othello
by William Shakespeare
Who would you trust?
THIS PLAY IS THOUGHT TO BE WRITTEN
BETWEEN 1603 & 1604, DUE TO THE FACT THAT
IT WAS FIRST PERFORMED IN FRONT OF JAMES
I, WHO CAME FROM SCOTLAND TO RULE
ENGLAND AFTER THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH I
BECAUSE SHE DIED WITHOUT AN HEIR TO THE
THRONE. THE PLOT IS TAKEN FROM A
COLLECTION OF TALES BY THE ITALIAN WRITER
GIAMBATTISA CINZIO GIRALDI (1565)
OTHELLO IS BASED UPON
THE UNIVERSAL THEME-LOVE. WITH ITS
“RELENTLESS EMOTIONAL
GRIP” ON ITS AUDIENCE
OTHELLO HAS NEVER
GONE OUT OF FASHION
LIKE SOME OF
SHAKESPEARE’S OTHER
PLAYS. THIS IS A TRAGEDY
BASED UPON THE
DESTRUCTION OF A NOBLE
MAN AND HIS MARRIAGE
DUE TO PASSION, HATRED,
ENVY, REVENGE AND
JEALOUSY. SHAKESPEARE
ALSO FOCUSES ON THE
THEME OF APPEARANCES
VS. REALITY, SHOWING
JUST HOW IRONIC THESE
TWO OPPOSING ELEMENTS
CAN BE.
C
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You see, it is
kind of
complicated...
THE ESSENCE OF THE PLAY
Has the Bard depicted human nature skillfully?
Is Othello’s character credible and true to life?
Do soldiers really behave as such?
Is the Othello a noble hero who is brought down by a
devil?
Or is Othello flawed and self-regarding rather than
inherently noble; perhaps weak and inadequate?
Does Iago operate without adequate motivation?
Is Iago bad, because he is bad?
Or is he an example of typical stage Machiavel who
personifies rationality, self-interest, hypocrisy, and
cunning, expediency “policie”?
Is Desdemona sheer goodness and purity, whose selfcontrol and innocence are praiseworthy?
THEMES
Jealousy vs Trust
Men & Women
Race & Color
Appearance vs. Reality
Difference & Outsiders
Love
IMAGERY
Poison, Corruption & Disease
Hell and the Devil
Animals & Insects
The Sea & Military Heroism
Black & White
LANGUAGE & STRUCTURE
Blank Verse & Prose
Dramatic Structure--claustrophobia & Tension
Irony
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G
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Line
Word
Definition
9
Off-capped
Showed respect by removing hats
13
Epithets
Terms or phrases
24
Toged
Wearing official dress (togas worn by Roman
senators were the garb of peace)
30
Counter-caster
Accountant
38
Affined
Bound
47
Cashiered
Dismissed or cast off
74
Timorous
Frightening
98
Distempering
Exciting
110
Barbary horse
Arabian thoroughbred (this reference is
designed to evoke Othello’s barbarism)
112
Jennets
Small Spanish horses
156
Sagittary
The house where Othello & Desdemona are
staying, named after the sign of Sagittarius, the
centaur.
ACT I, SCENE I
Setting: a street in Venice at night
Roderigo is displeased with Iago because he did not
come through on his part of the bargain; convince
Desdemona’s dad to allow him to marry her. Instead he
finds out the Desdemona has defied her father and
married a moor. Roderigo is now indignant that his
money has been wasted.
Iago tries to restore Roderigo’s faith in him by telling
him how much he hates Othello, for he has passed
over Iago in promoting to lieutenant, by appointing
Cassio instead. Now Iago wants revenge
This when Roderigo wakes up Brabantio to tell him
his daughter had eloped.
ACT I, SCENE I
The mood of this scene is one of conflict, intrigue and confusion
Othello is never really mentioned by name, so the audience is
unclear as to who or what is causing all the conflict; the moor
Iago’s character is established in this first scene as being a “selfserving deceiver” and he looks like a mercenary taking money from
Roderigo even though he knows Brabantio does not think Roderigo
suitable to marry his daughter. He also is a cynical malcontent.
Iago is crude and unable to understand love or loving
relationships. He has no tolerance for man who wears his emotions
on his sleeve
Iago actually admires men who can exploit their masters and line
their pockets by pretending to be honest and trustworthy.
ACT I, SCENE I
Take a look and determine what Animal Imagery is
used here and how it is used. Discuss your findings
Review Iago’s words one more time. What can you
detect about his character by the why Shakespeare has
him speak? What effect does this have on Roderigo?
How does Iago manipulate him?
What effect do his words have on Brabantio? What is
Iago able to accomplish here?
He loves to create chaos and trouble but also knows
how to escape blame or trouble. Determine when we first
learn about this “talent” of Iago’s.
Dramatic Irony exists in heaps throughout this scene.
What are a few examples?