Othello
Othello
Act I Focus Questions
Act I, Scene 1: Focus on establishment of plot, character, and themes.
A. Plot focus:
1. In what ways is the opening scene dramatic?
B. Characters:
Othello and Desdemona
Read the following quotations. Identify the character and explain what each of the quotations tells you about him/her.
1. “Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors,
My very noble and approved good masters,
That I have ta’en away this old man’s daughter
It is most true; true I have married her.” (1.3.77-80)
2. “Rude I am in my speech,
And little blessed with the soft phrase of speech.” (1.3.82-83)
3. “I won his daughter.” (1.3.95)
4. “ I saw Othello’s visage in his mind,
And to his honors and his valiant parts
Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.” (1.3.248-250 )
5. “Let me go with him.” (1.3.255)
Close Reading: Read and annotate Othello’s speech (1.3.128-170). What do you learn about Othello and what do you learn about his relationship with Desdemona from the speech?
“Her father lov’d me, oft invited me,/still question’d me the story of my life...”
Consider the following in your answer:
• The length of the speech and the length of the thoughts (sentences).
• The images that Othello uses.
• The content of the speech.
Close Reading: What are the characteristics of Iago’s speech (1.3.330-424) and how does this contribute to his characterization? For each of the instances below, find a quote to support your point. “Virtue a fig…Seek thou rather to be hang’d in compassing thy job than to be drown’d and go without her”
|Characteristic |Example (written, include scene and line |Comment – what does it mean? Why it is |
| |number) |important? |
|Sardonic humor | | |
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|Frequent use of oaths | | |
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|Strong rhythms | | |
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|Images of bestial copulation | | |
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|Length of speech | | |
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|Analogies and metaphors | | |
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C. Theme – Love and the treatment of women
What attitudes toward women are displayed in this act? Consider:
• True love and respect
• Misogyny
• Patriarchy
What is Roderigo’s attitude to love?
What is Iago’s attitude to love?
Iago’s Soliloquy (1.3.403-424):
“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse…"
What do we learn about his character?
What do we learn about plot?
What is the purpose of a soliloquy? How and why does Shakespeare use it within the work as a whole?
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