1. Othello Webquest
Mr. Czarnecki

2. A Brief History: Elizabethan England
Who was Queen of England during the time Shakespeare began to write?  Who ruled after her? Give the approximate dates of the Elizabethan period.
Elizabethan Timeline
Describe London during this time. Note 3 other interesting facts about Elizabethan England.
Life in Elizabethan England

3. The Role of Women
The women in Othello play an interesting role in this drama. To fully understand their place in Elizabethan society, answer the following quesitons

4. The Role of Women
Describe the status of women.  How would a young woman respond to a request from her father? What were practices and ideas relating to marriage and family?
The Role of Women
Love and Marriage

5. Racial Issues
Using the web sites below, find information about the Moors (Othello’s people), the Turks (or Ottoman Empire, the invading party), and other “outsiders” to the Elizabethans.   As you read, consider the relevance of this play in  21st century America and the world.

6. Racial Issues
Who were the Moors?  From where did they come?  What were they doing in Europe in the sixteenth century?  What religious or cultural practices are associated with them?
InfoPlease: Moors
A Cultural Context for Othello
What was the Elizabethan attitude toward foreigners in general and non-Christians—such as Turks—in particular?
Outsiders

7. the people of Shakespeare’s time.
Setting
The play begins in the prosperous city of Venice, Italy in approximately In Shakespeare’s time, Venice would have been a very popular and well-known city, with various attitudes surrounding it. The second half of the play takes place on the island of Cyprus. This island also had special significance to
the people of Shakespeare’s time.

8. Setting
Historically, what was going on in the latter half of the 1500s in Venice? What was the culture like?
History of Venice
The Venetian Republic
Describe the Venetians’ relationship with Cyprus during the 1570s.
The Ottomans in Europe