Imagine yourself being an outcast, at a social low, rejected. Write a poem explaining what it would be like.

Read Shakespeare's Othello and compare the character of Othello to the speaker of this poem. Write Othello's response to this speaker, defending his own jealousy and anger.

Is this poem's speaker living in the past? Do you think this person should be more concerned with the world around him or her?

A few years after he wrote this poem, Shakespeare achieved tremendous artistic and financial success. Find out about some other famous person who has been close to despair before their fame, and report on the person who helped them persevere.