Introduction to 'Othello' and plot exploration | English

Starter quiz

Which time period did Shakespeare live in?
- 1800s-1900s
- 1500s-1600s ✓
- 1100s-1200s
What is a patriarchal society?
- A female dominated society
- A male dominated society ✓
- An equal society
What is prejudice?
- Treating everyone equally
- Having a biased view on a group of people due to race, gender, religion etc. ✓
- Not judging other people
Starting with the first, put the components of Freytag's pyramid in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Exposition
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Rising action
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Climax
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  Falling action
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  Resolution
What three types of play did Shakespeare write?
- history, tragedy and romance
- history, drama and comedy
- history, tragedy and comedy ✓
What is true of a tragedy play?
- it must have a happy ending
- it must be historically accurate
- it must have a sad ending ✓

Who is Othello from Shakespeare's 'Othello'?
- A soldier in the Venetian army
- A Moorish general of the Venetian army ✓
- Iago's brother
How does Iago manipulate Othello in 'Othello'?
- Iago convinces Othello that his wife, Desdemona, is cheating on him ✓
- Iago convinces Othello that his lieutenant, Cassio, is trying to usurp him
- Iago convinces Othello that his wife's father wants to kill him
What is tragic about the ending of 'Othello'?
- Desdemona and Othello divorce
- Iago kills Othello
- Othello kills Desdemona and himself ✓
Who could be considered an outsider in the play 'Othello' and why?
- Iago - he is a mere soldier in a society where rank is valued
- Othello - he is a black general in a society where racial prejudice was rife ✓
- Cassio - he is a Turkish lieutenant in a society that disapproved of invasion
In Shakespeare's 'Othello', how is Desdemona's father likely to react to her secret marriage to Othello and why?
- he is likely to be delighted - Othello has high status as a general
- he is likely to be annoyed that Desdemona did not consult him before marrying ✓
- he is likely to be apprehensive because Desdemona's marriage is interracial ✓
Which event in the play 'Othello' could be seen as the climax?
- Iago plants seeds of Desdemona's cheating
- Othello and Desdemona elope
- Othello kills Desdemona
- Othello sees that Cassio has Desdemona's handkerchief ✓

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Iago is angry that he has been passed over for promotion, so pretends to love Othello whist plotting his downfall
Iago tells Desdemona's father about her secret marriage to Othello which causes trouble but she defends her love for him
Iago preys on Othello’s insecurity by planting Desdemona’s handkerchief – false proof of her betrayal - in Cassio’s room
Iago manipulates Othello to the point where he murders his wife, as punishment for her supposed unfaithfulness
Race and gender are key contextual ideas to consider in the play

We would react the same way towards the characters and events as would the Jacobean audience.

Explain that societal beliefs were different in the 1600s so a Jacobean audience would likely react differently to the events and characters

Protagonist - A protagonist is the main character in a play.
Inciting incident - The inciting incident is an event that acts as the catalyst for the protagonist’s changing fate.
Resolution - The resolution is the end of the story where the problem is solved.
Catalyst - A catalyst is something that causes something else to happen.
Moorish - Moorish people were the North African people that ruled Spain from 711 to 1492.