General context

Question 1

Desdemona was perhaps written to reflect what monarch

Answer 1

Queen Elizabeth

Question 2

How does Desdemona emulate Queen Elizabeth

Answer 2

Much like QE Desdemona induces a questioning of the patriarchal order of society with her bold personality

She is exceedingly individualistic

Question 3

Shakespeare portrays a ________ ________ microcosm with subtle hints of _________ ideals

Answer 3

Woman centred
Feminist

Gradually exposes CA to feminist ideals

Question 4

Othello is a ________ play much like ______

Answer 4

Revenge play

Hamlet

Question 5

Othello was written during the _________ era but performed during the _________ era

Answer 5

Elizabethan

Jacobean

Question 6

what was the name of the popular book written by William Gouge and what was it about

Answer 6

‘Of domestic duties’

Regarding female obedience , women = servile creatures

Question 7

How is Desdemona typical of Shakespeare’s female characters and offer other examples

Answer 7

Desdemona is viewed to be independent and daring a typical trait of Shakespeare’s female characters

E.g. lady Macbeth , Juliet all somewhat pragmatic intelligent individuals

Question 8

how does the play exemplify typical features of a revenge play

Answer 8

Iago seeks revenge for an imagined wrongdoing (central focus of the play)
Othello brutally murders Desdemona
Has a clear villain (iago)

Question 9

revenge plays were common in the ________ era

Answer 9

Jacobean

Question 10

Desdemona goes against ________ custom by marrying Othello

Answer 10

Venetian

Question 11

A contemporary audience would view Desdemona’s behaviour as ….
Whereas for a modern audience …..

Answer 11

Dishonourable

Whereas for a modern audience it is greatly common for women to explore their sexual desires

Question 12

Brabantios views on Desdemona’s subordinate behaviour were ________ in his time

Answer 12

Orthodox

Question 13

Othello is a __________ tragedy because ….

Answer 13

Renaissance

It is centred around one big character (arguably Iago or Othello)

Question 14

describe the benefit of Othello being a play and not a novel

Answer 14

A play constructs direct communication/intimacy with the audience unlike a novel therefore catharsis is endemic in Othello - Au experiences emotions alongside the actors

Question 15

Shakespeare explores controversial views of racial prejudice and womens roles to a certain extent why is this?

Answer 15

In order for his intrepid play attract a contemporary audience and not be shunned for a bold outlook

Question 16

What is protofeminism

Answer 16

A concept that anticipates modern feminism in era when the feminist concept as such was still unknown

Question 17

Jacobean society was very _________

Answer 17

Hierarchical

Question 18

give three Jacobean values

Answer 18

Loyal
Brave
Serve their country the best they can
(Like Othello so CA may admire him in spite of his race)

Question 19

give three Jacobean values

Answer 19

Loyal
Brave
Serve their country the best they can
(Like Othello so CA may admire him in spite of his race)

Question 20

Jacobean plays had a great deal of _______

Answer 20

Realism

Shakespeare destabilises this by offering his female characters a slice of self-government

Question 21

Jacobean plays were particularly ______ , ______ and ________

Answer 21

Violent , cynical , pessimistic

Question 22

a popular style of theatre during Jacobean times was the _________ play

Answer 22

Revenge

Question 23

Men were expected to be the ____ of the _________ when married during these eras

Answer 23

Head , household

Question 24

for women it was a norm to be _______ or yet to be _________

Answer 24

Married

Question 25

Brabantio is enraged by Desdemona’s betrayal as a family’s honour was tethered to its daughters __________

Answer 25

Chastity

Question 26

women were allowed ________ opportunities for involvement

Answer 26

Limited

Question 27

men were ________ _________ forces who expected _________ ________ from their wives

Answer 27

Decisive dominant | Dutiful acquiesces

Question 28

a persons _______ depended on his or her descent through the _____ line

Answer 28

Identity Male Assists in chiselling the severe hierarchical Jacobean society

Question 29

_________ was especially salient during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras

Answer 29

Religion

Question 30

What were Eurocentric views on African men and how does Othello negate these

Answer 30

Eurocentric views were that African men are barbaric , illiterate and promiscuous Othello negates these stereotypical views by evincing his articulate and well mannered personality

