Shakespeare's Othello
(See Paper Topics
)
(See Essay on Othello )
Things to Consider:
- Appearance vs. Reality
- Iago as Puppet Master
- Race
- Language
- Love & Sexuality (and Fear of)
- Love vs. War
- Roles of Women
- Human Nature
- Self-image/Reputation
- See chart of characters
- Orson Welles version (1952)
- Laurence Olivier version (1965)
- Laurence Fishburne version (1995)
** Homework Questions: Part One **
Act One:
- What is a Moor?
- What is the nature of the relationship between Iago and
Othello?
5:
- Explain: "In following him, I follow but myself"
(1.1.55).
- Why does Iago hate Othello? Does Othello suspect?
17:
- Why should Desdemona be "feared to look on" Othello
(1.3.98)?
24:
- Explain: "Our bodies are our gardens, to the which
our wills are gardeners" (1.3.318). What literary
technique is being used here?
25:
- Why does Iago repeatedly say to "put money in thy purse"?
Act Two:
30:
- Explain: "The riches of the ship is come on shore"
(2.1.83).
- Describe the relationship between Iago and Emilia.
46:
- What, according to Cassio is "the immortal part of /
myself"(2.3.253-54)? How has he lost it? Explain
his reasoning.
Other Discussion Questions:
Act One:
- Who is Iago? What is an ancient?
- What is the nature of the relationship between Iago and
Cassio?
- Who is Roderigo? Why might he have a conflict with
Othello?
6:
- What does it mean to say "an old black ram / Is tupping
your white ewe" (1.1.85-86)?
7:
- What is "the beast with two backs" (1.1.113)?
11:
- Why have the officers come for Othello?
- Why does Othello believe he'll be exonerated of
Brabantio's charges?
- Who is Janus? What is the significance of Iago
invoking him (1.2.33)?
12:
- Why does Brabantio call Othello a thief (1.2.62)?
- What does Brabantio believe is the cause of Desdemona's
interest in Othello?
18-19:
- How has Othello "won" Desdemona?
19:
- Describe the relationship between Desdemona and her
father.
- Describe the relationship between Desdemona and
Othello. How is it different?
20:
- Is Brabantio appeased by Desdemona? Explain.
26:
- What is Iago's plan at the end of Act One? Why is
he doing this?
Act Two:
31-32:
- How does Iago view women in general?
35-36:
- Explain: "If she had been blessed, she would never
have loved the Moor" (2.1.248-49).
37:
- Why does Iago want to be "even" with Othello "wife for
wife" (2.1.293)?
41:
- Explain: "The lieutenant is to be saved before the
ancient" (2.3.100-101).
49:
- Explain: "When devils will the blackest sins put
on, / They do suggest at first with heavenly shows"
(2.3.339-40).
** Homework Questions: Part
Two **
Act Three:
- What is (dramatic) irony? Present an example of it
from Act Three.
58:
- What is the "immediate jewel of [our] souls" (3.3.159)?
- Explain: "Who steals my purse steals trash"
(3.3.160).
- What is "the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat
it feeds on" (3.3.168-69)? Explain.
75:
- Why does Cassio give Bianca the handkerchief?
Act Four
82-83:
- Why does Othello want to kill Desdemona?
83:
- Why does Iago tell him to strangle her?
84:
- Why is Othello commanded home?
- Why is it significant that Cassio will take his place in
Cyprus?
87:
- Why doesn't Othello directly ask Desdemona about Cassio
specifically?
Other Discussion Questions:
Act Three:
58-59:
- Explain: "To be once in doubt / Is once to be resolved"
(3.3.181-82).
59:
- Explain: "She did deceive her father, marrying you"
(3.3.208). How is this statement significant?
62:
- Why has Iago been telling Emilia to steal Desdemona's
hankerchief? For how long has he been doing so?
63:
- Explain: "I nothing but to please his fantasy"
(3.3.332).
69:
- Why does Othello ask Iago to have Cassio killed?
72:
- Explain: "They are all but stomachs, and we all but food"
(3.4.101).
Act Four:
90:
- Why does Desdemona ask Emilia to put on the wedding
sheets that night?
96:
- What is the significance of the song Desdemona
discusses?
98:
- Explain: "The ills we do, their ills instruct us
so" (4.3.104).
** Homework Questions: Part
Three **
Act Five:
101:
- Why does Iago stab Roderigo?
103:
- What is "the cause" (5.2.1)? Of what is it the
cause?
- Why "must" Desdemona die (5.2.6)?
106:
- Why does Othello consider Desdemona's murder a
"sacrifice" (5.2.66)?
108:
- Why doesn't Desdemona implicate Othello in her death?
111:
- Explain: "Thy match was mortal to him" (5.2.211).
114:
- Explain: "For naught I did in hate, but all in
honor" (5.2.300).
116:
- Explain: Othello "threw a pearl away / Richer than
all his tribe" (5.2.352-53). Why is Othello speaking in
the third person here?
Back to Top
