William Shakespeare

Othello

Gathering Othello

• Othello is a romantic hero: a soldier who has

travelled the world, seen amazing sights, been

commended for his great valor and who finally found

love and happiness. But he is also a simple man, a

soldier, whose own principles of loyalty and

honesty make it hard for him to perceive malice in

others.

Processing Othello

• What does his profession mean to Othello?

• What is his attitude to himself at the beginning of

the play?

• What is the attitude of other characters to

Othello?

• In what ways is Othello's physical appearance an

important element in the play?

Processing Othello

• Is Othello gullible and stupid for believing Iago's

insinuations of Desdemona's infidelity?

• What is the nature of his love for Desdemona?

• What are the consequences of the loss of reason

for both Othello and Desdemona?

• Do you agree that Othello acted out of honour

rather than hatred in killing Desdemona?

Applying Othello

• Essay question: Describe an important relationship

between two or more characters. Explain how the

relationship helped you to understand these

characters.

• Thesis statement: Iago is able to bring about

Othello's downfall because of his simplicity of mind

and the greatness of his heroic heart.

Gathering Desdemona

• Desdemona is one of Shakespeare's gentlest

heroines, caught up in a vortex of violent passion

against which she is powerless to act, because she

cannot understand its cause. Her 'fault' is being so

good that Iago can use her unsuspecting virtue

and loyalty to weave a web of deceit which brings

about the downfall of those he has chosen to hate.

Processing Desdemona

• What does Desdemona's elopement reveal about

her nature?

• What particular virtues does Iago make use of in his

plan to torment Othello and bring about Cassio's

downfall?

• What is Desdemona 's view on infidelity?

• Why does she not flee when she realizes the

extent of Othello's jealousy?

Applying Desdemona

• Essay question: Describe one important decision a

character had to make. Explain how the decision

affected the character or events in the text.

• Thesis statement: Shakespeare's Desdemona is

too virtuous, innocent and passive to be quite

credible so her fate therefore unsurprising.