Shakespeares Othello

1
Shakespeares Othello

• A play about love, hate, jealousy, envy, and lust

2
Themes in Othello

• Jealousy has the power to destroy.
• Hatred is often skin deep.
• All things are not what they seem.
• True love can require courage.
• Bad things happen to good people.

3
Setting

• Takes place in Cyprus
• an island in the Mediterranean
• Near present-day Turkey
• Begins in Venice
• Northern Italy
• Illuminates the authoritarian government ruled by
  the Venetian senators
• Time of play between 1489- 1571

4
Moors vs. Venetians

• Othello, the title character, is a Moor living in
  Venetian society
• What is a Venetian?
• Venice center of commerce and materialism
• This lead to much corruption and social conflict
• What is a Moor?
• A Muslim of mixed Arab and Berber descent
• Berbers North African natives
• Usually, but not always, Black

5
Literary Terms to Know

• Shakespeare-ish
• tragedy
• pun
• verse vs. prose
• iambic pentameter
• blank verse
• rhyming couplet
• monologue vs. soliloquy

• Literary terms
• protagonist vs. antagonist
• internal vs. external conflict
• foil
• irony
• foreshadowing
• Symbol
• epiphany
• Tragic Hero

6
Shakespearean Plays

• Three categories
• Histories
• For example Richard II
• Comedies
• Often romantic in nature
• For example The Taming of the Shrew
• Tragedies
• For example Romeo and Juliet

7
Shakespeare Terms

• Tragedy a literary work in which the protagonist
  is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow,
  especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw,
  moral weakness, or inability to cope
• A great work of art
• Emotionally impacts the audience
• Creates catharsis a purging of emotions for the
  audience
• Usually, the protagonist (tragic hero) has an
  epiphany, or realization, at the moment of
  his/her downfall

8
Shakespeare Terms

• Pun a play on words
• based upon the similarity of sound between two
  different words with different meanings
• Verse vs. prose
• Verse is well constructed (often in Iambic
  Pentameter)
• Prose is more like natural speech. It is common
  language written without an intentional rhythm to
  it
• Usually spoken in Shakespearean plays by servants
  or members of the lower class

9
Shakespeare Terms

• Iambic Pentameter a line of poetry with 5
  metrical feet
• like a heartbeat (Short Long, Short Long, Short
  Long, Short Long, Short Long)
• Example Of one that loved not wisely but too
  well (5.2)
• Rhyming Couplets pairs of lines in Iambic
  Pentameter that rhyme
• usually indicate that a scene is over
• Also used to end sonnets

10
Shakespeare Terms

• Blank Verse poetry written in Iambic Pentameter
  that does not rhyme
• most of Shakespeares work is written as such
• Monologue vs. Soliloquy
• Monologue a speech given by one person in the
  company of others
• Soliloquy a speech given by one person when no
  other characters are onstage. Usually used to
  expose the motives or secrets of one character

11
Quick Review Literary Terms

• protagonist vs. antagonist
• internal vs. external conflict
• foil
• irony
• foreshadowing
• symbol
• epiphany
• Tragic Hero