Othello by: William Shakespeare

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Othello by
William Shakespeare

• Background Information
• Miss
  Amorin

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Author- William Shakespeare

• (April 23, 1564- April 23, 1616) from England
• The most famous writer in all of English
  literature.
• He wrote 37 plays (tragedies and comedies) and
  154 sonnets.
• Most famous works are
• - Othello
• - Hamlet
• - King Lear
• - A Taming of the Shrew

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Othello, The Moor of Venice(Pre-reading of play)

• Written in 1603 or 1604.
• TRAGEDY- a type of play that ends in a disastrous
  manner, usually with the death or ruin of
  multiple characters.
• Protagonist- main character of a literary work
  that is involved in central conflict of story-
  usually heroic.
• In a tragedy, the protagonist often becomes a
  tragic hero. The tragic hero is well liked and
  valiant but has a character flaw that brings him/
  her to ruin.
• Antagonist- the force working against the
  protagonist (can be another character, society,
  nature, or internal force).

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Setting- Venice, Italy

• Characters names are all Italian. The people
  living in Venice, Italy were known as
  Venetians.
• The majority of the Italians practiced
  Catholicism.
• First Act of play takes place in Venice
• Acts II, III, IV, and V take place in Cyprus- an
  island off of Greece

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Seven Deadly Sins

• Lust (extreme desire
• Jealousy (envy)
• Gluttony (over indulgence)
• Greed
• Anger

• Pride
• Sloth (extreme laziness)

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Othello themes

• Outsider/ Prejudice
• Love
• Jealousy
• Appearance vs. Reality
• (seeing is believing)
• Honesty
• Falseness
• Christian values

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Othello- Main character(an outsider in several
ways)

• Known as the MOOR dark skinned man usually of
  African descent (had reputation of being
  barbaric- associating with witchcraft)
• General of the Venetian Army
• OUTSIDER
• Black man (moor) in a white world
• Muslim in a Christian world
• Army man in a civilian world
• African in an Italian World

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Ideas to look for when reading play

• Light vs. Dark
• (order evil/malice)
• Social class
• Gender roles
• Authority
• Historical context (battle of the Venetians with
  Turkey at Cyprus)

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Journal Entry

• What would you do if your boss at work promoted
  another employee to a higher position (better
  job, more money, hours) over you, even though you
  were more qualified for the job (more experience,
  been at the business/company for longer, better
  suited for position)? Explain how you would react
  and what you would do.
• Would you quit? Why or why not?
• Would you seek revenge?
• Has a similar situation ever happened to you?

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Opening of play

• Main character, Othello, who is the general of
  the Venetian army is good friends with soldier,
  Iago.
• There was a position open for lieutenant. Iago
  assumed he would get the position because he was
  friends with Othello and the most qualified for
  the job.
• Othello hired Michael Cassio, an arithmetician
  instead. This causes Iago to HATE Othello- seeks
  plan of REVENGE on him.

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Main Characters

• Othello- Moor- general of Venetian Army
• Iago- soldier Othellos best friend
• Desdemona- wife of Othello high social class
• Emilia- Iagos wife Desdemonas attendant
• Brabantio- Desdemonas father
• Michael Cassio- lieutenant of Venetian Army
• Roderigo- very wealthy Iagos right hand man
• Bianca- town hussy

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Enjoy the play!!!