othello literary devices essay

Introduction

Welcome to the vibrant world of William Shakespeare’s “Othello”! 🎭✨ This timeless tragedy , penned by one of the most illustrious playwrights in history, delves deep into the themes of jealousy, love, betrayal, and racism, resonating with audiences centuries after its first performance in the early 17th century. Set against the backdrop of Venice and Cyprus during the turbulent times of the Ottoman-Venetian wars, “Othello” showcases Shakespeare’s unparalleled ability to explore the human condition through its complex characters and intricate plotlines.

William Shakespeare, a literary genius whose works have transcended time and culture, wrote “Othello” amidst the peak of his career. Often classified as one of his four great tragedies alongside “Hamlet,” “King Lear,” and “Macbeth,” this play has continued to captivate audiences and readers with its rich language, compelling characters, and exploration of universal themes. The genre of tragedy in Shakespeare’s hands becomes a mirror reflecting the very essence of humanity, making “Othello” a must-read masterpiece for those who seek to understand the depths of love, the poison of jealousy, and the tragedy of loss. 🌟

Now, let’s dive into the heart of this tragic tale, exploring its intricate plot, complex characters, and the timeless themes and symbols that make “Othello” a cornerstone of English literature.

Plot Summary

“Othello” unfolds its tragic story through a series of pivotal events, each contributing to the dramatic arc of love, jealousy, betrayal, and redemption. Here’s how the story progresses:

Exposition — Othello, a Moor and a highly respected general in the Venetian army, secretly marries Desdemona, the daughter of a Venetian senator, Brabantio. Iago, Othello’s ensign, harbors resentment against Othello for promoting Cassio over him and vows revenge.

Rising Action — Iago cunningly begins to plant the seeds of jealousy in Othello’s mind, suggesting that Desdemona has been unfaithful with Cassio. Iago’s manipulations involve the use of a handkerchief, a gift from Othello to Desdemona, which Iago ensures ends up in Cassio’s possession.

Climax — Consumed by jealousy and convinced of Desdemona’s infidelity, Othello makes the tragic decision to kill her. The climax reaches its peak in the harrowing scene where Othello smothers Desdemona in their bed.

Falling Action — After Desdemona’s death, the truth begins to unravel. Emilia, Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s maid, reveals Iago’s deceitful actions. Othello, realizing his grave mistake, is overwhelmed by guilt.

Resolution — In the play’s devastating conclusion, Othello takes his own life after expressing his remorse. Iago is arrested and taken away for torture and execution, leaving the characters and audience to ponder the tragic consequences of jealousy and manipulation.

Throughout the play, Shakespeare masterfully uses these events to explore themes of trust, honor, and the destructive power of jealousy, crafting a narrative that remains powerful and relevant centuries after it was written.

Character Analysis

In “Othello,” Shakespeare presents a compelling cast of characters, each with distinct personalities, motivations, and arcs that drive the story forward. Here’s a deep dive into the main characters:

• Othello — A Moorish general in the Venetian army, Othello is noble, dignified, and highly respected, yet naively susceptible to jealousy. His love for Desdemona is deep, but his trust is easily manipulated, leading to his tragic downfall.
• Desdemona — The virtuous and loving wife of Othello, Desdemona is strong-willed and assertive, yet her innocence and purity make her a target for Iago’s cruel machinations. Her unwavering love for Othello ultimately leads to her tragic death.
• Iago — Othello’s ensign and the play’s antagonist , Iago is cunning, deceitful, and driven by a deep-seated jealousy and hate. His manipulation of Othello and others is a testament to his psychological acumen and evil nature, making him one of Shakespeare’s most memorable villains.
• Cassio — A young and inexperienced soldier, Cassio is Othello’s loyal lieutenant. His good looks and charm make him an easy target for Iago’s plot, despite his essentially honorable nature.
• Emilia — Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s maid, Emilia provides a cynical counterpoint to Desdemona’s innocence. Her eventual realization and exposition of Iago’s deceit play a crucial role in the play’s resolution .

Here’s a summary of the character analysis in table format:

Through these characters, Shakespeare explores themes of love, jealousy, betrayal, and redemption, showcasing the complexity of human emotions and the tragic consequences of their actions.

Themes and Symbols

“Othello” is rich with themes and symbols that contribute to its enduring appeal and complexity. Let’s explore some of the most significant ones:

• Jealousy — Often referred to as the “green-eyed monster,” jealousy is the central theme that drives the plot and leads to the tragedy of Othello. It is depicted as a destructive force that corrupts Othello, transforming love into hate and trust into suspicion.
• Race and Otherness — Othello’s identity as a Moor in a predominantly white Venetian society is a critical aspect of the play. His racial otherness is both a source of fascination and discrimination, contributing to his vulnerability and the tragedy that unfolds.
• Manipulation and Deceit — Iago’s manipulation of characters and orchestration of events highlight the theme of deceit. His ability to deceive Othello and others underscores the ease with which truth can be distorted, leading to catastrophic consequences.
• Love and Loyalty — The play examines various forms of love and loyalty, from the passionate love between Othello and Desdemona to the twisted loyalty Iago demands from those he manipulates. These themes are tested, twisted, and ultimately destroyed in the course of the play.
• Honor and Reputation — Many characters in “Othello” are concerned with maintaining their honor and reputation. Othello’s fear of losing his honor and Desdemona’s reputation being tarnished by accusations of infidelity play crucial roles in the tragic outcome.
• The Handkerchief — Given to Desdemona by Othello, the handkerchief is a potent symbol of love, fidelity, and mistrust. Its journey through the play symbolizes the destruction of trust and the manipulation of truth.
• Animals — Iago frequently uses animal imagery to insult and degrade others, symbolizing the dehumanization of characters and the bestial nature of jealousy and betrayal.
• Light and Darkness — These elemental symbols are used to contrast goodness and innocence with evil and deceit. Othello’s descent into jealousy and madness is often accompanied by references to darkness, symbolizing his loss of moral clarity.

Through these themes and symbols, Shakespeare crafts a complex narrative that explores the depths of human emotion and the tragic consequences of our actions. “Othello” remains a powerful study of the human psyche, as relevant today as it was in Shakespeare’s time.

Style and Tone

William Shakespeare’s “Othello” showcases the author’s mastery in employing a diverse range of stylistic features and tones that significantly contribute to the play’s emotional depth and dramatic intensity. Let’s delve into some of these aspects:

• Dramatic Dialogue and Soliloquies — Shakespeare’s use of dialogue and soliloquies in “Othello” allows for deep character exploration and plot development. Soliloquies, in particular, offer insight into the characters’ inner thoughts and motivations, especially Iago’s manipulative schemes and Othello’s growing jealousy.
• Iambic Pentameter and Blank Verse — The play is predominantly written in iambic pentameter, a rhythm that mimics natural speech while providing a musical quality. This meter, used in blank verse (unrhymed lines), lends a noble, elevated tone to the dialogue , suitable for the tragic unfolding of events.
• Imagery and Symbolism — Vivid imagery and symbolism are used to enhance themes and emotions. For instance, animal imagery is often employed by Iago to debase others and invoke the baseness of human nature. The handkerchief, as a symbol of Othello and Desdemona’s love, becomes a pivotal plot device that encapsulates themes of jealousy and betrayal.
• Contrasts and Irony — Shakespeare masterfully uses contrasts (such as light vs. darkness, honesty vs. deceit) and irony to enrich the narrative . Dramatic irony, where the audience knows more than the characters, heightens the tension and tragedy , particularly in the unfolding of Iago’s deceit.
• Language and Diction — The play’s language ranges from the eloquent and poetic to the coarse and crude, reflecting the characters’ status, intentions, and emotions. Othello’s eloquent speeches contrast with Iago’s coarse and manipulative language, highlighting their differing moral compasses and psychological complexities.

These stylistic elements and shifts in tone not only define the characters and advance the plot but also immerse the audience in the emotional landscapes of the play. Shakespeare’s skillful manipulation of these tools contributes to “Othello’s” lasting impact as a profound exploration of love, jealousy, and betrayal.

Literary Devices used in Othello

William Shakespeare’s “Othello” is a masterpiece rich with literary devices that enhance its dramatic effect and deepen its emotional impact. Here are the top 10 literary devices used in the play:

• Metaphor — Shakespeare frequently uses metaphors to convey complex emotions and themes. For example, jealousy is described as a “green-eyed monster,” vividly illustrating its destructive nature.
• Simile — Similes in “Othello” help readers visualize characters’ feelings and actions. Iago’s comparison of himself to “Janus,” the two-faced god, highlights his duplicitous nature.
• Irony — Dramatic irony is prevalent, with the audience often knowing more than the characters. This is particularly evident in Iago’s manipulation, where his true intentions are known to the audience but hidden from Othello.
• Symbolism — The handkerchief symbolizes Othello’s love for Desdemona and becomes a key element in the plot’s development, representing trust and betrayal.
• Imagery — Shakespeare uses imagery to evoke sensory experiences and emotions. Descriptions of war, animals, and the sea create vivid pictures that enhance the narrative’s impact.
• Allusion — References to classical and biblical texts enrich the text, adding layers of meaning. Iago’s allusions to biblical figures and myths underscore his manipulation and deceit.
• Foreshadowing — Early hints of upcoming events prepare the audience for the tragedy . Iago’s early claims of dishonesty foreshadow his manipulative actions throughout the play.
• Personification — Inanimate objects and abstract concepts are given human qualities, as seen when jealousy is portrayed as a monster, making abstract emotions more tangible.
• Hyperbole — Exaggeration is used to emphasize characters’ emotional states or the significance of events, such as Othello’s extreme reactions to jealousy.
• Repetition — Repetition reinforces themes and motifs, such as the repeated references to honesty and the handkerchief, emphasizing their importance in the narrative .

These literary devices are skillfully woven into the fabric of “Othello,” enhancing its exploration of themes such as jealousy, love, and betrayal, and showcasing Shakespeare’s mastery of language and storytelling.

Literary Devices Examples

Let’s delve into examples and explanations for each of the top 10 literary devices used in “Othello” by William Shakespeare, presented in a table format for clarity.

Foreshadowing

Personification.

These examples demonstrate Shakespeare’s adept use of literary devices in “Othello” to enrich the narrative , deepen the thematic exploration, and enhance the dramatic effect of the play.

Othello – FAQs

What is the main theme of Othello? The main theme of “Othello” is jealousy, often referred to as the “green-eyed monster.” This theme is explored through the tragic downfall of Othello, who becomes consumed by jealousy over his wife Desdemona’s supposed infidelity, leading to catastrophic consequences.

Who is Iago and why does he betray Othello? Iago is Othello’s ensign and the play’s primary antagonist . He betrays Othello due to a combination of reasons: resentment over being passed over for promotion in favor of Cassio, jealousy of Othello’s success and happiness, and unfounded suspicions that Othello has been involved with his wife, Emilia. Iago’s actions are driven by his manipulative nature and deep-seated malice.

How does Desdemona’s handkerchief contribute to the plot? Desdemona’s handkerchief, a gift from Othello, plays a crucial role in the plot. It symbolizes their love and trust. Iago manipulates its significance by ensuring it falls into Cassio’s hands, leading Othello to believe in Desdemona’s infidelity. The handkerchief’s journey underscores the themes of jealousy and betrayal.

What is the significance of the setting in Othello? The play is set in Venice and Cyprus, during the late sixteenth century. Venice represents a sophisticated city known for its legal system and order, contrasting with the turbulent, war-torn setting of Cyprus. This transition from Venice to Cyprus mirrors the play’s shift from a story about political and personal harmony to one of chaos and tragedy , highlighting the themes of conflict , race, and isolation.

How does Othello’s identity as a Moor affect the play? Othello’s identity as a Moor in predominantly white Venetian society is central to the play. It affects his relationships, social standing, and self-perception, making him vulnerable to manipulation and doubt. His otherness is exploited by Iago and contributes to Othello’s tragic fall, exploring themes of racism, identity, and the impact of societal prejudice.

What is the role of women in Othello? Women in “Othello” are portrayed in varied ways but are central to the unfolding drama . Desdemona is depicted as virtuous and loyal, yet her assertiveness and independence challenge societal norms. Emilia provides a more cynical view of marriage and gender roles, while Bianca’s character explores themes of love and jealousy from a different perspective . Collectively, they highlight the complexities of gender roles and the limitations placed on women in a patriarchal society.

This quiz is designed to test your comprehension of key plot points, character motivations, and themes in “Othello” by William Shakespeare. Each question focuses on a significant aspect of the play, encouraging a deeper understanding of its complexities.

Identify the literary devices used in the following paragraph from “Othello”:

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on; that cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not amiss; But, oh, what damned minutes tells he o’er Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves!”

• Metaphor : The “green-eyed monster” metaphor vividly represents jealousy as a destructive and irrational force.
• Personification : Jealousy is personified as a monster that mocks its victims, enhancing the emotion’s malicious and consuming nature.
• Allusion : The reference to a “cuckold” alludes to the common Renaissance theme of a husband betrayed by his wife, deepening the context of jealousy and mistrust.
• Oxymoron : The phrase “dotes, yet doubts” combines contradictory terms to emphasize the confusing agony of loving someone while fearing their infidelity.
• Imagery : The vivid imagery of being devoured by one’s own doubts (“The meat it feeds on”) effectively conveys the self-destructive aspect of jealousy.

This exercise aims to highlight the complexity of Shakespeare’s language and his skillful use of literary devices to enrich the text’s emotional and thematic depth.

Othello Quotes

Every masterpiece or a literary piece has unique quotations expressing universal themes . These quotes are often quoted by all and sundry in ordinary conversation and specific writings, speeches and addresses. In Shakespeare’s literary works many phrases and sentences have achieved universality for their honesty. Some of the most popular quotations from Shakespeare’s Othello have been explained below.

Quotes in Othello

“But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.”

(Act 1 Scene 1)

These are the words of Iago in the first scene. Iago is showing his true deceptive nature, saying he would never expose his true emotions. ‘Wearing one’s heart upon one’s sleeve’ means to be honest at all times. However, Iago doesn’t do that because he knows, anyone can easily cause him harm. He pretends to stay loyal to Othello and deceives him as he doesn’t believe that he is Othello’s servant. The irony is that he is warning Roderigo that his not a good person and can deceive him as well.

“Even now , now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe.”

Iago speaks these lines when he visits Brabantio to inform him that his daughter Desdemona has secretly married Othello. He uses a racial slur to provoke the jealousy and racial prejudice of Brabantio against Othello. Othello is a Moorish general in the Venetian army, perhaps from North Africa . Hence in those days, the discrimination was strong against the black people.  Iago tells Brabantio that Othello is the “black ram” is having sexual relations with his daughter “white ewe.” It shows that Iago is using racial discrimination to create opinion against Othello to cause his downfall.

“She wished she had not heard it, yet she wished That heaven had made her such a man.”

(Act 1 Scene 3)

These are the words of Othello in the third scene when he appears before the duke after he is accused of witchcraft to woo Desdemona. He further explains how Desdemona has fallen in love with him because of his bravery and adventurous nature. This quote also means that Othello believes that Desdemona had wished to God to find a man like Othello for her, a man of great virtues .

“My noble father, I do perceive here a divided duty. To you I am bound for life and education: My life and education both do learn me How to respect you. You are the lord of duty, i am hitherto your daughter.”

Desdemona speaks these words to her father when he comes to warn about her marriage. Here, she maintains the love and respect she holds for him and also defends Othello. True to her heart, she tells her father that she owes him a lot on account of her life and education. However, as she is now Othello’s wife, she is loyal to him. This shows her love for Othello. This quote also means that parents are responsible for children’s education while they are young. Once a child is an adult, they must treat them like one and let them take their own decision.

“Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.”

(Act 1 scene 3)

Iago speaks these words in the third scene. Being the chief manipulator and conspirator, he rejects the idea that the character of a person shows his personality. He instead says that it can be molded into any form through training and willpower. The quote also expresses the inner meaning of free will, as Iago sows the seeds of doubts in Othello and tells that if we have willpower, we can achieve anything.

“Put money in thy purse.”

These are the words of Iago when he meets Roderigo, the self-proclaimed lover of Desdemona. He asks Roderigo to pay him more money so that he could go to Cyprus to make Desdemona hate Othello and love Roderigo. Despite knowing Iago’s cunning nature of minting money, Roderigo is ready to sell his land to pay him more money.

“If after every tempest come such calms, May the winds blow till they have wakened death!”

