[This essay was originally posted to "The Third Tale," a blog on Weebly. In transferring it I have updated and made corrections where necessary.]
Here's my first week's effort from my new project: questions about Othello.
- List all parties responsible for Desdemona's death, in the order of responsibility.
- Some say Iago, not Othello, is the real "hero" of the play. Agree or disagree, and give reasons.
- What drives Iago to destroy Othello:
- some real or imagined slight (Cassio's promotion, or Othello's infidelity with Emilia)?
- a general sense of inferiority (which some have suggested drove the Columbine and other school shooters)?
- a generally destructive nature?
- Iago says of Cassio (5.i.20-21): "He hath a daily beauty in his life / That makes me ugly..." How might this feeling (perhaps generalized to all the successful people around him) have driven Iago?
- Why do people (and Iago himself) constantly call Iago honest, when he is anything but?
- In the BBC Shakespeare, Bob Hoskins plays Iago as laughing, gleeful, imp-like (even in his soliloquies) where one might expect him to be grim, morose, sinister. Which sounds more effective and appropriate? Why?
- Othello is a general, a man who knows strategy and tactics. How could a "mere" ensign outmaneuver him?
- Othello believes Iago without seeking corroboration. Why is this?
- Can anyone be as pure as Desdemona seems to be? Is she a believable character?
- What is the basis of the love between Othello and Desdemona? Consider how they met, how the married, and so on.
- Think about the three key women in the play: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. How do they reflect each other? What do they say about Shakespeare's (or the characters') views toward women?
- What role do attitudes of race play in the various characters' views of Othello? Is this a main issue, or incidental?
- Consider Iago's numerous soliloquies and long speeches. What do we learn of him in these?
- Do you agree with Othello's self-assessment, that he is "one that loved not wisely but too well"?
- A creative assignment: Journal the story from Emilia's perspective.
Categories: Shakespeare
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