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Philosophy Master's Graduate from York with a passion for language, learning, and everything academic!
Notes || Exam Prep || Character Profiles || Themes || Additional Reading & Videos
This text is included in Paper 1 . You can find notes and guides for it below.
- Literary Form
Additional Reading & Videos:
- Essay: Homosocial Desire and its Conversion to Homosexual Desire
- Essay: The Symbolic Significance of Desdemona’s Handkerchief
- Essay: Men, Women and War: An Examination of Gender Conflicts within Othello
- Thesis: Courtship, Love, and Marriage in Othello: Shakespeare’s Mockery of Courtly Love
- Essay: Too Gentle: Jealousy and Class in Othello
- Video: Racism in Othello
- Video: The Question of Race in Othello
- Film: Othello (modern-day adaptation, dir. Geoffrey Sax 2001)
- Film: Othello (filmed theatrical production, 1965)
Character Profiles
- Proximity and Distance
- Truth and Deception
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Tragedy: Othello
One of the underlying strands of the play is tragedy. Othello is a play of personal tragedy, but it is also a tragedy of Venetian society. If the genre of tragedy is characterised by ‘serious’ subject matter, then Othello ticks this box.
- Othello is a great person (he is a general with strategic vision, who has risen from humble origins).
- The assault upon him made by Iago.
- His own blinkered vision of not seeing the truth.
- One reason why Othello might be particularly ripe for Iago’s plucking is that Iago can exploit his 'otherness' to bring out feelings of insecurity in Othello and encourage other characters to speak in racial slurs.
- As a tragic hero Othello does endures hamartia (a character flaw).
- Othello’s hamartia is his ability to be easily swayed by the words of another.
- A key aspect of this tragedy is Iago’s continued assault on Othello. - Iago manipulates him so that he believes Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.
Consequences of Othello's hamartia
- When we think about this logically, there has barely been any time for Cassio and Desdemona to even see each other, let alone have an affair, and yet Othello’s flaw is to believe what he is told without ever questioning it.
- His hamartia leads to his own mental and physical breakdown, and the flaw contributes to the death of Desdemona and himself.
Anagnorisis
- Othello very much believes that the tragedy is brought about by other external factors, and not his own flaws.
- Towards the end of the play Othello finally goes through a process of recognition of his own mistake.
- In this, Othello experiences anagnorisis and sees the error of his ways.
- However, even then with Othello this moment does not last long.
- Although he sees it, he actually wallows in self-pity at the end. - It is not clear if the learning or knowledge he has gained really helps him. - It does, however, help the audience to understand that catharsis is at work.
The Genre of Tragedy
Aristotle's theory about tragedy does seem to work when applied to Othello .
Aristotle's theory
- The play is complex and shows the complicated process of how a character is manipulated through suspicion and jealousy to kill someone they love.
- This process shows much suffering, and when Othello comes to the point of anagnorisis, he truly suffers.
Aristotle cont.
- Othello is a character of high morals (this is shown in his dealings with the Duke of Venice at the start) but Shakespeare presents him knowing that all of these are now questioned by the way that they have acted.
- The play does offer spectacle because of the terrible and fearful nature of the final scene.
- The play does culminate in multiple deaths: Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Roderigo.
Genre of tragedy
- Othello does show that the genre of tragedy is so much more than a play with a ‘sad ending’.
- As the audience watches the action unfold human experience is pushed to its limits.
Other characters
- This comes not only from the terrible lack of insight that Othello shows and the way he is manipulated by Iago, but also in the way in which minor characters such as Roderigo are so easily enveloped in the tragedy.
Dramatic irony
- The audience certainly goes through catharsis as the play progresses; and this feeling is dependant on how well Shakespeare works the dramatic irony of the play. Only the audience is privy to Iago’s plan.