(Act 2 Scene 1)

These are the loving words of Othello. He is addressing Desdemona as they are sailing through the sea. He says that if there is a calm after every storm, then let the waves bring more stormy weather until he dies. It is because he is with his beloved , Desdemona, and death is very dear to him in her companionship.

“Reputation, reputation, reputation! O, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial.”

(Act 2 Scene 3)

Cassio utters these words when he is involved in a brawl with Roderigo. He finds himself demoted. Here he meets Iago and tells him that he has lost his reputation due to this brawl. It is the reputation that makes a person a good main, or else he is just an animal without reputation. In other words, he means that a person becomes a great one with the fame and the opposite without reputation. In fact, following his demotion, he feels that his reputation has declined.

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy: It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.”

(Act 3 Scene 3)

Iago speaks these lines to Cassio when he is leaving Desdemona’s home. Iago senses that he has not met Othello. Therefore, it is a golden opportunity that he can use jealousy of Othello against Cassio. This will lead Othello to doubt Desdemona for cheating. Iago says that this jealousy is a monster that grows bigger if it is continuously fed with more doubts. It also means that jealousy increases if more doubt is expressed on the existing issue. Here the actual issue is the supposed affair of Cassio with Desdemona.

“I kissed thee ere I killed thee: no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.”

(Act 5 scene 2)

These are the last words of Othello after killing Desdemona. He says that he has kissed before killing her. Now, he is dying as he kisses her. Perhaps he also believes that if he had not loved her and kissed her, she would not have been killed. In other words, it proves that Othello’s final kiss was a kiss of death for Desdemona just before he smothers her with a pillow.

Related posts:

• Twelfth Night Quotes
• Macbeth Quotes
• Hamlet Quotes
• 1984 Quotes
• Frankenstein Quotes
• Oedipus Rex Quotes
• Slaughterhouse-Five Quotes
• Catch-22 Quotes
• Antigone Quotes
• Inferno Quotes
• Fahrenheit 451 Quotes
• Into the Wild Quotes
• The Alchemist Quotes
• Night Quotes
• Life of Pi Quotes
• The Invisible Man Quotes
• The Tempest Quotes
• The Iliad Quotes
• The Jungle Quotes
• Siddhartha Quotes
• The Stranger Quotes
• The Aeneid Quotes
• Dracula Quotes
• Romeo and Juliet Quotes
• Pride and Prejudice Quotes
• To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes
• The Great Gatsby Quotes
• The Scarlet Letter Quotes
• Death of a Salesman Quotes
• Things Fall Apart Quotes
• The Things They Carried Quotes
• A Tale of Two Cities Quotes
• Jane Eyre Quotes
• The Grapes of Wrath Quotes
• Crime and Punishment Quotes
• Their Eyes Were Watching God Quotes
• Wuthering Heights Quotes
• In Cold Blood Quotes
• The Kite Runner Quotes
• The Glass Castle Quotes
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Quotes
• 10 Examples of Irony in Shakespeare
• The Crucible Quotes
• The Awakening Quotes
• The Metamorphosis Quotes
• Odyssey Quotes
• Beloved Quotes
• Lord of the Flies Quotes
• Alice in the Wonderland Quotes
• Animal Farm Quotes
• Great Expectations Quotes
• Heart of Darkness Quotes
• A Doll’s House Quotes
• Julius Caesar Quotes
• King Lear Quotes
• 10 Memorable Uses of Apostrophe by Shakespeare
• Brevity is the Soul of Wit
• Et Tu, Brute?
• The Fault, Dear Brutus
• To Thine Own Self Be True
• Frailty, Thy Name is Woman
• Fair is Foul, Foul is Fair
• A Pound of Flesh
• A Rose by any Other Name
• Alas, Poor Yorick!
• My Kingdom for a Horse
• Once More unto the Breach
• Lady Doth Protest too Much
• To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
• Hamlet Act-I, Scene-I Study Guide
• Heavy is The Head That Wears The Crown
• Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
• Star-crossed Lovers
• The Quality of Mercy is Not Strain’d
• That Way Madness Lies
• The Winter of Our Discontent
• Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
• Hamlet Act-I, Scene-II Study Guide
• Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark
• Hamlet Act-I, Scene-III Study Guide
• Romeo and Juliet Allusion
• Romeo and Juliet Characters
• Romeo and Juliet Dramatic Irony
• Romeo and Juliet Foreshadowing
• Romeo and Juliet Oxymoron
• Romeo and Juliet Metaphor
• Romeo and Juliet Similes
• Romeo and Juliet Soliloquy
• Romeo and Juliet Themes
• Macbeth Themes
• Macbeth Characters
• Macbeth Motifs
• Hamlet Symbolism
• Hamlet Characters
• Hamlet Themes
• Twelfth Night Characters
• Twelfth Night Themes

Post navigation

by William Shakespeare

Othello literary elements, setting and context.

The play is set in Venice during the Ottoman-Venetian War (sixteenth century)

Narrator and Point of View

The the genre of the text (drama) precludes it from having a discernible narrator, many consider Iago's to the be the primary point of view expressed throughout the play.

Tone and Mood

The tone of the play is paranoid and anxious. The mood of the play is foreboding and doomed.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist of the play is Othello. The antagonist of the play is Iago.

Major Conflict

The major conflict in the play is that Iago is secretly plotting to destroy Othello's marriage, reputation, and life, while Othello remains oblivious and considers Iago a trusted confidant.

The climax of the play occurs when Othello finally acts on his jealousy and murders his wife, Desdemona. Only after this moment does Othello realize he was manipulated by Iago and in response takes his own life.

Foreshadowing

There are many elements of foreshadowing throughout the play, often denoted through specific imagery. For example, the blood on the marriage sheets foreshadows Desdemona's eventual murder at the hands of her husband.

Understatement

In Act 3, Iago cautions Othello not to exaggerate the information he has received or let it lead him to rash decisions. However, Iago is at this point convinced that Othello has already become inflamed by what he has told him, so his observation that Othello has been only "a little" perturbed is a gross understatement (3.3).

The play makes frequent allusions to antiquity, especially the mythological histories of Ancient Greece and Rome. These allusions frequently compare Othello or other characters to gods and other mythological figures, attaching them to particular morals or lessons to be learned.

The play is famous for its use of color and color imagery throughout. The colors red, white, green, and black appear frequently throughout the play, each signifying a major element of Othello's character or conflict he faces.

In many ways, Othello himself is a paradox, as he is both entirely guilty of murdering Desdemona and ruining his life while at the same time also being a victim of Iago's manipulations. His self-sacrifice at the end of the play suggests one way of reckoning with this paradoxical nature, as the only way to right his wrongs is to eliminate the version of himself that committed them.

Parallelism

Iago uses parallelism in his speech in order to make himself appear more convincing. For example, in Act One, Iago tells Brabantio, "Even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe" (1.1). The repetition of the word "now" adds urgency to Iago's words and makes him seem trustworthy and concerned for Desdemona's safety as he speaks to her father.

Personification

Iago uses personification often in the play, as he is a skilled rhetorician who knows how to manipulate Othello with his speech. In Act One, Iago suggests that time has a womb, telling Roderigo to be patient because "There are many events in the womb of time which will be delivered" (1.1). By comparing time to a woman with a womb, Iago highlights both the fated nature of what is to come (babies are eventually born) as well as the mystery associated with those unknowns in the present.

Use of Dramatic Devices

The central dramatic device operative in Othello is dramatic irony. Beginning in Act One, audiences become privy to Iago's plan to destroy Othello, a plan to which Othello himself remains oblivious until the very last scene of the play. This dramatic irony carries throughout the play as audiences are aware of the motivation behind Iago's words while Othello is blinded by his jealousy, mistrust of women, and crippling insecurity.

Othello Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Othello is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

what attributers of the green eyed monster jealousy are made painful apparent as the scene progresses

Jealousy is the green-eyed monster in this scene. In Act 3 scene 3 Othello pretty much displays his jealousy,

desdemonas speech here confirms the masterly nature of iagos plot with what words does she assure cassio that she will do her best to get him reinstated

What is your question here?

why does othello ignore the cries for help?

Othello is hurdling towards self-destruction: sadly, by the deaths of people closest to him. Like tragic heroes such as Macbeth, Othello's senses are dull to tragedy and screams of terror. Roderigo and Cassio fight, and both are injured; Othello...

Study Guide for Othello

Othello study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Othello
• Othello Summary
• Othello Video
• Character List

Essays for Othello

Othello essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare.

• Iago and Edmund: The Silence and Complexity of Evil
• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Inevitability and the Nature of Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Witchy Women: Female Magic and Otherness in Western Literature
• Racism in Othello

Lesson Plan for Othello

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Othello
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Othello Bibliography

E-Text of Othello

Othello e-text contains the full text of Othello by William Shakespeare.

• List of Characters

Wikipedia Entries for Othello

• Introduction
• Date and sources
• Themes and critical approaches

• Shakespeare Learning Zone Home
• As You Like It
• The Comedy of Errors
• Julius Caesar
• Measure for Measure
• The Merchant of Venice
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Much Ado about Nothing
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Taming of The Shrew
• The Tempest
• Twelfth Night
• Your Feedback
• Education Home
• What’s on at the RSC

Main Navigation

Interrogate.

To help you look at any scene in Othello and interrogate it, it’s important to ask questions about how it's written and why.

Shakespeare’s plays are driven by their characters and every choice that’s made about words, structure and rhythm tells you something about the person, their relationships or their mood in that moment. You should always try and ask yourself, like actors do, why is the character saying what they are saying or doing what they are doing? What is their motive?

Just like detectives, we need to look for clues to help us answer those questions each time, and here you can find some interrogation techniques we use to analyse text, introduced by the actors that use them. 

Analysing Othello’s Language

The play is about Othello’s downfall from a highly respected army general to a man driven mad by jealousy because of the words and actions of Iago. Othello has several monologues in the play that help us to understand more about his emotional journey.

In this video, Hugh Quarshie explains who he thinks Othello is and why he is so affected by the thought of Desdemona betraying him.

In the next video, Mark Quartley shares some of the things he looks for to help him understand how a character is feeling in a monologue. The example he is using is from The Tempest, but you can look for the same clues in Othello.

What can you find by looking at the same things in Othello's speeches?

When a character is delivering a soliloquy, they are usually open and honest in what they say. When a character has a monologue where other characters are on stage, they may have reasons not to be completely open in what they say.

Read Othello’s speech from the beginning of Act 5 Scene 2. In this speech, Othello is talking to the audience but also to Desdemona who is asleep. See if you can notice the things Mark tells us to look out for:

• Word choice

Questions to consider

• What are the key images that stand out for you in this speech? What visual pictures do they suggest in your mind and how does that help you imagine the mood of this moment in the play?
• How regular is the rhythm in this speech? Can you find lines in the speech where the normal rhythm is disturbed? What might those disturbances suggest about how Othello feels?
• What do you notice about the verbs that Othello uses in this speech?
• Can you find examples of alliteration and how do you think that alliteration affects the mood of the speech?

Using Mark’s strategies, we’ve started to look at what Othello's language in this monologue tells us about him at this moment in Act 5 Scene 2. See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what this speech reveals about the character at this point in the play.

Explanation

Evidence Select an option

Explanation Click text to edit

Evidence Click text to edit

Point Click text to edit

What else can I do to explore Othello’s language?

• How do the different sentence lengths affect the metre or rhythm? How does this suggest the character is feeling?
• Are there sounds in the speech that give you a sense of Othello's state of mind? Why do you think he repeats phrases like ‘it is the cause’, ‘put out the light’, ‘one more’?
• What do you notice if you emphasise the last word of each line? What do you notice if you read just the first word of each line?
• Try applying these same strategies to the other monologues and soliloquies Othello has in the play. Consider how Othello’s language changes in different moments in the play and what this might reflect about how he feels in those moments.
• Take a look at the scene that follows on from this soliloquy. You can find this in the Language Investigate section for Desdemona's death where there is also the option to watch the scene being performed.

Analysing the Imagery

As with all of Shakespeare’s plays, there are lots of types of imagery used in Othello. It’s a great idea to keep a list of the key quotes and imagery used in each act.

Here are three types of imagery that come up a lot in Othello:

Animal Imagery

• Iago uses a lot of animal imagery to describe Othello. In Act 1 Scene 1, he calls him a ‘Barbary horse’ and an ‘old black ram’, using these images to make Desdemona’s father angry and telling him that Othello and Desdemona ‘are making the beast with two backs’. This continues in Iago’s soliloquies. In Act 1 Scene 3, for example, he says Othello will be easily led ‘as asses are’.
• How many examples of animal imagery can you find in the play and what do they reveal about the character who uses them?

Magical Imagery

• ‘Witchcraft’ is referred to first in Act 1, when Brabantio accuses Othello of bewitching Desdemona. Later in the play, Othello himself uses similar language to describe the effect Desdemona has on him. In Act 3 Scene 3, when Othello talks about the handkerchief he gave to Desdemona, he says a ‘charmer’ gave it to his mother and ‘she told her, while she kept it / ‘Twould make her amiable and subdue my father’.
• How many examples of magical imagery can you find in the play and what do they reveal about the character who uses them?

Religious Imagery

• The ideas of sin and forgiveness are really important in Othello and this language is tied into images of light and dark, and white and black. Desdemona, for example, is described as ‘fair’ and ‘heavenly’ with Emilia telling Othello ‘O, the more angel she, and you the blacker devil!’, when he admits to killing his wife.
• Take a closer look at the extract from Act 5 Scene 2 and explore how religious language is used in Desdemona’s final moments in the play. Why do you think Shakespeare uses these references so much in the last scene? Why is the light and dark imagery so important in the rest of the play?

Thinking about Act 5 Scene 2, we’ve started to look at what the religious imagery and word choices in the scene tells us about Othello and Desdemona. This scene uses religious language rather than images. See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what this language shows about their relationship at this point in the play.

Analysing the Themes

As with all of Shakespeare’s plays, there are lots of themes that appear in Othello. It’s a great idea to keep a list of key quotes and themes in each act.

Here are three themes that can be seen in Othello and are useful to look out for:

Theme of outsiders

• Lots of characters in Othello can be considered ‘outsiders’. Othello is a ‘Moor’ and is different to other characters; Desdemona is also an outsider in the military world of Cyprus; Roderigo has followed the army and is not meant to be there; and Bianca can also be considered an outsider when compared to the conventional behaviour of the other women in the play.
• See how many references you can find to Othello’s background and comments that point out he is a ‘Moor’ or different. Can these be split into positive and negative comments? In which situations is Othello’s nature as an ‘outsider’ seen as a positive and by whom? When is it negative?

Theme of jealousy

• Jealousy drives both Iago and Othello throughout the play. Iago wants revenge on Othello because he is jealous of Cassio’s promotion and jealous of Othello’s suspected relationship with his wife. He then fuels Othello’s own jealousy by leading him to believe that Desdemona and Cassio are in a relationship. Bianca is also driven to jealousy when she believes Cassio has given her a handkerchief from another woman.
• See how many references to jealousy you can find in the play. Look particularly at Act 3 Scene 3, where Iago warns Othello to ‘beware, my Lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on’. Why does Iago personify jealousy as a monster? What other images are used and how does Iago succeed in making Othello so jealous that he is willing to kill his own wife?

Theme of betrayal

• Several characters are betrayed by those they trust. Othello is betrayed by ‘honest’ Iago, Desdemona by her husband, Emilia by Iago, Roderigo by Iago and Cassio by Iago.
• Which scenes are most significant for each of these characters and the betrayals they suffer? Can you identify the moments in which each character realises they have been betrayed and how they each react differently? What allows the characters that betray them to do so?

Analysing Iago’s Language

Iago has 31% of the lines in Othello: he has the biggest part, and also drives the plot forward. He has several soliloquies and each of them tells you a lot about his character. In this video, RSC actor Paapa Essiedu shares what he looks for in a soliloquy, that helps him understand how a character is feeling. The example he is using is from Hamlet, but you can look for the same clues in Iago and Othello’s soliloquies.

What can you find by looking at the same things in Othello?

Shakespeare gives characters soliloquies for lots of different reasons. Primarily, soliloquies allow characters to be open and honest with the audience. Take a look at Lucian Msamati performing Iago’s Act 1 Scene 3 soliloquy in the 2015 production. As you watch, see if you can notice the things Paapa tells us to look out for:

• Punctuation
• Line Endings

What can we learn about Iago from this soliloquy? Ask yourself:

• Do the sounds give you a sense of his emotion or lack of it?
• Which ones stand out?
• Are there lines or parts of the speech that stand out because of how they sound?

