othello essay leaving cert

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This edition of Othello is a great way for students to learn about Shakespeare’s great tragedy and prepare for their Leaving Certificate exam

Othello – Leaving Certificate English

This edition of the Gill Shakespeare Focus ’s Othello sets students up for success in understanding Shakespeare’s great tragedy and preparing them for their Leaving Certificate examination.

Only edition to include comparative Study exemplars!

Why Othello?

Focused scene-by-scene analysis:.

• Summary and in-depth Critical Analysis
• Detailed study of Shakespeare’s Language
• Key Quotes plus commentary
• Exam-style questions and Sample Paragraphs with Examiner’s Comments

Essential study notes:

• Characters – concise analysis
• Central Themes and Issues
• Dramatic Techniques (Imagery, Soliloquies, Dramatic Irony)
• Macbeth as a Comparative Text – modes defined, detailed explanatory notes, exemplar paragraphs, using key quotes, essay plans and FAQs on successful answering
• Exam Focus – purposeful use of key scenes, paragraphing succinctly, quoting effectively
• Writing Top-Grade Essays – advice and prompts for responding to the question and planning the essay
• Full Sample Essays – marked and graded with invaluable Examiner’s Comments
• Sample Leaving Certificate exam questions relevant to the latest changes in the exam

Leaving Cert Comparative Study – Theme or Issue – Othello, A Doll’s House and The King’s Speech #625Lab

“some texts leave readers with a largely idealistic impression of a theme or issue, while others leave readers with a more realistic or believable impression of the same theme or issue.”, with reference to the above statement, compare the impressions of the same theme or issue you formed when studying three texts on your comparative course. support your answer by reference to the texts..

Leaving Cert English essays are marked using “PCLM”

Clarity of purpose:, coherence of delivery, efficiency of language use, accuracy of mechanics.

• Post author: Martina
• Post published: September 26, 2017
• Post category: #625Lab / A Doll's House / Comparative / English / Othello / PCLM / The King's Speech

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Everything you need to study Leaving Cert English

English is a core subject and is compulsory in all schools. The exam is designed to be clear and accessible as its purpose is to allow you to showcase your knowledge rather than trick you with unfamiliar information. This article shows you everything Studyclix has to offer to study Leaving Cert English which will hopefully make your learning a lot easier.

What's involved?

The goal of Leaving Cert English is to help you develop a diverse set of literacy and oral skills across personal, social and cultural aspects. Throughout the course, you will learn how to understand and appreciate various materials (such as poems and novels) and you will be encouraged to explore your own interpretations and express your opinions. There will also be opportunities for you to engage in creative writing, using the following headings:

The language of information

The language of argument

The language of persuasion

The language of narration

The aesthetic use of language

This curriculum will hopefully empower you to become an independent learner who can confidently navigate the world beyond school.

What to expect on the exam papers

Three texts (one of which is visual) are presented to you on a general theme. Two sets of questions (A and B) follow each text. You must answer a Question A on one text and a Question B on another (100 marks).

This is a composing section where you must write an extended composition in a specific genre of language from a list of seven choices (story, talk, debate, article, essay, etc.) (100 marks).

The single text (60 marks)

The comparative study (70 marks)

Section III

Poetry (70 marks)

More information

Future careers with Leaving Cert English can be in advertising, writing, the arts, business, management, journalism, politics and entertainment. For more information, check out the curriculumonline website.

Download the Leaving Cert English Syllabus, Teacher Guide and Prescribed Text Lists here.

How Studyclix can help you study English

Read our h1 guide.

Every year students ask us questions like:

What is the best way to study the poets?

What should I know for the comparative?

How much time should I spend on each question?

Thankfully, all of the answers to these questions can be found in our H1 Leaving Cert English Guide. It was written by a H1 student and is full of tips and tricks for maximizing your marks in the exam.

Listen to the Studyclix Podcast

Don't have the time to read our H1 Guide? No worries! You can listen to our H1 English podcast episode instead. From how to write comparatively to how to spill your guts about Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, this podcast episode has you covered for everything you need to know about the Leaving Cert English exam.

You can find it by searching for 'Studyclix English' on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Alternatively, you can tune in here:

For more English advice, check out our other podcast episodes:

Tips for the comparative

Tips for unseen poetry

Our tips for essay-writing

Examiner-annotated essays

Expert teacher and examiner, Sharon Cullinane, has reviewed a number of sample essays to show you how to structure an answer and where to pick up marks. Along with written notes in the paragraphs, every essay includes a number of feedback boxes from the examiner which have been colour-coded to represent what you should and shouldn't do in your answers, for example:

You can find these essays on the 'videos and notes' page on a topic or at the bottom of an exam question. Click here to read more about how you can study using these essays. 

Shakespeare

We've teamed up with Leaving Cert English teacher and expert, Peter Tobin , to bring you a podcast series all about the prescribed plays by William Shakespeare.

In each episode, Peter zones in on specific aspects of the plays and gives detailed instructions on how to dissect Othello or Macbeth as part of your Leaving Cert studies. Peter also discusses the characters, key scenes, themes and writing techniques, all in the context of Leaving Cert questions to help you give the best response possible when you're taking the exam.

