OTHELLO
- One of Shakespeare’s most famous plays
- Set in Venice and Cyprus
- Great example of a tragedy
- The titular hero, a ‘moor’ has flaws and misjudgements which lead to his and other
characters downfalls
- Shakespeare delves into the psyches and motivations of Othello and those of the
antagonist Iago who is an ensign who falsely convinces Othello that his wife has been
unfaithful, purely out of jealousy of Cassio being promoted over him in the Venetian army
- The play explores many key themes: love, jealousy, racism, prejudice, deception,
manipulation and revenge
Genre: tragedy
➔ It is primarily the tragedy of Othello himself, and the fall of his grace, but also a love
tragedy as the relationship between Othello and Desdemona breaks down
➔ His interracial marriage is partly a cause of his decline because his marriage to a noble
Venetian lady is what Iago uses to manipulate him as she is of high status and beauty,
which causes Othello to doubt himself
➔ Shakespeare draws on the Ancient Greek genre of tragedy with Othello
➔ Typical tragic notions includes a strong striking hero whose misjudgements and flaws
lead to widespread suffering, and ultimately the death to those around him
➔ His hamartia (fatal flaw) causes suffering and calamity
➔ In a tragedy, the bad stuff that happens is because of a man’s own actions
➔ Othello’s hamartia is jealousy
➔ Iago uses this to trick and manipulate Othello
➔ At the end of a classic tragedy, the hero experiences anagnorisis
➔ He becomes aware of his own mistakes and misjudgements
➔ This is often followed my catharsis
➔ His catharsis and realisation of his own errors is a moment of cleansing
➔ In normal tragedies, this moment of realisation tends to come too late which comes at
their own cost
➔ The hero is ready to amend, but due to his own actions he is unable to
➔ Unusual aspects of the play don’t fit into this genre
➔ For example, he holds a high rank in the military (general)
➔ But, he is not a king or nobleman; he’s more ordinary
➔ His race also makes him an outcast to the venetian society
, Structure:
➔ 5 acts, typical of a Shakespearean tragedy
➔ In act 1, he is his noblest
➔ He uses elevated and controlled language when speaking to the seniors that he has
married/ wants to marry Desdemona
➔ “Most potent, grave and reverend signiors, my very noble and approved good
masters, That I have ta’ken away this old man’s daughter is most true” (act 1
scene 3)
➔ He speaks in elevated blank verse and is polite to the senators
➔ Though Brabantio is aggressive and has an accusatory tone, Othello remains
professional
➔ The fluent language he possesses, gives us the impression that he is a character who is
commanding and dignified (proud), a conspicuous (noticeable) and striking hero who is
primed (ready) for a reversal of fortune
➔ However by act 5, his verse has broken down and becomes broken and fragmented as a
result of what Iago has fed his mind with
➔ “Iie with her! Lie on her! We say lie on her, when they belie her. Lie with her! that’s
fulsome. Handkerchief confessions handkerchief is’nt possible? Confess
handkerchief O devil (act 4 scene 1)
➔ Rather than an elevated speech, this reads more as a train of thought
➔ His speech is now broken down into short sentences and exclamations
➔ The breakdown of his vocab reflects the demise of his mental state
➔ The frequent exclamations marks and pauses also indicates his nervousness and lack of
composure which heavily contrasts his eloquent speech in Act 1
➔ This break down of speech is closely tied to the play’s structure, as if allows us to track
the rise and fall of the protagonist across the five acts
Key Theme: Love
● It is a prevalent theme in Othello
● Initially, Othello and Desdemona’s relationships is genuine and the love is reciprocated
● “She loved me for the dangers I had passed/ and I loved her that she did pity
them” (act 1 scene 3)
● Splitting this sentence evenly across two lines of iambic pentameter indicates their
reciprocal love as conveyed by Shakespeare indicating that they love each other across
two equal lines
● Iago uses Othello's love for Desdemona against him
● Drawing on his marital insecurities, particularly the fact that he married a white Venetian
lady whose father disapproved, Iago seeked to distance him from his wife and develop a
deep sense of hatred towards her
Key Theme: Jealousy
- It is his hamartia
- Iago is also jealous and Iago’s jealousy towards Cassio triggers the entire storyline
- “The green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on”
