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Year 9

'Othello' and Shakespeare's conventions of tragedy

I can explore Shakespeare's structural conventions of tragedy in the play.

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Year 9

'Othello' and Shakespeare's conventions of tragedy

I can explore Shakespeare's structural conventions of tragedy in the play.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Shakespeare's tragedies, like many Jacobean tragedies, focus on the consequences of the disruption of social order
  2. Elizabethan social order was based on ideas about creation from Genesis, where God gave everything a place in the world
  3. Order, disorder and chaos are key themes and motifs. As civil order is disrupted, the natural world responds with chaos
  4. The five-act structure tracks the downfall of a noble tragic hero, causing disorder and finally restoring order

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.

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.


To help you plan your year 9 english lesson on: 'Othello' and Shakespeare's conventions of tragedy, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

If students have a hard time with the five-plot structure, ask them to plot a story you have read together according to this.
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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 is a tragic hero?
Correct answer: a character of high status with a hamartia that experiences a downfall
a sympathetic central character of common status
a main character that is nice
Q2.
In Shakespeare's 'Othello', what could Othello's hamartia be?
ambition
arrogance
Correct answer: jealousy
Q3.
In 'Othello', what may Othello's moment of anagnorisis be?
When he learns Cassio had Desdemona's handkerchief
Correct answer: When he learns he was manipulated by Iago
When he learns that Brabantio rejected him
Q4.
What is Othello's peripeteia in Shakespeare's 'Othello'?
When he marries Desdemona
When he travels to Cyprus
Correct answer: When he falls for Iago's schemes
Q5.
What is meant by the word 'catharsis'?
a build up of tension
Correct answer: a release of tension
feeling sorry for the protagonist
Q6.
When are the audience likely to experience catharsis in the play 'Othello'?
When Othello kills Desdemona because he rids himself of insecurity
When Othello finds that Cassio has Desdemona's handkerchief because it is tense
Correct answer: When Othello kills himself because he rids himself of guilt

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the Great Chain of Being?
Correct answer: a hierarchy that Elizabethans believed was chosen by God to order everything
a system of punishment
a piece of propaganda to control people
Q2.
What was most important according to the Great Chain of Being?
Correct answer: angels
animals
church
nobles
Q3.
What is true of social order in Shakespeare's tragedies?
Correct answer: it is disrupted
it is maintained
it is not important
Q4.
What is Shakespeare's structure for tragedies?
three-act
six-act
Correct answer: five-act
Q5.
In the play 'Othello', how does Iago's manipulation of Othello link to social order and status?
Iago is in love with Othello's wife, Desdemona
Correct answer: Iago does not believe Othello is worthy of his rank due to his race
Correct answer: Iago is angry that Othello did not give him a promotion
Q6.
In Shakespeare's 'Othello', in which act does Othello likely experience anagnorisis?
the climax, when he sees Cassio with Desdemona's handkerchief
the falling action, when he shouts at Desdemona
Correct answer: the resolution, when he is told by Emilia that Iago manipulated him