Starter quiz
- What genre of play is 'Othello'?
- comedy
- tragedy ✓
- history
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- Starting with the most important, order the living things in the Elizabethan/Jacobean Great Chain of Being in order of importance.
- 1⇔God
- 2⇔Angels
- 3⇔King/Queen
- 4⇔Church
- 5⇔Nobles
- 6⇔Men
- 7⇔Animals
- What is true of some views on race in the Elizabethan/Jacobean era?
- darker skinned people were considered morally deviant ✓
- all people were considered equal
- Jacobeans often feared 'outsiders' ✓
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- What is true of some views on gender in the Elizabethan/Jacobean era?
- men and women were considered as equals
- women had more power than men
- women were considered as subordinates to men ✓
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- In 'Othello', how does Desdemona subvert gender stereotypes of the Jacobean era?
- she elopes with Othello, without her father's knowledge ✓
- she is not listened to when she protests that she is faithful
- she sings the willow song and succumbs to her suffering
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- In Shakespeare's 'Othello', how does Othello's character contradict racial stereotypes of the Jacobean era?
- he is a military general
- he is introduced as a noble Moor: eloquent, humble, virtuous ✓
- he succumbs to jealousy
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Exit quiz
- What are the four types of context you could reference when writing about a text?
- author, historical, literal, biographical
- literary, historical, biographical, social ✓
- social, conventional, historical, author
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- What does historical context refer to?
- What was happening at the time the text was written ✓
- What the shared cultural constructions of specific ideas were
- If it fits into a literary movement
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- Which statements are part of the literary context of 'Othello'?
- Shakespeare was influenced by Aristotle's idea of tragedy ✓
- Jacobean England was xenophobic
- Othello was based on the story 'Gli Hecatom' by Cinthio ✓
- Shakespeare was born in 1564
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- What is not an effective way to include context?
- embed it within the paragraph
- use different types of context
- make it relevant to the point you are making
- tack it on at the end of your response ✓
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- The Great Chain of Being is...
- a piece of social context that helps you discuss attitudes on race in 'Othello'. ✓
- a piece of biographical context that helps you discuss evil in 'Othello'.
- a piece of literary context that helps you discuss tragedy in 'Othello'.
- a piece of historical context that helps you discuss war in 'Othello'.
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- Why may Shakespeare have chosen to set 'Othello' against a backdrop of late 16th century war against Christian Venice and the Muslim Ottoman Empire?
- to further the exploration of attitudes towards outsiders ✓
- to show how excellent a warrior Othello was
- to create drama and tension in the play
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Context refers to the historical, social, literary and biographical.
- Context should not be presented as isolated facts or generalisations.
- Context should be relevant to the analysis and embedded in the response.
- Context should develop your ideas and give an insight into the writer’s purpose and intention.
- Context can be used to analyse specific word choices or images, considering historic connotations or social importance.
Common misconception
Context just needs to be included in a response to make it effective.
Context must not only be included but carefully considered, adapted and moulded to the point you are trying to make.
Keywords
Tragedy - a play dealing with the downfall of a central character
Great chain of being - a hierarchy for all living things that Jacobean people believed in
Jacobean - the era in which King James I was on the throne
Embedded - incorporated deeply inside of a larger thing e.g. context embedded into a paragraph
Rennaisance - a cultural, artistic movement covering the 14th to 17th centuries
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