Othello

At the beginning of the play Othello appears unshakeable. He has risen within the military to become an accomplished general. This process filled him with pride in his achievements.

Othello's confidence

Brabantio accuses Othello of witchcraft, charms and spells but Othello soon shakes this off, not by saying this is false but by the fact that he has a ‘perfect soul’.
This confidence is what has made him attractive to Desdemona, even though he is a good deal older than she is.

Othello's language

Desdemona also falls in love with him because he has been a good storyteller, and it is true that in the opening part of the play Othello’s language is very measured and beautifully poetic.
Even racial slurs cannot put a dent in his armour.

Desdemona

The only person who can initially put a dent in Othello however, is Desdemona.
His reaction to seeing her on the island of Cyprus shows that under the military exterior, something is more human:
- ‘It gives me wonder great as my content / To see you here before me’.

Othello and love

It is almost as if Othello is not used to married life, and that negotiating a committed relationship may be even more difficult than winning a military campaign.
When he rages against Cassio and Montano for their brawl together, this is the first indication that not all is well.

Integrity

Othello is motivated also by his own monolithic view of his own integrity.
Those who have integrity in his life are always deemed honest and filled with dignity.
However, his views of this are sometimes misplaced; something which Iago picks up.

Othello is motivated also by his own monolithic view of his own integrity. Those who have integrity in his life are always deemed honest and filled with dignity. However, these views are sometimes misplaced; which Iago picks up.

Othello’s flaws

Iago exploits Othello’s flaws:
- His arrogance and pride.
- His notion that evil does not exist in others.
- His possessive love for Desdemona.

Othello and Desdemona

When contemplating love Othello falls into a swoon thanks to Iago’s manipulation because he is unused to such emotions.
Although both are adults, Othello and Desdemona have childish tendencies.

Othello's suspicion

Once Iago has lit the fire of suspicion in his Othello’s brain, he will leave the fire to burn on Othello’s personality traits.
Thus, it is not Iago, but Othello himself who ranges between love and hate for his wife, and who becomes so obsessive over her supposed love for Cassio.
When Othello suffocates her, he is almost trying to cure his own warring mind rather than any punishment for her.

Othello's Suicide

After Othello has suffocated Desdemona he becomes filled with self-hate and disgust, but at the same time, he seems to regain some of his earlier dignity, knowing which way he now must go.

Othello's suicide

The moral code Othello applied on everyone else must now be applied on himself, and this is why he chooses suicide.
The outside world has seemingly attacked him enough, and he must now escape it.
At the end of the play, Othello is back to being an outsider or ‘other’ again.

Othello's flaws

It appears that Othello cannot cope with true love—or more accurately, realistic love.
He can cope with idealised and romantic love, but because of his own flaws he is unable to weather the storm of an assault upon him and his wife.
He is too quick to believe rumour and gossip, and has been too easy to manipulate.

Tragic hero

When Shakespeare constructed Othello he created a new kind of tragic hero.
However, Othello is now one of the models for how a tragic hero operates.
In believing Iago’s lies, and in choosing to extinguish Desdemona’s life, he opens himself up to tragic forces and chaos.

1Context

1.1Introduction

1.1.1Specifications

1.2Background

1.2.1Shakespeare

1.2.2Love

1.2.3Tragedy

1.2.4Historical Context

1.3Othello

1.3.1Setting

1.3.2Social Issues

2Act One: Summaries & Themes

2.1Act and Scene Summaries

2.1.1Structure

2.1.2The Exam

2.2Scene One

2.2.1Key Events

2.2.2Key Themes

2.2.3Key Ideas

2.3Scene Two

2.3.1Key Events

2.3.2Key Themes

2.3.3Key Ideas

2.4Scene Three

2.4.1Key Events

2.4.2Key Events 2

2.4.3Key Themes

2.4.4Key Ideas

3Act Two: Summaries & Themes

3.1Scene One & Two

3.1.1Scene One: Events

3.1.2Key Events 2

3.1.3Key Ideas: Love & Tragedy

3.1.4Scene Two: Events

3.2Scene Three

3.2.1Key Events

3.2.2Key Ideas

4Act Three: Summaries & Themes

4.1Key Events

4.1.1Scene One & Two

4.1.2Scene Three

4.1.3Scene Three: Key Ideas

4.1.4Scene Four

5Act Four

5.1Scene One

5.1.1Key Events

5.1.2Key Ideas

5.2Scene Two

5.2.1Key Events

5.2.2Key Ideas

5.3Scene Three

5.3.1Key Events

5.3.2Key Ideas

6Act Five

6.1Scene One

6.1.1Key Events

6.1.2Key Ideas

6.2Scene Two

6.2.1Key Events

6.2.2Key Ideas

7Character Profiles

7.1Major Characters

7.1.1Othello

7.1.2Iago

7.1.3Desdemona

7.1.4Emilia

7.1.5Cassio

7.2Minor Characters

7.2.1Roderigo & Brabantio

7.2.2Other Characters

8Key Themes

8.1Love & Tragedy

8.1.1Love

8.1.2Love 2

8.1.3Tragedy

8.1.4Tragedy 2

8.2Other Key Themes

8.2.1Public versus Private

8.2.2Appearance & Reality

9Writing Techniques

9.1Writing Techniques

9.1.1Structure

9.1.2Genre

9.1.3Form & Language

9.1.4Language & Imagery

10Critical Debates

10.1Criticism & Performance

10.1.1Shakespeare's Legacy

10.1.2Traditional

10.1.3Modern & Contemporary

10.2Approaches

10.2.1Feminist Approach

10.2.2Psychoanalytic Approach

10.2.3Marxist Approach

11Approaching AQA English Literature

11.1Specification A

11.1.1Specification A

11.1.2Love Through the Ages

11.2Specification B

11.2.1Specification B

11.2.2Aspects of Tragedy

12Issues of Assessment

12.1The Exams

12.1.1AOs

12.1.2Mark Scheme

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