English dept 2023 worksheet

Iago has often been described as the motiveless villain. Discuss.

Iago is undoubtedly one of the most villainous characters of Shakespeare. His
manipulative skills, his cynical character, his strategic and plotting mind make him one
of the most devilish Shakespearean character. However, one might wonder why Iago is
so obsessed with the destruction of Othello.
Iago displays his manipulative skills mostly with Roderigo “Put money in thy purse” By
turning Roderigo into a fool, Iago is able to withdraw money from him and at the same
time use him to make Cassio lose his status as Lieutenant. And this is one of the main
strengths of Iago. He is able to use any character for his own advantages.
His evil mind is mostly unveiled through his soliloquies where he displays his
machiavellic plans. As a strategy maker, he uses poison images or even animal imageries
to show how he will lead the tragic hero to his end. His language is also pregnant with
graphic and sexual images reflecting his vulgar character. He, in fact, uses derogatory
terms while addressing women, showing his disrespectful and gross character. His
techniques of arousing jealousy in Othello consists of rhetoric questions , providing
graphic images, use of sexual innuendos and most importantly reminding the characters
of how honest he is.
The janus-faced character also excels at juggling between his roles. On one hand he is
playing the counselor of Othello and on the other, he is plotting how to destroy him. He
is actually the source of chaos in Cyprus as he breaks a marital relationship, puts a dirty
stain on the pure Desdemona, challenges the devotion of Cassio and eventually leads to
the death of the lovers. He is also closely linked to the theme of appearance and disguise
as he himself claims “I am not what I am”
However, Coleridge described him as the motiveless villain. It is actually complex to
determine the reasons why he wishes the end of the tragic hero. Why does he invest
himself so much in destroying Othello? Othello’s racial difference can be one reason but
is it enough to destroy his life. If he wanted to be promoted, he should have been
satisfied by dethroning Cassio as Lieutenant. What could be his motive behind the
destruction of Desdemona?
English dept 2023 worksheet

How is Othello appreciated in the opening scene of Act II?

The Act II highlights the rise of Othello in the administrative field and the increasing
hatred of Iago for the former. However the Sc 1 throws light on the respect that Othello
commands in the hearts of the venetians as he has always toiled for the welfare of
Venice. In the same vein, the gentlemen pray for his safe return as he is stuck in a
stormy weather.
In this scene, the audience is introduced to Montano, who is looking after the affairs of
Cyprus. He is worried about the outcome of the battle against the Turks. On hearing
about the Venetian victory, Montano then is concerned about the safety of Othello, who
has once more shown love and loyalty to his adoptive country. His concern is echoed by
the other gentlemen, including Cassio who is an ardent follower of Othello.
Thus, one prices that Othello is an important and influential soldier. He has slowly but
gradually built a solid reputation as a protector of Venice. He is the army general- a post
that he has deserved upon meritious services done to the country. Indeed, all the
gentlemen claim allegiance and respect to Othello for being an exemplary soldier.
Othello’s horse sense in war and military affairs draws fame,respect and glory his way,
moreso that those in Cyprus have gathered on the shores of Cyprus, to await his return.
They are worried. Their solicitude is genuine. This is the impetus of the harrowing
jealousy eating Iago, making him grow more impatient to cause sufferance to Othello.
Iago’s resentment of Othello is definitely unwarranted. He indulges into frustration that
only fuel his indignation.
The arrival of Desdemona heightens the tone of the situation: she is Othello’s wife and is
tantalised by the storm which has withheld her husband. The audience is amazed at the
chastity of Desdemona and the good fortune of Othello. He is indeed lucky to have such
a wife- ethereally beautiful and loving.
Lastly, Othello’s return is celebrated. He is a hero- the saviour of Cyprus, earning more
respect and status. The people adore and admire him for his dedication to their cause.
His crescent fame puts Iago under the weather, but solidifies the niche that Othello has
been able to carve for himself.
English dept 2023 worksheet

Discuss theme of racism as brought out in Shakespeare’s play Othello.

