1. The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice Take Notes in your journals. This is excellent practice for college classes. Mrs. Henry

2. Tragedy Not just something sad A drama where the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme consequence especially due to a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.

3. Tragedy Greek Tragedy- no villains Shakespeare’s tragedies Villain and tragic figure are the same in Macbeth Villain and tragic figure are separate in Othello

4. Background Italian Connotations Venice- considered liars, gossips, deceivers Florence- known for its beauty, art, and living

5. Background The main character, Othello, is a Moor, a black man. The villain, Iago, has 3 soliloquies which was unusual.

6. Characters 13 characters, fewest of any other Shakespearean tragedy Only Othello and Iago matter Everyone else is a secondary or stock character

7. Desdemona Secondary Character Just a tool for the 2 main characters Perfect Ideal of the Elizabethan woman

8. Amelia Stock Character Doesn’t get cruelty

9. Cassio Florentine Gorgeous, beautiful, delicate The ideal

10. Iago Strongest of Shakespeare’s villains Considered one of the most developed villains in all literature 29 years old

11. Iago Handsome Blonde, Fair-Skinned A gentleman What one would think of as a hero

12. Othello Opposite of Iago Dark Foreign, Barbarian An outsider Not viewed as traditionally handsome

13. Othello Noble in character but is not a thinker Moor At least double Desdemona’s age Gifted in instinct and passion, not reason No other Shakespeare character falls as far as Othello

14. A Favorite of Audiences and Students

15. Themes Wonton destruction of a marriage by a villain Money and materialism Words without Practice Paradox That which seems good is bad Upside down- reverse meanings