Question 31

name a Shakespeare critic

Answer 31

Stephen Greenblatt

Question 32

What was the tragic genre in the renaissance era derived from

Answer 32

Derived from the Aristotelian notion of the tragic flaw

Question 33

what does Shakespeare delineate about the preconceptions regarding women in these eras

Answer 33

Shakespeare delineates how preconceptions about women in general damage individuals and limit the experience of love

Question 34

Othello expresses issues such as ______ ________, ________ and _______ ________

Answer 34

Clandestine marriage , adultery , social class

Question 35

the Scottish Protestant leader john Knox wrote …..

Answer 35

“Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man”

Question 36

Why were women fundamentally perceived to be untrustworthy by the church

Answer 36

Due to the original sin and Eve’s role in the fall of mankind Perhaps Othello’s trust issues with Desdemona emulate the Church’s fundamental belief that women are untrustworthy

Question 37

What is cuckoldry

Answer 37

Cuckoldry was having a wife who is unfaithful this was humiliating for a patriarch

Question 38

Throughout the play what term is used to alienate and other Othello

Answer 38

‘The Moor’

Question 39

in the early 17th century what largely shaped attitudes toward non-Europeans

Answer 39

Exotic stories as people fetishised the unknown

Question 40

The term ‘Moor’ was used ______ to refer to people of colour

Answer 40

Loosely | A broad generalisation

Question 41

How were ‘Moor’s’ commonly stereotyped

Answer 41

Sexually overactive , prone to jealousy and wicked

Question 42

’Moor’s’ were not totally subjugated give an example

Answer 42

Othello is an example of a ‘moor’ who was able to rise through the ranks of social & military hierarchy

Question 43

what was the colour black traditionally associated with

Answer 43

Savagery , sin , moral corruption and lasciviousness

Question 44

How would a CA react to racial prejudices throughout the play in contrast to a MA

Answer 44

``` CA = appalled that the titular protagonist is black man - bold move by Shakespeare MA = disrelish the racism and stereotypes weaved into the play ```

Question 45

what did Queen Elizabeth say about ‘moors’

Answer 45

they “are crept into this realm” - uncomfortable tone

Question 46

by making Othello the ‘othered’ protagonist Shakespeare explores with sympathy …….

Answer 46

The inevitable insecurity of the outsider who is admired and feared

Question 47

where is the play set

Answer 47

Venice and Cyprus First act = Venice Rest of the acts Venice

Question 48

Paranoia , constantly Othello’s _______ is proven to be his ________

Answer 48

Nemesis | Hamartia

Question 49

Othello is employed by the _________ to lead their army against the _______ forces

Answer 49

Venetians | Turkish

Question 50

what does Aristotle say the plot of a play has to include

Answer 50

Unity of action Unity of time Unity of place - to offer the play a smooth flow , permits the audience to focus on the nucleus of the play (Iago’s revenge plot)

Question 51

Suffragist Millicent Fawcett believed in “a grand _________ between __________ classes of women” how are Emilia and Desdemona early examples of this

Answer 51

``` “Freemasonry” “different” Emilia and desdemona exhibit early signs of this modern view through female solidarity despite class differences ```

Question 52

what was the norm for gender roles

Answer 52

the sturdy defensive man as the norm, the tough self-reliant woman as the exception

Question 53

What is a malcontent

Answer 53

A discontented character who is, for some reason, left out

Question 54

how are malcontents presented

Answer 54

Intelligent individuals without high status

Question 55

give an example of a malcontent who is not a villain and one who is (besides iago)

Answer 55

Hamlet malcontent not a villain | Bosoloa from a play called ‘the duchess of malfi’ = malcontent villain

Question 56

who was Coleridge and what was his comment on iago hundreds of years after the play

Answer 56

Coleridge was a romantic poet “Motiveless malignity” - Iago depicts inconsistency in his motive for vengeance this is substantiated even centuries later by romantic poet Coleridge's view that Iago has “motiveless malignity

Question 57

The play begins in ____ ____

Answer 57

Media res - mid conversation between Roderigo and Iago