themes

Question 1

Love

Answer 1

Othello is a domestic tragedy in which love is destroyed by hate.
Iago’s false love subverts and replaces Desdemona’s true love.
Iago is incapable of love and driven by hate.
Emilia’s loving tribute to Desdemona when she dies reaffirms the value of true love.

Question 2

Obsession

Answer 2

Iago’s obsession with revenge drives the main plot forward.
Othello’s obsession with his masculine honour leads him to destruction.
Cassio’s obsession with his reputation leads him to act dishonourably when he asks Desdemona to plead his cause.
The female characters are all powerless in the face of male obsession.

Question 3

Jealousy

Answer 3

Iago’s professional jealousy of Cassio is the catalyst that triggers the events of the main plot.
Sexual jealousy is explored in all the couples’ relationships and is always destructive.
The sexual jealousy we see is unfounded but plausible; both Othello and Bianca are deceived by the false proof of the handkerchief.
Othello does not give in to jealousy too easily, as some critics have suggested. He takes a lot of convincing that Desdemona is false.

Question 4

Obsession

Answer 4

Iago’s obsession with revenge drives the main plot forward.
Othello’s obsession with his masculine honour leads him to destruction.
Cassio’s obsession with his reputation leads him to act dishonourably when he asks Desdemona to plead his cause.
The female characters are all powerless in the face of male obsession.

Question 5

Male and female relationships

Answer 5

The male characters – fathers, husbands, lovers – all expect their women to submit to their authority.
Initially Desdemona and Othello share a more equal relationship than the other couples; each was ‘half the wooer’.
The female characters are objectified by the men, prized for their beauty or derided as whores.
Female fidelity is a key part of masculine honour in the play.

Question 6

Revenge

Answer 6

Revenge is presented as dishonourable throughout the play.
Othello is degraded when he seeks revenge and he begins to act like a violent stereotype from Revenge Tragedy.
Iago’s desire for revenge is presented as destructive, unnatural and egotistical.
It is disturbing that the revenger, Iago, survives at the end of the play.