If you are able to read along you will also notice the punctuation and where each line ends. This soliloquy is written in verse, like a poem. Ask yourself:

• Does the punctuation in the text match with Lucian’s choices? Think about where the character is breathing and pausing; how does this make him come across?
• Does Lucian emphasise the last word of each line in his performance?
• If you wrote down all those line-ending words, what would you think the soliloquy was about? Does that feel right?

Using Paapa’s strategies, we’ve started to look at what Iago's language tells us about him in this Act 1 Scene 3 soliloquy. See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what this speech reveals about the character at this point in the play.

What else can I do to explore Iago’s language?

• Try applying these same strategies to all of Iago’s soliloquies to reveal any changes in his language and behaviour. A soliloquy shows you a character’s true thoughts and a lot can be learnt about Iago from looking at these moments of truth. How much of his plot against Othello is in place from the start and how much does he make up as he goes along? What does this show you?
• Take a look at the things he says immediately before and after his soliloquies. Shakespeare often creates comparisons to show you something.
• Keep a record of the images Iago uses in his language. Iago uses animal imagery a lot. Why might this be? Notice at what points Othello also starts to use the animal imagery. Find out more by looking at the Analysing the Imagery section.

Teacher Notes

The following activity focuses on Othello’s speeches from the beginning and end of the play, allowing students the opportunity to explore changes in his character and language.

Othello’s Speeches (2015)

The activity can be found on pages 6 and 7 and takes approximately 20 minutes.

You can also print the PEE grids from each of the sections on this page to help students explore the language of central characters and some of the imagery used in more detail.

We need your help

We’d love to know what you think about the Shakespeare Learning Zone. Help us by taking a short survey – it will only take a few minutes and will help us make the Shakespeare Learning Zone even better for everyone.

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Plays — Othello

Essays on Othello

🎭💔✍️ othello essay: dive into the drama.

Othello, the magnificent Shakespearean tragedy, is like a rollercoaster ride of emotions! 😱💔 Exploring this timeless masterpiece in an essay can unlock a world of insights and ignite your imagination 🔥. By delving into the depths of Othello's themes, characters, and plot twists, you can unravel the complexities of human nature and society. It's an opportunity to showcase your analytical skills and showcase your love for literature. So, buckle up and embark on an Othello essay adventure!

Othello Essay Topics 📝

Othello argumentative essay 🤔💬.

An argumentative essay on Othello requires you to take a stance and defend it with solid evidence from the play. Some intriguing topics to consider:

• Is Othello a victim of racism or his own insecurities?
• Did Iago's evil nature drive Othello to his tragic downfall?
• Should Desdemona be held responsible for her fate?

Othello Cause and Effect Essay 🌪️🤯

In a cause and effect essay, you'll explore the ripple effects of certain actions or events in Othello. Here are some captivating topics to ponder:

• The consequences of Iago's manipulation on Othello's relationships.
• How jealousy leads to destruction in Othello's world.
• The impact of societal norms on Othello's tragic fate.

Othello Opinion Essay 🗣️😮

Opinion essays allow you to express your personal viewpoint on specific aspects of Othello. Here are some thought-provoking topics to spark your imagination:

• Is Othello's jealousy justified or exaggerated?
• Should Othello have trusted Desdemona despite the rumors?
• What role does gender play in the tragedy of Othello?

Othello Informative Essay 📚📖

Informative essays aim to educate readers about various aspects of Othello. Here are some enlightening topics to enlighten your audience:

• The historical context of Othello: Shakespeare's portrayal of race and society.
• The symbolism of the handkerchief in Othello and its significance.
• The evolution of Othello's character throughout the play.

Othello Essay Example 📑

Othello thesis statement examples 📜💡.

Here are a few thesis statement examples to inspire your Othello essay:

• Thesis: Othello's tragic downfall is a result of his vulnerability to manipulation by Iago due to his insecurities about his race and age.
• Thesis: The handkerchief symbolizes trust, fidelity, and betrayal in Othello, highlighting the fragility of relationships.
• Thesis: Othello's jealousy is fueled by societal expectations and gender roles, leading to the tragedy that unfolds.

Othello Essay Introduction Examples 🌟

Here are some introduction paragraph examples for your Othello essay:

• Introduction: Othello, a play filled with love, deception, and revenge...
• Introduction: In the realm of Shakespearean tragedies, Othello stands as a poignant exploration of love, jealousy, and the destructive power of manipulation. As we venture into the depths of this timeless masterpiece, we are transported to a world where trust is fragile, and motives are concealed. Othello's journey, from a celebrated Moorish general to a tragic figure consumed by jealousy, invites us to contemplate the complexities of human emotion and the consequences of unchecked suspicion.
• Introduction: Othello, the Moor of Venice, is a character whose name echoes through the annals of literary history. In our exploration of Othello's tragic tale, we confront issues of race, trust, and the corrosive force of jealousy. As we delve into this gripping narrative, we are challenged to dissect the motives of its characters and the underlying themes that continue to resonate in today's society.

Othello Essay Conclusion Examples 🔚📝

Here are some conclusion paragraph examples for your Othello essay:

• Conclusion: As we bid farewell to the tragic world of Othello, we are left with a profound exploration of human nature, jealousy, and the consequences of deceit. Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece continues to captivate and haunt our hearts, reminding us of the enduring power of storytelling.
• Conclusion: In the final act of Othello, we witness the devastating aftermath of jealousy and manipulation. The tragic downfall of Othello, Desdemona, and others serves as a cautionary tale, reminding us of the destructive potential of unchecked emotions. As we bid farewell to this tale of love and betrayal, let us carry forward the lessons learned from the characters' fates, recognizing the enduring relevance of Shakespeare's exploration of the human condition.
• Conclusion: Othello, a masterpiece of tragedy, leaves an indelible mark on our understanding of human nature. Through the twists and turns of its plot, we are confronted with the consequences of jealousy and deceit. As our journey through this timeless work comes to a close, let us reflect on the enduring power of literature to illuminate the complexities of the human soul and the fragility of trust.

Examples of Manipulation in Othello

Iago’s motive in william shakespeare’s othello, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

Othello Fatal Flaw Analysis

"othello" and "o": comparing themes of jealousy and power, the jealousy in othello: literary analysis, misogyny in othello by william shakespeare, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Othello: Desdemona as a Representation of Power and Possession

The role iago played in othello's downfall, the othello’s downfall and its causes, identity in william shakespeare’s othello, moor of venice, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

The Power of Jealousy in Shakespeare’s Othello

The symbolic role of handkerchief in othello, the negative effect of jealousy in othello, a play by william shakespeare, desdemona: a strong and willful lady, the motif of jealousy in othello, a play by william shakespeare, how iago’s jealousy leads to the tragic events in othello, jealousy in the characters of william shakespeare’s othello, the metaphor of silence and speech in othello, evil and immoral characters in the play "othello" by william shakespeare, iago's detachment from humanity in othello, death as a sacrifice: "othello" by william shakespeare, the theme of opposition and contradiction in othello through the character of iago, juxtaposition of settings in othello by william shakespeare, the significance of emilia's character in othello, racial stereotyping in othello through the use of light and dark imagery, things are never as they appear: manipulation in othello, portrayal of different types of jealousy in shakespeare’s othello, sexual politics and gender discourse in othello, othello’s inevitable destruction in shakespeare’s play, lago's character and how he achieved his goals in the othello's play by shakespeare.

1603, William Shakespeare

Play; Tragedy

Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Michael Cassio, Emilia, Roderigo, Bianca, Brabanzio, Duke of Venice, Montano, Lodovico, Graziano, Clown

The play is primarily based on a story from an Italian novella called "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio. Shakespeare took inspiration from this source material and adapted it into his own version, adding depth and complexity to the characters and exploring themes of jealousy, betrayal, and manipulation.

In the tragic play "Othello" by William Shakespeare , the story follows the powerful and respected Moorish general, Othello. Othello secretly marries Desdemona, a Venetian woman, despite objections from her father, Brabantio. Othello's ensign, Iago, harboring deep resentment and jealousy, manipulates events to destroy Othello's life. Iago plants seeds of doubt in Othello's mind, insinuating that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with his lieutenant, Cassio. Consumed by jealousy, Othello becomes increasingly suspicious and tormented by his thoughts. Iago's cunning manipulations lead Othello to believe in the alleged affair, pushing him into a spiral of rage and despair. Othello's doubts intensify, leading him to confront Desdemona and ultimately strangle her in a fit of madness. Upon discovering the truth and Iago's treachery, Othello takes his own life in a moment of devastating realization. The play concludes with Iago's exposure and punishment for his deceitful actions.

The play "Othello" by William Shakespeare is set in the late 16th century, primarily in the city of Venice and later on the island of Cyprus. Venice, a vibrant and cosmopolitan city, serves as the initial backdrop for the story. Its opulent palaces, canals, and bustling streets create an atmosphere of grandeur and sophistication. The Venetian setting reflects the cultural diversity of the time, with characters from various backgrounds and ethnicities. As the plot progresses, the setting shifts to the island of Cyprus, where Othello is stationed with his troops. Cyprus offers a contrasting environment to Venice, characterized by its remote and isolated nature. The island's rugged landscape and military camp create a tense and confined atmosphere, amplifying the dramatic events that unfold. Both settings play a significant role in the play's themes and conflicts. Venice represents the veneer of civilization and societal expectations, while Cyprus represents the raw emotions, passions, and darker aspects of human nature. The contrasting settings highlight the clash between appearances and reality, order and chaos, and ultimately contribute to the tragedy that unfolds in "Othello."

1. Jealousy and Betrayal: The theme of jealousy lies at the heart of the play, as Iago manipulates Othello's trust and fuels his insecurities, leading to tragic consequences. Betrayal is also explored as characters deceive one another for personal gain, highlighting the destructive power of envy and deceit. 2. Racism and Prejudice: Othello, a Moorish general, faces discrimination and racial prejudice throughout the play. Shakespeare examines the destructive effects of racism, as Othello's character is systematically undermined and ultimately destroyed by the racist assumptions and stereotypes held by others. 3. Appearance versus Reality: The theme of appearance versus reality is prevalent as characters wear masks of virtue and honesty while concealing their true intentions. Othello's tragic downfall is a result of his inability to discern truth from falsehood, emphasizing the dangers of misjudgment and manipulation. 4. Love and Obsession: The play explores various forms of love, from passionate romance to obsessive possessiveness. The intense love between Othello and Desdemona is contrasted with Iago's twisted obsession with destroying their happiness, shedding light on the complexities of human relationships. 5. Gender and Power: Shakespeare examines gender dynamics and the societal expectations placed upon women. Desdemona's character challenges traditional gender roles, while Emilia, Iago's wife, highlights the subjugation of women and the consequences of male dominance.

1. Imagery: Shakespeare skillfully uses vivid imagery to create powerful visual and sensory impressions. For example, in Act 1, Scene 1, Iago describes Othello and Desdemona's elopement as "an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe," employing the contrasting images of a black ram and a white ewe to convey the scandalous nature of their relationship. 2. Soliloquy: Soliloquies allow characters to express their inner thoughts and feelings to the audience. One notable example is Othello's soliloquy in Act 5, Scene 2, where he reflects on his decision to kill Desdemona, saying, "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul," revealing his internal struggle and justifying his actions. 3. Foreshadowing: Shakespeare employs foreshadowing to hint at future events and build tension. In Act 3, Scene 3, Desdemona tells Othello, "The heavens forbid / But that our loves and comforts should increase / Even as our days do grow," foreshadowing the impending tragedy and the deterioration of their relationship. 4. Irony: Irony is used to create a contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs. For instance, when Iago says, "I am not what I am," in Act 1, Scene 1, it is an ironic statement, as he presents himself as trustworthy while plotting Othello's downfall. 5. Symbolism: Shakespeare employs symbolism to convey deeper meanings. The handkerchief, a symbol of fidelity, becomes a significant object in the play. Its loss and subsequent manipulation by Iago symbolize the erosion of trust and the unraveling of Othello's marriage.

In 1995, director Oliver Parker released a film adaptation of "Othello" starring Laurence Fishburne as the titular character. Fishburne's portrayal emphasized Othello's dignity and inner conflict, earning critical acclaim. Another notable film adaptation is Orson Welles' 1952 version, where Welles himself took on the role of Othello, showcasing his powerful presence on screen. "Othello" continues to be performed on stage worldwide. Notable theatrical productions include the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2015 production, featuring Hugh Quarshie as Othello, and the 2007 Broadway revival, with Chiwetel Ejiofor in the lead role, receiving critical acclaim for their compelling interpretations. Othello's character has also been explored in literary adaptations and reimaginings. For example, in 2001, author Sena Jeter Naslund wrote the novel "Ahab's Wife," where she includes a fictional encounter between Othello and the protagonist. These adaptations offer different perspectives and delve into the complexity of Othello's character. Othello's story has inspired numerous musical compositions. One notable example is the opera "Otello" by Giuseppe Verdi, which premiered in 1887. Verdi's powerful music captures the intense emotions of the characters and brings Othello's tragic tale to life.

1. Literary Influence: "Othello" has had a profound influence on subsequent works of literature. Its exploration of themes such as jealousy, betrayal, and the destructive power of manipulation has inspired countless writers. For example, Toni Morrison's novel "A Mercy" draws parallels to "Othello" in its exploration of race and power dynamics. The play's tragic elements and psychological depth have also influenced works like James Joyce's "Ulysses" and D.H. Lawrence's "Women in Love." 2. Psychological Exploration: Othello's tragic descent into jealousy and manipulation has made the play a subject of psychological analysis. The character's inner conflict and the manipulation he falls victim to offer rich material for the study of human psychology, particularly in relation to themes of trust, self-doubt, and the destructive nature of unchecked emotions. 3. Social Commentary: "Othello" addresses issues of race, identity, and prejudice, making it a powerful tool for social commentary. The play's examination of racial stereotypes and the destructive consequences of discrimination still resonate today. Othello's position as a black man in a predominantly white society has been explored and analyzed in the context of race relations, colonialism, and social injustice. 4. Performance and Theater: "Othello" has had a lasting impact on the world of theater and performance. The character of Othello presents a unique and complex role for actors, requiring both physical presence and emotional depth. The play's themes and dramatic tension continue to captivate audiences, leading to numerous adaptations, productions, and reinterpretations on stage. 5. Language and Imagery: Shakespeare's masterful use of language and vivid imagery in "Othello" has had a lasting impact on the English language. Phrases like "green-eyed monster" and "the beast with two backs" have become part of the cultural lexicon. The play's powerful speeches and soliloquies have been studied, quoted, and admired for their beauty and poetic expression.

1. "Othello" is believed to have been first performed around 1604. While the exact date is unknown, it is widely believed to have premiered at the Court of King James I in London. The play was met with great success and has since become one of Shakespeare's most acclaimed tragedies. 2. "Othello" has contributed several phrases and expressions to the English language. One notable example is the term "the green-eyed monster," used to describe jealousy. This phrase has become a popular way to convey the destructive nature of envy. Additionally, the phrase "wear my heart upon my sleeve" originates from the play, referring to openly displaying one's emotions. 3. Traditionally, the character of Othello has been played by a white actor in blackface makeup. This casting practice has faced criticism and controversy over the years, as it perpetuates racial stereotypes and limits opportunities for actors of color. In recent times, there has been a growing movement towards authentic casting, with actors of African descent portraying the role to offer a more nuanced and authentic representation of Othello's racial identity.

"Othello" remains a timeless and significant work in literature, making it an important subject for essays and academic discussions. Shakespeare's masterful exploration of themes such as jealousy, deception, race, and power continues to resonate with audiences across generations. The character of Othello, a Moorish general in a predominantly white society, raises critical questions about racism, discrimination, and the manipulation of prejudices. Additionally, the play delves into the destructive nature of jealousy and how it can lead to tragic consequences. Writing an essay about "Othello" allows scholars to analyze the complexity of characters like Iago, whose malevolent machinations drive the plot. It offers opportunities to discuss the portrayal of women in the play and the theme of women's agency in a patriarchal society. Furthermore, exploring the play's language, literary devices, and poetic techniques showcases Shakespeare's genius as a playwright. By grappling with the moral dilemmas and psychological depth of the characters, an essay on "Othello" opens doors to deeper insights into human nature, society, and the enduring power of Shakespeare's storytelling.