"Othello" is a play written by a writer called William Shakespeare. Throughout the play,
Shakespeare depicts the outsider status using the protagonist, Othello who is a black
army general. Shakespeare uses various approaches to show the relationship of an
outsider in high Venetian society. He is referred with demeaning terms by other
characters in the play because they feel that he is scarcely human because he is black.
The protagonist also brings out the idea of an outsider when he states major differences
that separate him from the community and eventually causing his downfall. The play is
about a man by the name Othello who is seen as a hero or the protagonist in this play,
whereby activities in this story revolves around. Othello begins as a nobleman who is
celebrated and a respected war hero. He is also a loving him husband, and an eloquent
storyteller, but at the end of the play he becomes an irrational, violent and insanely
jealous husband who murders his own wife. Othello outsider's status is demonstrated
by the fact he is a black man in a white society is a major factor that causes his downfall.
Othello is a black man from North Africa who has traveled the world and was sold into
slavery, escaped and become the military commander of Venetian military guard to
powerful Italian City-state. Othello's status in Venice is both pretty complicated, as he is
seen as both an insider and an outsider. He is also seen as a Christian and a military
leader. He demands respect and admiration from the duke, Senate and many citizens of
Venice. Racism is another factor that is portrayed in the play where Desdemona's father
who believes that the interracial marriage between Othello and Desdemona can only
result to trickery. Although he is not the tricky character here he is a victim of trickery,
where he is tricked by Iago. In act 1 of the play, the theme of an outsider is seen where
Shakespeare put a twist on this play, as there is a battle between good and evil. Being
good is represented by a black man and being evil is represented by the white.
Othello gets tricked by Iago a character who is seen as the villain in the story and he is
convinced that his wife has been unfaithful to him which was not true. Othello makes
Michael Cassion a Lieutenant, an action that did not please Lago. Iago plans revenge
over Othello which at the end he succeeds. He sets a trap over Michael Cassio where he
tells him that he should approach Othello's wife Desdemona so he can negotiate with
her husband upon Cassio retaining his position in the army.
Othello is an unusual man in Venice land because he is a foreigner and a Moor, a black
man from North Africa. Being an outsider makes him to be referred in demeaning words
of all manners, for example Emilia refers to him as the "The black devil" and Lago as
"The old black ram" the devil and the Barbary horse. This reminds Othello of his
inferiority due to his blackness. This negative comment makes logos to think that Lagos
is only a piece of equipment to be toyed with. He thinks that he can tame Othello to his
advantage if can behave courteously towards him. The animal imagery implies that
Othello is only interested with sexual relationship between him and Desdemona and
hence implies that Othello is only exploiting her. The aspect of outsider is portrayed
where Roderigo refers Othello as a Moor because they thinks that he is not worthy of a
Christian name. The word Moor is a racist term that Roderigo and Lago use Othello
behind his back. The fact that Lago and Roderigo term Othello as Moor behind his back
symbolizes that they are afraid of Othello as he is the General and could strip them of
from their employment as he has more power than them .Othello is also Seen as a tragic
English dept 2023 worksheet

hero in the play. This implies that he is of nobble status and greatness. Othello is nobble
and a quite capable leader, however he has a tragic flaw which contributes to his
downfall in the play. His leadership skills are vivid as he is the leader of the military
against the Turkish Invasion against Cyprus. Although he is of high stature of greatness
he has poor judgment flaw.
He makes an error of judgment towards his wife Desdemona. This is seen in the play
where Othello allowed his jealousy to take the better of him which made him murder
his wife without any profound piece of evidence. It is one thing to be jealous, but it is
clear that Othello acted tragically. Othello's action was influenced mostly by a character
like Iago who acted as a mechanism that transformed Othello's values of justice and
honor into vengefulness and rather obsessive hunger of molarity in his world. Iago
planted a seed of jealousy in Othello that made him lose self-control and blinded him to
see the logic in his judgment towards his wife accusations of unfaithfulness, this was a
tragic flaw. In the play, we can see that Othello was not only jealous but also gullible. His
Gullibility comes is clear in the play where Othello allows himself to fall into Lago's
trickery which led to his down fall. Gullibility and jealousy are the main reasons of
Othello's downfall.
In the play, we can see that Othello whose strengths far outnumbered his weaknesses.
In the battlefield he was accomplished, in his profession, he was highly ranked and in
his marriage he was happy. Despite his great achievements, Othello's destiny is ruined.
Everything that Othello has for himself is destroyed by one flaw which is the fear of
remaining an outsider. He feared his fate and yet harped it continuously. Othello is torn
between his identity as a foreigner and his desire to live like a normal citizen. Fears of
interracial marriages also brought along Othello's downfall. According to Brabantio
Othello must have bewitched Desdemona to fall in love with him, he says that Other
must have used magic spell or charms otherwise Desdemona would not have run into
his sooty bosoms for anything.
Othello's suspicion that his wife might be cheating on him with Michael Cassio also
drove him nut despite the interracial marriage working out so well. In the beginning, we
see Othello as a happily married man and yes he has been until Lago a character who
pretends to be Othello's but he is an an enemy in disguise whose aim is to destroy
Othello's reputation. Iago came up with a plan to trick Othello through a character called
Micheal Cassion, who was promoted to a lieutenant position in the army by Othello. Iago
was as angry at Othello as he wanted to be prompted instead of Casson.As a result of
this, Iago plans for revenge against Othello. The plot on how to destroy Othello, he sends
Desdemona to his husband Othello to talk on behalf of Michael Cassio.
Iago came to Othello and applied his villain character to poison Othello's mind that his
wife has been unfaithful to him with Michael Cassio, that made him so angry which led
him to smother his own wife Desdemona even without any evidence except a
handkerchief that was found in Cassio's house. This portrayed jealousy of the highest
order. Othello being not trustworthy to his wife lead to him smothering his wife because
of jealousy which finally haunted him until he became so hopeless with life, as he
realized that he had loosed his own love through Jealousy, gullibility, insecurity and
poor judgment. Othello later took his life own life because he could not take the guilt
anymore. That was Othello's great downfall.
English dept 2023 worksheet

In conclusion racism in any society can result to things like inferiority among people
and can also lead to the poor judgment which may even lead to unnecessary
predicaments like death, low self-esteem, and insecurities which may lead to the
suffering of victims. We should also distinguish whom to trust and who not trust.