Basic Facts and Context
1604
What year was Othello first performed?
Brabantio
Who is Desdemona’s father?
He smothers her.
How does Othello kill Desdemona?
Jealousy (envy)
Which deadly sin does Iago exploit in Othello most?
'The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'
What is the play’s full title?
Iago to Roderigo
Who says, "I am not what I am." (1.1.65)
He is a Moor
What is Othello’s ethnic background often referred to as?
Othello kills them.
Who kills Desdemona?
Who kills Othello?
Montano
Who is the governor of Cyrpus?
Who first finds Cassio’s drunken behaviour disgraceful?
It represents fidelity and trust (later, betrayal).
What concepts does the handkerchief symbolise?
“I am not what I am”
What does Iago openly state about himself?
Othello to the Duke and Venetian senators
Who says, "My life upon her faith!" (1.3.293)
Iago
Who is the play’s main antagonist?
Othello’s lieutenant
Who is Cassio?
He is arrested and taken away to be tortured/punished
What happens to Iago at the end of the play?
Love, purity, and honour
What does Desdemona represent to Othello in the beginning?
As one who “loved not wisely but too well”.
What does Othello say before killing himself about how he wants to be remembered?
Iago to Othello
Wh says, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on." (3.3.165-167)
Cyprus
Where does most of the play take place?
To be with Desdemona
What is Roderigo’s main desire?
She blames herself, not Othello (“Nobody; I myself”)
What does Desdemona say before she dies?
____- eyed monster
How is jealousy described by Iago? The green-...
“I kissed thee ere I killed thee”
What are Othello's final words?
Iago, in a soliloquy to the audience re: how insignificant evidence = proof for the jealous
Who says, "Trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ." (3.3.322-324)
Turkey (the Ottoman Empire)
What country threatens Cyprus in the play?
Emilia gives it to him.
Who gives Iago the handkerchief?
Lodovico
Who delivers the final speech of the play?
It defines honour and social standing.
How is reputation important in the play?
A noble hero falls due to a fatal flaw (jealousy/trust in Iago), leading to death and suffering.
How does the play fulfil the conventions of a tragedy?
Othello, in soliloquy over the sleeping Desdemona
Who says, "Put out the light, and then put out the light." (5.2.7)