THEATRE II – ADVANCED
UNIT 3.2 – Othello STUDY GUIDE
NAME:
All answers found on Othello PowerPoint
Othello was written by
Othello was written in
Othello is a Shakespearean
It encompasses
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It ends with the
It encompasses
and military details
The
, with the audience able to understand and
sympathise with the character.
The protagonist is
of both
_
– the protagonist must always be able to back out of
a situation or to redeem themselves – but always towards their inevitable doom.
The world’s greatest…
By the time he’d written
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of tragedies such as:
, Shakespeare was considered the greatest playwright of his day.
Many feel that Shakespeare's later plays show a darker, more pessimistic view of the world than his early plays.
Under
(his rule is referred to as the
), England lost some of its
power and prosperity.
o Conflicts between
and
led to civil strife.
o Shakespeare's earlier plays reflected
golden reign. By 1604, when Othello was
first produced, the glory of the
was recent history.
This is reflected in the fact that, unlike his other tragedies,
caused at the end of the play.
Othello: Themes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Principal Characters:
Othello:
Iago:
Michael Cassio:
Roderigo:
Brabantio:
Gratiano:
Montano:
Desdemona:
Emilia:
Bianca:
Plot Elements
Genre:
Time:
Setting:
Year Produced:
Origin of Plot of Othello:
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The plot for Othello was developed from a story in the Italian author
collection,
, which it follows closely (1565).
The only named character in Cinthio's story is "Disdemona", which means "unfortunate" in Greek
The other characters are identified only as "the standard-bearer", "the captain", and "the Moor".
The first known performance of the play occurred on November 1, 1604 at Whitehall Palace in London.
Othello the Moor
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 Othello – a moor
Othello is described in the play as a moor, and a general in the
The origin of the word “moor” comes from the word “
” which was used to describe a
group of people called
, who came from
It can also be supposed that he was from
, although
is sometimes
referred to as “Moorish”
What does it mean to be Moorish?
o Moors were characterized in Elizabethan England as being alternately or simultaneously
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It was often the case (in literature) that a moor was presented as someone accepted by society to a certain point, but
then rejected due to other factors.
The majority of Moors were
; whereas Venice would have been
Traditional “Moorish,”
People
The Great Villain – Iago
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Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains, often considered so because of the
Othello puts in him,
which he betrays while maintaining his
of honesty and dedication.
Shakespeare contrasts Iago with Othello’s
.
Iago is a
– he has a bitter and cynical view of the world around him.
The name Iago is a shortened version of the Spanish name “Santiago” or “
”.
Saint James of Spain was also known as “
” which seems appropriate within
the play.
Other Interesting Themes and Issues in Othello
Controversial in Elizabethan times, but still hold true today……
1.
2.
3.
Courtly Love
o Men were expected to go through distinct stages of courtly love in order to woo a woman.
The Wife’s Status
o A typical wife receiving her
o The husband, in the accepted role as head of the household, gives
to his wife and children-who sit obediently listening.
Evil Women!
o The men in
have differing views of women:
 Othello who
his wife (Desdemona) to
 Iago who sees love as "merely a
of the blood and a
of the will“.
o The attitudes of the audience at the time are likely to have been varied too.
o In the Elizabethan times there was a long and well established tradition in the Church of what we would now call
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4.
Women were distrusted simply because they were women. At the time it was assumed that women
would cheat – it was part
The Cuckold
o Any man whose wife cheated on him (without his knowledge) was known as a
o The word derives from “
” – the bird known for laying their eggs in another’s nest.
o It was highly undesirable to be considered a cuckold; All of the community would find out about it and it was
considered a public humiliation.
o
Cuckolds were often described as having
– a hangover from the days when a cuckold was
forced to parade around his town wearing antlers as a sign of his wife’s
.
Jealousy
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Jealousy was viewed as something irrational and linked to the
It was viewed as a sudden
against which there was no prevention or cure.
It was thought of as eroding
and it dissolved the bonds holding together
.
Being jealous could let in
and it was a state greatly feared by
.