Othello Introduction
What are some of the theme topics will we see in this play?
THE PLOT

_____________________ is a general, a military leader, in Venice hundreds of years ago.

But he is an ___________________ because he is from another ____________________—and of another
_________________.

When Othello ___________________________________ the young, beautiful and noble
____________________________, her father, Brabantio, wants Othello to be ________________________.

But Desdemona loves Othello and doesn’t care that he is an _________________________________.

At the same time, the men in the army under Othello ____________________________________.

____________________means well but is open to bad influences.

______________________pretends to be Othello’s friend, but _____________________________________
for passing him over for promotion.

Iago is determined to get _______________________________.

He decides to attack Othello in his most ______________________ spot: his
_________________________________.
PREDICT:
Will Othello be able to see through Iago’s schemes? Or will jealousy and revenge turn to murder? What do you
think will happen in the play? What would make the best story?
IMPORTANT DRAMATIC TERMS
___________________________: a drama of a solemn and dignified quality that typically depicts the development
of a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force, such as fate, circumstance, or society, and reaches a
mournful or ruinous conclusion.
_______________________: a defect in the protagonist that brings about his or her downfall.
_______________________: derived from the Greek word hybris, means “excessive pride.” In Greek tragedy,
hubris is often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.
Othello is a Shakespearean Tragedy.
 It encompasses elements of tragedies such as:
 It ends with the ________________ of numerous characters.
 The protagonist is admirable, but _________________, with the audience able to understand and
sympathize with the character.
 The protagonist is capable of ________________________________________.
 ___________________________ is insisted upon – the protagonist must always be able to back out
of a situation or to redeem themselves – but always towards their inevitable doom.
 ______________________________: the main character of great importance to his state or culture and
who is conventionally of noble birth and high social station, the ruler or an important leader in his society.
 The _______________________________ of the state is identified with, and dependent on, that of its
ruler, and so the tragic hero’s story is also that of his state.
 Such heroes are ___________________________________, neither thoroughly good or thoroughly evil, yet
“better” or “greater” than the rest of us, in the sense that they are of higher than ordinary moral worth and
social significance.
THE SETTING
Setting (time) · Late _________________ century, during the wars between ________________________________
Setting (place) · _______________________ in Act I; the island of _______________________ thereafter
THE CHARACTERS
Types of people in Othello:
Venetians
 Most are_________________________ and women (Brabantio, Desdemona, Roderigo)
 Also, there are the nobles’________________________ (Emilia)
 Some are _________________________(Cassio, Iago)
 Others are part of Venetian _____________________________ (the Duke)
Moors (Othello)
 Black ____________________ people of the northern shores of __________________, originally the
inhabitants of Mauretania
 Converted to ___________________ in the 8th century
 Invaded Spain in 711 and dominated until the 11th century
 They had great dynasties up until 1492, when the last of their cities was conquered by Spain.
 They virtually______________________________ by Spain during the Inquisition (late 1400s-1820)
 Othello is a ____________________
 _____________________________ against because of his race (black)
 Othello has been accepted in some ways because he is a ____________________________ and a
_____________________________________________
 Yet his marriage to Desdemona reflects the prevailing view toward interracial marriage.
Iago
 Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most ________________________________, often considered so because of
the unique trust Othello puts in him, which he betrays while maintaining his reputation of honesty and
dedication.
 Shakespeare _______________________ Iago with Othello’s nobility and integrity.
 Iago is a _________________________ – he has a bitter and cyncial view of the world around him.
 The name Iago is a shortened version of the Spanish name “Santiago” or “St James”.
 Saint James of Spain was also known as “St James the ________________________________” which seems
appropriate within the play.
THE CULTURE OF THE TIME
 The wife’s status: The husband, in the accepted role as head of the household, gives __________________
_________________________ to his wife and children--who sit ____________________________ listening.
 Evil Women: In the Elizabethan times there was a long and well established tradition in the Church of what
we would now call ______________________ – women were distrusted simply because they were women.
 At the time it was ___________________ that women would cheat – it was part of their _______________!
 The men in “Othello” have differing views of women – from Othello who ____________________________
(Desdemona) to Iago who sees love as "merely a ________ of the blood and a _______________________
of the will“.
 The attitudes of the audience at the time are likely to have been varied too.
 The Cuckold: Any man whose wife ____________________on him (___________________ his knowledge)
was known as a cuckold.
 The word derives from “____________________” – the bird known for laying their eggs in another’s nest.
 It was ______________________________________ to be considered a cuckold.
 All of the community would find out about it and it was considered a _______________________________.
 Cuckolds were often described as having horns – a hangover from the days when a cuckold was forced to
parade around his town _________________________________________ as a sign of his wife’s infidelity.
JEALOUSY
 Jealousy was viewed as something _____________________ and linked to the deadly sin of ____________.
 It was viewed as a sudden _____________ against which there was
_____________________________________________.
 It was thought of as eroding trust and it ________________________________ holding together marriages,
families and social frameworks.
 Being jealous could let in _____________________________________ and it was a state greatly
_____________________ by Shakespeare’s audiences.