"She loved me for the dangers I had passed, And I loved her that she did pity them. This only is the witchcraft I have used." "I kissed thee ere I killed thee — no way but this, killing myself to die upon a kiss" "Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh, I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial" "Men in rage strike those that wish them best" "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at: I am not what I am"

1. Chandler, M. (1987). The Othello effect. Human development, 30(3), 137-159. (https://www.karger.com/article/Abstract/273174) 2. Shakespeare, W. (2019). othello. In One-Hour Shakespeare (pp. 231-302). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429262715-11/othello-william-shakespeare) 3. Neill, M. (1989). Unproper beds: Race, adultery, and the hideous in Othello. Shakespeare Quarterly, 40(4), 383-412. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2870608) 4 . Neely, C. T. (1977). Women and Men in" Othello";" what should such a fool/Do with so good a woman?". Shakespeare Studies, 10, 133. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/91053b700d876bd2b3be478cb40742b1/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1819311) 5. Cipriani, G., Vedovello, M., Nuti, A., & Di Fiorino, A. (2012). Dangerous passion: Othello syndrome and dementia. Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 66(6), 467-473. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2012.02386.x) 6. Siegel, P. N. (1953). The Damnation of Othello. PMLA, 68(5), 1068-1078. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/pmla/article/abs/damnation-of-othello/F3193C55450F83F4EFACB0DDF5983B0E) 7. Poulson, C., Duncan, J., & Massie, M. (2005). “I Am Not What I Am”–Destructive Emotions in an Organizational Hierarchy: The Case of Othello and Iago. In The Effect of Affect in Organizational Settings (Vol. 1, pp. 211-240). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. (https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1016/S1746-9791(05)01109-0/full/html) 8. Bristol, M. D. (1990). Charivari and the Comedy of Abjection in" Othello". Renaissance Drama, 21, 3-21. (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/rd.21.41917258?journalCode=rd) 9. Nowottny, W. (1954). Justice and love in Othello. University of Toronto Quarterly, 21(4), 330-344. (https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/utq.21.4.330) 10. Braden, W. S. (1990). The Properties of" Othello,". Philosophy and Literature, 14(1), 186-187. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/417219/summary)

Relevant topics

• A Raisin in The Sun
• Macbeth Ambition
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Story of An Hour
• Things Fall Apart
• Of Mice and Men
• Frankenstein
• Bartleby The Scrivener

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Bibliography

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Shakespeare’s Othello: Essay Samples - Links & Essential Info

If you want to write a paper on any topic related to Othello , this article will be your life-saver. Our team collected various free samples on one page. See what Othello essay interests you and click on the link to read it.

✍ Othello: Essay Samples

• Theme of Jealousy in Othello by Shakespeare Genre: Research paper Words: 1643 Focused on: The issues of jealousy, manipulation, and jealousy Characters mentioned: Iago, Othello, Roderigo, Desdemona, Brabantio, Cassio
• The Tragedy of Othello Genre: Research paper Words: 1651 Focused on: Othello’s tragedy and whether it was self-inflicted Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Cassio, Desdemona, Roderigo, Brabantio, Emilia, Bianca
• Othello by William Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 888 Focused on: Catastrophe, race, and misrepresentation Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Cassio, Desdemona
• Irony in “Othello” by Shakespeare Genre: Analytical Essay Words: 907 Focused on: How irony drives the plot of Othello Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia
• Summary about Shakespeare’s Othello Genre: Essay Words: 837 Focused on: Retelling of Othello Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Cassio, Roderigo, Desdemona, Emilia, Brabantio
• Othello by William Shakespeare Genre: Term paper Words: 1141 Focused on: Comparison of the play with Tim Nelson’s 2001 movie O Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Cassio
• Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice Genre: Research paper Words: 1404 Focused on: Character traits of Iago and Othello, and how they drive the story Characters mentioned: Iago, Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, Emilia
• The Downfall of Othello Genre: Essay Words: 1687 Focused on: Comparison of Othello’s and Oedipus’s downfalls Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Brabantio, Cassio, Desdemona
• “Othello” by William Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 548 Focused on: The role of minor characters in Othello Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Cassio, Emilia
• Character of Iago in “Othello” by Shakespeare Analysis Genre: Essay Words: 1080 Focused on: Character analysis of Iago and his evil nature Characters mentioned: Iago, Othello, Cassio, Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo,
• Critical Analysis of the Tragedy of Othello Genre: Essay, Critical Writing Words: 971 Focused on: Stage directions , the play’s modernity, and geographical symbolism Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona
• Jealousy in “Othello” by W.Shakespeare Genre: Analytical Essay Words: 1611 Focused on: Good vs. evil as characterized by jealousy Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Cassio, Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo
• Othello as the Outsider Genre: Essay Words: 1356 Focused on: Othello as an outcast in society and how his language and behavior reflect it Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona
• Racism in Play “Othello” by William Shakespeare Genre: Essay Words: 867 Focused on: The theme of racism and how it’s shown in the play Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Cassio, Brabantio, Desdemona
• Othello and Desdemona: Emotional Strangers Genre: Essay Words: 1243 Focused on: The relationship between Othello and Desdemona Characters mentioned: Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Cassio
• What Can Lawyers Learn From ‘Othello’? Genre: Essay Words: 692 Focused on: Why lawyers should read Othello Characters mentioned: Othello, Cassio, Iago
• Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello: The Words and Actions of Iago Genre: Essay Words: 1421 Focused on: Why Iago is an excellent villain, comparison of Iago and Joker from The Dark Knight Characters mentioned: Iago, Othello, Cassio
• Othello and Snow Country: Personal Opinion Genre: Critical Essay Words: 994 Focused on: Love and passion in Shakespeare’s Othello and Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country Characters mentioned: Othello, Desdemona
• Othello’s Fall from Grace and Redemption at the End of the Play Genre: Essay Words: 1145 Focused on: Themes of jealousy and gullibility Characters mentioned: Othello, Desdemona, Iago
• Othello’s tragedy Genre: Essay Words: 830 Focused on: The cause of Othello’s tragedy Characters mentioned: Othello, Desdemona, Iago
• The issue of racial prejudice Genre: Research paper Words: 2198 Focused on: Racial prejudices, discrimination towards Othello and foreigners in general, cultural and historical context Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Brabantio, Desdemona
• Humiliation of Iago (Othello) Genre: Essay Words: 589 Focused on: Possible motives of Iago Characters mentioned: Iago, Othello, Desdemona
• Compare and Contrast Shakespeare’s Othello and the Blind Owl by Sedayat Genre: Compare and Contrast Essay Words: 1370 Focused on: Differences and similarities of the plots and themes of Shakespeare’s Othello and the Blind Owl by Sedayat Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona
• Remembrance and Redemption Relationship Genre: Essay Words: 1471 Focused on: Theme of redemption in Othello , Mansfield Park, and A Small Place Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Cassio
• Treatment of women by Shakespeare and Sophocles Genre: Essay Words: 1895 Focused on: Different treatments of women in Othello and Oedipus Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia, Cassio, Roderigo, Brabantio
• The Feminist critique Genre: Essay Words: 2062 Focused on: The role of women in Elizabethan society as told by Othello Characters mentioned: Desdemona, Emilia, Bianca, Othello, Iago, Cassio, Duke of Venice, Brabantio
• Comparison and Contrast of the Driving Force of Plot in Medea by Euripides, Othello by William Shakespeare, and the Epic of Gilgamesh Genre: Essay Words: 568 Focused on: Heroism in Medea by Euripides, Othello by William Shakespeare, and The Epic of Gilgamesh Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Brabantio, Roderigo
• Violence of Shakespeare Genre: Term paper Words: 1701 Focused on: Violent behavior in Titus Andronicus , Hamlet , and Othello Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona
• Philosophy of Literature: Shakespearean Tragedy Genre: Essay Words: 1218 Focused on: How tragic incidences make heroes be villains as shown in Othello and Macbeth Characters mentioned: Othello, Desdemona, Iago
• Machiavelli and Othello’s Leadership Skills Essay Genre: Essay Words: 584 Focused on: Leadership skills in Machiavelli’s The Prince and Shakespeare’s Othello Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago
• The Life And Work Of William Shakespeare: His Contribution To The Contemporary Theater Genre: Research paper Words: 1371 Focused on: The contribution of William Shakespeare’s works to contemporary theater Characters mentioned: Othello, Desdemona, Iago
• Othello and Oedipus Rex Characters’ Traits Genre: Essay Words: 963 Focused on: Character and tragic traits of Othello and Oedipus Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona
• Iago and Othello Relationships Genre: Research paper Words: 1254 Focused on: Iago’s and Othello’s relationships and how it contributes the plot Characters mentioned: Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia
• Cultural Diversity in the Play “Othello” Genre: Essay Words: 822 Focused on: The play’s reflection of society and racial prejudices Characters mentioned: Othello, Desdemona, Iago

Thanks for checking our samples! We hope you’ve found them helpful. For more information about Othello , see the links below.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to LinkedIn
• Share to email

Study Guide Menu

• Play’s Plot Explored
• Act 1 Scene 1
• Act 1 Scene 2
• Act 1 Scene 3
• Act 2 Scenes 1-2
• Act 2 Scene 3
• Act‌ ‌3‌ ‌Scenes‌ ‌1-2
• Act‌ ‌3‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌3
• Act 3 Scene 4
• Act‌ ‌4‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌1
• Act 4 Scene 2
• Act‌ ‌4‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌3
• Act‌ ‌5‌ ‌Scene‌ ‌1
• Act 5 Scene 2
• Characters Analysis
• Important Quotes
• Essay Samples
• Topics‌ for‌ ‌Essay‌
• William Shakespeare
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, August 13). Shakespeare’s Othello: Essay Samples - Links & Essential Info. https://ivypanda.com/lit/othello-study-guide/essay-samples/

"Shakespeare’s Othello: Essay Samples - Links & Essential Info." IvyPanda , 13 Aug. 2023, ivypanda.com/lit/othello-study-guide/essay-samples/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Shakespeare’s Othello: Essay Samples - Links & Essential Info'. 13 August.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Shakespeare’s Othello: Essay Samples - Links & Essential Info." August 13, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/lit/othello-study-guide/essay-samples/.

1. IvyPanda . "Shakespeare’s Othello: Essay Samples - Links & Essential Info." August 13, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/lit/othello-study-guide/essay-samples/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Shakespeare’s Othello: Essay Samples - Links & Essential Info." August 13, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/lit/othello-study-guide/essay-samples/.

Literary Devices Used Othello

This essay will examine the various literary devices used by Shakespeare in “Othello.” It will explore the use of symbolism, metaphor, irony, and dramatic irony, among others, to enhance the play’s exploration of themes like jealousy, deception, and the tragic fall of the hero. Additionally, PapersOwl presents more free essays samples linked to Othello.

How it works

In Othello by William Shakespeare, Othello considers and thinks about all his actions before going through with them. By analyzing his soliloquies, we can understand his thoughts, and his reasons behind his actions. In act 5 scene 2 the first soliloquy Othello contemplated him killing his wife. This monologue gives you an inside scoop of Othello’s thinking process because he doesn’t want to kill his wife but feels as if he needs to. Othello makes choices that he might not want to do, but will have to and live with throughout the book.

In this soliloquy Othello uses the literary devices of allusion to Greek Mythology, metaphors, and repetition to convey the idea of killing his wife because he feels like it is his duty or letting her live because he loves her.

Throughout his soliloquy in act 5 scene 2, Othello uses metaphors to contemplate killing his wife or letting her live. When Othello discusses killing Desdemona he compares her to a plucked rose when he said ” When I have plucked thy rose, I cannot give it vital growth again, It must needs wither (5.2.13-15). Othello compares Desdemona to a rose because when he kills Desdemona he can no longer fix their problems and she will no longer be alive, but he feels as if it needed to end. Othello also contemplates putting “out the light, and then put out the light. If I quench thee, thou flaming minister (5.2.7-8). Othello is comparing his wife to a candle and when he puts out the light of the candle he is really ending her life. The candle is usually put out right before people go to sleep. Desdemona was a candle because she was filled with life, but when he kills her she will no longer be alive. Othello really had to contemplate his plan and why he should kill his wife because he doesn’t want to because he knows she will be dead and he cannot reverse that, but he thinks he should kill her out of duty.

Othello, not only used metaphors to contemplate killing his wife, he also uses allusion to Greek Mythology. In the allusion Othello refers to Promethean Heat while saying “I know not where is that Promethean Heat, That can thy light relume. (5.2.12-13). Othello says this to remind him of the consequences for killing Desdemona because the Promethean Heat represents the power of life and bringing people back to life. Othello knows he cannot bring back Desdemona if he kills her, but he tries to justify his actions by thinking she is evil, cheated on him, and that there is no good left in her.

The third literary device Othello uses was repetition, it was used to help him think he owes it to the world to kill Desdemona. By using repetition it helps emphasis how he is trying to convince himself that killing Desdemona is the right thing to do and that it is his duty. Othello repeats “It is the cause multiple times throughout the soliloquy in the beginning Othello says “It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul. Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars, It is the cause (5.2.1-3). Othello is trying to convince himself that he has to kill her when he repeats “it is the cause he is repeating that he has to do this over and over again. Othello doesn’t want Desdemona to die but he feels like he has to kill her so he’s trying to make himself think he has to. When Othello says “you chaste stars, It is the cause (5.2.2-3), Othello makes it seem like the chaste stars is the universe and that he owes it to the world.

Othello’s thoughts of killing his wife out of duty or letting her live because he loves her developed throughout this soliloquy. Othello uses allusion to Greek Mythology to reason that once he kills her Othello cannot bring her back. Othello also used metaphor to warn himself once he blows out her candle, he is ending her life and cannot take that back. Finally, Othello uses repetition to convince himself that he has to kill Desdemona and that it is his duty. Othello ultimately ended up killing his wife out of spite.

Cite this page

Literary Devices Used Othello. (2020, Jan 11). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/role-of-literary-devices-in-othello/

"Literary Devices Used Othello." PapersOwl.com , 11 Jan 2020, https://papersowl.com/examples/role-of-literary-devices-in-othello/

PapersOwl.com. (2020). Literary Devices Used Othello . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/role-of-literary-devices-in-othello/ [Accessed: 12 May. 2024]

"Literary Devices Used Othello." PapersOwl.com, Jan 11, 2020. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/role-of-literary-devices-in-othello/

"Literary Devices Used Othello," PapersOwl.com , 11-Jan-2020. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/role-of-literary-devices-in-othello/. [Accessed: 12-May-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2020). Literary Devices Used Othello . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/role-of-literary-devices-in-othello/ [Accessed: 12-May-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

William Shakespeare

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Othello , written by Shakespeare in 1603, is set in Venice and Cyprus during the Renaissance period in the latter half of the 1500s. The action of the play is set against the backdrop of the Venetian-Ottoman war, a longstanding conflict between the Venetian Christians and the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Cyprus came to play a central part in this conflict, with both sides vying for control. This context of war sets up a background of conflict and violence that will infect the whole mood of the play. 

Setting proves to be an important element in the play due to the belief presented that place can shape people. The play’s initial setting of Venice, for example, is significant for its associations with lasciviousness and prostitution. This aspect is alluded to within the play itself when Iago describes the reputation of Venetian women:

I know our country disposition well. In Venice they do let God see the pranks They dare not show their husbands. Cite this Quote

When Iago invokes Venice’s seedy reputation as evidence for Desdemona’s deceitful nature, it shows the power of the contemporary belief of the importance of place and nationality. Such an idea also proves pivotal to the play’s exploration of race, with the characters constantly alluding to Othello's race as a Moor. The frequent references to Othello’s dark skin—“the old black ram,” “black Othello,” “you the blacker devil”— emphasize Othello’s role as outsider and highlight the racism of contemporary attitudes. The setting of Venice, a contemporary multicultural hub, also makes sense in this context.

Contemporary attitudes towards gender are also prominent in Othello , both through the championing of traditional feminine virtues such as purity as well as through the misogynistic condemnation of female sexuality. Desdemona’s innocence aside, the fact that death is considered an appropriate punishment for adultery in the play by Othello, who is at least initially presented as a reasonable and just man, highlights the extent to which female desire was vilified and condemned.

The move of the action in the play to Cyprus, an island at the center of the war, proves apt for the play’s central themes. Not only is Cyprus a representation of conflict, with it playing a central part in the war action of the play, but it is also a symbol of love. Birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, Cyprus has ancient associations with romance and passion. The contradictory symbolism of Cyprus sets up the duality of love and violence that dominates the play.

