J. Roth/English 201 Name:_________________

Shakespeare’s Othello

A short out-of-class writing assignment—15 points.

Due Date: Due no later than Friday, May 26

Directions: Write a short essay (4 to 5 paragraphs) that explores one of the following four essay topics:

1. Morality plays are a type of drama in which the hero (in this case, Othello) is met by characters who represent various moral attributes. These characters try to prompt the hero to choose a godly life or one of evil. In a short essay, explain how Shakespeare’s Othello could be viewed as a morality play by identifying which characters are primarily symbolic and which moral attribute(s) each represents.

2. Identify at least three techniques that Iago uses to manipulate Othello. please do the following for each technique you identify: Give a brief description of the technique and then refer your reader to a specific event in the play that would serve as an example of it.

3. What do the characters of Napoleon Dynamite and Othello have in common? In a short essay, share your discoveries with your reader.

4. Culture exerts control in part by placing certain behavioral expectations on its members and by defining the expectations its members should hold for other members of that culture.

The school and community culture of Napoleon Dynamite and the Venetian culture of Othello have certain expectations of their members. In a brief essay, identify one or two similarities between these two cultures in terms of the cultural assumptions that the characters make and the cultural expectations that the characters have.

Defend the notion that Iago is an outcast or misfit and that this leads him to strike out.