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Year 9

Analysis of the theme of jealousy in 'Othello'

I can structure a conceptual argument based on the theme of jealousy in ‘Othello’.

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Year 9

Analysis of the theme of jealousy in 'Othello'

I can structure a conceptual argument based on the theme of jealousy in ‘Othello’.

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Share activities with pupils
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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Topic sentences should develop in a sequence, to maintain focus on the argument.
  2. Connotations of words and images should be linked to other examples that either compound or contrast their effect.
  3. You can use context to evaluate different interpretations and support the overarching argument.

Keywords

  • Chronology - the arrangement of events in order of their occurrence.

  • Complexity - the state of being intricate or complicated.

  • Corrosive - the ability to destroy or damage gradually.

  • Cuckoldry - the state of being a cuckold: a man whose wife has been unfaithful.

Common misconception

Context is separate to ideas and analysis.

Context is not an add on for an essay, it is something that can shape arguments.


To help you plan your year 9 english lesson on: Analysis of the theme of jealousy in 'Othello', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Get students to reconstruct elements of a deconstructed essay to plan to show their understanding of topic sentence sequencing and quote sequencing.
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content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does the term cuckolded mean?
Correct answer: A man whose wife has been unfaithful has been 'cuckolded'
A woman whose husband has been unfaithful has been 'cuckolded'
A man that gets passed over for a promotion has been 'cuckolded'
Q2.
Jacobean men feared being 'cuckolded' because they believed it threatened their...
happiness.
job.
Correct answer: honour.
family.
Q3.
How is jealousy a catalyst for all events in 'Othello'?
Othello kills Desdemona due to his jealousy
Correct answer: Iago seeks revenge on Othello due to suspecting he had an affair with Emilia
Bianca confronts Cassio about the handkerchief in his room
Q4.
Which idea can be contested in reference to Shakespeare's 'Othello'?
that Iago manipulates Othello
that male pride affects Othello’s jealousy
Correct answer: that jealousy is the sole catalyst for Othello’s tragic end
that Othello is consumed with jealousy
Q5.
Which factor contributes to Othello's jealousy and plays a role in his downfall in the play 'Othello'?
Correct answer: male pride and dominance
fate and superstition
military status
Q6.
Which specific Jacobean belief about women may reflect the anger in Othello upon hearing of Desdemona's infidelity in 'Othello'?
Correct answer: women were expected to be chaste
women were expected to be good mothers
women were expected to do domestic chores
women were expected to be confident

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Topic sentences can be ordered according to __________ and __________.
length, complexity
Correct answer: chronology, complexity
chronology, length
Q2.
Starting with the first, order these topic sentences about 'Othello' according to chronology and complexity.
1 - Through Iago, Shakespeare shows how jealousy and malcontent occur simultaneously
2 - Shakespeare reveals that jealousy is infectious, as it soon spreads to Othello
3 - Through the bloodshed, Shakespeare exposes the tragic ends of male jealousy
Q3.
What contextual idea could you draw upon to support the idea that male jealousy is particularly destructive in 'Othello'?
racial prejudice in the Jacobean era was rife
Jacobean people believed in the Great Chain of Being
Correct answer: Jacobean men feared being cuckolded and thus emasculated and humiliated
Q4.
Match the quotes from 'Othello' to those that link to the best.
Correct Answer:''It is the green-eyed monster'',"A horned man's a monster and a beast''
tick

"A horned man's a monster and a beast''

Correct Answer:''devils will the blackest sins put on'',''hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light'
tick

''hell and night must bring this monstrous birth to the world's light'

Correct Answer:''The Moor... changes with my poison'',''Pour this pestilence into his ear''
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''Pour this pestilence into his ear''

Correct Answer:''I had rather be a toad'',''Play the swan and die in music''
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''Play the swan and die in music''

Correct Answer:''She was chaste'',''Out, strumpet''
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''Out, strumpet''

Q5.
Which quote from 'Othello' is the odd one out and does not link to the other quotes?
''Not poppy nor mandragora shall ever medicine thee''
''Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners''
Correct answer: ''Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire!”
''As if he plucked kisses up by the roots that grew upon my lips''
Q6.
Which contextual point can you use to support Othello's perceived outsider status being more detrimental than his jealousy in the play 'Othello'?
Correct answer: racial prejudice was rife at the time of writing and society was insular
men feared being cuckolded
women were expected to be chaste and obedient