The island setting of Cyprus is also of importance in that it isolates the action of the play and removes all characters from their native land. Away from their home lands, characters may not behave as they normally would, and their actions may be more rash, or perhaps more natural. By moving the action to an island, Shakespeare gives the sense of moving to new, unknown lands, ones where the characters may be more willing to forge their own rules and sense of justice. The sense of lawlessness that this aspect promotes proves apt in the chaos that ensues. 

In a similar vein, the choice of Cyprus and Italy as Shakespeare’s setting for Othello , a play that would be acted to English audiences, may also have been motivated by a desire to create a sense of exoticism. The separation of these places from the everyday lives of his audience allows Shakespeare scope for grander as well as more provocative themes.

VCE Study Tips

English Language

Private Tutoring

Only one more step to getting your FREE text response mini-guide!

Simply fill in the form below, and the download will start straight away

Othello Literary Perspectives Essay Breakdown

August 26, 2020

Want insider tips? Sign up here!

Go ahead and tilt your mobile the right way (portrait). the kool kids don't use landscape....

When it comes to VCE Literature, ‘Literary Perspectives’ is a major component of your learning and exams. If you’re studying any of the Shakespearian texts, the idea of using different ‘lenses’ to interpret 400-year-old plays seems silly and is a difficult task to approach. So today, I’m writing a plan for a Literary Perspectives essay on Shakespeare’s  Othello . The question we are looking at is:

In Shakespeare’s  Othello,  Venetian society is depicted as unwelcoming to the ‘Other’. To what extent do you agree?

Breaking-it-Down

So what does this question mean? Well let’s first look at the keywords, and what each means.

“Venetian Society” -This is the group of people depicted in  Othello . Whilst some characters like Cassio and Othello are from other city-states, they adhere to the norms and traditions of the Venetians, who live in Venice, Italy. 

“Unwelcoming” - In my essay, I consider “unwelcoming” to be active discrimination against people, with the intent of alienating them from society at large, but this is open to interpretation. 

“The Other” -This is a technical term from a few different literary perspectives. On a broad level, the Other is a person or group of people who are viewed as the ‘enemy’ or different from the dominant culture. 

These keywords are essentially what you have to include in terms of knowledge. But, what is the question? Our essay topic says “To what extent do you agree?”. You can choose to agree, or not at all, or be somewhere in the middle. Any of these options consider the  extent  of Venice’s welcomeness, but you have to use evidence, and uniquely, a literary perspective. 

My Approach

Before I even choose my contention, now is the time to decide which perspective to use for my essay. A few apply to the question and  Othello , but I can only have one. Using Feminism you could argue that the women of the play are ‘Othered,’ but because they lack lots of meaningful dialogue I think it would be hard to uncover enough evidence. Marxism would also be good and would argue the working-class is othered. The issue with Marxist interpretations of  Othello , however, is that there are almost no lower-class characters. Marxist theorists also regularly adopt feminist and postcolonial language, meaning I could appear as though I used multiple perspectives. I think Postcolonialism is the ideal perspective. The term “Other” was coined by postcolonial theorists, and Othello’s race and place in Venetian society give me the ability to flex my understanding of postcolonialism. 

So, now that I know I am writing from a postcolonial perspective, I can come up with a contention. First of all, who is the Other, according to postcolonialism? In  Othello,  it is quite clearly Othello himself, who is from North Africa, and is constantly the victim of racism, which begins to answer my second question; is Othello welcomed by Venetian Society? Well, it’s complicated, he’s an army commander and woos a Venetian woman, but he constantly has to prove himself worthy of these things. As a result, my contention will be somewhere in between complete agreement and complete disagreement with the question. 

The othered characters in  Othello  are orientalised by most members of Venetian society, and must constantly prove their material worth to maintain their agency. Despite this, the women of the play act as a foil to the racism and distrust of society.

Postcolonialism

Postcolonial theory has roots in a more modern context than Shakespeare. The colonialism of the 19th century and the decolonisation of the 20th century lead to colonised people reevaluating their lives and the role of the European colonists on a global, social, and psychological scale. When writing from a postcolonial lens, you should try to focus on some key areas. The most significant is the relationship between the colonised and the coloniser. How do they interact? What do they think of each other? The next area is the psychology of colonialism. One useful theorist here is Frantz Fanon, a psychologist living during the French colonisation of Algier. His text  The Wretched of the Earth  stated the ways that colonised Africans were mentally oppressed, viewing themselves as less than human. This is important when discussing the Other because ‘other’ represents the dehumanisation of Native lives which caused such psychological distress. A term I used in my contention should also be explained: orientalism. This term was coined by Edward Said and it explores the way the Other is viewed by the West. To ‘orientalise’ something is to portray it as something wholly different to European cultures, and exaggerate these differences. It results in non-Europeans being viewed as ‘backwards’ or ‘savage’ and justifies racist stereotypes. Other useful Postcolonial terms include: the Subaltern, who are the groups completely outside the margins of society, or people who lack any freedom; and Agency is the ability to act out of free-will and have a degree of power.

With my contention and some useful postcolonial terms, I can now plan each paragraph. I am doing three, but it is possible to do four or more. I follow TEEL (Topic, explanation, evidence, link) structure quite closely, and have given simple but punchy topic sentences for each paragraph. When structuring the essay as a whole, I try to make sure each paragraph builds off of the previous argument, almost like a staircase leading to my conclusion. 

1. Othello is treated as an outsider and is a victim of racism and orientalisation due to his cultural background, constantly reminded that he is not fully Venetian. 

My goal in this paragraph is to agree with the question. My explanation has to show that Othello isn’t welcome in Venetian society, highlighting that his blackness and European views of the Moors fits Edward Said’s theory of orientalism. I will mainly rely on Iago’s perception of Othello, and Iago as a symbol of Venice’s intoleration towards the Other. 

Evidence of his culture being viewed as ‘backwards’ or fundamentally different from Venice will support this point. Iago’s first monologue (1.1.8-33) displays his intolerance to outsiders, specifically referring to Othello as “the Moor”, rather than by his name. Roderigo also displays a racist attitude, calling Othello “the thick-lips” (1.1.71). You should try to choose linguistically significant evidence. For example, Iago’s metaphor of a “black ram is tupping [Brabantio’s] white ewe” (1.1.96-7) provokes imagery of the devil (black ram) defiling a symbol of purity (a white ewe). 

To link this paragraph, refer to the use of orientalism as a method of othering that turns people against Othello, and intends to keep him separate (unwelcome) from society.

2. Despite Iago’s representation of an intolerant Venice, Othello displays a pathway for the Other to prove themselves in Venetian society, although this proof is constantly reevaluated by the dominant culture.

In this argument I’m going against my previous paragraph, saying that Othello is welcome, but on a case-by-case basis. My explanation will include an analysis of how Othello is othered and orientalised, but still displays agency and has a role of authority in Venice. Othello is trusted, but it is a very loose trust that relies on Othello’s continued adherence to society’s rules. To use postcolonial language, Othello is the Other, but he is not a subaltern; he has been given a place at the coloniser’s table. But despite viewing himself as a permanent part of this table, the colonisers are always ready to remove his seat. 

I could use Brabantio as evidence of this, as he had “loved [Othello” (1.3.145) but quickly begins to refer to his “sooty bosom” (1.2.85) and “foul charms” (1.2.88) when he thinks Othello has overstepped his place in Venetian society by marrying a white woman. Even though Othello has proven himself as a General, the senate makes him answer for accusations based on racism and stigma. Once Othello begins to fall for Iago’s trap of jealousy, Lodovico questions the faith placed in Othello, claiming “I am deceived in him” (4.2.310).

Therefore, despite being allowed a place within the Governmental structures of Venice, Othello’s agency is constantly at risk, being welcomed for his proven talents, but distrusted for his ‘Otherness’.

3. Although Venetian society at large is unwelcoming to Othello, either through racism or distrust, Desdemona represents an attitude of acceptance towards the Other.

This argument looks at a different aspect of the question; who is the Other welcomed by? Besides Othello, Othered characters are the women and Cassio, who is from Florence. Despite not fitting into the key areas of postcolonial thought, women still have a place in this analysis, as a subcategory of the native’s relationship with the coloniser. How does a group that is discriminated against in their own society treat someone else who is discriminated against? Well, we see in  Othello  that the women treat him quite well. 

Desdemona is the obvious source of evidence for this. Her adoration of Othello transcends his colour and she accepts him as part of her Venetian world. She is unswayed by the racist commentary on Othello from those around her, such as Emilia, and instead represents the welcoming of the Other on a personal, although not societal level.

Thus, Desdemona in her own Otherness and orderliness acts a foil to Iago’s disorder and discrimination. As a discriminated against woman, she represents the acceptance of the other in Venetian society, and the unbridled trust of Othello that the men of Venice lack.

Your conclusion should include a restatement of your arguments and your contention but also look at them in another way. I usually go through my points and how they relate to each other and my contention in a logical step-by-step way, each point building on the other to reach my contention. Point 1 leads to point 2, which leads to point 3, and combined, makes my contention. 

Hopefully, this brief guide to literary perspectives in  Othello , focusing on postcolonialism, acts as a starting point for your studies. It’s about understanding the beliefs of the lens and then using this to form an argument. It certainly isn’t easy, so I encourage you to read around and practice this writing style as much as possible. 

Recommended Resources

On shakespeare.

How to Approach Shakespeare-Studying Shakespeare for the First time

Post-colonialism in Shakespearean Work by Alina Popa (2013)

On Postcolonialism

Literary Perspectives 101

List of Postcolonial Terms

Definition of Postcolonialism

Benefits of Critical Essays for Literary Perspectives Essays

The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (2001), Penguin Modern Classics, Great Britain.

Orientalism by Edward W. Said (2003), Penguin Modern Classics, Great Britain.

Get our FREE VCE English Text Response mini-guide

Now quite sure how to nail your text response essays? Then download our free mini-guide, where we break down the art of writing the perfect text-response essay into three comprehensive steps. Click below to get your own copy today!

Access a FREE sample of our Literature study guide

• Focused on Developing Interpretations and Close Analysis , both of which you need for your exam
• Covering what it means to ‘interpret a text’, how to breakdown critical essays, different Close Analysis structures and more
• Includes sample A+ essays with EVERY essay annotated and broken down on HOW and WHY past authors achieved A+
• Essays written by multiple authors all scoring 40+ so you can learn different strategies and implement the advice that resonates with you most

It’s getting closer to the Literature exam and you’re probably starting to get more serious about avoiding dropping too many SAC marks! Depending on which order your school does Literature SACs in, you may be currently facing the often feared ‘Creative Response’. Whether you feel beyond excited to finally bring some creative flair to Literature, or you’re totally scared at the thought of creating something new, I wanted to use this blog post to help you achieve at least ten of the marks in this section. That is through the reflective commentary, which you can totally score full marks on if you put in the effort.

The VCAA Literature Study Design determines that students must submit ‘a reflective commentary establishing connections with the original text’. This aspect of the assessment counts for 10 of the 60 marks available for the Creative Response outcome. The study design further denotes that students must

‘reflect critically upon their own responses as they relate to the text, and discuss the purpose context of their creations’.

This allows your schools and teachers to direct in a relatively broad way on how you should form your reflective commentary, and may mean your friends at other schools write theirs in a very different way. In this blog post I will leave you with a suggestion of how I best believe a reflective commentary could be structured to include all important aspects, as well as tips on how to include all of what the study design asks. As I said, these are ten marks that can easily be snatched with just a little bit of hard work and attention to detail, so why not snatch them?

To induce the things needed to be included in the reflective commentary, we can look to the key knowledge and key skills points outlined in the study design:

Key knowledge:

- the point of view, context and form of the original text,

- the ways the central ideas of the original text are represented,

- the features of the original text including ideas, images characters and situations, and the language in which these are expressed,

- techniques used to create, recreate or adapt a text and how they represent particular concerns or attitudes.

Key skills:

- identify elements of construction, context, point of view and form particular to the text, and apply understanding of these in a creative response

- choose stylistically appropriate features including characterisation, setting, narrative, tone and style

- critically reflect on how language choices and literary features from the original text are used in the adaptation

What you’re really trying to do in your reflective commentary is prove to your teacher that you are hitting all these key knowledge and key skills points. As you write, ensure you are discussing how the author uses point of view, context, form, elements of construction and stylistic features in their text. It is than imperative that you describe how you have similarly used such device in your creative response. Ensure that you also discuss how you are involving the ideas and themes of the text in your creative piece, and how you are discussing them further, or exploring them in greater depth. Obviously only talk about those that are relevant to your creative response!

Sample reflective commentary

Having scored a 10/10 in my own reflective commentary, I will provide a structure that can be used to ensure you are including everything you need. I discussed my own reactions to the original text, and described how I wanted to rouse similar reactions in the reader of my creative response.

In your reflective commentary, it can be easier to put everything under subheadings. These are the ones that I used:

-Characterisation

-Literary features (here I chose 7 particular literary features used in my text and discussed how I emulated them)

Under each of these paragraphs, I analysed how the author used such features to create and convey meaning, and discussed how I, in my own piece, drew on her use of them and expanded on her ideas. Here is an example of my ‘Purpose’ paragraph, which will hopefully give you an idea on how you might write your own commentary! My text was Cate Kennedy’s  Dark Roots , in particular the short story ‘What Thou and I Did, Till we Loved’.

In my piece, I ultimately attempted to lead the reader to a place of discomfort, faced with a situation that they wish never to be faced with. When I first read What Thou and I Did, Till we Loved (Dark Roots, Cate Kennedy), I simply wished never to be in Rebecca’s position, as I was sobered by the sadness of her demise as she watched her lover fade away. I sought to elicit the same response from the reader, as I aimed to convey the deterioration that both lovers suffer, as well as the loss of communication between them. I also attempted to allow the reader to question the humanity in keep people alive by machines and drugs, and whether it is fair to force people to live an unnatural life. I have sought to explore this even further than What Thou and I Did, Till we Loved bringing in the question of euthanasia and whether we have a right to die as Kyle begs of Max to “kill me” at the end of the piece, and Max concedes that “[he] would if [he] could”. The themes of my piece seeks to explore are the ways of coping with grief, guilt at causing the illness of a loved one, a life with a lack of substance, and the loss of communication due to illness.

Hopefully you’re feeling better about how you might go about completing your creative response, and getting that 10/10 on your reflective commentary!

1. Don't focus just on ideas and avoid language engagement.

Language engagement is every bit as important as ideas. Sometimes, when you get stuck in philosophical musings, you might find yourself in a place where you're spouting on and on about solipsism or the intrinsic desire for independence in the 19th century Norwegian working class. Literature essays are all about finding balance, and here, that balance means language engagement. Whether you are writing about literary criticism or a passage analysis, you have to be able to support your interpretations with textual evidence.

Often, this requires some creative thinking. You can have a lot of fun with it and the examiners like you to pick up on small details and connect it to a grander scope.

Here's an example from Jane Eyre.

“my eyes seemed as if they had beheld the fount of fruition, and borrowed beams from the lustrous ripple.”

“I was not surprised...to feel...the breathing of a fresh and fragrant breeze...The rooks cawed, and blither birds sang; but nothing was so merry or so musical as my own rejoicing heart.”

In this passage, Jane is rejoicing over her marriage proposal, but readers are led to understand that this may be a false, idealistic dream of hers. Note the patterns of alliteration – the fricative 'f' shifting to the plosive 'b' in “fount of fruition” and “borrowed beams” then again from “fresh and fragrant breeze” to “blither birds”. What could it possibly mean?

Fricatives tend to indicate freedom, whereas plosives tend to indicate an abruptness – a harsh change. Perhaps, Jane's wild, free joy is immediately followed by plosive alliteration so as to illustrate how her happiness is cut short and her dream is a false one – she will attempt to achieve freedom through this romance, but she will be abruptly and unceremoniously prevented from attaining it.

Regardless, in any passage, there are always things to talk about and little language quirks to exploit to figure out an interpretation. Start from these little details, and build out and out until you tackle your big ideas. All of these ideas should be rooted in language.

2. Don't prioritise complicated language over ideas.

Often, when you think that expressive, complicated writing takes priority over ideas in Literature, you tend to end up with flowery material that becomes more convoluted than it is effective. If you are one of those people (I know it's hard) but kill your darlings. Focus on coming up with original ideas, and express them clearly. Cut out redundancies. Be expressive in a way that is natural and in a way where you know that first and foremost, your language is accurate. Don't go around using metaphors purely for the sake of sounding intellectual when you can express something equally eloquently and beautifully with simpler, fluent text.

