The Tragic Heroes Romeo Macbeth Othello

The Best Friends Benvolio/ Mercutio Banquo Cassio

The Authority Figures Prince Escalus King Duncan Duke of Venice

The Fathers Lord Capulet Macduff / Banquo Brabantio

Requirements
1. Creative writing follows the format of a play with setting, actions, dialogue, footnotes and line numbers
included to match and is a minimum of 200 lines in length.
2. You can write in colloquial language, but characters from all 3 texts should be an authentic representation
of how Shakespeare created them with speech patterns, actions and characteristics
3. The Othello character must be the dominating figure throughout the conversation and highlight a problem/
situation they are currently facing, while the characters from Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth should
support the conversation communicating their advice and experiences.
4. Othello character references a minimum of 5 events and/or dialogue from their play; 3 events and/or
dialogue from Macbeth, and 3 events and/or dialogue from Romeo and Juliet
5. Final project must be printed and submitted 1 week after Act III is completed with your planning page
outlining your choices and references.