Othello – Key considerations for Act fiVe
Act five- following the plot. Provide textual evidence that supports the following two statements.
V,i
Plot Summary
Textual Evidence
Roderigo and Iago wait for Cassio
to attack him.
There is a fight and Cassio and
Roderigo are both wounded.
Iago kills Roderigo after Othello
has returned home to Desdemona.
Make a flow chart showing all the ways in which Iago manipulates events in this scene, to engineer the
outcomes he wants. (EG. Tries to get R. worked up to kill Cassio 

)
Drama often works by contrasts of mood and style and emotional intensity. If everything happened at the
same pitch of excitement, or had the same mood, then the audience would feel unable to keep responding.
Shifts wake up the audience, or break the pattern so as to surprise them, shock them or give them a bit of
relief.
 How would you describe this scene? Find 5-10 words or phrases to describe it and its effect on the
audience. (Eg. Action-packed…)
 Think back to the rest of the play and decide whether there are any other scenes that are similar to
this one
 Predict (orally) what kind of scene will follow this one
IV,ii
Plot Summary
Textual Evidence
Othello hurries home to find
Desdemona asleep
Despite claiming her innocence, he
still kills her.
Emilia discovers her.
Emilia denounces her husband for
slander.
The wounded (not killed!) Cassio is
brought to the scene, and Othello
asks his pardon.
Lodovico tries to arrest Othello, but
Othello has one final act.
Pay attention to the construction of final scene: blending of eloquent speeches with more direct dialogue.
Effects?
Discussion: Is this the exciting culmination of a powerful tragedy, or does it slip into melodrama- too
many things happening all at once, too many coincidences or missed opportunities, too many deaths?
Discuss possible effect of this ending: Watch three different versions of performances.
Consider the choices the directors have made and what their choices emphasized.
Focus on LANGUAGE --Remember what we discussed about imagery use with the 2 main characters?
Othello taking over Iago’s words and vice versa in act 3, 4 and then equilibrium is restored again at end.
Map how Othello’s changing language relates to his state of mind. Look at annotated extracts from Act 1,
scene 3 and Act 4, scene 1.
Apply what has been learned to speeches (v,ii l.257 “Behold, I have a weapon…. “ and l.334 “Soft you; a
word or two before you go....”)
think about the use of verse or prose, short or long vowels, line endings, iambic pentameter, the place of the
speech in the context of the play
Emilia’s role in Act V (l.108 till the end of the play)
Emilia is particularly important at this moment in the play.
 Explore Emilia’s reactions to the death of Desdemona and its impact on the audience, by focusing
closely on these extracts of her speech.
O, the more angel she,
And you the blacker devil!
Thou as rash as fire
To say that she was false: O, she was heavenly true!
If he say so, may his pernicious soul
Rot half a grain a day! He lies to the heart,
She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.
You told a lie, an odious damned lie;
Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie!
Nay, lay thee down, and roar,
For thou hast kill’d the sweetest innocent
That e’er did lift up eye.
Moor, she was chaste, she lov’d thee, cruel Moor,
So come my soul to bliss, as I speak true;
So speaking as I think, I die, I die.
 Use these sentence openers to pull together your ideas about her role here:
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Emilia appears in a new light at this moment because…
What she says to Othello is important because…..
She emerges by the end of the play as a woman who…..
The effect on the audience of her response to Desdemona’s death is..
The effect on the audience of her response to Iago is….
The effect on the audience of her own death is……
FOCUS on THEMES, DIFFERENT READINGS, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
‘Some major themes’ -Tension between opposites
He hath a daily beauty in his life
That makes me ugly (V,I)
order jealousy reason civilisation revenge justice passion hatred
leadership barbarism love disorder trust fear innocence
corruption honesty betrayal
 Put these words into logical pairings. Which characters do you associate with which idea?
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Who is associated with these aspects and in what specific circumstances are they evident?
How do these particular themes emerge in the language and action of the play?
What attitude or response do you think the audience is likely to have towards them? What views of
human behaviour and what ideologies are being presented to the audience?