Othello Characters

Quick revision quiz

Which of these fit which character? (Can you find
from the play to support this? )
Othello
Iago
Desdemon Cassio
heroic,
Hypocritical a
Heroic,
noble,
,
Pragmatic,
pawn, loyal,
idealistic,
exploitative nave,
catalyst
,
honest,
manipulativ virtuous,
e,
pawn,
malicious,
flirtatious,
opportunist, servile,
deceitful,
Idealistic
calculating,
satanic,
honest,
loyal,
persuasive,
Machiavelli
an,
depraved
Brabantio
Emilia
Bianca
Hypocritical Hypocritical Envious,
, noble,
, pragmatic, flirtatious
strident
opportunist,
conflicted

evidence
Roderigo
Foolish,
pawn,
easily-led,

pragmatic, heroic, hypocritical, nave, exploitative, noble, idealistic,

nave, honest, manipulative, virtuous, loyal, malicious, opportunist,
director, catalyst, pawn, foolish, conflicted, conventional, rebellious,
flirtatious, assertive, strident, deceitful, duplicitous, careful,
calculating, satanic, envious, persuasive, easily-led, suspicious,
judgemental, conniving, servile, contemptuous, depraved,
Machiavellian (look this up)
Jot down answers to the following questions
OthelIo
Is Othello a tragic hero? If so what is his fatal flaw? He is a tragic
hero, whose fatal flaw is that he trusts very easily and is uneasy
with love, relationships, romance; it is new to him. Unlike war where
he is able to perform and understand situations better.
When he first arrives in Venice how is he seen by other people? He
is seen as a Moor.
Why do you think Othello takes so much notice of what other people
tell him? Because he is insecure

How does Othello view Desdemona? He views her as extremely pure

and in enamored by her, however this slowly develops into distaste
due to Iagos manipulative ways and how he presents Desdemona in
various situations. Although, it can be seen that even as he is about
to kill her, he still views her as this precious, pure woman and it
hurts him, to kill her.
Choose five positive words to describe Othello. Valiant, Honest,
Idealistic, Hero, Hardworking
Choose five negative words to describe Othello. Hypocritical,
Murderer, Suspicious, Malicious
What is your opinion of this character? He is a flawed character, as
from the readers point of view the perspective of Othello can be
seen, and how he is being presented an altered view of reality and
Desdemona due to which he is acting in such a way.
Desdemona
Her name means unlucky. Explain
Choose five positive words to describe Desdemona.
Choose five negative words to describe Desdemona.
Why does she elope with Othello?
Is Desdemona a believable character?
Look at how women are referred to in the play. Does Desdemona
have any power over her own life?
How do you view Desdemona?
Emilia
Emilia has two roles in the play. What do you think they are?
Choose five positive words to describe Emilia.
Choose five negative words to describe Emilia.
Compare Emilia with Desdemona. What do they have in common?
In what way are Desdemona and Emilia quite different?
Do you think Emilia is happily married? Give reasons for your view
In what way is Emilia important in this play?
What is your view of Emilia?

Roderigo
Choose five positive words to describe Roderigo.
Choose five negative words to describe Roderigo.
What does Roderigo want to happen? What is his hearts desire? Is it
realistic?
How many times do we see Iago successfully manipulating
Roderigo? Name them.
What are your views on Roderigo?
Cassio
Choose five positive words to describe Cassio.

Choose five negative words to describe Cassio.

Cassio is an outsider like Othello, explain the significance of this.
How does Iago use Cassio to further his own ends?
Iago does not like Cassio, but at the end of the play he is still alive.
Why do you think this is?
What are your views on Cassio?
You should know/be able to speak about
When, where, how they are introduced to the audience and the
significance of this
Their entrances/exits
Their role/function in the play and their impact on the plot a tool or
a catalyst?
What they tell us about society of the time economic, political, and
historical context, the values and beliefs of the society, culture, and
how readers in a different context might see them differently
The impact on the audience
Their actions/reactions how much is within
conventions/orchestrated by Iago/a result of their
gender/upbringing/status/self-opinion/the conventions of the
tragedy/play
Key characteristics
Typical features of their speech and examples compare/contrast,
show change (if any)
As a tool to explore universal themes what it is to be human
Critical interpretations their flaws/virtues/relevance to a modern
audience