SHAKESPEARE’S OTHELLO

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;

It is the green-ey’d monster”

(III.iii. 165-166)

William Shakespeare

Born in April 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon

Wrote 38 plays, including comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances

Not much known about his personal life- only know his works of literature & what we can decipher from legal documents

Shakespeare’s works so popular that they

sold in book format- which was rare for a

playwright at this time.

Shakespeare co-owned his theatre

company and the Globe theatre by the age

of 34

Shakespeare died in 1616

The Globe Theatre

SHAKESPEARE DEVICES

aside

foil

soliloquy Tragic hero tragedy

Verse: Poetic language that includes meter

and sometimes rhyme; organized in lines

with a consistent number of syllables

Prose: Ordinary written language with no

meter or rhyme; organized in sentences

Aside: a character’s remark, either to the audience or another character, that other characters on stage are not supposed to

hear

Monologue: an extended speech by a single character that is uninterrupted by others

Soliloquy: a speech a character gives when s/he is alone on stage

Foil: A character whose personality or

attitudes are in sharp contrast to those of

another character in the same work

(opposite).

Allusion: reference to an event, person,

place, or another work of literature (ie. Biblical

reference)

Tragic Flaw: Defect of character that leads to

the hero’s disastrous downfall

Tragedy

A serious play representing the disastrous downfall of the hero

Arouses pity and terror in the audience

Hero is led into fatal calamity by their tragic flaw or error

Tragic effect depends upon audience’s awareness of the admirable qualities of the hero which are wasted in the disaster

Classical Tragic Hero

The tragic hero is a good man, important to society

The hero suffers a fall brought about by something in his nature (ie. Jealousy)

The fall provokes the emotions of pity and fear in the reader

The tragic character comes to some kind of understanding or new recognition of what has happened

Tragic hero almost always dies at the end

ACTIVITY 1

Find an example of a MODERN DAY tragic hero …

explain how they fit into this category. Be prepared to

share your answer with the class.

OTHELLO

Othello: A Tragedy

•Written in 1604

•One of the major tragedies -- after Hamlet

and before King Lear and Macbeth

• Fascination with evil

• Study the devastating effects of the

deadly sins of the spirit: ambitious pride,

ingratitude, wrath, jealousy and vengeful

hate

Othello: Setting

Journey from Venice, Italy to Cyprus

Venice = order, rule of reason ?

Cyprus = disorder, rule of passion ?

The Plot … in a nutshell

Iago, disappointed that he was not promoted

seeks revenge on Othello (who promoted Cassio

instead of him)

Iago decides to get revenge by persuading

Othello that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on

him with Cassio.

As a result, a series of tragic events unfold

The play examines how far someone will go

because of jealousy

Famous Jealous people

Othello: Thematic Ideas

•Nature of love and marriage

•Nature of jealousy

•Male mistrust of women

•Deception / Honesty

• Importance of reputation

• Interracial relationships

•Appearance vs. reality

ACTIVITY 2

Answer the Pre-Reading questions provided