Othello Flashcards
AQA Paper 1 Revision
1
Q
According to Aristotle, protagonists in tragedy had megalopsychia. What does this mean?
A
Greatness of soul
2
Q
What does Aristotle define hamartia as?
A
An error of judgement (usually caused by hubris)
3
Q
Define hubris.
A
Excessive pride or arrogance
4
Q
What does hamartia refer to?
A
The fatal flaw of a tragic hero.
5
Q
Arguably what is Othello hamartia?
A
Pride/Hubris
6
Q
According to Aristotle’s version of tragedy, what is Othello’s hamartia?
A
The trust he places in Iago.
7
Q
What is peripeteia?
A
A major change in circumstances, usually involving the protagonist’s reversal from good fortune to bad.
8
Q
What is anagnorisis?
A
A recognition of a tragic error of judgement.
9
Q
Define catharsis.
A
The release of intense emotions (caused by watching the tragic end to a play) that have been built up in everyday life.
10
Q
What belief did Elizabethan audiences follow that suggested a hierarchal order?
A
The Great Chain of Being
11
Q
What did Queen Elizabeth decree regarding black people?
A
That they should be exiled from England.
12
Q
How does Shakespeare open the play?
A
In-media-res
13
Q
What is Iago suggesting by referring to Cassio as ‘a great arithmetician ‘that has never set a squadron in the field’? (Act 1:1)
A
That he is unworthy of his position and not a strong of powerful leader.
14
Q
‘I follow him to _____ my turn upon him’ (1:1)
A
serve
15
Q
‘I am __ what I am’ (1:1)
A
not
16
Q
In terms of character, what is notable about the opening of Othello?
A
The villain takes centre stage instead of the tragic hero.
17
Q
‘_____! ______! Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags.’ (1:1)
A
Thieves/thieves
18
Q
‘Zounds, sir, you’re ______; for shame’ (1:1)
A
robb’d
19
Q
‘____ daughter is not for thee.’ (1:1)
A
My
20
Q
‘From hence, ____ not your daughter’s minds.’ (1:1)
A
trust
21
Q
‘An old ____ ram // is tupping your _____ ewe.’ (1:1)
A
black / white
22
Q
Analyse: ‘You’ll have your daughter // covered with a Barbary horse, you’ll have your nephews // neigh to you.’ (1:1)
A
The racial connotations are clear with the animalistic imagery used to mock Othello and Desdemona by linking Brabantio’s future children to horses.
23
Q
‘the Moor are now making ___ ____ with two backs’ (1:1)
A
the beast
24
Q
What is the double meaning of ‘You are a senator’ (1:1)
A
Senator actually means centaur. Once again the horse metaphor is used to mock Brabantio because his daughter is sleeping with Othello.
25
What racial stereotype is explored in 'Is there not charms // By which property of youth and maidhood // May be abus'd?' (1:1)
It is the suggestion that Othello has engaged with dark magic, a common belief existed in Elizabethan times that black people had access to such dark powers.
26
How does 'My services which I have done the signiory // Shall out-tongue his complaints' (1:2) present Othello?
As confident and prideful.
27
'I love thee _____ Desdemona' (1:2)
gentle
28
How is Othello presented in 'Keep up your bright swords' and 'you shall more command with years'?
As respectful and commanding. Very different to what the audience might expect due to their racial prejudice and Iago's introduction.
29
'thou hast ______ her' (1:2)
enchanted
30
'to the sooty bosom // Of such a _____ as thou' (1:2)
thing
31
'practis'd on her with foul _______' (1:2)
charms
32
Finish the quotation: 'I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a ______ and a ____ of England too.' (Queen Elizabeth)
king
33
Analyse: 'twas strange, 'twas passing strange // 'twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful.' (1:3)
The parallel phrasing of Othello's speech shows him to be a good orator, again challenging the beliefs of those about his rank and status and even his own self-deprecating nature as he states that he is 'rude...in speech.' (though this could just be him being clever and presenting as humble).