- One of Shakespeare’s most famous plays
- Set in Venice and Cyprus
- Great example of a tragedy
- The titular hero, a ‘moor’ has flaws and misjudgements which lead to his and other
characters downfalls
- Shakespeare delves into the psyches and motivations of Othello and those of the
antagonist Iago who is an ensign who falsely convinces Othello that his wife has been
unfaithful, purely out of jealousy of Cassio being promoted over him in the Venetian army
- The play explores many key themes: love, jealousy, racism, prejudice, deception,
manipulation and revenge
Genre: tragedy
➔ It is primarily the tragedy of Othello himself, and the fall of his grace, but also a love
tragedy as the relationship between Othello and Desdemona breaks down
➔ His interracial marriage is partly a cause of his decline because his marriage to a noble
Venetian lady is what Iago uses to manipulate him as she is of high status and beauty,
which causes Othello to doubt himself
➔ Shakespeare draws on the Ancient Greek genre of tragedy with Othello
➔ Typical tragic notions includes a strong striking hero whose misjudgements and flaws
lead to widespread suffering, and ultimately the death to those around him
➔ His hamartia (fatal flaw) causes suffering and calamity
➔ In a tragedy, the bad stuff that happens is because of a man’s own actions
➔ Othello’s hamartia is jealousy
➔ Iago uses this to trick and manipulate Othello
➔ At the end of a classic tragedy, the hero experiences anagnorisis
➔ He becomes aware of his own mistakes and misjudgements
➔ This is often followed my catharsis
➔ His catharsis and realisation of his own errors is a moment of cleansing
➔ In normal tragedies, this moment of realisation tends to come too late which comes at
their own cost
➔ The hero is ready to amend, but due to his own actions he is unable to
➔ Unusual aspects of the play don’t fit into this genre
➔ For example, he holds a high rank in the military (general)
➔ But, he is not a king or nobleman; he’s more ordinary
➔ His race also makes him an outcast to the venetian society
, Structure:
➔ 5 acts, typical of a Shakespearean tragedy
➔ In act 1, he is his noblest
➔ He uses elevated and controlled language when speaking to the seniors that he has
married/ wants to marry Desdemona
➔ “Most potent, grave and reverend signiors, my very noble and approved good
masters, That I have ta’ken away this old man’s daughter is most true” (act 1
scene 3)
➔ He speaks in elevated blank verse and is polite to the senators
➔ Though Brabantio is aggressive and has an accusatory tone, Othello remains
professional
➔ The fluent language he possesses, gives us the impression that he is a character who is
commanding and dignified (proud), a conspicuous (noticeable) and striking hero who is
primed (ready) for a reversal of fortune
➔ However by act 5, his verse has broken down and becomes broken and fragmented as a
result of what Iago has fed his mind with
➔ “Iie with her! Lie on her! We say lie on her, when they belie her. Lie with her! that’s
fulsome. Handkerchief confessions handkerchief is’nt possible? Confess
handkerchief O devil (act 4 scene 1)
➔ Rather than an elevated speech, this reads more as a train of thought
➔ His speech is now broken down into short sentences and exclamations
➔ The breakdown of his vocab reflects the demise of his mental state
➔ The frequent exclamations marks and pauses also indicates his nervousness and lack of
composure which heavily contrasts his eloquent speech in Act 1
➔ This break down of speech is closely tied to the play’s structure, as if allows us to track
the rise and fall of the protagonist across the five acts
Key Theme: Love
● It is a prevalent theme in Othello
● Initially, Othello and Desdemona’s relationships is genuine and the love is reciprocated
● “She loved me for the dangers I had passed/ and I loved her that she did pity
them” (act 1 scene 3)
● Splitting this sentence evenly across two lines of iambic pentameter indicates their
reciprocal love as conveyed by Shakespeare indicating that they love each other across
two equal lines
● Iago uses Othello's love for Desdemona against him
● Drawing on his marital insecurities, particularly the fact that he married a white Venetian
lady whose father disapproved, Iago seeked to distance him from his wife and develop a
deep sense of hatred towards her
Key Theme: Jealousy
- It is his hamartia
- Iago is also jealous and Iago’s jealousy towards Cassio triggers the entire storyline
- “The green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on”
