Language

Question 1

There are significant differences between the poetic images and speech style Othello uses early in Act 1 and Act 11 and the violent images and disjointed style he uses in Acts….?

Answer 1

3 and 4

Question 2

From his opening speeches in Act 1 Scenes 2 and 3, it is clear that Othello’s characteristic idiom is what?

Answer 2

his characteristic idiom is dignified, measured blank verse

Question 3

From his opening speeches in Act 1 Scenes 2 and 3, it is clear that Othello’s characteristic idiom is dignified, measured blank verse which help establishes what?

Answer 3

his heroism and nobility

Question 4

Othello’s speeches demonstrate authority in Act 1 scene 2, there is a sense of danger and beauty in Othello’s references to ‘________’ and ‘___’ when he is confronted by Brabantio and his followers. From this Shakespeare reminds us that Othello is an impressive character and a powerful speaker

Answer 4

bright swords

dew

Question 5

How is Othello’s power reinforced in Act 1 scene 2?

Answer 5

as he uses his words not just to defend his elopement with Desdemona, but also to enable I’m to keep her. If he did not speak persuasively, the ‘bloody book of law’ may deprive him of his wife.

Question 6

How does Desdemona mirror Othello’s powerful speech?

Answer 6

she uses the same dignified and purposeful idiom that Othello employs

Question 7

Through their shared speech patterns what does Shakespeare convey?

Answer 7

the harmony and mutual affection of Othello and Desdemona. The lover are, as Iago expresses it, ‘well tuned’ at this point in Act 2

Question 8

Through their shared speech patterns, Shakespeare conveys the harmony and mutual affection of Othello and Desdemona. The lovers are, as Iago expresses it, ‘___ _____” at this point.

Answer 8

well tuned

Question 9

Many of Othello’s long speeches can be compared to what, which expresses the nobility and romance we come to associate with the tragic protagonist?

Answer 9

poems

Question 10

Othello is Shakespeare’s most ‘poetic’ hero, this seems appropriate why?

Answer 10

because we focus on his experiences of love in the play, making us believe his love for Desdemona and making his fall thus more tragic.

Question 11

The orderliness of Othello’s verse suggests not just his confidence as a lover, but also the fact that the senate are wise to trust Othellos _________.

Answer 11

judgement

Question 12

Why do we accept Othello as both loving husband and military man?

Answer 12

because of his measured speech style

Question 13

In Othello, language is not simply the media by which the drama is conveyed like other Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists of the time. in this play language is action. Othello falls because he believes Iago, whose every utterance is deceptive. Through language Iago imposes his will on the hero, and creates the opposition within Othello’s marriage. When Othello is taken in by false words, what is the result?

Answer 13

tragedy

Question 14

We watch as characters construct their own and other’s identities through language. and exert power either by ?

Answer 14

speaking, remaining silent or silencing others

Question 15

When Othello is corrupted by Iago’s false words, what happens to his stately style?

Answer 15

it begins to break down

Question 16

When Othello is corrupted by Iago’s false words, his stately style begins to break down; in Act v Scene 1 how is this evidence?

Answer 16

as he asks questions and bark out a series of short exclamations; exclaiming ‘handkerchief’ three times

Question 17

Othello’s fractured sense of self is conveyed through the words and syntax. How does his speech end in Act 4 scene 1?

Answer 17

“It is not words that shake me thus. Pish!. noses, ears, and lips. Is’t possible?confess?handkerchief! O devil!’

Question 18

“noses, _____, and lips. ___ _______ ?confess?handkerchief! _ ____!’

Answer 18

ears
is’t possible
O devil

Question 19

There is a terrible irony in Othello’s declaration that ‘it is not words that shake me thus’. why?

Answer 19

as the events of the play an the violence of his outburst suggest that words are destroying Othello.

Question 20

What is ironic about the way Othello exclaims “it is not words that shakes me thus”?

Answer 20

as the use of disjointed prose rather than measured verse suggests reason has given way to passion.

Question 21

From Act 3 onwards, Othello and Desdemona struggle to understand one another’s language. How is the breakup of their martial harmony conveyed?

Answer 21

through the disruption in the lines and Othello’s measured calm gives way to verbal bullying

Question 22

when confronted by the truth Othello then recovers, returning to what?

Answer 22

returning to the majestic idiom of his earlier speeches at the end of Act V. His final speech echoes his first speech to the senate, but othello no longer speaks of himself as a worthy hero.

Question 23

When confronted by the truth Othello then recovers, returning to the majestic idiom of his earlier speeches at the end of Act V. His final speech echoes his first speech to the senate, but othello no longer speaks of himself as a worthy hero. He now compares himself to what ? (2)

Answer 23

‘the base indian’ and ‘circumcised dog’

Question 24

What is the source of Iago’s power?

Answer 24

Language

Question 25

Language is the source of Iago’s power, but his characteristic idiom is different from Othello’s once his mind is poisoned?

Answer 25

Othello’s becomes full of colloquialisms and oaths (Zounds), befitting a cyclical soldier

Question 26

How is Iago’s language more complicated than Othello’s?

Answer 26

As the villain he slips between prose an verse ,adapting his style to suit his different audiences and purposes

Question 27

What convey’s Iago’s crude nature when talking to Rodrigo?

Answer 27

The way his fast-moving prose of his exchanges conveys his crude nature

Question 28

Othello begins to use Iago’s base idiom when he decides to revenge himself on Desdemona. What does this show?

Answer 28

his increasing authority over him

Question 29

What does Iago’s use of asides reveal?

Answer 29

his cunning, destructive nature

Question 30

How does Iago’s use of asides reveal his cunning, destructive nature?

Answer 30

as he is able not only to direct but also to comment on the action of the play

Question 31

What are Iago’s asides and soliloquies a source of ?

Answer 31

dramatic irony increases dramatic tension

Question 32

By appearing reluctant to talk in Act 3, what does Iago gain?

Answer 32

he gains the opportunity to speak at length and poison Othello’s mind

Question 33

What could suggest Iago’s continued power at the end of the play?

Answer 33

his continued silence

Question 34

Why is it both ironic and appropriate that Iago is unmasked by Emilia?

Answer 34

as her powers of speech were ignored