'Othello' and Shakespeare's conventions of tragedy
I can explore Shakespeare's structural conventions of tragedy in the play.
'Othello' and Shakespeare's conventions of tragedy
I can explore Shakespeare's structural conventions of tragedy in the play.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Shakespeare's tragedies, like many Jacobean tragedies, focus on the consequences of the disruption of social order
- Elizabethan social order was based on ideas about creation from Genesis, where God gave everything a place in the world
- Order, disorder and chaos are key themes and motifs. As civil order is disrupted, the natural world responds with chaos
- The five-act structure tracks the downfall of a noble tragic hero, causing disorder and finally restoring order
Common misconception
Shakespeare wrote only according to Aristotle's notion of tragedy.
Shakespeare had his own beliefs about tragedy and combined them with Aristotle's ideas.
Keywords
The Great Chain of Being - A hierarchy that Elizabethans believed God ordained for the earth.
Anagnorisis - A moment of insight where the tragic hero understands their circumstances.
Peripeteia - A pivotal action that changes the protagonist’s fate from secure to vulnerable.
Disruption - A disturbance which interferes with the normal functioning of something.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of serious crime
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
Loading...