BUS261 Lit HW Help

Othello is, on one level, a very accessible play, dealing as it does with such still-relevant issues as racism, sexism, jealousy, and revenge. But on another level, dare I say a ‘deeper’ level, the way the play deals with those issues is at times problematic. That is, Shakespeare never clearly answers some key questions we inevitably have about what, exactly, we should make of the text…what we should, in other words, consider the ‘theme.’ And that is where you all come in…I would like you to critically consider what you think Shakespeare’s main message/point is in Othello and write a two-paragraph analysis in support of your consideration. As you do this, please remember that a theme is an assertion about a topic. So if you think the play is about revenge, then the theme must be some specific and clear-cut assertion as to what the play says about revenge. Furthermore, you would do well do keep in mind that all the apparatus of a play–the characters, the language, the setting, the imagery, the symbols–are the very things that not only help reveal the theme but also help support it.

In short, please identify the theme of Othello and support it with specific examples, and at least two quotations, from the play.