Othello
This object, a gift from Othello to Desdemona, becomes key “ocular proof.”
What is the handkerchief?
This line from the stage directions marks the most famous exit in Shakespeare.
What is “Exit, pursued by a bear”?
This term is used to categorize Shakespeare's late plays that blend tragic and comic element with themes of redemption.
What is a romance?
This character fakes his own death after being slandered at her wedding.
Who is Hero?
"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy / It is the green-eyed monster…”
Who is Iago?
This character delivers the line: “I am not what I am.”
Who is Iago?
This character serves as a force of truth and conscience, often confronting Leontes.
Who is Paulina?
According to Aristotle, a good tragedy should produce these two emotions in the audience.
What are pity and fear?
This character says, “Kill Claudio.”
Who is Beatrice?
“It is required / You do awake your faith.”
Who is Paulina?
Iago convinces Othello of Desdemona’s infidelity by misinterpreting a conversation between Othello and this character.
Who is Cassio?
The 16-year gap between Acts 3 and 4 is bridged by this personified character.
Who is Time?
Othello explores this tension through repeated emphasis on sight, proof, and misinterpretation.
What is the role of the senses / appearance vs. reality?
Richard’s cousin who takes the throne after his deposition.
Who is Henry Bolingbroke / Henry IV?
“Speak of me as I am… Of one that loved not wisely, but too well.”
Who is Othello?
This term, from Aristotle, refers to the tragic error in judgment that leads to a hero’s downfall.
What is hamartia?
This perennial debate, seen in the sheep shearing festival and in the statue scene, pits human creativity against divine or natural forces.
What is art vs. nature?
The presence of this item in Philip Henslowe's inventory suggests that the infamous stage direction in The Winter's Tale was performed by a human.
This metaphor from Richard II explores the emptiness of kingship.
What is “the hollow crown”?
“Let husbands know / Their wives have sense like them.”
Who is Emilia?
Shakespeare alters Cinthio’s original story by introducing this character, a failed suitor to Desdemona.
Who is Roderigo?
The statue scene is inspired by the story of these characters from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Who are Pygmalion and Galatea?
Shakespeare’s late romances often explore this three-part structure: integration, disintegration, and ___.
What is reintegration?
The Earl of Essex’s supporters staged Richard II in 1601 for this political reason.
What is to support a rebellion against Queen Elizabeth / depict the fall of a monarch?
"A sad tale's best for winter: I have one
Of sprites and goblins."
Who is Mamillius?