34
'I ____ his daughter' (1:3)
won
35
Why does Desdemona have a divided duty?
Because she is married and now under the patriarchal system, she must answer to both her husband and her father.
36
What does 'To mourn mischief that is past and gone // Is the next way to draw new mischief on' (1:3) allude to?
It alludes to Iago and the grudge he holds which will cause such destruction.
37
How does 'if thou hast eyes to see: // She has deceiv'd her father and may thee' influence Othello later? (1:3)
It spurs his jealousy. Othello is a great believer in the patriarchal system. Her 'betrayal' of her father leads Othello to comment on her 'liberal' nature and be so open to believing she could betray him too.
38
'If thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure, me a ____.' (1:3)
sport
39
'Put _____ enough in your purse.' (1:3)
money
40
'Thus do I ever make my ____ my purse' (1:3)
fool
41
'Cassio's a ______ man' (1:3)
proper
42
'The moor is of a ____ and ____ nature' (1:3)
free / open
43
Analyse: 'And will as tenderly be led by the nose // As asses are' (1:3)
Iago once more returns to the theme of horses for his racial comments. Clearly, despite his discussion of Othello and Emilia, his inherent prejudice is a clearly motivating factor.
44
What does Cassio's introduction as 'look[ing] sadly // and pray[ing] for the Moor [to] be safe' (2:1) achieve?
It reveals Cassio's loyalty, furthering the tragedy that he chooses to believe Iago.
45
Analyse the difference between Desdemona 'Our great captain's captain' and Emilia who 'has no speech' in 2.1.
The juxtaposition shows the differing status of the women due to their class. However, both end up with the same fate showing their similarity too.
Interesting, both women exhibit agency in their play and are killed for it, regardless of class.
46
'If I were now to die // Twere now to be most ______' (2:1)
happy
47
'If after every tempest come such calms // May the winds blow till they have waken'd _____' (2:1)
death
48
Analyse: 'If she had been blest she would never have loved the Moor' (2:1)
He demeans Desdemona who seems to be held in such high regard by all others. She has lost value due to her decision to wed Othello.
49
'The Moor...is of a constant _____, ____ nature' (2:1)
loving / noble
50
In 2.1 what reason does Iago give for loving Desdemona?
Because she feeds his revenge. He thinks Othello has slept with Emilia and so loves her too in order to be vengeful.
51
'nothing can or shall content my soul // until I am _____ with him' (2:1)
even'd
52
'jealousy so strong // That _______ cannot cure.' (2:1)
judgement
53
'And practising upon his peace and quiet // Even to ______-' (2:1)
Madness
54
Why is Iago so frequently referred to as 'most honest'? (2:3 and elesewhere)
To add a sense of dramatic irony and frustration. We are reminded constantly of Iago's duplicitous nature.
55
What is interesting about Othello stating 'For Christian shame, put by this barbarous brawl'? (2:3)
Their is an irony to it. The Christian's are acting dishonourably throughout the play and here. Yet Othello (the barbarian they judge) is the noble and honourable man - at the beginning at least.
56
Analyse: 'but lift this arm, the best of you // shall sink in my rebuke'. (2:3)
It shows the power and strength of Othello and how well thought of he is for his command to be obeyed. Thus making his downfall more tragic.
57
'This tongue cut from my mouth // Than it should do _______ to Michael Cassio' (2:3)
offence
58
Analyse: 'Our general's wife is not the general.' (2:3)
It is mockery, implying that Othello is weak because he is now under the influence of a woman.
59
'What's he then that says I play the _____' (2:3)
villain
60
'How am I then a _______' (2:3)
villain
61
'When devils will the _______ sin put on // They do suggest at first with ______ shows.' (2:3)
blackest // heavenly
62
Analyse: 'I'll pour a pestilence in his ear.' (2:3)
Iago is presented as contaminating and infecting Othello.
