A protagonist is the main character in a play.

The inciting incident is an event that acts as the catalyst for the protagonist’s changing fate.

The resolution is the end of the story where the problem is solved.

A catalyst is something that causes something else to happen.

Moorish people were the North African people that ruled Spain from 711 to 1492.

Introduction to 'Othello' and plot exploration

English

'Othello' and Aristotle's conventions of tragedy

'Othello' and Shakespeare's conventions of tragedy

Exploring Act 1, Scene 1 of ‘Othello’

Exploring Iago from ‘Othello’ as a Machiavellian villain

Exploring Act 1, Scene 3 of ‘Othello’

Written analysis of Othello in Act 1, Scene 3

Exploring Act 2, Scene 1 of Othello

Analysing Iago’s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 3 of ‘Othello’

Analysing and writing about Iago from ‘Othello’

Exploring Act 3, Scene 3 of ‘Othello’

Exploring Act 4 Scene 1 of 'Othello'

Exploring Act 5, Scene 1 of ‘Othello’

Exploring the characterisation of Desdemona in ‘Othello’

Exploring Act 5, Scene 2 of ‘Othello’

Exploring Othello as a tragic hero

Constructing an argument about Othello as a tragic hero

Linking moments and quotations in 'Othello'

Exploring motifs in 'Othello'

Exploration of the theme of race in 'Othello'

Using context effectively to discuss ‘Othello’

Exploration of the theme of appearances and reality in 'Othello'

Analysis of the theme of appearances and reality in ‘Othello’

Exploration of the theme of jealousy in 'Othello'

Analysis of the theme of jealousy in 'Othello'

In 'Othello', pupils learn about the conventions of a tragic hero, which allows them to judge whether the protagonist is more a victim of his own hamartia or rather of external pressures and a racist society. In 'Macbeth: A Tragic  Hero', pupils evaluate whether Macbeth's downfall is caused by his own hubris or whether Lady Macbeth and wider society can be blamed. 

In 'The Language of Protest', pupils take inspiration from protest poetry and speeches, to write an opinion article. In 'Othello', pupils use their argumentative writing skills to compose letters in defense of Othello and to write speeches campaigning for racial equality. 

In this unit, pupils explore Shakespeare's 'Othello'. They start by learning about Aristotelian tragedy and how Shakespeare adapted it. They read long extracts from across the play, and consider the presentation of Othello, Iago and Desdemona. Finally, they look at key themes, such as jealousy.

'Othello'

A central character that experiences a tragic downfall.

A tragic hero’s fatal fault or mistake that leads to their catastrophic end.

A pivotal action that changes the protagonist’s fate from secure to vulnerable.

A moment of insight where the tragic hero understands their fate.

A hierarchy that Elizabethans believed God ordained for the earth.

A moment of insight where the tragic hero understands their circumstances.

A disturbance which interferes with the normal functioning of something.

A person who is dissatisfied and complaining.

A visage is a person’s face or an image of something.

A bigot is someone prejudiced and/or antagonistic against a particular group.

Describes someone who gets what they want in cunning, ruthless and immoral ways.

An act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud by oneself.

A phrase expressing an attribute considered characteristic of the person being described.

Having a moderate estimate of one’s merits or importance.

Poetry written in unrhymed but metered lines, usually in iambic pentameter.

The attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects or things.

Evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.

A person who embodies a spirit or quality in the flesh.

Treating others unfairly to gain benefit.

A person or thing that is the direct opposite of something else.

A central character who lacks heroic attributes.

a pivotal action that changes the protagonist’s fate from secure to vulnerable

a setting that symbolises a key idea or theme

a tragic technique in which the significance of a character’s words are clear to the audience but unknown to the character

To be so full of a feeling that it affects everything you do.

When an object or character is placed in a position that symbolises a theme or idea.

A person who does not belong to the wider community or group.

When an image represents a wider idea or theme.

Ready to conform to the authority or will of others.

To be chaste can mean not having any sexual desire or intentions.

Having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot do anything about.

being able to think clearly and not be confused

being in a state where one has false beliefs about reality

a central character that experiences a tragic downfall

a tragic hero’s fatal fault or mistake that leads to their catastrophic end

a moment of insight where the tragic hero understands their fate

a statement that is put forward to be proved

expressing a judgement or opinion about something

to place something in the setting that surrounds it, in order to fully understand it

increasing in effect, quantity or strength gradually

recurring images that help to develop the story’s theme

relating to an early stage in development

spread through something and be present in every part of it

move something from its place or position

an unfair opinion about a person or a group not based on actual evidence

ignorant of cultures, ideas or people outside of one’s own experience

a play dealing with the downfall of a central character

a hierarchy for all living things that Jacobean people believed in

the era in which King James I was on the throne

incorporated deeply inside of a larger thing e.g. context embedded into a paragraph

a cultural, artistic movement covering the 14th to 17th centuries

the act of causing someone to believe something that is not true

a remark intended to be heard by the audience but not other characters

the ability to hear, see or become aware of something

the first sentence of a paragraph; it states the paragraph’s main idea

When a man’s wife has been unfaithful, he has been ‘cuckolded’.

To catalyse means to cause something to happen.

The process of making a man feel less male by taking away his power and confidence.

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'Othello'

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