In this video, Jen Chan gives a quick summary of Othello the play, followed by a discussion on whether Othello the Moor deserves our sympathy.
In this video, Jen Chan provides a character analysis of Desdemona from the play 'Othello', and argues that she's much more than just a 'victim'.
Iago is the notorious villain 'Othello', and most analysis will pin him down as either the devil reincarnate, or a consummate Machiavellian. But is there really all there is to Iago's characterisation? In this video, Jen Chan offers an alternative perspective on how we can rethink this Shakespearean antagonist. It may seem surprising at first, but hopefully it'll also be thought-provoking enough to inspire you to think deeper about the character!
In this video, Jen Chan provides a deep dive analysis on Iago's character, and shares 3 pieces of 'life wisdom' we can glean from this notorious Shakespearean villain. With lots of quotations and literary devices in 'Othello' analysed, so make sure you watch till the end for all the top grade analysis you can use in your next essay or exam!
We know Roderigo to be the "sick fool" and dupe whom Iago bosses around, so most of us probably won't consider him to be worthy of much attention. But given that there's no equivalent character for Roderigo in the play's source text, Shakespeare must have created him for a reason - and an important one at that. In this video, Jen Chan analyses just what makes Roderigo an insightful point of reference for us to understand both his relationship with Iago, but also his function as a conduit for us to deepen our understanding of Othello.
Michael Cassio is the suave, handsome lieutenant who gets framed by Iago for being Desdemona's lover in the play 'Othello', and is the only main character who survives at the end. He seems like a genuinely decent man who's both loyal and devoted, if not a tad bit naive. But is there more to Cassio than meets the eye? In this video, Jen Chan offers a deep dive into his characterisation, and look at how Cassio's relationships with Othello, Iago and Bianca shed light on his role in the play.
Emilia is the pragmatic lady-in-waiting to Desdemona, and is a character often thought of as being 'feministic' for her shrewd views on marriage and fidelity in Act 4 of the play. But is she really such a strong, hard-headed character, or does she show vulnerabilities which give us deeper insights into her true self - and how Shakespeare wants us to see the challenges faced by women and wives back in his time? In this video, Jen Chan analyses Emilia in depth with all these questions in mind. Make sure you watch it all for top grade knowledge to ace your next Othello paper!
In this video, Jen Chan gives a detailed analysis of all the female characters in Othello - Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, and discusses whether or not they are victims of misogyny. Lots of quotations explained and analysed - jam packed with top grade ideas as usual!
Character List & Analysis (Shmoop)
Character Analysis (Course Hero)
Othello: Who's Who (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Othello: Relationships (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Othello: Analysis (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Othello: Character List (Bloom's Literature - Shakespeare Center)
Othello: Character Studies by
Studying Shakespeare's 'Othello'? Dr Aidan, PhD, provides you with a 10-minute summary and analysis of the play, with the aim of deepening your understanding of 'Othello' in a matter of minutes.
This Othello full play summary goes through all of the main events of Shakespeare's famous tragedy.
One of the most important speeches in Othello is the tragic hero's "It is the cause, it is the cause" soliloquy at the start of Act 5 Scene 2, when he prepares to murder Desdemona, his innocent but misunderstood wife. This is an incredibly complex moment with layers of emotional nuance to peel through, so in this video, Jen Chan gives her unique interpretation on what she thinks the speech signifies and how it sheds light on the play's key themes. She's had quite a few viewers reach out to say they'd like to see more explanation on how to discuss the effects of literary techniques, which is why she's breaking this analysis down according to some of the key devices in this speech.
Race is a key theme in 'Othello', but is the tragedy of Othello caused by racism as we understand today? In this video, Jen Chan offers a top grade character analysis on Othello by focusing on 3 key ideas about his outsider identity. Her argument may be a bit surprising and unconventional, so make sure you watch till the end for a complete understanding. This video covers context, argument, language and structural analysis - so, pretty much as good as it gets in terms of revision-friendly Othello analysis you can find on the web!
Act by Act Summaries (Course Hero)
Act by Act Summaries (Sparknotes)
Othello: Plot (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Othello: Timeline (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Othello: Scene-by-Scene (Royal Shakespeare Company)
Othello, Racial Themes and Public Reception: Analysis of literary criticisms since its release (Safer, 2022) - BA Thesis - available via the State Library of Queensland - Download PDF Document here (open access).
Strangers in the city: the cosmopolitan nature of 16th century Venice (Karim-Cooper, 2016). Check this link also for a brief Setting analysis.
Race is a key theme in 'Othello', but is the tragedy of Othello caused by racism as we understand today? In this video, Jen Chan offers a top grade character analysis on Othello by focusing on 3 key ideas about his outsider identity. Her argument may be a bit surprising and unconventional, so make sure you watch till the end for a complete understanding. This video covers context, argument, language and structural analysis - so, pretty much as good as it gets in terms of revision-friendly Othello analysis you can find on the web!
In this video, you'll find my quick, top grade analysis on 5 of the most important quotations in Othello. There's one quotation for each main character, with lots of advanced literary devices explained:
Othello - "She loved me for the dangers I had passed" (Act 1 Scene 3)
Iago - "Virtue! A fig! Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus" (Act 1 Scene 3)
Cassio - "Reputation, reputation, reputation!" (Act 2 Scene 3)
Emilia - "Be jealous souls will not be answered so" (Act 3 Scene 4)
Desdemona - "Good night, good night" (Act 4 Scene 3)
Literary devices covered: Parallelism Chiasmus Analogy Polyptoton Tricolon Metaphor Epistrophe Antanaclasis
Othello: Critical Essays (Bloom's Literature - Shakespeare Center)
How to Write about Othello (Gleed, 2017).
The Establishment of the Theme of Evil Through Imagery in Othello (Huang, 2022) - available via the State Library of Queensland - Download PDF Document by clicking on 'Get PDF' link.
Othello, Racial Themes and Public Reception: Analysis of literary criticisms since its release (Safer, 2022) - BA Thesis - available via the State Library of Queensland - Download PDF Document here (open access).
Othello, Racism, and Despair (Hogan, 1998) - article available in JSTOR via the State Library of Queensland.
Jealousy in Othello (Merzic, 2011) - article available via the State Library of Queensland - Download PDF Document by click on 'Get PDF' link.
"Too Gentle": Jealousy and Class in Othello (Olson, 2015) - article available in JSTOR database via the State Library of Queensland.
Shame in "Othello" (Fernie, 1999) - article available in JSTOR via the State Library of Queensland.
The Theme of Personal Integrity in Othello (Rappoport, 1960) - article available in JSTOR database via the State Library of Queensland.
Common Words & Phrases in Shakespeare's World.
English to Shakespearean (Instant Translate).
Othello: Language - Key Terms (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Othello: Language - Key Scenes (Royal Shakespeare Company).
Othello: Language - Analysis (Royal Shakespeare Company).
The Phrase Finder (Phrases from Shakespeare).
Reading Shakespeare's Language: Othello (Mowat and Werstine, n.d.).
Shakespearean Translator (Shmoop).
Shakespeare's Words: Othello - Vocabulary (Utah Shakespeare Festival).
Ever wondered why Shakespeare uses Thee, Thou AND You in his plays instead of just YOU? This video explains the distinction between these three words and what it tells you about the characters who use them.