Episode 1: Overview of Othello and its characters

Episode 2: The character of Othello

Episode 3: The character of Iago

Episode 4: The character of Desdemona

Episode 5: The minor characters

Episode 6: Key scenes

Episode 7: Themes

Episode 8: Shakespeare's writing techniques

Episode 1: Macbeth

Episode 2: Lady Macbeth

Episode 3: The Witches

Episode 4: Minor Characters

Episode 5: Themes

Episode 1 - Background to the Play & more

Episode 2 - Overview of the Plot & more

Episode 3 - The Character of Hamlet

Episode 4 - The Character of Claudius

Episode 5 - Gertrude and Ophelia

Episode 6 - Polonius and Laertes

Episode 7 - Minor Characters & more

Episode 8 - Four Central Themes

Episode 9 - Imagery, Symbolism & more

Not sure how to approach a Shakespeare essay? No problem! In this video, Peter focuses on how to answer different Macbeth questions on the day of your exam:

Check out the Studyclix Explains YouTube channel for more videos like this.

Studying poetry for the Leaving Cert can pose a challenge due to its intricate language and complex themes. If you're struggling with understanding the prescribed poems, check out the following podcast episodes (we recommend having each poem to hand while you listen to the podcasts):

The Emily Dickinson Podcast

The Yeats Podcast

The Plath Podcast

The Meehan Podcast

The Heaney Podcast

The Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin podcast

Stuck on a poetry question? Not sure about a theme? Looking for some more notes? Try asking our community page for some tips and advice. There are plenty of students and teachers there who are more than willing to help you out. 

Have some ideas for more resources?

We are always looking for new ways to improve our site so we would love to hear your feedback. Get in touch by emailing [email protected] 😊

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Conclusions (Othello)

“ Iago is a narcissist and a sadist, with a ruthless Machiavellian outlook on life, yet we find him utterly compelling ”

To tackle this question we defined the key words of narcissist, sadist, Machiavellian and compelling .

Narcissist = if you love yourself, consider yourself superior to others physically or intellectually, take pride in your every achievement and are generally arrogant in your outlook and behaviour, you’re a narcissist.

Sadist = if you take pleasure in witnessing or inflicting suffering and pain on others you’re a sadist. We don’t have a word in the English language for the feeling of satisfaction you might experience if you saw someone walk into a wall, but they have one in German, it’s “ schadenfreude ” and for a very funny (and very rude – you have been warned) song explaining what it means, check this out:

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55fzXL3uc1s]

Machiavellian = if you are completely ruthless in your behaviour and will do whatever it takes to get what you want, no matter who you hurt in the process you are Machiavellian. Click here for some quotes from “The Prince” by Machiavelli for a deeper understanding of the origins of this word.

Compelling = if you command people’s attention when you walk into a room; if others are intrigued by you and see you as intelligent and charismatic, you’re a “compelling” character. Dictionary definitions, while impeccably factual, are to my mind often bland but I like this one “ evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way “. It captures the concept perfectly.

Here’s a picture of the list of reasons why my fifth years believe Iago is a compelling character.

A few students struggled to write a conclusion however, as they feared they might end up just repeating themselves. They were right to worry – simply repeating your introduction IS NOT WHAT A CONCLUSION IS FOR! I like to think of the introduction as a road map, laying out the directions in which your essay will go. The conclusion, meanwhile, reflects back on the journey, identifying what the experience meant; what you have learnt from going on this journey. You must answer the question “ so what? ” in order to write your conclusion.

Here’s a sample conclusion I wrote to help a student whose essay was very good but whose conclusion was rubbish:

“ Thus we see Iago’s sadistic, Machiavellian and to a lesser extent narcissistic behaviour is evident throughout the play. However, what I found really interesting was the counter-intuitive fact that these traits actually make him more intriguing, more compelling and more fascinating for the audience. Perhaps we are captivated by him because he is so unusual, so unapologetic and so honest in confiding his own ruthlessness to us. Like every great villain in literature and popular culture, we do not like him, yet we cannot look away. Iago, after all, is the focal point of the drama, the tension and the tragic violence that make this play worth watching “.

For more on conclusions, check out this link .

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Othello (EDCO) NEXT PREV

€ 11.95

By Patrick Murray

This new and beautifully illustrated edition of Othello includes the complete text of the play with detailed notes to help students understand themes, words, character development and more.

Each scene is accompanied by:

Introductory plot summary Study questions Key points and useful quotes.

A special section is devoted to:

Exploration of major themes and context Detailed analysis of plot In-depth character and relationship analysis Exam tips.

Overall summary at the end of each act Examination-based questions, carefully graded for Higher and Ordinary Levels Guidelines on answering examination questions Model answers to questions Assignments to encourage class participation

The book is: Illustrated with striking colour photographs from various productions of Othello In line with DES and examination guidelines Suitable for Higher and Ordinary Level students.

Book covering at €1.30 per book

Book Covering (+ € 1.30 )

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