Context

Question 1

what time period was it performed in?

Answer 1

Jacobean

Question 2

what year?

Answer 2

1604

Question 3

what Shakespearean period?

Answer 3

Third

Question 4

what were the qualities of the respective Shakespearean period?

Answer 4

tragedy, melancholy, exploration of the dark side of humanity

Question 5

what genre?

Answer 5

tragedy

Question 6

what war was the backdrop?

Answer 6

Ottoman-Venetian

Question 7

what is the significance of Cyprus?

Answer 7

juxtaposition of Venice (familiar) and Cyprus (unfamiliar, war-torn) shows shift from equilibrium to chaos

Question 8

how were black people seen?

Answer 8

exotic, feared

Question 9

what does Moor mean?

Answer 9

black, often Muslim

Question 10

how did Jacobean audiences perceive Moors?

Answer 10

‘the other’

Question 11

relevance of Queen Elizabeth I to race?

Answer 11

advocated for the deportation of black people

Question 12

how was interracial marriage seen?

Answer 12

unnatural, black men corrupting white women

Question 13

how did patriarchy impact marriage?

Answer 13

men had legal and social ownership over women

Question 14

what made women desirable to marry?

Answer 14

obedient, silent, chaste

Question 15

what made women honourable?

Answer 15

chastity

Question 16

how do modern interpretations focus on women?

Answer 16

they use Emilia’s proto-feminist voice an excuse to emphasise female entrapment

Question 17

how does Shakespeare explore reputation and irony?

Answer 17

reputation and reality don’t always match, Iago maintains reputation without being trustworthy

Question 18

what gives Othello status?

Answer 18

he’s a general despite being black

Question 19

reputation as gendered?

Answer 19

men fight to protect their reputation, women lose theirs without agency