Othello - Act 5 scene 1

How does Shakespeare create a sense of fear and confusion in Act 5 scene 1? Consider:

• Setting
• Language
• Structure of lines
• Use of characters
• Other dramatic methods

Your response should be no less than 1/2 a side of A4, and no more than 1 side of A4.  It should include quotations. Track the scene chronologically. Upload your response to your blog.

Othello - Act 5 scene 2. Lines 1-233

"Good gentleman, let me have leave to speak./ 'Tis proper I obey him - but not now!" Emilia [5.2.192-193]

Questions: Act 5 scene 2 lines 1-233

Answer in full sentences, with quotations. Type your responses and post to your blog.

1. What reasons does Othello give for having to kill Desdemona?
2. What evidence is there to suggest that Shakespeare adhered to racial stereotypes in this scene? Consider:
• irrational behaviour
• emotions
• danger
• the 'mystical negro' stereotype
• representations of the 'other'
3. Othello tells Desdemona that Cassio has confessed to sleeping with her (line 68). What was this 'confession'?
4. Emilia says "Good gentleman, let me have leave to speak./ 'Tis proper I obey him - but not now!" [5.2.192-193] what does this indicate about Emilia and society? Consider the circumstances the characters are in.
5. How is Emilia presented in lines 125-233. Consider the language she uses, how she behaves and what she says to Othello and Iago.
6. List all of the names Emilia calls Othello when she realises what he has done. How does this contrast with how Othello was portrayed at the start of the play?

Othello and Iago

Watch the video and answer these questions. Type up your responses and post to your blog:

1. According to Adrian Lester, how long has Othello been fighting for?
2. According to Adrian Lester, Othello is not born into a 'sense of nobility', like those around him. How does Adrian Lester say this impacts the character?
3. What increases Othello's status in Venice?
4. Why does Rory Kinnear say Iago is disgruntled with Othello?
5. What do Othello and Iago have in common, according to Rory Kinnear?
6. Around 4.20, Rory Kinnear lists some of the ways Iago aims to bring down Othello and Cassio. What are they?

Thank you to Miss Kirkpatrick for the resource

Desdemona and Emilia in Othello.

Watch the video, then answer the following questions. Post responses to your blog.

1. What differences are there between Desdemona and Emilia?
2. Why do you think Emilia does not mention the handkerchief to Desdemona? Use what you hear in the video, as well as your own ideas. Consider the relationship between Iago and Emilia, as well as the relationship between Desdemona and Emilia.

Thinking question:

“Desdemona is presented in the play as a sexual subject who hears and desires, and that desire is punished because the non-specular or non-phallic sexuality it displays is frightening and dangerous.”

Karen Newman: Femininity and the monstrous in Othello.

To what extent do you agree with this view? Discuss and write down your ideas - post to your blog. Be ready to feedback.

HINT: Non-specular = not reflective; different.  (Consider, not reflective of what?  Different to what?)


Thanks to Miss Kirkpatrick for this lesson.