I studied Othello in year 11 advanced eng and the question i got on my prelim was “Othello is responsible for his own downfall. To what extent does the given statement align with your understanding of characterisation and ideas in the play? In your response make detailed reference to William Shakespeare’s Othello.”
I ended up getting full marks for my essay response on this question, and my main points were:
- “Othello” is a tragedy where Othello is a ‘tragic hero,’ which suggests the downfall of a once great man
- Was his downfall a result of cracking under external pressures or him succumbing to his own weaknesses?
- How Othello’s social status & personality + Iago’s manipulative influence contributed to his downfall
- literary technique wise: early stages of the play Othello’s dialogue is in long uninterrupted verses but towards the ending his dialogue becomes shorter with punctuation stopping his flow; meanwhile Iago’s dialogue is in short simple lines with regular punctuation to create a steady, simple rhythm that’s consistent for his character
hopefully any of this may be helpful to you, i believe that the key things to be aware of that can adapt to any questions are themes of the text + features of the play medium that enhance the storytelling (ie. monologue). good luck with your studies!
