Lesson Overview

Students will identify metaphors and similes in William Shakespeare’s Othello and explain how and why these poetic devices are used to construct meaning in the text. This worksheet can be completed as students read the text or once they have completed reading.

Materials

  • Othello by William Shakespeare
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Lesson Objectives

1. Students will identify metaphors and similes in Othello to do further analysis of the central meaning of the text. 

2. Students will correlate the literal, or concrete, meaning of language used figuratively with the abstract idea the language is used to convey. 

3. Students will analyze the purpose and function of the metaphor or simile.

Instructional Sequence

1. Convey the purpose of comparison.

Abstractions by definition are difficult for students to comprehend. Since the purpose of literature in all its forms is, ultimately, to convey some abstract concept about the human condition in a meaningful manner, writers often employ literary and poetic devices that make the intangible qualities of life’s experience concrete and relatable to the audience. Abstract concepts like love, jealousy, fear, and hate have a myriad of complex and nuanced characteristics. To clearly convey these concepts, writers often rely on comparisons in the form of figurative language. 

2. Define metaphor and simile and provide examples from the text.

Both metaphors and similes compare two seemingly unlike elements in order to convey abstract meaning about the first element of comparison. 

Ask volunteers to define metaphor and simile and encourage students to write the definitions in their notebooks or directly on their worksheets. 

Metaphors are a direct comparison of two unlike things. Metaphors are presented through words or phrases that are not literally true. 

Similes function the same way as metaphors, but the comparisons they make are linked through the use of words such as like, as, than, and so. 

One of the easiest ways for students to identify a metaphor or simile is to ask the question: Is the meaning of the word or phrase in the text literal? In Othello, for example, Iago famously warns Othello, “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy. / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.” (3.3.170–172). Obviously, jealousy is not really a monster. Iago compares jealousy to a monster that makes fun of its victims—those who feel jealous—while it eats them. Such a comparison reveals the toxic power of such an emotion.

3. Identify text selections.

Have each student identify a passage from the text that contains at least two metaphors and/or similes. The passages should be short—approximately six to twelve lines. You may want to limit the range within the text that students search to a single Act or Scene. Longer speeches from one character may be easier for students to work with initially, but passages can also include conversations with multiple participants. (Note that this activity can be used to aid in the analysis of any piece of text of your choosing that employs metaphors and similes.)

Copy this passage on the board for practice with the class. 

Brabantio
O thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter?
Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her!
For I’ll refer me to all things of sense,
If she in chains of magic were not bound,
Whether a maid so tender, fair, and happy,
So opposite to marriage that she shunned
The wealthy, curlèd darlings of our nation,
Would ever have, t’ incur a general mock,
Run from her guardage to the sooty bosom
Of such a thing as thou—to fear, not to delight.
(No Fear: 1.2.64‒73)

Other passages containing metaphors and similes are: 

Othello = 5.2.1–22
Iago = 3.3.326–329
Othello = 3.3.453–462
Emilia = 3.4.104–106
Othello and Emilia = 5.2.133–135

4. Summarize the text.

Have students jot down a two- to three-sentence summary detailing the events, ideas, or information presented in the selected passage. Have two or three students share their summaries and draw from them to construct a summary on the board. 

Brabantio believes that Othello has used some form of enchantment or magic to get Desdemona to love him. He notes that, previously, she was opposed to the idea of marriage, even to men of great wealth and esteem. Brabantio cannot believe that his daughter would marry someone of Othello’s background and goes on to insult Othello.

5. Identify the metaphors and/or similes.

Invite students up to the board to underline the metaphors and similes in the passage and label them appropriately.

Metaphor
If she in chains of magic were not bound

6. Compare the concrete to the abstract.

Have students identify the concrete representation of each metaphor and simile in the passage. Then have them identify the abstract idea the figurative language is meant to convey. Finally, students should explain how the poetic device is used in respect to the speaker’s purpose.

If she in chains of magic were not bound

Concrete representation: Chains are physical fetters used to bind a person and restrict movement. 

Abstract idea: Chains represent physical restriction and, in this case, show a lack of free will or ability to make a decision. 

Speaker’s purpose: Brabantio describes his daughter’s will as being bound by chains of magic in order to demonstrate his disbelief that Desdemona married Othello of her own accord.

Differentiated Instruction

This activity can be modified to help all students access learning.
Decrease difficulty

Choose a passage from the text that all students will work with to complete the chart. Identify the metaphors/similes in the passage as a class. Have students work in pairs to identify the literal and figurative meanings of the metaphors/similes. Review students’ answers as a class and extend the discussion to cover the purpose of each simile/metaphor.

Increase difficulty

Open the activity up to types of figurative language other than metaphor and simile. Encourage students to look for related instances of figurative language. For example, Othello is described variously as an “old black ram,” “thick-lips,” a “Barbary horse,” a “blacker devil,” and a “thing”—all racial slurs.

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