1. How is the love between Othello and Desdemona presented in Act One?

2. Task One – context (AO3) of race ‘forbidden love’
Find three quotes on p.7 ( ) which refer to Othello’s race (2 minutes)
Find the ‘contemporary views’ of Othello near the back of the AS handbook. Read 3 & 7 & 12 . Copy down three very short quotes (one from each) no more than 20 words each. Reference each. (5 minutes)
What does Thomas Rhymer say the play is cautioning against on p.234 in ‘What the critics say’ (2 minutes). Note down a short critical quote. (AO5)
What does Kiernan Ryan say on p.239 about how Othello and Desdemona are acting and why it doesn’t work out for them? Note down a short critical quote and reference. (AO5) (2 minutes)

3. A father’s love = paternal love
Act 1.2 – make notes and record key quotations.
What does Brabantio accuse Othello of?
How does he see his daughter?
How do his views represent contemporary attitudes towards race?

4. Fathers and daughters 1.3.93 onwards
Read contemporary views 1 &2 about how women were seen in Shakespeare’s time .(AO3) What words are used to describe women? Note these down with the reference.
Does Brabantio represent contemporary views towards women or is he a feminist?
Do you think Brabantio is close to his daughter and knows her well? Why? Link to key line/s from the play.

5. Othello and Desdemona Romantic love
– make notes and record key quotations.
How did Othello woo Desdemona?
Do you as a member of the modern audience consider this romance as built on solid foundations? Why/why not?
Would you fall for Othello as Desdemona does?
What do the critics say?
A C Bradley ‘Othello does not belong to our world […] something mysterious […] he is not merely a romantic figure, his nature is romantic.’ (AO5)
F R Leavis ‘ Othello is ‘egotistic ‘ a habit of self-approving, self-dramatization’ (AO5)

6. Aspects of love – Intertextual links
As part of your response in this part of the exam, you need to show some awareness of links with other literature. This could inform the way in which you interpret aspects of love in Othello – is it similar to the experiences of other Shakespearean characters? Or are the events in Othello more unusual? How do each of your intertextual examples inform or influence your interpretation of Othello?
Romeo and Juliet (tragedy) - Reaction of Lord Capulet to Juliet’s refusal to marry Paris in Act 3 Scene 5: ‘hang, beg, starve in the streets/ For by my soul I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee’, ‘chopt-logic’ and ‘I will drag thee on a hurdle thither’.
Romeo and Juliet (tragedy) - Secret love affair with a ‘foe’, against their parents’ wishes
Much Ado about Nothing (comedy) - Hero’s compliance, willing to accept her father’s choice of husband for her in Act 2 Scene 1: ‘Count, take me of my daughter and with her my fortunes’ (Hero is silent and obeys).
Merchant of Venice (officially a comedy, although sometimes referred to as a ‘problem play’) - Portia is bound by her dead father’s casket challenge whereby her suitors must choose a casket and, if they select the right one, they can win her hand in marriage (Act 2). Controlling her from beyond the grave?