'Othello' and Shakespeare's conventions of tragedy | English

Starter quiz

What is a tragic hero?
- a character of high status with a hamartia that experiences a downfall ✓
- a sympathetic central character of common status
- a main character that is nice
In Shakespeare's 'Othello', what could Othello's hamartia be?
- ambition
- arrogance
- jealousy ✓
In 'Othello', what may Othello's moment of anagnorisis be?
- When he learns Cassio had Desdemona's handkerchief
- When he learns he was manipulated by Iago ✓
- When he learns that Brabantio rejected him
What is Othello's peripeteia in Shakespeare's 'Othello'?
- When he marries Desdemona
- When he travels to Cyprus
- When he falls for Iago's schemes ✓
What is meant by the word 'catharsis'?
- a build up of tension
- a release of tension ✓
- feeling sorry for the protagonist
When are the audience likely to experience catharsis in the play 'Othello'?
- When Othello kills Desdemona because he rids himself of insecurity
- When Othello finds that Cassio has Desdemona's handkerchief because it is tense
- When Othello kills himself because he rids himself of guilt ✓

What is the Great Chain of Being?
- a hierarchy that Elizabethans believed was chosen by God to order everything ✓
- a system of punishment
- a piece of propaganda to control people
What was most important according to the Great Chain of Being?
- angels ✓
- animals
- church
- nobles
What is true of social order in Shakespeare's tragedies?
- it is disrupted ✓
- it is maintained
- it is not important
What is Shakespeare's structure for tragedies?
- three-act
- six-act
- five-act ✓
In the play 'Othello', how does Iago's manipulation of Othello link to social order and status?
- Iago is in love with Othello's wife, Desdemona
- Iago does not believe Othello is worthy of his rank due to his race ✓
- Iago is angry that Othello did not give him a promotion ✓
In Shakespeare's 'Othello', in which act does Othello likely experience anagnorisis?
- the climax, when he sees Cassio with Desdemona's handkerchief
- the falling action, when he shouts at Desdemona
- the resolution, when he is told by Emilia that Iago manipulated him ✓

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Shakespeare's tragedies, like many Jacobean tragedies, focus on the consequences of the disruption of social order
Elizabethan social order was based on ideas about creation from Genesis, where God gave everything a place in the world
Order, disorder and chaos are key themes and motifs. As civil order is disrupted, the natural world responds with chaos
The five-act structure tracks the downfall of a noble tragic hero, causing disorder and finally restoring order

Shakespeare wrote only according to Aristotle's notion of tragedy.

Shakespeare had his own beliefs about tragedy and combined them with Aristotle's ideas.

The great chain of being - A hierarchy that Elizabethans believed God ordained for the earth.
Anagnorisis - A moment of insight where the tragic hero understands their circumstances.
Peripeteia - A pivotal action that changes the protagonist’s fate from secure to vulnerable.
Disruption - A disturbance which interferes with the normal functioning of something.