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Specifications
1.2 Background
1.2.1 Shakespeare
1.2.3 Tragedy
1.2.4 Historical Context
1.3 Othello
1.3.1 Setting
1.3.2 Social Issues
2 Act One: Summaries & Themes
2.1 Act and Scene Summaries
2.1.1 Structure
2.1.2 The Exam
2.2 Scene One
2.2.1 Key Events
2.2.2 Key Themes
2.2.3 Key Ideas
2.3 Scene Two
2.3.1 Key Events
2.3.2 Key Themes
2.3.3 Key Ideas
2.4 Scene Three
2.4.1 Key Events
2.4.2 Key Events 2
2.4.3 Key Themes
2.4.4 Key Ideas
3 Act Two: Summaries & Themes
3.1 Scene One & Two
3.1.1 Scene One: Events
3.1.2 Key Events 2
3.1.3 Key Ideas: Love & Tragedy
3.1.4 Scene Two: Events
3.2 Scene Three
3.2.1 Key Events
3.2.2 Key Ideas
4 Act Three: Summaries & Themes
4.1 Key Events
4.1.1 Scene One & Two
4.1.2 Scene Three
4.1.3 Scene Three: Key Ideas
4.1.4 Scene Four
5.1 Scene One
5.1.1 Key Events
5.1.2 Key Ideas
5.2 Scene Two
5.2.1 Key Events
5.2.2 Key Ideas
5.3 Scene Three
5.3.1 Key Events
5.3.2 Key Ideas
6.1 Scene One
6.1.1 Key Events
6.1.2 Key Ideas
6.2 Scene Two
6.2.1 Key Events
6.2.2 Key Ideas
7 Character Profiles
7.1 Major Characters
7.1.1 Othello
7.1.3 Desdemona
7.1.4 Emilia
7.1.5 Cassio
7.2 Minor Characters
7.2.1 Roderigo & Brabantio
7.2.2 Other Characters
8 Key Themes
8.1 Love & Tragedy
8.1.2 Love 2
8.1.3 Tragedy
8.1.4 Tragedy 2
8.2 Other Key Themes
8.2.1 Public versus Private
8.2.2 Appearance & Reality
9 Writing Techniques
9.1 Writing Techniques
9.1.1 Structure
9.1.2 Genre
9.1.3 Form & Language
9.1.4 Language & Imagery
10 Critical Debates
10.1 Criticism & Performance
10.1.1 Shakespeare's Legacy
10.1.2 Traditional
10.1.3 Modern & Contemporary
10.2 Approaches
10.2.1 Feminist Approach
10.2.2 Psychoanalytic Approach
10.2.3 Marxist Approach
11 Approaching AQA English Literature
11.1 Specification A
11.1.1 Specification A
11.1.2 Love Through the Ages
11.2 Specification B
11.2.1 Specification B
11.2.2 Aspects of Tragedy
12 Issues of Assessment
12.1 The Exams
12.1.2 Mark Scheme
Jump to other topics
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Collection of Othello Essays for A level English Literature
Subject: English
Age range: 16+
Resource type: Worksheet/Activity
Last updated
21 June 2019
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Essays written as exemplars for A level students studying Othello as part of the AQA Eng Lit B spec. Essay titles are as follows:
Section A of the exam – Othello Extract Question / Extract Act One, Scene Two Explore the significance of this extract in relation to the tragedy of the play as a whole
Section A of the exam, extract from Othello – Act 3, Scene 3 Explore the significance of the extract in relation to the tragedy of the play as a whole
Section B of the exam - Essay Question ‘Even if he had stayed within the controlling order of Venice, Othello’s tragic downfall was inevitable’. To what extent do you agree with this view?
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Please can you supply the exact line references for the quotations used? Asap please.
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AS and A-level English Literature A
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Centre declaration sheet 2025
Published 10 Nov 2023 | PDF | 74 KB
Published 10 Nov 2023 | DOC | 520 KB
Candidate record form (A-level): Component 3 NEA Independent critical study: texts across time 2025
Published 10 Nov 2023 | PDF | 104 KB
Published 10 Nov 2023 | DOCX | 514 KB
Insert (A-level): Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 520 KB
Insert (A-level): Paper 2A Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 177 KB
Insert (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 97 KB
Insert (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 104 KB
Question paper (AS): Paper 2 Love through the ages: prose - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 230 KB
Insert (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 2A Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 149 KB
Insert (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 2A Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 143 KB
Question paper (A-level): Paper 2A Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 280 KB
Question paper (A-level): Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 236 KB
Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (AS): Paper 2 Love through the ages: prose - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 117 KB
Question paper (Modified A3 36pt) (AS): Paper 2 Love through the ages: prose - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 125 KB
Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 2A Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 159 KB
Question paper (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 2A Texts in shared contexts: WW1 and its aftermath - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 169 KB
Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day - June 2022
Question paper (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 172 KB
Examiner report (AS): Paper 2 Love through the ages: prose - June 2022
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 160 KB
COMMENTS
Themes. Jealousy. Love. Marriage. Proximity and Distance. Race. Truth and Deception. Advertisement. Summary notes, past papers, character profiles and themes for AQA English A-level English Literature Paper 1: Othello.
Band 5 response. It is true that in Act 1 of the play, Othello's actions and behaviour, his virtue and valour can be seen as admirable. He is after all a tragic hero, and his position in the tragedy demands that he begins in a position of greatness before he suffers his tragic fall. Shakespeare establishes Othello's greatness through focusing ...
It is a quiet moment, but a hugely significant one. It marks a turning point: Othello has fallen victim to the same racist logic (or illogic) that rules the thinking of people such as Iago and Roderigo. Like those men, Othello wants to place the blame for his feelings of inferiority somewhere and winds up laying that blame not where it belongs ...
Tragic hero. When Shakespeare constructed Othello he created a new kind of tragic hero. However, Othello is now one of the models for how a tragic hero operates. In believing Iago's lies, and in choosing to extinguish Desdemona's life, he opens himself up to tragic forces and chaos. At the beginning of the play Othello appears unshakeable.
