Othello- Context

Question 1

What genre is Othello

Answer 1

Tragedy

Question 2

Typical features of a tragedy

Answer 2

Representation of suffering
Classic tragedy charts the fall of a great man from a position of power, typically to his death

Question 3

Who is the tragic hero in Othello

Answer 3

Othello

Question 4

Who is the villain in Othello

Answer 4

Iago

Question 5

Types of tragedy

Answer 5

Jacobean
Political
Domestic

Question 6

How is Othello a political tragedy

Answer 6

Deals with matters of estate and power. Iago struggles trying to gain power and Othello struggles to keep his. The estate aspect could be seen as Othello’s need to control his wife when he learns she has had an affair.

Question 7

How is Othello a Jacobean tragedy

Answer 7

Written during the reign of James I. Usually dominated by revenge, which is the centre of Iago’s plots which catalyse the events of the play

Question 8

How is Othello a domestic tragedy

Answer 8

Focus on the private lives of characters, like the focus on romantic relationships between Othello and Desdemona, Iago and Emilia, and speculated Othello and Iago