Intro to the play:

1. At what point in Shakespeare's career did he write Othello?

2. What was the political situation in England when Shakespeare wrote the play?

3. Why is the play called a "domestic tragedy"?

4. What was the reputation of Venice in England at this time?

5. What was the history of contact between black Africans and English men?

6. What was the "color prejudice" which Englishmen had inherited from the Middle Ages and how did it affect attitudes explored in the play?

7. How did the discovery of the great apes give rise to the myth of bestiality? How is that reflected in the play?

8. Why is this play considered the most intense of Shakespeare's tragedies?

9. Who was Machiavelli, and how did his ideas influence the play?

10. What was the source of the story on which Shakespeare based the play? How does Shakespeare's version differ from the original?