Aspects of tragedy - text overview . Read our overview which shows how teachers can consider Othello in relation to the genre of tragedy.We haven't covered every element of this genre. Instead we hope this guide will provide a springboard to help you plan, and to get you and your students thinking about the text in more detail.
It is doubtful that he has any. Virtue is about goodness and purity; it is what tragic heroes are supposed to have in some form. Macbeth has it in that he knows what he throws away when he kills Duncan. Othello is all about himself. Everything he does is for the greater glory of himself. His pride is insufferable.
Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes. Materials. For this paper you must have: • an AQA 12-page answer book. Instructions. • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7717/1A. • Answer one question from Section A, one question from Section B and one ...
Othello. as part of the AQA A Level in English Literature (B). At the end of the course, you will complete two essay questions on this play: - Extract analysis: identify and explore aspects of tragedy in the play (25 marks, 45 mins) - An essay responding to a strong opinion about the play (25 marks, 45 mins)
Sample response. The extract has been taken from Act One Scene Two of William Shakespeare's tragic play Othello. In the scene previously the audience has witnessed Othello, a black military general, marry the upper class daughter of Brabantio, Desdemona. Othello and the antagonist of the play, Iago, are outside the saggitary in this extract ...
In this video, I walk you through each step of navigating an Othello extract question by using the AQA A-Level 2017 English Literature Paper 1 Section A on S...
Hamartia. As a tragic hero Othello does endures hamartia (a character flaw). Othello's hamartia is his ability to be easily swayed by the words of another. A key aspect of this tragedy is Iago's continued assault on Othello. . - Iago manipulates him so that he believes Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio.
3 exemplar essays for Othello by Shakespeare. Detailed analysis of author's methods, explores historical context, critical interpretations and comparison to other texts. 'For all his manners of gallantry, Cassio has little respect for women.'. 'Brabantio's role as Desdemona's father and Roderigo's role as her suitor suggest that ...
Othello Exemplar Essays and Essay Plans (A-level) From AQA A-level English Literature A 'Love through the ages' (7711, 7712) -*I sat my exams in June 2018 and achieved an A grade. This resource contains a list of 25-mark essay plans (fully-written essays as well as structured plans), and a list of key quotations: 'As lovers, Othello and ...
The historical context in which they lived and wrote, and (if it is different) the historical context in which the text is set. How the text was received when it was first published or performed. Literary contexts, for example which genre(s) the author uses in the text. In Othello you could consider Shakespeare's use of Greek tragedy.
Othello is a domestic tragedy in which true, romantic love is destroyed by hate. The binary. of love/hate is central to the play. Throughout Othello, the audience is presented with different relationships - Emilia and Iago as well as Othello and Desdemona. However, it is clear that Othello's love for Desdemona can be perceived as 'true love'.
Step 1 Determine a level. Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in the student's answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide ...
Othello A Level - A* EXEMPLAR ESSAYS. Subject: English. Age range: 16+. Resource type: Other. File previews. docx, 901.83 KB. I achieved an A* in AQA English Literature A Level - here is a document with 3 Othello A* (band 5) essays. The marks each essay achieved are - 25/25, 25/25, 24/25. These were marked by an AQA Examiner.
Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (A-level): Paper 1 Love through the ages - June 2022. Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 181 KB. Question paper (Modified A3 36pt) (A-level): Paper 1 Love through the ages - June 2022. Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 200 KB. Question paper (AS): Paper 1 Love through the ages: Shakespeare and poetry - June 2022.
The candidate fails to see that Othello and Desdemona are seeking public approval from both the Duke and Brabantio. On balance, this answer is placed in the middle of Band 4. AO1- The argument is mostly logical, thorough and coherent. There are mature and assured aspects to the answer.
These resources give an introductory overview of how the text can be considered through the lens of tragedy. Text overview - The Great Gatsby. Text overview - The Poetry Anthology (Tragedy) These packages provide a range of resources to help you plan your teaching and assessment for the various components of AS and A-level English Literature B.
Module. Aspects of Tragedy. Institution. AQA. A marked model essay answering a question on Othello in the tragedy paper of the AQA English Literature B A-Level. Achieved A/A* in the essay, A* in the subject overall. Preview 1 out of 3 pages.
docx, 14.44 KB. Essays written as exemplars for A level students studying Othello as part of the AQA Eng Lit B spec. Essay titles are as follows: Section A of the exam - Othello Extract Question / Extract Act One, Scene Two. Explore the significance of this extract in relation to the tragedy of the play as a whole.
Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 280 KB. Question paper (A-level): Paper 2B Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day - June 2022. Published 14 Jul 2023 | PDF | 236 KB. Question paper (Modified A4 18pt) (AS): Paper 2 Love through the ages: prose - June 2022.