Othello by William Shakespeare “Beware of jealousy, my lord. It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat on which it feeds.” Iago
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare 1564 – 1616 Born in Stratford – upon –Avon, England Known as Bard of Avon Wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets, various short poems Shakespeare’s Home
Master of Tragedy 10 of Shakespeare’s 37 plays were tragedies Created some of the most memorable characters in literature Almost 400 yrs. after his death, his plays are still the most widely performed
Othello and Desdemona Theme of doomed lovers popular in Shakespeare’s work Othello fulfilled the concept of classic Greek tragic hero Desdemona represented the innocent, proper female whose power lay in her beauty
Iago Iago personifies evil in Othello He is considered by most critics and Shakespeare fans to be one of the most interesting characters ever written
Conflict among 3 main characters Othello appoints Cassio as his lieutenant rather than appointing Iago, but Iago feels he deserves the honor. This exacerbates Iago’s hatred towards Othello, a hatred Iago secretly feels because he suspects Othello has slept with his wife Emilia. Iago’s goal is to turn Othello against his wife Desdemona and ruin his life as he believes Othello has ruined his.
Secondary Characters The minor characters in Othello make important contributions to the plot and serve as pawns in Iago’s revenge plan
Tragic Ending The jealousy ignited in Othello by Iago’s subtle suggestions of Desdemona’s infidelity inspired Othello to take the life of the woman he loved more than life itself As in most traditional tragedies, the tragic hero falls to ruin because of a character flaw, in Othello’s case – jealousy.
http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/search/assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=F612B81D-7E6A-42DC-AFAF-FE5D8A92D6C3