63
'steals away so ____-____' (3:3)
guilty-like
64
'I will deny you _____' (3:3)
nothing
65
How is Desdemona presented when she states 'I'll watch him and tame him and talk him out of patience.' (3:3)?
She is presented again as having agency and power. Her privilege or her confidence borne out of her last act of rebellion means she does not adhere (at this point) to the patriarchal standards of society.
66
How is Desdemona behaving here: 'I wonder in my soul // what you would ask me that I should deny' (3:3)?
In a manipulative way. She is clever and using Othello's feelings for her to get what she ones (though this is actually done for the good of Othello and not for a sinister motive).
67
What does Desdemona mean when she states that she makes the case for Cassio like she would 'entreat' Othello to 'wear [his] gloves'? (3:3)
That her pressing for Cassio is natural because she is trying to protect and look after Othello. There is a sadness to the fact that Othello casts Cassio aside - who would likely protect him from Iago.
68
What technique is used in 'and when I love thee not // Chaos is come again'? (3:3)
Foreshadowing
69
'I speak not yet of _____' (3:3)
proof
70
'Why did I _____?' (3:3)
marry
71
As Iago leaves the stage in 3:3, Othello states 'Why did I marry?' despite claiming 'Desdemona's honest' showing what?
The ease with which Iago manipulates Othello. He claims to trust Desdemona several times after this but one conversation with Iago is enough to have him make such an outburst.
72
'If she be false, O then ______ mocks itself.' (3:3)
heaven
73
How are the following two quotations ironic?
'If there were some monster in his thought to hideous to be shown' (3:3) and 'If thou dost love me // show me thy thought' (3:3)
The first is ironic because the monstrous thought not being shown is Iago's true motivations.
The second because it is Iago's hateful thought that causes his downfall. Othello almost begs to hear that which will destroy him.
74
How is 'And oft my jealousy // Shapes faults that are not' (3:3) ironic?
Iago is saying this to manipulate Othello. However, there is some truth to this. Iago's jealousy of Othello and Iago's position has led to him hating them undeservedly.
75
How is 'Beware my lord...of the green eyed monster' ironic'? (3:3)
Because he is the one encouraging it in the first place.
76
Analyse: 'my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company' (3:3)
Othello is outlining ways in which Desdemona does not play the submissive housewife - reasons he professes to love but cause him to believe Iago so easily.
77
'Nor from my own weak merits will I draw // The smallest fear or ____' (3:3)
doubt
78
How is Venice depicted in the quotation: 'In Venice, they do let God see the pranks // They dare not show their husbands'? (3:3)
As a place of debauchery and adultery.
79
Analyse: 'Haply for I am black // And have not those soft parts of conversation.' (3:3)
Othello is projecting society's views of him onto himself - though he has proven to be otherwise. His insecurity fuels his jealousy and causes him to believe he is 'abus'd' because he cannot be worthy of Desdemona.
80
What does 'I have a pain upon my forehead' allude to?
The idea of being cuckolded.
81
'I nothing but to _____ his fantasy' (3:3)
please
82
'I have a ______ wife' (3:3)
foolish
83
'A _____ wench! Give it me!' (3:3(
good
84
What motif is returned to here 'The Moor already changes with my poison'? (3:3)
The idea that Iago is poisoning and corrupting Othello. The very next line is 'Dangerous conceits are in their natures poisons'.
85
'Shall ever _______ thee to that sweet sleep // which thou owed'st yesterday' (3:3)
medicine
86
What does Othello mean when he says 'tis better to be much abus'd // Than to know't a little'? (3:3:
He wishes he did not know anything because of the great suffering and pain it is causing him. He claims to prefer the idea that ignorance is bliss.
87
'If thou does slander her and torture me // Never _____ more' (3:3)
pray
88
What technique is used here to reveal Othello's inner conflict: 'I think my wife be honest, and think she is not; // 'I think that thou art just, and think thou art not'?
