Othello
Othello
REVISION BOOKLET
Introduction
Othello is a tragedy based on a short story called ‘The Moor of Venice’ by an Italian novelist and poet called Cinthio. When studying this play, it is essential to consider how it would have been staged and performed as well as the reading of it.
This booklet is designed to give you a quick reference to what happens in the play and an opportunity for you to gain a deeper level of understanding of characters, themes and language devices.
Make sure you complete the tasks in this booklet and check your answers with your teacher or a friend as you complete them.
Answer this question as assessment practice
How does Shakespeare create tension and drama in Act 1 Scene 1 of Othello? Link this to the rest of the play you have read.
Synopsis of this scene:
Act 1
Scene 1 – Setting is a street in Venice at night. Iago and Roderigo are talking and Roderigo is upset because he feels he has been cheated out of marrying Desdemona because Othello has married her instead, without Desdemona’s father’s knowledge. Roderigo has paid Iago to promote a marriage between himself and Desdemona and feels Iago hasn’t worked hard enough! His money has been wasted.
Task: Look on google for No Fear Shakespeare. THEN find quotations that illustrate Roderigo’s dislike of Othello in the opening of this scene. Could this be seen as racist? Why?
Iago attempts to restore Roderigo’s faith in him by saying how much he hates Othello. We learn that Iago has been passed over for promotion. Othello has made Michael Cassio his lieutenant (second in command). Iago hates Cassio too for this. He claims that he only pretends loyalty to Othello and is determined to get revenge on Othello for ignoring his experience and competence in favour of a man who, in Iago’s opinion, has little practical experience of soldiering.
TASK: Find quotations to support Iago’s dislike of Othello and Cassio.
Iago makes Roderigo wake Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, up and tell him about the marriage. Brabantio is annoyed and informs Roderigo that he is not an acceptable match for Desdemona. He does not know that Desdemona and Othello are married. Iago uses bestial (animal) imagery to describe Othello and Desdemona making love.
|Task: Find quotations that show animal imagery. What effect does this have on other characters and what effect does it have |
|on the audience? E.g. graphic sexual connotations of being “tupped” by an “old black ram”… |
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Brabantio goes to check on Desdemona and returns, accepting what Roderigo and Iago say because she is not in her room. He wants to find Desdemona and the Moor. Roderigo leads the way.
|Task: List any other important quotations that create drama e.g. what does Brabantio say about Othello? What has Othello used |
|to make Desdemona fall in love with him? |
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Character – how to create one!
For each character, consider what they are like and how Shakespeare made them seem like that.
1. Draw an outline of each character and label him/her with adjectives to describe them.
2. Under each adjective, find as many examples of quotations as you can that support why you think that about the character from Act 1, scene 1, as well as elsewhere in the play.
[pic]
OTHELLO THEMEs:
JEALOUSY
Othello is the most famous literary work that focuses on the dangers of jealousy. The play is a study of how jealousy can be fueled by mere circumstantial evidence and can destroy lives. (In Othello, the hero succumbs to jealousy when Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been an unfaithful wife – in the end, Othello murders his wife and then kills himself.) It is interesting that Iago uses jealousy against Othello, yet jealousy is likely the source of Iago's hatred in the first place. In Othello, jealousy takes many forms, from sexual suspicion to professional competition, but it is, in all cases, destructive.
Questions About Jealousy
1. What language does Shakespeare use to describe jealousy in the play? Do different characters use different metaphors to describe jealousy, or are there common ways of talking about it?
2. Do other characters besides Othello demonstrate jealousy? In what ways?
3. Is jealousy portrayed as intrinsically unreasonable? Is there a kind of jealousy that is reasonable, or does the play suggest that all jealousy tends to "mock" the person who is jealous?
4. Why is sexual jealousy the focus of the play, rather than a different kind of jealousy? What other kinds of jealousy are included in Othello? (If you're thinking of Iago's jealousy of Othello, keep in mind that this, too, could be sexual jealousy.)
Race
Othello is one of the first black heroes in English literature. A military general, he has risen to a position of power and influence. At the same time, his status as a black-skinned foreigner in Venice marks him as an outsider and exposes him to some pretty overt racism, especially by his wife's father, who believes his daughter's interracial marriage can only be the result of Othello's trickery.
Because the play portrays the uber-racist fear of miscegenation (the mixing of races via marriage and/or sex), it's nearly impossible to talk about race in Othello without also discussing gender and sexuality.
Questions About Race
1. Which characters in the play make an issue of Othello's race? What kinds of stereotypes are at work in this play?
2. How does Othello's race affect his relationships with his wife and other characters?
3. How does Othello's race play a role in the hero's self-identity?
Gender
Gender relations are pretty antagonistic in Othello. Unmarried women are regarded as their fathers' property and the play's two marriages are marked by male jealousy and cruelty (both wives are murdered by their own husbands). Most male characters in Othello assume that allVenetian women are inherently promiscuous, which explains why female sexuality is a huge threat to men in the play. Othello is easily convinced his wife is cheating on him and feels emasculated and humiliated as a result.
We should also note that it's impossible to discuss gender and sexuality without considering race: Several characters in the play, including Othello, believe that black men sexually contaminate white women, which may partially explain why Othello sees his wife as soiled. See also our discussions of "Race" and "Sex" for more on this topic.
Questions About Gender
1. What kinds of assumptions do male characters make about women? How do male characters view female sexuality in the play?
2. Do male characters ever feel emasculated? If so, when? What triggers such feelings?
3. When Iago tells Brabantio that Othello has eloped with his daughter, why does he call Othello a "thief"? What kinds of assumptions about daughters are being made here?
4. Why does Desdemona want to go to war with Othello?
Manipulation
Othello's villain, Iago, may be literature's most impressive master of deception. Iago plots with consummate sophistication, carefully manipulating Othello (without any real proof) into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful. His understanding of the human psyche is phenomenal, as is his ability to orchestrate a complicated interweaving of pre-planned scenarios. Iago's deception is potent because of his patience, his cleverness, and what seems to be his intrinsic love of elegant manipulation.
Questions About Manipulation
1. Why does Iago want to manipulate Othello into believing Desdemona has been unfaithful?
2. How is it that Iago is so successful at manipulating everyone around him?
3. How does Iago's openness with the audience contrast with his treatment of other characters? Are we ever manipulated by Iago's lies?
4. Is Iago's masterful manipulation of the characters in Othello plausible? Why or why not?
Hate
Hatred is supposed to have a cause, some concrete event or insult that inspires a lasting rage. But in Othello, the play's villain is motivated by a hatred that seems to elude any reasonable definition. Iago's hatred and his determination to destroy his boss, Othello, seems out of proportion with the reasons he gives for it: anger that Othello did not promote him or jealousy that Othello might have slept with Iago's wife. Iago's loathing has been famously called a "motiveless malignity" that redefines our understanding of hatred, making it seem a self-propelling passion rather than the consequence of any particular action.
Questions About Hate
1. When in Othello is the word "hate" used explicitly? What other words are sometimes substituted for "hate"?
2. How does Iago describe his hatred? How often does Iago use the word "love" in comparison with other characters? What kind of relationship might this depict between love and hate? Are they polar opposites, or two shades of the same color?
3. We argued elsewhere in this module that Cyprus, being the "island of Venus," inflames passion in the characters. Does it inflame hatred the same way it does love?
Further Reading
York Notes are particularly good. The library may have some copies.
On the internet, try or No Fear Shakespeare if you are struggling with the language.
You must not copy from these when writing your essay, or any other source you use. Plagiarism is forbidden and I will find out!
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