Introduction to Othello

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William Shakespeare

Was born on April 15, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon

Recieved classical education

Most likely beg as an actor

Wrote 38 plays

Wrote for lengthy plays and a sonnet cycle

Verse vs. Prose

Verse: Meter and rhyme, lines, and consistent number of syllables

Ordinary written language, no meter or rhyme, and written in sentences

Usage Verse vs. Prose

Verse used for high status characters, great affairs of war and state, and tragic moments

Prose used for low status characters, proclamations, written challenges, accusations, letters, comedic moments, and to express madness.

Meter

Meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Responsible for creating the rhythm of a line

Meter and Foot

Foot: syllables that forms one complete unit of metrical pattern

Iambic Pentameter: most common metrical pattern in Shakespeare

Blank Verse vs. Free Verse

Blank Verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Free Verse: No regular meter

Sonnet

!4 line poem

Usually in iambic pentameter

three quatrains and a couplet

Rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg

has greater flexibility where thematic breaks occur

pronounced break or turn comes with concluding couplet

Sonnet: Quatrain and Couplet

Quatrain: four-line verse stanza and are usually rhymed

Couplet: a pair of rhyming verse lines