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Othello: Critical Perspective Essay
Othello Analysis Essay: Applying a Critical Perspective

Directions: In a five paragraph essay, analyze Othello from three of the perspectives: Historical, Feminist, Cultural.

You will provide two quotes in each body paragraph and an outside source for at least one paragraph. Outside sources can consist of “The Moor in English Renaissance Drama” (p.215 in Springboard) for the Historical Perspective; Legally Blonde for the Feminist Perspective; and/or an online source on Elizabethan marriage for Cultural Perspective.

You must conform spacing, font, margins, and parenthetical notation for outside sources to MLA standards (see "Pages").

You need to provide a Works Cited page. An A paper will have at least two outside sources in addition to Othello.

When you cite quotes, it is in the traditional format (I.ii.78 or 1.2.78 [Act, Scene, Line]).

Intro: Provide a hook and a synopsis of the play. The last sentence will be your thesis which will be something like….

Othello can be analyzed through the lenses of _____, _____, and _____ perspectives.



Body Paragraph 1

Introduce the first assertion with something like this:

Historical criticism, when analyzing the exotic nature of Othello, clearly reveals the audience’s ignorance of other cultures.

* This is where you introduce the topics of “The Moor in Renaissance Drama.” Find a quote which demonstrates the aspects of the historical perspective.

* You will then introduce textual evidence illustrating aspects of the historical perspective in the play. For example, you could show Brabantio’s ignorance and prejudice, lead in with a quote, and then comment on it. Think about his accusations of witchcraft. There are other possibilities as well, such as Iago's use of derogatory epithets.



Body Paragraph 2

Your second assertion could read something like this:

Feminist criticism lends insight to the reader as women struggle to live in a world dominated by men.

* How do the genders react to one another? What are the perceptions of the genders and who voices them?

* You can talk about Legally Blonde and comment about whether attitudes have changed and, if so, how much?



Body Paragraph 3

Your third assertion could read something like this:

Cultural criticism sharpens the understanding about the severity of Brabantio’s response to Desdemona marrying Othello without his clear permission.

You could use an outside source about Elizabethan marriage if you wish for an outside source.



Conclusion:

The conclusion is an important part of the essay because it is the opportunity for the writer to leave the audience with final thoughts. Make a generality about the importance of analyzing literature through different lenses and leave us with a statement of theme. You could also come back to how you opened the essay, bringing unity to the paper.

Answer 1

**I know this is wordy but please read it because it gives a genuine outline and genuinely good advice later on in the post

Hi there! as you asked for in the title, I'll create an outline for you.

When writing your body paragraphs, it's best to start out with a sentence that relates to your thesis (to give a good flow and show relevancy. mentally prep the reader to lead into what ur about to say so it connects)

and then give evidence, commentary, evidence, commentary and then sum it up. You don't have to give two pieces of evidence. Just put as much evidence u need to support your claim that backs up the thesis and then summarize the last sentence.

keep ur thesis vague so you're able to make claims to back it up

INTRO:

(hook: 1-2 sentences) (background: 1-2 sentences) (THESIS: only one sentence)

BODY PARAGRAPHS(3):

(claim that supports your thesis) (evidence to support your claim) (commentary) (summarize your claim)

OUTRO:

(RESTATE UR THESIS. maybe reword it) (summarize ur claims) (outro sentence. maybe reference your hook)

there are many different ways you can end your outro. as the end of your comment stated, you could even do something called a full circle. It references the hook and gets the reader to think about everything they just read. puts a nice bow on the top

another traditional method (make sure you don't overuse)

is to ask the reader a question. Like after you put your restated thesis and summarized points you'd ask a question to get your reader to continue thinking about the topic.

if you need inspo, you can always look up sample essays and see how people word things like intros and outros.

also for your thesis, I wouldn't use what the teacher put. if you're wanting to go all out, it looks much better (and is much more impressive) to use your own original thesis and not the teacher's example.

Write your thesis before you get your evidence and quotes. it's much easier.

Don't forget what you're writing about either:

historical

feminist

cultural

From the first few chunks of text, it looks like this is an analytical essay. you're looking at this play from a few different perspectives.

In your intro you could even mention that this play is unique, introducing feministic elements which is pretty uncommon.

For your thesis you could say that Shakespeare's Othello contains unique and distinct elements that follow historical, feministic, and cultural perspectives

or something. I wouldn't use "othello can be analyzed" because "can" is kinda odd. you're doing it through the essay so of course it can be done. it's bland word choice and basic. purposely vague because it's the teacher's example.

when you're looking for your evidence, make sure you do so after forming your thesis. it's easier to do it that way than the other way around.

Make sure you also use what the teacher said as a guide. If she wants you to use certain points to support the prompt, you should.

I'd say the best way to go about this is to brainstorm. Take the prompts for the evidence examples and think about the whole story. What time in this story would best fit this point?

Our minds tend to remember the more important things or things we think we'll need for later. If something stood out to you, you'll be more inclined to remember it.

So take whatever comes to mind and try and track it down in the script.

"XYZ happened between ABC and DEF. ABC was in chapter 2 and DEF was in chapter 4 so XYZ is between there" if u need help locating that's a good way to figure it out. Guesstimating from major points in the plot.

So when you're trying to find something that'll suit the prompt, try narrowing it down to a good quote. And if you need a reference, talk to the teacher, look online or ask a friend.

I hope this helps. sorry I wrote a lot