Othello - A* - A-LEVEL - English Literature - AQA - Complete Revision Notes

Full set of revision notes for the play ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare, created under the learning objectives of the AQA exam board. I created this resource as my own source of revision, and was able to achieve consistent A*, A and B+ grades throughout year 12 and year 13. Includes details regarding all notable characters, with following sections covering in depth; key themes, genre, setting, structure, language, imagery, context, critic’s views, contemporary approaches and key connections between other texts.

Will provide material to strengthen your A01 skills, with creative, original interpretation and conceptualisation of the text which has the potential to become a well argued and convincing essay response.

A02 skills are also central to the notes, for example I have detailed the techniques and methods Shakespeare uses to present Othello’s strengths and weaknesses, including his eventual downfall. This will provide a firm foundation for you to build upon your own interpretations on how meanings are created across the text.

I have found that A03 is integral to a strong essay response, so I have weaved important aspects throughout the entirity of the notes, including references to contemporary sources such as the publications of William Davies in 1614, and John Knox in 1558 which will undoubtably add to the strength of your response. Alongside specific snippets of knowledge more widespread, overreaching elements of context are also covered, such as the fact that ‘Christian traditions of the Renaissance suggested that Africans were descendants of Noah’s son, Ham, who was cursed by his father’, which will broaden your ability to successfully fulfill A03 with confidence.

A04 is covered in sufficient depth to ensure the exploration of connections across literary texts is as simple as possible. To ensure clarity, I have selected examples easy to add to any Othello essay you may be faced with. For example, ‘In Hamlet, the tragic heroine Ophelia goes mad when her lover Hamlet rejects her. Ophelia drowns having fallen out of a willow tree. This shows that love and madness are often linked together in Renaissance drama’. Obviously this element is valuable to illustrate parallels between Desdemona and Othello’s relationship and those presented in other Shakespearian tragedies.

A05 (the ability to explore literary texts informed by different interpretations), is also woven throughout the resource. I have included examples of modern day, critics such as Marilyn French and Karen Newman as well as references to certain productions. I’ve referred multiple times to Oliver Parker’s 1995 adaption, an example being, ‘The visual imagery of Oliver Parker’s 1995 film explicitly links Iago to the Devil, he covers his hands in soot when he speaks of the ‘divinity of hell’ and is often seen against a dark background’. These insights will prove essential to a strong, well-researched and balanced argument.