Remember: this is not to say that you shouldn't be expressive in Literature. In fact, writing style and the ability to write well is a fundamental component to doing well in this subject. It is just vital that you strike the right balance. This is a good lesson to learn sooner rather than later - and you'll be steering into prime territory for the exam.

3. Don't treat Literature like an English essay. Be free!

Good Literature essays generally tend to be more lively and expressive than English essays. Why? Because Literature just doesn't operate under the same criteria, and it shouldn't be treated as such. 

Don't feel like putting in an introduction/conclusion? No need! Don't feel like sticking to a TEEL structure? No problem!

Your focus is creating writing that moves along at a natural, expressive pace, moving through textual evidence to broader ideas. You don't have a structure. You don't have a paragraph quota. You have free reign over a lot of how you write your Literature essays – so find out what works for you.

4. Come up with original interpretations and don't stick with popular readings.

Literature is one of very few subjects in the entirety of VCE that rewards original thinking. You don't need to go with the crowd consensus on how to read your text: as long as you have the evidence to support your reading! The examiners will reward complex, creative, and unique ideas. Every passage analysis you write should be approached with a fresh perspective – base your interpretation around the text in front of you, and not a dogmatic set of ideas that you bring with you.

5. Let the text before you provide you with the ideas, don't force your ideas into the text.

By reading literary criticism and expanding the scope of your ideas, you can apply original readings to each set of passages you have. Your essays stand out when they cover new, uncharted territory.

Literature is all about balance. If you can find it in you to balance language engagement, interpretation, and writing style, I'd say you have yourself a pretty good essay.

Remember not to fall into any of the common traps of the subject, and you'll have put yourself on solid footing to become a true literati.

How Genre Works

We’re not supposed to judge a book based on its cover, but for some reason, we just can’t help it. Sure, we may not be able to tell if we’re going to enjoy the book, nor can we tell what exactly it’s about, but we can tell the tone, set our expectations, and most importantly, guess at the genre. Look at these three book covers and note how they perfectly show their genres - Sci-Fi, Horror and Life Drama, respectively. 

Genre is a way of categorising media. We split books, film and music into genres in order to better talk about them and because humans have a strange desire to sort and categorise things. Within whatever medium, genres display certain structures, characters and tropes that audiences expect from that genre . Audiences like to be able to tell the genre of a text because it’s comfortable. If I go to see a superhero movie I expect wacky costumes, cliche dialogue and a final battle scene that the heroes win - were these expectations not to be met, I would likely be a little bit peeved off. 

But why should you care about genre in VCE Literature? It’s not on the study design?  

Well, not explicitly. In each AoS of the study design, you must engage with ‘the ways the literary forms, features and language of texts affect the making of meaning’ , and/or ‘the ideas of a text and the ways in which they are presented’ . Genres are a feature of texts and are one of the ways that a text will present its ideas. Horror is the most notable example of a genre that uses its tropes to send a message - It Follows is a horror where the monster stands in for sexually transmitted disease, Carrie uses horror to show the horrors of high school, Frankenstein is a criticism of those who would ‘play god’. In the Literature study design, the horror genre is represented by Bram Stoker’s 1897 masterpiece, Dracula.  

For an overview of the Literature study design, check out The Ultimate Guide to VCE Literature . 

Dracula + The Gothic

I invite you to think hard about the horror films you’ve seen and to try to place Dracula into our modern view of horror. It’s hard to put Stoker’s vampire on the same stage as the Babadook , Annabelle or even the ‘70s slasher craze. This gives us an incredible opportunity to consider how audiences engaged and continue to engage with genres. In order to analyse genre, it is essential to recognise what the audience’s expectations were of a genre, and how the author has utilised those expectations for their own ends. Let’s consider Dracula in context .

‍ Dracula is a horror novel. But, we usually don’t think about those uptight Victorians reading texts that were designed expressly to scare. The Victorian era was actually one of the golden ages of horror literature though. But, it is distinctly different from our modern understandings of horror as defined by trailblazers like Stephen King. So, why is it different? It is here we must consider the sub-genre. If you have read anything about Dracula , you’ll note that it is referred to as a ‘gothic horror’ . The gothic genre of literature encapsulates some of the 19th century and certainly the Victorian period’s (1837-1901) best literature. Dracula of course belongs to this group, but it blows up around 1818 with Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein . Edgar Allen Poe, with his short stories and poetry, is widely lauded as the ‘Father of American Gothic’, with ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ published in 1839. Note the dates here. Stoker published Dracula in 1897, a good 79 years after Frankenstein began haunting readers. Which means he had an established and large genre to work with. So, how did Stoker use the gothic in Dracula?

Tropes of the Gothic

1) the gothic monster.

The vampire myth used by Stoker is turned into the quintessential gothic monster. Dracula existed in the Victorian mind alongside Frankestein’s monster, Mr. Hyde, and Poe’s mixture of humans made monstrous and surreal monsters like that in ‘The Masque of the Red Death’. The defining feature of the gothic monster is its role in the story as a representation of something wrong with society, whether it’s increasingly amoral medicinal science, human greed or perverted desire. 

2) The Creepy Castle

The creepy castle doesn’t have to be a castle. It can be a mansion, a university or the graveyards of London. The important thing is that the setting of the gothic novel should always be - by default - terrifying and evoke a sense of danger. You can never get comfortable in Dracula’s castle, nor in Seward’s asylum, and neither can the characters. 

3) Damsel/s in Distress

For sure an outdated trope, but a constant in the gothic. It’s a quick and simple way to show that the innocence of young women is threatened by a malignant force. In Dracula , look to Mina, Lucy and Mrs. Westenra. But what happens when the damsel saves herself?

4) Omens, Portents, Visions

Visions in dreams? Random wild animals escaping from ships? Ships docking with a completely dead crew? Random changes in the weather? You might be dealing with a gothic villain, or going mad. In either case, Renfield, Dracula, Mina and Jonothan all deal with portents and visions. 

And This Is Important Because…

Stoker has followed the predominant tropes of the gothic horror genre. Why is this important for our analysis of Dracula ? The ways in which authors use genre and other stylistic elements like form, voice or plot relate directly to their intentions. If we investigate the particular aspects of Stoker’s use of the gothic, we may better understand the views and values that he is promoting. For instance, let’s take Dracula as the gothic monster. Since the gothic monster is always a way to reflect society back onto itself, how is Stoker doing that? A feminist analysis might take Dracula as a reflection of sexual deviancy, which then ties into his constant threat towards women. A post-colonial analysis might question the foreignness of Dracula, and view him as a part of the intrusiveness of foreigners in English society. Either way, you’re touching on a view or value presented by Stoker, and tying it to an aspect of the gothic genre in a way that conveniently also touches on characterisation. 

Let’s complicate things a little more. The ‘Damsel in Distress’ trope is clearly evident in Dracula , but what view or value is Stoker commenting on by its inclusion? The simplest answer is that, by showing that women cannot save themselves, Stoker is saying that women are inherently weak and need to be saved by men. But this answer isn’t sufficient for a number of reasons. Firstly, what are the women weak to? Is it a physical mismatch between the women and Dracula, keeping in mind that Dracula is also stronger than the novel’s men? Or is it a symbolic weakness to some aspect of Dracula’s character, be it sexuality or magic? Secondly, and more importantly, are all the women victimised by Dracula the same? Well, obviously not. 

It could very well be argued that Stoker is subverting the ‘Damsel in Distress’ trope by actually giving us a woman who is able to be her own saviour (which is actually becoming a trope in itself nowadays!). The dichotomy between Lucy and Mina is a crucial aspect of the text, and the way that Mina’s character doesn’t quite fit into the ‘Damsel in Distress’ archetype is a major interpretative dilemma. By considering the genre tropes, Lucy is clearly a ‘Damsel in Distress’ who cannot save herself and is unduly victimised by Dracula. It can be argued that her implicit promiscuousness is punished through her murder, but in whatever case, she is distressed and must be saved. Mina, however, has an entirely different view of her distresses. Not only does Mina take on a caring role towards Jonothan - in which Jonothan becomes a ‘Master in Distress’ - she actively supports the attempts to save her and kill Dracula. By compiling the journals, letters and newspaper clippings into the epistolary that we the audience are reading, and using herself as a window into Dracula’s mind through their psychic connection, Mina proves to be a means by which to save herself from her distress. So, the question of what Stoker actually thinks about women is still quite open: Lucy is seemingly punished for her character flaws, which indicates a misogynist view of women’s sexuality, but Mina is praised for her use of masculine qualities like leadership and stoicism. Is Stoker saying women should be more masculine? Less masculine and more traditionally feminine? This entire discussion revolves around how and why the ‘Damsel in Distress’ trope is being followed or subverted. 

Using Genre in VCE

Whilst a genre-based analysis (or a structural analysis) can be a fantastic way to open up discussion and leads to important questions about views and values , the way I have presented it may appear to be another useless and long-winded thing you have to try to shove into an essay when you already have to balance so much in Literature! Fear not, because there are a couple of really easy ways to fit genre into essays without taking up loads of space.

Option one is to use a genre trope as the basis of a paragraph. If your essay contention is that…

‍ ‘Stoker presents the dangers of foreign immigration to England at the height of its colonial empire’

…then you can easily write a paragraph discussing that…

‍ ‘Stoker employs the gothic trope of a supernatural monster in Dracula, using this vampire as a stand-in for foreigners in England’.

This paragraph would discuss Dracula’s characterisation, and the settings of Transylvania and London, whilst investigating Stoker’s views on England’s colonialism and race. In a Developing Interpretations or Close Analysis essay, you’ve just touched on several key criteria, including the author’s views and values , your own credible interpretation of the text and how the text presents its messaging (through characterisation and setting). You can do all these things without mentioning genre, but by explicitly using the language of genre analysis you are likely separating yourself from the student next to you - who had a similar idea but described it in a less interesting way. This is the utility of understanding genre, it gives you the words and concepts necessary to improve your writing and interpretation. The ‘Gothic monster’ is an easy way to describe an otherwise GIANT concept.

Another way is to add it to other analyses in passing. Instead of saying “ Dracula presents Lucy and Mina as foils to demonstrate the ways in which modern women’s promiscuity is ultimately harmful”, you can say “the presentation of Lucy and Mina as two ‘damsels in distress’ in dichotomy with each other demonstrates the differing ways in which Victorian women could doom or save themselves” . The latter sentence has not significantly changed the content of the first, still referring to the women’s opposition to each other, but by phrasing it with ‘damsels in distress’ I leave open the possibility of discussing not just Lucy’s promiscuity, but also Mina’s conservative womanhood. 

Finally, you need not even mention genre or its tropes in the essay, just use it as a thinking tool. If you go back through the previous section of this blog, you’ll see just how many questions I am asking about the tropes and ideas I am discussing. By using the trope as a jumping-off point for a series of questions, I can develop a nuanced understanding of multiple views and values and the ways in which they interconnect. Take a trope like the ‘creepy castle’ and ask:

“Why would Stoker put Dracula manor in the text?”

“Because it sets up the ‘otherness’ of Dracula.”

“Why do we need to know that Dracula is the other?” 

“Because he represents a supernatural foreignness that we need to be scared of.”

“Okay, but why is it right at the start, why is it from Jonothan’s perspective?” 

All of these questions offer ways of breaking down the text and they will naturally lead to questions about structure, characterisation and views and values. In doing this, you can start to come up with ways to turn those questions, or the order of those questions into an essay structure. Moreso, this type of questioning is what your teacher, tutors and top-tier Literature students are doing. It is a constant process of asking, answering, reconsidering, reasking and synthesising. And genre is an easy way to start the process. 

Let's all be honest here, Year 12 is endlessly tiring. Literature, for all its greatness, can also be endlessly tiring. Along with 3-4 other subjects, sometimes the idea of writing a practice piece, deeply analyzing the language of your text, or doing research into the context, views and values of the author are things you really, really don’t feel like doing.

Although these things are necessary and important, they’re also often difficult, taxing, and possibly not that interesting. Not too long before the Literature exam, my friend and I were texting, both feeling immense stress and guilt because we felt we hadn’t studied enough for the exam, but equally tired and unable to write any practice pieces. I’m sure many of you are very familiar with the paradox of not spending time studying because you are instead spending that time worrying about not studying.

However, there’s really no need to suddenly feel full of stress and anxiety when you have no motivation to do such work for Literature, that’s just wasted energy! Instead, accept that you’re going to have a little break from the serious stuff, and use that energy instead to improve your understanding and knowledge of your text (part of the exam criteria!!).

My friend and I decided we’d meet for coffee, and try and just discuss our exam texts together (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Dark Roots).

‘Bring paper and the books’ she texted me ‘I’ve got an idea’. And that idea was...

VCE Literature Charades

How to play:1. Find a friend2. Think a concept, character, quote, theme, literary device or anything really from one of your texts3. Forget about your dignity4. Act it out until your friend guesses5. Swap and repeat.And once people started to stare as we theatrically mimed things like ‘metaphor’ and ‘the albatross’ we decided to tone it down a little bit, leading to the invention of...

VCE Literature Pictionary

How to play:1. Find a friend2. Think of a concept, character, quote, theme, literary device (you get the idea)3. Keep your dignity intact!4. Start drawing the idea until your friend eventually guesses (warning: could lead to many failed attempts at drawing ‘foreshadowing’)5. Swap and repeat.

So I know this seems ridiculous but I swear, without even realizing it you’re getting to know your text so much better. There’ll be that moment in the exam room when all you’re thinking is ‘what on earth is that quote’, and suddenly you’ll remember how you’re friend fell off her chair trying to mime it. Either way, it’s a much more valuable use of time than worrying about not studying, especially because you’ll spend most of the time laughing.

If you’re alone, and you really don’t feel like studying for literature, but you still kind of have to study for literature… don’t despair! Find a place in your house where you wont be disturbed (or disturb anyone) and pretend you’re running an information session on your text. I used to record endless minutes of myself rambling about all different facets of my text, with no comprehensible structure, just trying to say and explain everything I knew about it. I would delete them almost straight away, but trust me, taking on the role of a teacher can be very fun, and when no ones watching, you can really just go for it. Things are much more likely to stay in your memory when you’ve explained them aloud, so you’ll be super prepared for your SACS!

Of course, it is beyond important to make sure you write as many practice pieces as you think you need to, and to work on tasks that may at times be ‘boring’, but if you want to avoid burning out try making studying a little fun!

‍ We’ve explored creative writing criteria, literary elements and how to replicate the text over on our The Ultimate Guide to VCE Creative Writing blog post . If you need a quick refresher or you’re new to creative writing, I highly recommend checking it out!

Creative Responses in VCE Literature

This was my favourite SAC in Literature; it allows so much creative freedom in creating and recreating a literary work. When else will you be able to depart from the (admittedly rather boring) standard essay structure?!

In your adaptations and transformations SAC (see my blog post about this literature assessment  here !), you learnt how the  meaning  of the text changed as the form changed. Here’s  your  opportunity to change the meaning of the text, maybe emphasising a particular thematic idea, or perhaps recreating a completely new perspective. Remember – you have almost complete creative licence in this assessment…use it to your advantage!

But don’t forget that the most important part of this task is that you must have a  highly convincing connection between the original text and your creative response . There must be a tangible relationship present, through an in-depth understanding of the original text’s features. These features include characterisation (what motivates these characters), setting, context, narrative structure, tone and writing/film style. Establishing a clear nexus between the original text and your creative piece does not mean you need to replicate everything of the text; you can stylistically choose to reject or contrast elements of the original text – as long as these choices are deliberate and unambiguous. Therefore, your creative response must demonstrate that you read your original text closely and perceptively by acknowledging these features of the text.

You can establish this relationship by:

• Adopting or resisting the same genre as the original text : e.g. an epistolary genre (written in letters) – do letters make an appearance in your text? Is that something you want to highlight? What about writing a monologue or a script if the text is a film or a play?
• Adopting or resisting the author’s writing/language style : does your writer characteristically write plainly or with great descriptive detail? What about irony or humour? Consider the length and style of sentences. Are there frequent uses of symbols or metaphors?
• Adopting or resisting the text’s point of view : do you want to draw readers’ attention to another thematic idea that was not explored in the original text? Will you align with the author’s views and values or will you oppose them? (See my views and values blogpost here!)
• Adopting or resisting the original setting, narrative structure or tone
• Writing through a peripheral character’s perspective : give a voice to a minor character that didn’t have a detailed backstory. Find a gap in the text and create and new perspective.
• Developing a prologue, epilogue or another chapter/scene : what new insight can you add with this addition and extension of the text? It must add something new – otherwise it is a redundant addition.
• Rewriting a key event/scene from another character’s point of view : does this highlight how important narrative perspective is?
• Recontextualising the original text : by putting the same story or characters into a completely different context, for example in the 21st century with technology, how does the meaning change in the narrative?

