Othello Study Guide

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Act I

1. What is Roderigo’s relationship with Iago? Is Iago a true friend to him? Explain.

2. How does Iago plan to get revenge on Othello? What specifically does he hope to gain through his “monstrous” plot?

3. How is Othello regarded by the Duke and the other authorities in Venice? How can you tell?

4. What kind of a person is Iago? Does he have any real motive for hating Othello, or is he simply an evil and malicious person? Cite
evidence from the text—his own words and his actions—to support your answer.

5. A central conflict is the primary struggle dealt with in the plot of a story or drama. The inciting incident is the event that introduces the
central conflict. What central conflict is introduced in act I of Othello? What incident introduces this conflict?
Act II

1. How has Iago used Roderigo to further his plot against Othello?

2. How do Iago’s words mislead everyone?

3. Evaluate Iago’s view of women, and of Desdemona in particular. How does Iago’s attitude toward Desdemona compare to the way
Cassio regards her? Cite lines from the play to support your answer.

4. Cassio’s lines, “Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation!” (act II, scene iii, 264–67) are among the most famous in
the play. Evaluate Cassio’s and Iago’s stated opinions about reputation. Do you agree with Iago or with Cassio? Explain.

5. Irony is a difference between appearance and reality. Dramatic irony occurs when something is known to the reader or audience, but
not to the characters. How do Iago’s asides and soliloquies contribute to the dramatic irony in act II? Why do you suppose Shakespeare
chose to make Iago’s intentions so clear to the audience?
Act III

1. In act III, scene iii, Desdemona is “tried” and found guilty, with Iago as the prosecutor and nobody to act as her defense. Analyze Iago’s
arguments against Desdemona. What “evidence” does he present?

2. Analyze the role that jealousy plays in this act. What is the nature of jealousy, according to Iago and Emilia? Is Othello a naturally jealous
person? How does jealousy change Othello’s view of the world?

3. Is Othello right that “’tis better to be much abused / Than but to know’t a little?” Is ignorance bliss?

4. Irony is a difference between appearance and reality. Dramatic irony occurs when something is known to the reader or audience but not
to the characters. The dramatic irony builds throughout act III, as Iago continues to gain the trust and esteem of others even while the
effects of his poison are being seen. What examples can you find of Iago being called “honest”? Who is being called “dishonest”? What
irony can you find in Iago’s line “Men should be what they seem” (act III, scene iii, line 126)? (Recall Iago’s line from act I, scene i: “I am
not what I am.”)

5. A symbol is a thing that stands for or represents both itself and something else. Othello is extremely upset when he believes that
Desdemona has given away her handkerchief. What does the handkerchief symbolize to Othello?
Act IV

1. What plan do Iago and Roderigo devise at the end of scene ii? How does Iago convince Roderigo to go through with this plan?

2. Gather evidence from act IV of Othello’s decline into savage madness. What do other characters, in particular Emilia and Lodovico, say
about his behavior?

3. How does Cassio treat Bianca? Why do you think Bianca puts up with this treatment? Compare Bianca’s situation to Desdemona’s.

4. Irony is a difference between appearance and reality. Dramatic irony occurs when something is known to the reader or audience but not
to the characters. Discuss the irony in act IV, scene ii, lines 131–145. What do we know that Emilia does not?

5. Foreshadowing is the act of presenting materials that hint at events to occur later in the story. Discuss the use of foreshadowing in act
IV, scene iii.
Act V

1. What reasons did Iago have for wanting both Roderigo and Cassio dead?

2. Explain how Othello and the others learn the truth about Iago. Why does Othello look down at Iago’s feet, once he has learned the truth
about him?

3. Analyze Othello’s final speech. How does he want to be remembered? To whom does he compare himself?

4. In act V, scene ii, Othello completes his “trial” of Desdemona and carries out the penalty of death on her. What evidence is there that
Othello thinks he is committing a just act? Why does he call himself an “honorable murderer”?

5. A tragedy is a drama that tells about the downfall of a person of high status. Tragedy tends to be serious. It celebrates the courage and
dignity of a tragic hero in the face of inevitable doom. Sometimes that doom is made inevitable by a tragic flaw in the hero, a personal
weakness that leads to his or her downfall. In what ways does Othello, the Moor of Venice fit the definition of a tragedy? What is
Othello’s tragic flaw?
Play vs. Film Comparison

Play Film
Provide a 3-5 sentence summary of the act based on your In what ways does the film differ from what you read in the play?
reading of the play. Provide bullet points listing at least 3 differences for each act.

Act I

Act II

Act III

Act IV

Act V