Othello Research Paper Topics
 Choose one of the below topics for your research paper.
 As we read the rest of Othello, keep your topic in mind, taking notes on each act with
a focus on the topic you have chosen. (Be sure to return to Acts I and II as well.)
 Thus, you are preparing your research paper as we read.
 After we complete Othello, you will read 1-2 pieces of literary criticism (I’ll supply
these sources) on your chosen topic.
 Then, we will begin work on the papers. Work will be completed (mostly) in class.
1. Gender Issues
Consider the gender of the characters in Othello. How are the female characters portrayed?
How do the male characters view women? How does gender influence the choices that are
available to the female characters and the decisions that they make? Pay close attention to
how the male characters classify women and how the female characters challenge (or
not) those assumptions. Write a paper that focuses on the female characters and explores
how gender affects the plot and character development in the play.
Gayle Green: ‘This that you call love’: Sexual and Social Tragedy in Othello
2. Morally ambiguous characters: Emilia
Morally ambiguous characters--- characters whose behavior discourages readers from
identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature.
Emilia can be considered a morally ambiguous character who plays a pivotal role in Othello.
Trace the development of Emilia’s character throughout the play. How does her character
change during the course of the play? Pay close attention to moments when Emilia decides
to be silent and when she decides to speak. Write an essay in which you focus on Emilia’s
character: how can she be viewed as morally ambiguous? Is she redeemed at the end?
Carol Thomas Neely: Men and Women in Othello
3. Desdemona: Is there more to her than meets the eye?
After Othello strangles Desdemona, Emilia asks, “Who has done this deed?” Desdemona
responds, “Nobody. I myself.” Trace the development of Desdemona’s character through out
the play. Note how other characters speak of her and what her own words reveal about her
character. Pay close attention to how her character changes when she is not with Othello.
Is there more to her than “goddess” or “virtuous saint”? Write an essay in which you focus on
Desdemona’s character and consider the question: does she bear any responsibility for the
tragic ending of the play?
S.N. Garner: Shakespeare’s Desdemona
4. The mind of Othello
According to critic Northop Frye, “Tragic heroes are so much the highest point in their
human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great
trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course
be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning.” Is Othello a tragic hero? A victim?
A villain? Trace the development of Othello’s character throughout the play. Pay close
attention to Othello’s soliloquies and statements in the final scene of play. Why is he so
easily swayed by Iago? If he has a tragic flaw, what is it? What responsibility does he bear
for his own tragic fall and death? Write an essay in which you focus on Othello’s character
and consider the questions above.
Carol McGinnis Kay: Othello’s Need for Mirrors
5. Iago and Othello
What is the nature of this relationship? What motivates Iago to do what he does? Is he pure
evil or is there more to his character? What about Othello? Why is he so easily manipulated
by Iago? Trace the relationship between Iago and Othello in the play. How does it develop?
How does language play a role? Pay close attention to scenes when Iago and Othello are
alone. Write a paper in which you focus on the relationship between these two characters.
Robert Pack: Incredulity and the Possible
6. Iago: psychopath? Pure evil? Or something more?
Samuel Taylor Coleridge once wrote that Iago's soliloquies are the "motive-hunting of
motiveless malignity." Is this an accurate observation? Does Iago have a motive or motives
for his hatred of Othello? Is he simply “Evil” or is there more to him? How does Iago’s
opinions of women play a role in the development of his character? Pay close attention to
Iago’s soliloquies as well as the language/strategies he uses to manipulate other
characters. Why does he refuse to speak at the end? Write an essay in which you focus on
Iago’s character and consider the questions above.
Daniel Stempel: Silence of Iago
Fred West: Iago the Psychopath
Note-taking Format: Remember, this is a major part of your research for the paper
you will write after we complete our reading of the play. The more complete your
research, the more prepared you will be to write your paper.
For each act, please handwrite or type the following:
1. Act number (perhaps create a title for the act)
2. A brief summary about who or what is introduced and/or what happens in
the act and how this relates to your chosen topic
3. M.V.P. (Most Valuable Passage): Note/copy/quote at least two passages from
the act that is significant to your chosen topic. Include the scene number and
line numbers and a few sentences explaining the reason why you chose the
passage.
Grading: Notes will be worth 3 points for each act of the play. That is, a total of 15
points can be earned.