I chose to write a creative piece from the perspective of an inanimate object that followed the protagonist’s journey throughout the entire film, providing an unexpected point of view of the text. Be original and most importantly, enjoy it!

If you're doing a creative piece - whether for English or Literature - you'll find the following blogs super helpful:

The Ultimate Guide to VCE Creative Writing

‍ 5-Step Recipe for Creative Writing

How To Achieve A+ in Creative Writing (Reading and Creating)

Ever since literary perspectives have been introduced into the VCE Literature study design in 2017, there’s been a hell of a lot of confusion surrounding what they actually are, and what students are supposed to do with them. Due to the incredibly subjective nature of English, and especially Literature, as a subject, there is no single correct answer as to how to go about it. However, I hope to shed some light for you on how to go about this elusive component of VCE Literature.

So, what are they?

Firstly, what actually are perspectives? Well, they can be compared to a lens which you use to colour or filter your analysis of the text. You use the ideas and schools of thought that are specific to each perspective to shape, influence and guide your writing. There are a whole bunch of these perspectives, including psychoanalytical, Marxist, feminist and postcolonial. For your SAC during the year, you are going to need to use two different perspectives in your essay, whilst you will only use one in the end of year exam. Personally, while studying Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘North and South’, I used Marxist and feminist in my SAC and narrowed it down to Marxist for the exam.

How do I begin?

The best place to start, after having read the text of course, is to read up on what other people have to say about the book. Perspectives are closely intertwined with literary criticisms; that is, other people’s analysis and interpretation of the texts. For Literature, this needs to go into a bit more depth than someone telling you whether or not they liked the text. Some people like to include excerpts of other critics’ writing in their perspectives essays. Whilst this is not wrong, it isn’t the only way to go about it either. My class simply used these critics as a way of finding inspiration for our own ideas.

I was fortunate enough to be given a whole bunch of scholarly readings and critiques of ‘North and South’ by my teacher; however, if you aren’t as lucky, scholar.google.com and the State Library of Victoria’s online database are both amazing sources for such information. You can simply search up the title of your text, and maybe the author’s name to narrow down results, and you’re provided with scores of articles. I’d recommend reading as many of these as possible, and maybe even jotting down some key points or ideas that stand out to you as important or useful as you go along.

How do I choose which perspective to use?

With all those different perspectives out there, it can become difficult to narrow all the options down to two, and then one. Whilst some texts definitely lend themselves to certain perspectives more than others, the idea is that you can use whichever perspective you want for whichever text if you try hard enough. Sure, it may be hard to find evidence to support them all, but it is expected that, as a Literature student, you are able to read deep enough into the texts that you could find what you need to write on any of them.

My advice is to choose the perspective that initially jumps out at you. When you read the text for the first, second and even third time, there will be certain plot points and themes that present themselves to you. By analysing these, you’ll be able to see what connects them, and most likely be able to relate them to a particular perspective.

How do I write a perspectives essay? As I mentioned earlier, there is no stock standard formula that all perspectives essays must follow. But there are a few basic guidelines that can help you get the ball rolling.

Perspectives essays have the same basic structure as a normal English essay, but differ in the sense that they are more focused on a particular school of thought.  

Be sure to build up an inventory of useful words or phrases unique to your chosen perspective that will help clue the examiner in to what approach you’re taking. For example, when I was exploring a Marxist perspective, I would include phrases like “bourgeoisie”, “interclass relations” and “social hierarchy”. That being said, there is no need to explicitly state, “From a Marxist perspective…” in your essay. By including those subtle, little expressions unique to your chosen perspective, you should be able to signpost to the examiner what your perspective is without making your essay seem basic. As you spend more time exploring your chosen perspective, you will become more familiar and comfortable with a range of these specific expressions.

Help! I can’t decide which perspective to choose! What do I do?

If you find yourself, like I did, stuck when choosing which perspective you want to use, there are a couple of different things to can do to try and get yourself out of this funk.

To start off, Literature is an extremely collaborative subject. It naturally opens itself to a discussion between you and your classmates. In fact, this is a great way to build more ideas and strengthen the ones you already have for all parts of the Literature study design, not only this one. I’d recommend you have a chat with the other people in your class and talk through all your options and the evidence that you could use to support them. I find that by talking in this way, my jumbled ideas tend to become a bit clearer in my head, and I’m often exposed to new ideas as well.

Secondly, your Literature teacher is, of course, another port of call. You literally pay them to teach you Literature and make sure you walk into your SAC and exam as prepared as possible, so why wouldn’t you take full advantage of their expertise? Explain to them your problem and your thoughts up until this point, and I’m sure they’ll be able to, if not provide you with, point you in the right direction towards finding some clarification.

Lastly, you need to remember that you are ultimately the one who needs to make the decision. As cheesy and cliché as it sounds, just listen to what your gut tells you. Your first thoughts are usually the best ones, so just go with your instinct and see where it tells you to go!

With the Literary Perspectives essay can come mild confusion regarding its structure, extent (as well as form) of analysis and differentiability from your standard English text response - which is why I’m here to tell you that this confusion, while inevitable, is easily overcome! A text like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is rife with complexities in both its narrative features and literary devices, all prime for discussion in your own essay. ‍

Consider the following prompt: “ Discuss the proposition that ‘ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is a condemnation of 1950’s American society.”

Don’t let this prompt’s simple exterior fool you. What it leaves room for - and what the assessor will ultimately be looking for - is the development of your own complex ideas. It is this metamorphosis from the simple to complex that, when evident in your own writing, allows your essay to truly shine. This is obviously applicable to English as well, but where a clear fork in the road lies is in the act of grouping those complex ideas under the umbrella of a specific critical lens (or multiple!).  

For instance, this specific prompt is great in how a diverse range of literary perspectives can be applied to it due to its main subject being 1950s American society. These can include: feminist, psychoanalytical, queer, New Historicist, Marxist, and I’m sure many others!

When faced with a number of critical lenses you can choose from, it’s important to keep in mind the fact that focusing your essay on mainly two or three lenses will ensure it’s more streamlined and therefore easier to both write and read. I know incorporating more lenses as a means of adding variety within your essay is quite tempting, but this is sure to both hinder the depth of your analysis/discussion - which is where marks are ultimately rewarded - and run the risk of disrupting any form of cohesion in your writing. The lenses you choose will ultimately be dependent on the extent of their applicability to the prompt and how comfortable you are with using them (i.e don’t use a Marxist lens if you don’t know how to extensively discuss social classes). The combination of lenses you choose, coupled with your own interpretation, help to inform the development of your unique perspective of the text.

For this prompt, I personally chose to focus on using the critical lenses of New Historicism, psychoanalysis and queer theory. From here, I’m able to ask myself questions catered to each perspective such as “What specific cultural values are examined in COAHTR and how does Williams present them?” and, relating this to the prompt at hand by also asking: “Is this presentation condemnatory?”. The lenses you choose should be interlinked with your arguments and thus your analyses, enabling you to show the assessor you understand that this isn’t an English text response! ‍

Introduction

A frequently asked question regarding the intro of a literary perspectives essay is whether or not to state the critical lens/es you are using. The answer to this is that it’s ultimately up to you! Some important points to consider however are:

• Am I able to include this statement without it sounding janky and disruptive of flow?
• If I were not to include it, am I able to make it clear enough to the assessor from the get-go what perspective/s I am using?

Outside of that, a literary perspectives intro is pretty similar to that of any other essay.  One thing to remember however, especially with COAHTR, is to briefly explain certain significant concepts you choose to mention. A good example of this is the American Dream - demonstrating that you understand what it is at its core via a brief explanation in your intro is going to leave a far better impression on the assessor than not elaborating on it at all.

See mine below:

“Defined by its moral incongruity against socially upheld conservative values, Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof illuminates the debilitative effects of subscription to a belief system entrenched in immorality. By highlighting the ways in which values such as heteronormativity and the American Dream — deemed synonymous with “equal opportunity” — serve only as obstructions to genuine human connection, Williams underpins both his condemnation of such mores and, therefore, the eminent human struggle to attain true happiness."

As you can see, I personally chose not to explicitly state what critical lenses I was using in my essay. However, I did make sure to include certain words and phrases commonly associated with the critical lenses they represent.

For example:

• New Historicism: “socially upheld conservative values”, “belief system”, “values such as heteronormativity and the American Dream”
• Psychoanalytical: “moral incongruity”, “human connection/struggle to attain true happiness”
• Queer theory: “heteronormativity”

This allows me to inform the assessor of what lenses I'm using in spite of an absent explicit statement. It’s also far more efficient in this case than having to use the janky phrase “Under the critical lenses of New Historicism, psychoanalysis and queer theory…”.

Body paragraphs:

As I'm sure you already know by now, Literature grants you a lot more freedom than English in terms of structure - and this is especially applicable to the body of your essay! It's important however to find a balance between what structure you’re most comfortable writing with and what’s going to impress the assessor (as opposed to abusing this freedom and floundering about with zero cohesion).

What I personally tend to be comfortable doing is loosely following a TEEL structure, while spicing it up a little by switching around the order here and there.  This is especially evident in my first body paragraph below for the aforementioned prompt, in which I begin with some passage analysis rather than your typical topic sentence:

“Positioning the audience within an American plantation home’s “bed-sitting-room”, Williams immediately envelops the play’s moral foreground in domesticity and the conservative mores of 1950s American society that serve to define such an atmosphere. It being the bedroom of heterosexual couple Brick and Maggie evinces the nature of their exchanges as demonstrative of the morally debilitating effects of the values upheld by the society in which they live — illuminating Williams’ intention to present social mores as obstructive of genuine human connection. Such an intention is foregrounded by the disparity that exists between the external and internal; that is, the socially upheld status of Brick and Maggie’s heterosexual relationship — exempt from subjection to social “disgust” — and the “mendacious” reality of their marriage in its failure to provide either individual with the same sense of primordial wholeness Brick finds in his “clean”, “pure” and “true” homosocial relationship with Skipper. From the outset of the play, heteronormative values are debased as Williams subverts the domestically epitomised dynamic between husband and wife into an embodiment of the inhumane. Maggie is likened to a “priest delivering a liturgical chant”, her lines interspersed with “wordless singing” — alluding to her overly performative nature that compromises the genuineness of human connection. Brick’s visual absence during the play’s opening and his “masked indifference”, too, further undermine the social perception of heterosexuality as the pinnacle of love as it is this reticence that exemplifies the absence of happiness found in their marriage. This sense of disconnection, wherein “living with someone you love can be lonelier — than living entirely alone”, forces Maggie to navigate their relationship through the reductive mode of a “game” wherein it is only by detecting “a sign of nerves in a player on the defensive” that she can attempt to derive genuine emotion from her husband. To reduce human connection to a set of manoeuvrable tactics punctuated only by “the click of mallets” is an act portrayed by Williams as propagative of immorality, vehemently contrasting the reconciliation of the divided self afforded to Brick by the “one, great true thing” in his life: friendship with Skipper. By making the audience privy to the inhumanity lying at the helm of 1950s American social mores, Williams thus presents his scathing critique of such a system, reflecting its capacity for obstructing human connection and therefore the futility of conforming to its standards.”

A key feature of this paragraph is the nature of my analysis - it is, essentially, very similar to what you’d find in a passage analysis essay. It’s important to note that the skills you’ve learnt for the latter can be easily implemented in a literary perspectives essay and is often what allows it to truly stand out! It also forces you to frequently reference the text with quotes in the same way you would in a passage analysis essay, which is glorious in any assessor’s eyes.

With “zooming in” on certain passages in the text (think analysing literary devices, setting, syntax, etc.) however must also follow “zooming out” and evaluating their overall meaning, especially in relation to their significance to the prompt.

A concise example of “zooming in and out” from the previous paragraph can be seen below:

“ Maggie is likened to a “priest delivering a liturgical chant”, her lines interspersed with “wordless singing” — alluding to her overly performative nature that compromises the genuineness of human connection. ”

Below is another example from a different body paragraph for the same essay:

“ Hateful figures transformed into animalistic grotesques, the children of Mae and Gooper are depicted as “no-neck monsters” with “dawg’s names”, with the “fat old body” of Big Mama herself alternating in appearance from “an old bulldog” to a “charging rhino”. Here the moral degradation of a society so heavily reliant on the atomisation of its individuals is made most conspicuous, with Big Daddy’s semblance to a large animal who “pants and wheezes and sniffs” serving as a further testament to such a notion.”

Conclusion:

This is yet another portion of your essay granted freedom by the nature of VCE Literature, so whether or not you choose to intertwine it with your last body paragraph or separate it completely is entirely up to you. What you choose to emphasise in your conclusion is also very similar to that of any other essay as the main focus is to hammer home your interpretation of the text in relation to the prompt!

See my example below:

“Williams, by presenting 1950’s American society as both propagative of atomisation and obstructive of innate morality, ultimately highlights the futility that lies in assimilating to such a belief system as a means of attaining true happiness. The pressure to subscribe to morally reductive values wherein any remnants of the innate are wholly ignored only further shrouds the possibility of happiness at all, and it is here where Williams’ portrayal of the human struggle to attain this ideal is made most conspicuous.”

So there’s approximately a month to go before the Literature exam. Nervous? Confident? Over it?! You might be thinking that they best way to study up until the exam is to just churn out essays after essays after essays. This is a common misconception, and may even hurt your chances for the exam. You want your essays to be ‘fresh’ with original insight, not stale pieces that sound like you’ve written this a hundred times and you’re getting bored. Here are a few tips on how to study for the exam while still keeping your mind activated about Literature!

Critique critical commentary

Google critical commentary on your text. You might pick up a new insight or perspective that you’ve never thought of. These can help you inform your own original and individual interpretation of the text. It is important to note that while reading critical commentary is incredibly useful in providing ‘clever’ interpretations, examiners are really looking for your own interpretation – not a regurgitated version of other people’s analyses. Rather than passively reading critical commentary, critique it yourself! Acknowledge and file away its good points, but also form your own stance with whether you agree or disagree with that point of view. Ask yourself why that is your perspective. Developing this critical analysis skill is extremely valuable, and will put you in the mindset for the exam to provide your own original interpretation that  pushes the boundaries and the envelop e.

Choose random passages and annotate

Close your eyes and pick a random a couple of passages from your text. Photocopy them, print them, however you like, but the most important thing is to spend time annotating them in as much detail as possible. Focus on analysing the language for how the author constructs the text to create meaning. Note sentences that can link to the wider text. This really forces you to analyse the most random passage in the text in extreme detail, which you might have skipped over in class or in your own reading, because it might not have seemed important at the time. Who knows, the exam could throw in a surprise passage that students might not have thought to study in great detail, and you have because you’ve been analysing passages at random – not just the major key events!

Examiner reports and  word bank

Look through VCAA examiner reports for sample excerpts from high scoring responses. Highlight words and phrases that sound ‘good’ – and adapt them to use yourself! There’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration (stealing) from the examiner reports essays… after all they’re there for you to learn from. Key: you’re drawing inspiration from words, not ideas or sentences – otherwise that’s just plagiarism and won’t help at all. Create a word bank of vocabulary that suit your texts, which can be a great prompter when you’re struggling to think of a word that accurately expresses on paper what you want to say in your mind.

Timed conditions

The biggest issue with every literature student in the exam is  timing . There’s always so many things you want to write and include, that it is simply not possible to include everything. Time yourself. Practice writing in timed conditions. Be disciplined with your time – going over time for the first essay to include maybe one more good point, is to sacrifice finishing your second essay.

Exams are without a doubt a stressful period of time for all VCE students, and it can be easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with expectations, wanting to prove yourself and balancing the workload of your other exams. Find time to do small things to benefit yourself for the exam without compromising your mental power (after a very long marathon). Good luck and believe in yourself!

“Once upon a time…”

The fairy tale of Cinderella is a well-known, well-loved and well-ingrained story that was always told to me as a bedtime story. Who could forget the mean-spirited stepsisters who punished and ruined Cinderella’s life to no end? According to the dark Brothers Grimm version, the stepsisters mutilated their feet by cutting off their heels and toes to fit into the infamous shoe, and their eyes were pecked away by birds until they were blinded! It’s definitely one way to send a message to children… don’t be bullies or you’ll be punished. Which is exactly what the Brothers Grimm’s views and values were. Their construction of their fairy tale to send a message of what they viewed as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is simplistically shown through the writers’ choice in determining the characters’ fate. The evil stepsisters are punished, while Cinderella receives happiness and riches because she remained kind and pure. A clear and very simple example of how texts reflect the beliefs, world views and ethics of the author, which is essentially the author’s views and values!