Parallel phrasing
89
What is the handkerchief a symbol of?
The love and commitment between Othello and Desdemona. By losing it, their love is doomed.
90
'Arise, _____ vengeance, from thy hollow cell.' (3:3)
black
91
What is the significance of Othello saying 'black vengeance' and calling for 'blood, blood, blood'? (3:3)
It shows his treatment by society (Iago) has reduced and degraded him back to the racial stereotype that existed at the time. He is bloodthirsty and savage.
92
'_____ her, lewd minx! O, ____ her, ____ her!' (3:3)
Damn
93
How do Desdemona's claims that Othello is 'true of mind' and where he was from 'drew such humours from him' (3:4) present her?
She appears love struck but also very naïve. Emilia, in contrast, seems to have a much better understanding of men and their natures.
94
'They are all but _______, and we all but food' (3:4)
stomachs
95
Analyse: 'Men's natures wrangle with inferior things // Though great ones are their object' (3:4)
It once more shows her adoration of Othello but also deeply entrenched patriarchal beliefs. She awards men the idea of superiority and suggests that they are simply plagued by inferior things, not that they carry those inferiorities.
96
What does Emilia highlight by stating [jealousy] is a 'monster// Begot upon itself, born on itself' (3:4)
The importance of jealousy in the poem. It is not just Othello that is plagued by jealousy but Iago too, who spreads jealousy onto Othello because he is jealous of Othello and Iago.
97
At the beginning of 4:1, just before he falls into a trance, what is notable about Othello's change in language?
He speaks in prose with many pauses, interruptions and incomplete sentences.
It either shows he is going mad, or that he has fallen into a low-born position from his own great status.
98
Why does Othello think Iago mocks him by asking about the pain in his head?
Because he is deeply hurt by the idea of being cuckloded. It has wounded his pride.
99
'see how he prizes the _____ woman, your wife' (4:1)
foolish
100
'A ____ woman, a ____ woman, a _____ woman' (4:1)
fine/fair/sweet
101
'Let her rot and perish and be _____ tonight' (4:1)
damned
102
'If you are so fond of her iniquity, give her patent to ______' (4:1)
offend
103
What emotion is Iago trying to play upon when he states, 'give her patent to offend'?
Othello's pride. He cannot bear the idea of being played by a woman.
104
What is notable about Othello asking Iago to get him poison?
It shows a fall from grace. This is a great soldier and general now falling to deceptive means to kill a woman. It suggests weakness.
105
'And for Cassio, let me be his _________.' (4:1)
undertaker
106
Why is there such use of hellish imagery in 4:1?
Due to change in Othello from hero to somewhat of a villain here. It also creates a sense of foreboding.
107
Analyse: 'My lord, this would not have been believ'd in Venice.' (4:1)
It shows the drastic change in Othello who - obsessed with reputation - has now lost his.
108
'I will be hang'd if some eternal ______...have not devis'd this slander.' (4:1)
villain
109
'Hath she forsook so many _____ matches // To be call'd whore?' (4:1)
noble
110
How does the quotation: 'Hath she forsook so many noble matches...//To be call'd whore' relate to Othello's jealousy?
It shows why he might be so insecure. Society has suggested he is not good enough or worthy enough to marry Desdemona. He projects this onto himself which is why he find it so easy that Desdemona would cheat on him.
111
What is ironic about 'If any such there be, heaven pardon him'? (4:1)
Iago is in the room when this is stated. The pure Desdemona is pardoning anyone who has meddled with Othello, furthering the presentation of the cruelty and the lack of remorse he shows.
112
'Some _____ notorious knave, some _____ fellow.' (4:1)
base / scurvy
113
'And put in every _____ hand a whip.' (4:1)
honest
114
In 4:1, why does Iago try to silence Emilia and try to get her to 'speak within door'?
He is worried that he might be revealed.
