Othello A03

Question 1

Military society:

Answer 1

Reputation and reward system, hierarchy, encouraged self-centred and immoral behaviour, masculinity

Question 2

Importance of the setting transition

Answer 2

Venetian society is orderly, law-abiding, and formal… Cyprus is far less secure

Question 3

Cuckolding

Answer 3

Is an offensive gesture saying to a man that their wife has been sleeping around and that he is unaware of his wife’s infidelity and he would only figure it out through the arrival of a baby that is not his.

Question 4

The setting of Venice

Answer 4

At the time of the place Venice was its own kingdom stereotypically associated with violence, treachery and sexual decadence. As well as wealth, sophistication, and loose morals.

Question 5

The setting of Cyprus

Answer 5

In contrast to Venice, Cyprus is a fortified island with a heavy military presence due to threats of invasion of the Turkish. Cyprus is a more lawless place than Venice.

Question 6

Elizabethan Venice:

Answer 6

A wealthy, powerful city-state, symbolising order and civilisation.

Question 7

Racial Attitudes (16th-17th Century)

Answer 7

Othello as a Moor reflects anxieties about race, otherness, and foreigness.

Question 8

Patriarchal Society:

Answer 8

Women had little power; marriage was often about control and social status.

Question 9

Military Culture to do with Othello:

Answer 9

Othello’s role as a general ties into ideas of honour, duty, and masculinity.

Question 10

Religion & Morality:

Answer 10

Christian values shaped ideas about sin, jealousy, and virtue.

Question 11

Drama Conventions:

Answer 11

Revenge tragedy and domestic tragedy influences Shakespeare’s structure.

Question 12

Theatre & Audience:

Answer 12

Elizabethan audiences expected dramatic tension, clear moral lessons, and sensational plots.

Question 13

Political Context:

Answer 13

England’s fears of invasion and internal threats reflected in the play’s tensions.

Question 14

Venice vs. Cyprus

Answer 14

Venice as ordered society, Cyprus as chaotic frontier — setting reflects themes.

Question 15

Marriage & Gender Roles

Answer 15

Expectations of female obedience and male authority dominate the play.

Question 16

Elizabethan Audience Views on Desdemona:

Answer 16

• Audiences in Shakespeare’s time expected women to be obedient, pure, and submissive so might have viewed her in a better light than e.g Emilia who is more outspoken and has less christian ideologies.
• But Desdemona’s independence and marriage to Othello, a Moor, would have been seen as unusual and possibly controversial.

Reflecting the times social norms and gender norms