Outline
Thesis statement: The film, Othello, offers viewers an exceptional perspective that embodies the themes of jealousy and deceit, which are the two themes undoubtedly and effectively shown in the film. * I. Iago explains his tactics to Roderigo. Envy drives him to follow Othello not out of “love” or “duty,” but because he feels he can deceive his general. * 1. “Were I the Moor I would not be Iago.
In following him I follow but myself;
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so for my peculiar end.” (I.i.57–60)
2. Iago is continually playing a game of deception, even with Roderigo and the audience.
II. Othello is poisoned by Iago’s herbaceous manipulation; therefore, Othello becomes blind to Desdemona’s loyalty.
1. Many of Iago’s references of deception concern poison.
2. “I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear” (II.iii.330); “The Moor already changes with my poison. / Dangerous conceits are in their natures poisons, / . . . / . . . Not poppy nor mandragora / Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world / Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep” (III.iii.329–336). Iago breeds his “conceits” so that they become fatal toxins and then plants their seeds in the minds of others. III.
1. Iago tells Othello to beware of jealousy, the “green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on” (III.iii.170–171).
2. Likewise, Emilia describes jealousy as dangerously and uncannily self-generating, a “monster / Begot upon itself, born on itself” (III.iv.156–157).
The imagery of the monstrous and diabolical takes over where the imagery of animals can go no further, presenting the jealousy-crazed characters not simply as brutish, but as grotesque, deformed, and demonic.
Desperate to cling to the security of his former identity as a soldier while his current identity as a lover crumbles, Othello begins to confuse the one with the other. His expression of his jealousy quickly devolves from the conventional—“Farewell the tranquil mind”—to the absurd:

Farewell the plum’d troops and the big wars
That make ambition virtue! O, farewell,
Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, th’ear piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!” (III.iii.353–359)

Analysis for “Othello”
Sheet 1 – Plot Outline
On this sheet write about:
1. The role played by each of the major characters
a. Identify the protagonist(s)
b. Identify the antagonist(s) Iago
2. The nature of the conflict. (Remember that there may be more than one single line of conflict.)
3. Identify one or more obstacles placed in the way of the protagonist.
4. Describe one or two events revealed in the exposition (the five W’s, namely, who, what, where, where, why).
5. Describe the rising action in the play. What do you see happening as the plot begins to thicken?
6. Identify and quote on this sheet the line in the text where the climax occurs.
7. What is revealed in the epiphany or point of realization? To whom is it revealed?
8. How are events resolved? What is the denouement?
Sheet 2 – Dialogue
1. Choose a character and quote some of his more revealing dialogue.
2. What do we learn through these words?
3. How is the dialogue more or less revealing than narrative would be? Sheet 3 – Characterization
Write a minimum of one paragraph on each of the major characters in the play. Identify what we learn about each of these characters and how we learn it.
Sheet 4 – Setting
Remember that setting comprises place, time and mood; on this sheet write at least one paragraph on each of these aspects of setting. Look at the playwright’s descriptions of scenes and actions. Choose a few sentences in a scene description and comment on them.
Sheet 5 – Symbolism
Identify three symbols in the story. Remember that symbols have to be concrete things that stand for abstract ideas, and relate each of these symbols to the plot in a minimum of one paragraph for each symbol.
Sheet 6 – Theme
1. Express in one or more sentences what the plot of the drama is about. What do you think is the main theme of the drama? In a minimum of one paragraph relate this theme to some events or dialogue in the play.
2. Of the four aspects of the human condition (Person vs. Person, Person vs. Fate/God/Nature, Person vs. Society, Person vs. Him/Herself) with which aspect is this drama principally concerned? Explain.
Sheet 7 – Overview
Discuss the playwright’s apparent Audience and Purpose in writing this work.
In Othello, Shakespeare proves that jealousy is inherently unreasonable, as it is founded on the psychological issues of the jealous person, not on the behavior of the one who prompts the jealous feelings.