What are the views and values of a text?

Writers use literature to criticise or endorse social conditions, expressing their own opinions and viewpoints of the world they live in. It is important to remember that each piece of literature is a deliberate construction. Every decision a writer makes reflects their views and values about their culture, morality, politics, gender, class, history or religion. This is implicit within the style and content of the text, rather than in overt statements. This means that the writer’s views and values are always open to interpretation, and possibly even controversial. This is what you (as an astute literature student) must do – interpret the relationship between your text and the ideas it explores and examines, endorses or challenges in the writer’s society.

How do I start?

Consider the following tips:

• What does the writer question and critique with their own society? What does this say about the writer’s own views and the values that uphold?
• For example,  “Jane Austen in Persuasion recognises the binding social conventions of the 19th century as superficial, where they value wealth and status of the utmost priority. She satirises such frivolous values through the microcosmic analysis of the Elliot family.”
• The writer’s affirming or critical treatment of individual characters can be a significant clue to what values they approve or disapprove of. What fate do the characters have? Who does the writer punish or reward by the end of the text?
• Which characters challenge and critique the social conventions of the day?
• Look at the writer’s use of language:
• Characterisation
• Plot structure
• Description
• In other words …what are the possible meanings generated by the writer’s choices?
• Recognition and use of metalanguage for literary techniques is crucial because you are responding to a work of literature. Within literature ideas, views and values and issues do not exist in a vacuum. They arise out of the writer’s style and create  meaning .
• How do the writer’s choices make meaning?
• How are the writer’s choices intended to affect the reader’s perception of social values?
• Weave views and values throughout your close analysis essays, rather than superficially adding a few lines at the conclusion of the essay to indicate the writer’s concerns.
• Using the writer’s name frequently will also assist in creating a mindset of analysing the writer’s commentary on society.

Below are some examples from an examiner report of successful and  insightful  responses reflecting the views and values of the writer:

(Another tip is to go through examiner’s reports and take note of high quality responses, even if they are not the text you’re studying)

When contrasted with the stark, blunt tone of Caesar throughout the play ‘You may see, Lepidus, and henceforth know...’ the richness of Shakespeare’s poetry with regard to his ‘couple so famous’  denotes how the playwright himself ultimately values the heroic age  to which his protagonists belong over the machinations of the rising imperial Rome.

It is the word ‘natural’ here through which Mansfield crafts a sharp irony that invites us to rate Edna’s obsession with her own performance.... It is this satiric impulse that also leaps to the fore through the image of Edna, ‘clasping the black book in her fingers as though it were a missal’...the  poignant economy of Mansfield’s characteristic style explores her views on the fragility of the human condition .   

‘In Cold Blood’ provides a challenging exploration of the value placed on human life. The seemingly pointless murders undermine every concept of morality that reigns in Middle America, the ‘Bible Belt’, as well as the wider community.  Capote insinuates his personal abhorrence of the death penalty and the disregard of mental illness in the justice system .

Why are views and values important in literature, and especially for close analysis?

Every year, the examiner reports emphasise how the best close analysis responses were ones that “showed how the text endorsed and reflected the views and values of the writer and were able to weave an understanding of these through the essay” (2013 VCAA Lit examiner report). By analysing HOW the text critiques, challenges or endorses the accepted values of the society in the text, you are demonstrating an understanding of the social and cultural context of the text, thus acknowledging the multifaceted layers that exist within literature. You are identifying the writer’s commentary of humanity through your own interpretation. Bring some insight into your essays!

For an overview of the Literature Study Design as a whole, be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to VCE Literature . 

What’s Changing?

The largest change is that the Literary Perspectives area of study has been removed and replaced with an area of study called ‘Developing Interpretations’. Literary Perspectives introduced you to literary theories like marxism, feminism and post-structuralism. These might still be relevant if your teacher decides to use them, but for the most part, they have been cut. 

Developing Interpretations (Unit 3.2) is about differing opinions of texts. You are being asked to develop an interpretation of your text and to use the evidence available to you to support that understanding of the text. This process is difficult, and TBH is something that teachers, tutors and scholars of literature (and humanities) take for granted. It requires understanding the text, its form, its context, the author, the views and values, the aspects of texts and (if that isn’t enough) to be able to understand how they all connect together , before writing an essay that makes your understanding of all of that stuff coherent.

This new AoS also asks you to take your interpretation and consider it alongside another interpretation, because you get to read a supplementary text ! This supplementary text is heavily implied to be a piece of academia. The supplementary reading is supposed to offer an interpretation of the text, and you need to consider how that changes your interpretation. Does it? Was an idea fundamental to your interpretation debunked? Was there something you overlooked? Does the addition of a theoretical framework (like post-colonialism or feminism) impact your understanding?

What Do I Need To Do?

According to the study design, Developing Interpretations involves ‘develop[ing] interpretations of a set text informed by the ideas, views and values of the set text and a supplementary reading’. This means there are two key sections , first is the development of an interpretation, and second is the reconsideration of that initial interpretation. Let’s look at each section in turn:

Developing an Interpretation

2008’s Ironman, directed by John Favreau, is the story of a billionaire weapons dealer who, after a life-altering event, dismantles his weapons-manufacturing business in order to use his genius-level intellect to construct a suit of armour and become a superhero.

Ironman demonstrates the evils of the American war machine whilst showing that moral individuals are capable of redirecting resources and energy into genuine ways of improving people's lives.

Let’s not pretend that Ironman is the pinnacle of modern storytelling. But what we can see in the statement above is an example of an interpretation. We can offer an opposing interpretation that’s a bit more critical:

Ironman demonstrates, falsely, that the altruism of one ‘good guy with a gun’ can compensate for a systemic ravaging of the Middle East by the American colonial war machine.

Both of these interpretations deal with the same text and the same aspects of that text. They both comment on Ironman ’s exploration of weapons-dealing, and the protagonist’s response to that issue. The first interpretation is - arguably - the message the screenwriters, Fergus, Ostby, and Marcum intended for us to take away from the story. The second interpretation is considering the efficacy of that take-home message: Is Ironman actually the good guy, or is there a larger systemic issue at play, beyond the morals of one man?

To come up with an interpretation, you must consider views and values , aspects of texts and the context the text was created in. Aspects of texts like genre and characterisation demonstrate how the author views a certain issue or idea, and these issues or ideas are usually aspects of the author’s context. At this stage of developing an interpretation, VCAA wants you to focus on close analysis of the text, so ask questions about how a certain motif might reveal something about the author’s views and values. Or, how does a minor character relate to a historical figure that is contextually relevant to the text? For an excellent example of such an analysis and interpretation, I highly recommend the Coraline Bug Theory by Karsten Runquist (YouTube). 

For an in-depth look at how to combine views and values, textual features, and context, check out LSG’s A Killer Literature Study Guide .

The Supplementary Reading 

So, you’ve developed a unique and plausible interpretation of your text using the evidence available to you, the context , and the author’s views and values . At this stage, you might have a SAC where you defend your interpretation. No matter how the SAC is done, after developing the interpretation, you will be given a supplementary reading . This can take multiple forms, being a piece written by your teacher, an ‘explication of a literary theory’ or an academic article. The ‘explication of a literary theory’ basically means a work explaining a literary theory, like Marxism, feminism or post-modernism.

After you have read and considered the supplementary reading in class, you will have to see how your initial interpretation holds up, and either adapt or defend your interpretation in light of the new information. If you’re struggling to rethink your ideas, try these steps:

1) Free your mind, dude. Be open to the possibility that you were wrong. Be willing to abandon ideas that you thought were really interesting. They probably were really interesting and different, but unfortunately, they just might not hold up in light of the new piece.

2) Rebut the article. If your ideas are being completely dunked on by the article, can you dunk on the article? Don’t be egregious, but there may be things where you feel that your argument is stronger, why? What has the author missed about a character or event that actually helps to better support your argument?

3) Make room for nuance. You might have an article that mostly agrees with you but helps you to see where you might have been too absolutist. Sure, the text’s views and values are pretty homophobic, and your supplementary reading agrees, but maybe the text is showing that homophobia in a way you hadn’t initially realised.

Pro Tips for Reading Academic Articles

One of the options for the supplementary reading is academic articles (also known as critical readings/articles/essays). These are the kinds of essays that incredibly well-educated and fancy university people with monocles write, and as such, they can be quite difficult to read, especially if they are new to you. Because academia is likely new to you in Years 11 and 12, we want to give you some pro tips for reading and understanding these articles, which will help you all the way into university!

When you’re first given your supplementary reading, it can be really daunting. The most important thing to remember here is to take it slow. You will not understand it immediately, and no one is expecting you to. Here are some cheat codes to be able to understand academic articles faster.

1) Read the Whole Thing

Front to back. Including and especially the abstract, introduction and conclusion. You will not understand a word, but maybe some things will jump out; nice phrases or sentences that kinda feel like something. It might be as simple as a statement like: ‘Mina Harker not only escapes the fate of the other women: she is also largely responsible for the capture and ultimate destruction of Dracula.’ (Senf 1982, p. 34). This statement isn’t Senf’s entire point in the article, but it does help me to interpret Mina’s character in Dracula .

While you’re reading, look up words you don’t understand and write their meaning in the margin. Whilst some might suggest doing this on a second read, it really makes no difference, so you might as well get it out of the way here.

2) Re-read the Introduction and Conclusions

And read them closely. Where is the author commenting on previous peoples’ work, and when are they making their own argument? The introduction usually does a few things:

1)  Introduces the text

2) Does a literature review wherein the author looks at previous works of academia and considers their merits

3)  Introduces their main argument and their supporting arguments

The conclusion does what your conclusions should be doing! It restates the core arguments and supporting arguments, connecting them in a way that leads to a clear interpretation.

Reading the intro and conclusion helps you understand the whole piece because it’s the same arguments without all the extraneous wordiness and verboseness of the actual body paragraphs. It lacks some nuance and the logic behind the arguments, but it signposts what the author is actually saying.

3) Try to Summarise the Author’s Interpretation

After reading the article a couple of times and focusing heavily on the intro and conclusion, discuss with your classmates what they got from the piece. Try to state or write down the core argument of the author and the ways they defend that contention. This is a practice that you will do all the way to university, so it’s worth getting some practice in! Most articles use the same structure you do at school, which is an introduction, three arguments and a conclusion. It’s just that those three arguments are a lot more complex and long-winded. If you’re lucky, the author has used subheadings to separate the arguments.

4) Read More Academic Articles

This is a little bit of a cheat, and definitely more effort, but trust me: it pays off . The best Literature students are well-read. Reading fiction (especially the classics) allows you to see how your text fits into the wider literary world. Things like genres, literary movements, historical ideas and pop culture references can only be gleaned from a text if you have the knowledge of other texts: It’s really hard to watch the later Avengers movies without having seen Ironman ! Same goes for Literature. Academic authors do the same thing - How does Dracula compare to Edgar Allen Poe? How does Alias Grace fit into a wider feminist discourse in the late 90s?

Reading more academic articles gives you a way to practice engaging with academia and to repeatedly expose yourself to the language, forms and ways of thinking that are common in academics. If the best Literature students read loads of fiction, imagine what reading loads of university-level academia could do!

The SAC for Developing Interpretations is a little bit weird. It’s worth 50% of Unit 3, but is split into two parts:

• Part A: An initial interpretation of the text’s views and values within its historical, social and cultural context.
• Part B: A written response that compares/interweaves and analyses an initial interpretation with a subsequent interpretation, using a key moment from the text.

Your teacher might do the two parts together, or separately. In any case, Part B will include the use of a passage from the set text that you must engage with. How does the passage help you to interpret the text, and how does that interpretation agree or disagree with the interpretation presented in the supplementary reading? Here are some of the possible ways that your teacher may decide to design the SAC:

1) Part A and Part B are assessed in separate tasks

Part A is assessed after sustained study of the set text. Students are invited to explore a key idea or value in the text and consider how the text has presented and represented that concern or value. They could, for example, explore the ways a text has presented and represented isolation or power or marriage.

Part B is assessed after students consider the supplementary reading. Students revisit the key concern or value through a passage from the set text and provide an enhanced interpretation informed by the supplementary reading.

2) Part A and Part B are assessed as one task

Students are provided with a passage from the set text and a specific question that relates to one of the text’s key ideas. Students engage with a close reading of the passage based on the key idea, offering an interpretation drawn from the language of the text and from the views and values of the text. They then build on that initial interpretation by engaging with the ideas and/or position they have considered through the supplementary reading.

The most difficult part of the SAC for this new AoS is balancing your interpretation, the textual evidence and the alternative interpretation of the supplementary reading. It is vital that if you are doing Literature this year, that you know your 3.2 text like the back of your hand, and that you practice writing loads and loads. It is also worth trying to make your interpretation incredibly specific so that you can go in-depth into one idea, rather than simply skimming over 3 or 4 big ideas. 

Check out our Developing Interpretations SAC Guide: Interpreting Alias Grace blog post for more. Even if you're not studying Alias Grace, this blog post will further clarify what to expect from the Developing Interpretation SAC.  

Going Forward

I highly recommend that you begin engaging in interpretative and analytical exercises that you can apply to your everyday life. As a Literature student, there is an assumption that you’re interested in Literature (obviously!), film and visual media, history, current affairs and even visual arts. In the wonderful age of the internet there are unlimited free resources that can support your engagement with these fields in interesting ways. I like to say to my Llit students that analysis should be something you can’t turn off - you should be watching TV and disassembling the ways in which Love Island manufactures drama and keeps you engaged. Why does this advertisement make me want to eat KFC? How has this author made me cry after this character’s death? To develop strong interpretations of literature, you need to be cognizant of the history, construction and theories of literature, and so engaging with as many texts as possible supports your ability to recognise things like genre, historical literary and artistic movements and emotionally manipulative language. 

These resources should help you see how skilled literary and media critics analyse fictional worlds.

Death of the Author by Lindsay Ellis (YouTube). Discusses authorial intent and whether we can view ‘the art without the artist’. Ellis also has fantastic interpretations of film and TV.

Nerdwriter (YouTube). Likely one of the best examples of closely analysing text. Check out his video on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 , and on how Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders answer questions.

literarydevices.net . Literally my favourite website. A database of every imaginable literary device, how they function, and popular examples. Invaluable for the lit student.

Databases. Go to your school library and ask your librarian what Arts and Humanities databases your school has access to. JSTOR, ProQuest and AusLit, are all databases that host the kinds of articles you should be exposing yourself to. If you are tutoring with Lisa’s Study Guides , then your tutor may be able to help you gather resources from some databases.

Film and Television

Pop Culture Detective (YouTube) especially his videos on the Marvel Universe and the status quo , and misogyny in the Big Bang Theory (CW: discusses sexual assault).

Super Position by David Grueber (Article). Referenced in Pop Culture Detective’s MCU episode and interprets the narrative form of the superhero genre.

The Coraline Bug Theory by Karsten Runquist (YouTube). An excellent example of developing an interpretation of a text and using a minor textual element to explore that interpretation.

CineFix (YouTube) especially their “What’s the Difference” and “Top 10” series. Although presenting film ‘for the masses’, their Top 10 lists constantly consider how an idea (like family or cars ) contribute to the messaging of the film.  

Get exclusive weekly advice from Lisa, only available via email.

Power-up your learning with free essay topics, downloadable word banks, and updates on the latest VCE strategies.

latest articles

Check out our latest thought leadership on enterprise innovation., vce creative writing: how to structure your story.

VCE English Unit 3, Area of Study 2: Creating Texts - What Is It?

Breaking Down Themes & Key Quotes in The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie

Keep in touch

Have questions? Get in touch with us here - we usually reply in 24 business hours.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to answer any emails here requesting personal help with your study or homework here!

Copyright © Lisa's Study Guides. All Rights Reserved. The VCAA does not endorse and is not affiliated with Lisa's Study Guides or vcestudyguides.com. The VCAA provides the only official, up to date versions of VCAA publications and information about courses including the VCE. VCE® is a registered trademark of the VCAA.

03 9028 5603 Call us: Monday to Friday between 3pm - 6pm or leave us a message and we'll call you back! Address: Level 2 Little Collins St Melbourne 3000 VIC