Literary Analysis of Shakespeare’s “Othello”

Write a formal, critical, literary essay on Othello in which you contribute to the academic discussion of the play. In other words, you are writing to other students and scholars of Shakespeare, an audience already familiar with the obvious interpretations of the text. Your challenge is to add something new to the discussion.

Argue against an accepted interpretation, offer a new idea that the critics have not yet covered, or have not yet covered in depth. This approach will require that you research what has already been written about your topic choice and that you consider the “so what,” the larger purpose of your essay. In other words, your essay should comment on the points do you think Shakespeare was attempting to make.

It has been argued that Othello is accessible to us today because of the issues of racism, love, betrayal, and jealousy. Choose one of these issues and explain why Othello is accessible to us. Be careful to stay on track, and be sure to focus on the play as you use modern examples as support.

Requirements:
You will need to complete a close, critical reading of the text, research critical, credible secondary resources, and include at least two reliable outside sources in your Works Cited page.  In other words, a total of at least three sources (including the original Othello text) should be listed on your Works Cited page.
Follow a formal essay structure: an introduction (with thesis at the end of the introductory paragraph), body and conclusion. You must include a minimum of four body paragraphs. The number of paragraphs should depend on the number of arguments you have. The paper should be between 8-10 pages, in MLA format.
Your thesis statement should be one complete sentence. Be sure to answer the “so what?” question in your paper. In other words, you need to explain why your analysis matters. Why is this analysis important for the reader to note? Instead of simply reporting what happens in the play, in your analysis, you should focus on why it happens.
Each of your paragraphs must have evidence and quotations from Othello. You should have credible, secondary research to support the argument further. A minimum of two outside sources must be used throughout the essay as support to deepen your analysis and to lend credibility to your argument. NOTE: Plagiarism of any kind will result in a mark of zero. Any information that you research must be quoted and cited following MLA guidelines.
You must make sure that you write with clear and fluent sentences that effectively follow the rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage