As there are 50 marks in total for Othello, it's important to know how to answer the extract question (section A) so you can gain the best marks. Below is a small checklist.
- Significance is not importance
- The question is asking “why is the extract significantly tragic and how does it contribute to the tragedy as a whole and to the tragic events?”
What To
Talk About:
- Presentation of characters
- Dialogue: How they speak
- Appearance: Physical appearance
- Actions/attitudes/behaviour: What they do and how
- Relationships: How they behave with others
- Thoughts: How they speak – more a AO2 point.
- Dramatic Setting
- Country – external. Venice, Cyprus, street
- Internal setting: Bedchamber
- Time of day – day or night?
- Other relevant aspects
- Tragic flaw present
- Structure of a tragedy – how does this contribute to the tragedy e.g exciting force leading to the climax.
- Context – within the text. Not just the social, historical context but the context of tragedy.
Key Terms:
- External pressure, ordered society, sympathy, metaphor, imagery, antagonist, protagonist, tragedy, blank verse, dramatic irony, foreshadowing, renaissance, tragic genre and chaos/disorder.