115
'You are a _____, go to.' (4:1)
fool
116
Why does Shakespeare have Desdemona 'kneel' as she pleas to know what she might 'do to win her lord again?' (4:1)
It creates an image of her being pious but also helpless, garnering sympathy.
117
'His unkindness may defeat my life // But never _____ my love.' (4:1)
taint
118
When is the earliest record of the Willow Song?
1583
119
What was the original version of the Willow Song about?
A man who dies because of his lover's cruelty and betrayal.
120
How does Shakespeare adapt the Willow Song?
He changes the subject of it from a man to a woman - thus foreshadowing Desdemona's death.
121
Analyse: 'I will, my lord' (4:3)
Desdemona's length of utterance is drastically changed. Compare to her verbosity in previous acts, she now is clearly obedient and lacking a voice.
122
'If I do die before thee, prithee shroud me // In one of those same _____.' (4:3)
sheets
123
How is Desdemona presented when she states 'That there be women do abuse their husbands in such gross kind'?
Naïve and innocent. She does not understand that some women do behave immorally because she is so clearly moral. Compare her to some of the things Emilia (much more worldly-wise) says.
124
How does Emilia juxtapose Desdemona's show of innocence and purity in 4:3?
Through the use of humour and by showing a more sinister woman. 'I might do't' and 'who would not make their husband a cuckold, to make him a monarch?' being examples.
125
'O, my ______ interprets' (5:2)
fear
126
Analyse: 'Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow // And smooth as monumental alabaster.' (5:2)
Shakespeare's use of colour imagery serves as a final reminder of Desdemona's innocence, before her tragic fate that the audience know is coming.
127
'Yet she must die, else she'll _____ more men.' (5:2)
betray
128
What does 'else she'll betray more men' (5:2) refer to?
The betrayal of her father as well as Othello. Othello is often considered a misogynist.
129
Analyse: 'Put out the light, and then put out the light.' (5:2)
Once more light imagery is used to represent the goodness of Desdemona as well as the hope for their marriage. Othello is about to destroy something inherently good.
130
'So sweet was ne'er so ____' (5:2)
fatal
131
'O perjur'd ______!' (5:2)
woman
132
'Had all his hairs been lives, my _____ ______ // Had stomach from them all.' (5:2)
great revenge
133
Analyse: 'A guiltless death I die' (5:2)
Desdemona's final words remind us once of her innocence and enhance the tragedy and catharsis of the scene. It also villainises Othello and Iago even further.
134
From a feminist perspective, why does Desdemona not name Othello her killer?
Because of her blind loyalty to the patriarchal system that demands constant obedience from a wife to husband.
135
'O more ____ she // And you the blacker ______' (5:2)
angel / devil
136
Analyse: 'She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.' (5:2)
The racial connotations are once more clear here, as Emilia points out that Othello has regressed to the racial stereotype assumed of him.
137
'Men must lay their ______ on your neck' (5:2)
murders
138
'You told a _____, an odious damned _____' (5:2)
lie
139
'___ ___, charm your tongue' (5:2)
go to
140
'For thou hast killed the _____ ______ // That e'er did lift up eye.' (5:2)
sweetest innocent
141
According to Gratiano, how did Brabantio die?
Because of grief over Desdemona's wedding.
142
'I saw it in his hand // It was a ________' (5:2)
handkerchief
143
What is Emilia fighting against when she says 'all cry shame on me, yet I'll speak.'? (5:2)
The patriarchal system. She is forbidden from speaking but does so anyway.
144
What happens as a result of Emilia speaking out against Iago?
She is killed.
145
Analyse: 'O cursed, cursed slave! Whip me.' (5:2)
Again the racial connotations are clear. Othello now views himself in the same way that the prejudiced Venetian society view him.
Compare this to his confidence in Act One.
146
'For naught I did in hate but all in _______' (5:2)
honour
147
How does Othello dehumanise himself in 5:2, linking himself to the racial beliefs of the Elizabethan era?
'base Indian' 'all his tribe' 'slave' 'whip me'
