Othello Close Reading Analysis Worksheets Bundle with Answer Keys

Challenge high school students to push beyond basic reading comprehension and exercise close reading analysis skills while engaging with Othello by William Shakespeare. Given the objective nature of the multiple choice questions, each close reading activity is rigorous enough for students to find deeper meaning in the text, yet convenient enough for teachers to quickly and efficiently gather data on their students’ textual analysis skills. Included are fifteen close reading worksheets, each addressing an individual scene, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. By the end of the play, students will:

• Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Define complex words and phrases as they are used in the text
• Explore how complex characters think, behave, develop, and interact
• Analyze the author’s craft, discerning how Shakespeare’s language influences the audience’s perception of Iago
• Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, allusion, epiphany, foreshadowing, personification, verbal irony, dramatic irony, situational irony, and more
• Explore themes in the play
• Discern the tone of given passages
• Determine the functions of given scenes
• Articulate the significance of given details
• Articulate how dialogue contributes to the development of suspense
• Articulate how the setting contributes to a sense of uncertainty
• Consider how the imagery of a willow tree is relevant to the content of Desdemona’s song
• Explore cause-and-effect relationships
• Cite specific, relevant textual evidence in support of a claim or idea
• Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision