10 great ideas concerning Othello essay topics

Othello is a great play that is often studied in school. So if you are asked to write an essay on the play below are 10 great ideas concerning it which would make for excellent essay topics:

1. Write about the extent to which Othello’s final speech affects the reader’s assessment of him.


2. Review the effect that the final anecdote about the Turk as presented by Othello in his final speech.


3. Write about the role that incoherent language plays in this play as well as how the language of Othello changes the entire play. Pay attention to the handkerchief scene which can be found in Act III in Scene iii as well as the fit that Othello has in Act IV in Scene i.


4. Write about the role of Desdemona in this play. Write about whether she was a passive victim of the brutality of Othello.


5. Write about how Desdemona’s character changes when she is no in the presence of Othello.


6. Write about the role that race has in the portrayal of Othello. Focus on how the characters react to him being a Moor or how they react to his skin color. Talk about how Othello sees himself.


7. Write about the important role that setting has in this play. Focus on the physical details that differentiate Cyprus from Venice for the reader and the physical details that define the character of the different locations.


8. Write about the role that Emilia plays. Focus on how her character changes in the play. Pay attention to the times when she decides to speak versus the times she decides to be quiet. Talk about the effect that this has.


9. Write about one of the lago’s soliloquies. Talk about the moments in it where he gains sympathy from the audience adn where he repels it. Talk about the manner in which he develops arguments and whether they are convincing.


10. Write about one of the comic scenes in the play and how these scenes affect the overall serious tone of the play. Discuss whether they reflect on it or distort it or echo it at all. You can find use the clown scenes which are found in Act III in both scene i and scene iv. You can also use the drinking song scene which is in Act II in scene iii.