Dicussion 1. If you read the play by Shakespeare: Some have been troubled by elements that we in our own century would label racist language in Othello. Others point out that all or most of that language is voiced by the play's "bad guys." Discuss this and any other problem you see in reading and understanding a literary work from such a different world than the one we inhabit.

Discussion 2. If you read the play by Shakespeare: In Othello, the villain Iago frequently makes his thoughts known to the audience through speeches during which he is either alone on stage or it's strongly implied that the other characters aren't overhearing his thoughts. We in the audience are often the only others besides Iago himself who know what he is really up to. Find two examples in the play where Iago uses one of these soliloquies to make his thoughts known to us alone. How does this contribute to the dramatic irony of the play? (Hint: look up the concepts of "soliloquy" and "dramatic irony" in the glossary at the end of your textbook.)