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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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?
Close Study: Act 1, Scene 1
1.What does the language of the lines 1-7 reveal about the
moods and attitudes of Roderigo and Iago?
2.Look at Iago’s language in lines 8-65.
*What does he reveal about himself by what he says and
the tone and style he adopts? How does he reveal his
attitude to the Moor? To Michael Cassio?
*How do you think Shakespeare might want us to react to
Iago at first?
3. How are Iago’s words in line 67-77 a response to Roderigo’s
preceding remarks? How do they affect the impact of the play
at this point? What is Iago’s advice? What are his tone and
attitude?
4. Lines 74-81. Roderigo says he’ll “call aloud”. What is Iago’s
advice about how to do this and its implications? Why do you
think Iago joins in?
5. Lines 82-118. What can you tell of Iago’s attitude and
intentions from the language and imagery he uses to describe
the Moor and Brabantio’s daughter and their activities?
Close Study: Act 1,Scene 1
5. (cont.) What responses to this situation does Brabantio show during
the passage?
6. Lines 119-139. What approach does Roderigo adopt to answering
Brabantio? What language and imagery does he use to describe the
Moor & Desdemona and their activities? How does this affect
Brabantio?
7. Lines 139-143. What is the impact of this reaction of a father to his
daughter’s “revolt”?
8. Lines 143-158.
why might Shakespeare have decided to have Brabantio exit
at this point?
how does Iago’s explanation of his departure affect our view
of him?
what do we learn about the Moor here?
9. Lines 159-182. What does Shakespeare reveal about the state of
Brabantio’s mind here? How does he do it? What do you think are
Brabantio’s most significant thoughts about his daughter and the
Moor? How is he reacting to her absence? Has the attitude towards
Roderigo changed at this point? Can you determine why that would
be?
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Scene 2
Line
Word
Definition
7
Scury
Insulting, rude
12
Magnifico
A title used to address Brabantio
17
cable
Scope (a nautical metaphor)
18
Signiory
The Venetian state/ oligarchy
21
promulgate
make known or pulblish
26
Unhoused
Unconfined, free
33
Janus
The two faced Roma god of beginnings,
doorways and passages
50
Land carrack
Either a treasure ship or a slang term for a
prostitute
95
Idle
Unimportant or trivial
Scurrilous
Scandalous , outrageous
Close Study: Act 1,Scene 2
1. Look at Iago’s first words in the scene. What is he saying? Why is
he saying it? How is Shakespeare developing his portrayal of him?
Look at key words and phrases.
2. What is the impact of Othello’s speech—only five words—after
Iago’s speech?
3. In line 3, Iago says he lacks “iniquity”. In line 9, he speaks of the
“little godliness” he has. Why does he speak like this?