Page One

• Shakespeare wrote Othello at the end of the Elizabethan period for a 17th century audience. It was first performed in 1604 at the beginning of the Jacobean period
• The play was set in Venice and Cyprus against the backdrop of the 16th century wars between Venice and the Turks (Ottoman Empire)
• Cyprus is an island governed by Venice and constantly threatened by Turks in the 16th century. Cyprus is a liminal space between Christian Venice and the Islamic Turks where Christian moral norms are challenged
• Cintho's Tale - Shakespeare's source material for writing Othello was 'Un Capitano Moro' (The Moorish Captain), a short tale by the 16th century Italian writer Giraldi Cinthio
• Difference between the source material - Cinthio's ensign is a simplistic villain who is clearly motivated by unrequited lust for Desdemona. In contrast, Shakespeare turns the ensign into a much more complex villain. Iago's motives for destroying Othello are ambiguous and critics such as Coleridge have argued that he is a 'motiveless' villain
• Difference between source material - Shakespeare introduces the backdrop of the 16th century war between the Venetians' and the Turks over Cyprus - expands the wider societal impact of the tragedy
• Difference between source material - Othello uses a pillow, rather than a sand-filled stocking to kill Desdemona - creates a greater sense of 'pity' and 'fear' (Aristotle)
• 17th century Venice was envied and admired by England as an 'ideal republic and hub of international trade' (Ania Loomba)
• Venice was a cosmopolitan city state which attracted foreigners of many races
• However, although they admired Venice's 'mercantile openness' (Loomba), some English commentators saw the potential mixing of cultures as dangerous
• Shakespeare's depiction of Iago's exploitation of fears surrounding miscegenation can been seen to have been influenced by English perceptions of Venice as a dangerous cosmopolitan 'melting pot' of races and religions
• Venice was known as the pleasure capital of Europe, renowned for its many courtesans and sexual deviance
• High-born Venetian women were often perceived by Elizabethans to be indistinguishable from the city's glamorous courtesans in terms of dress and behaviour which led to the stereotypical perception that all Venetian women were 1. promiscuous and 2. duplicitous
• Iago can be seen as a stereotypical malcontent (a stock character in Elizabethan drama who voice criticism of society as an outsider figure). He sees himself as a victim of the culture of nepotism in Venetian society
• Iago is a typical Machiavellian villain: he uses duplicity, manipulation and and premeditated plotting (machinations) to gain power over others in the style recommended by the Renaissance political strategist Niccolo Machiavelli
• Iago can also be seen as a 'Vice' figure: a stock character in medieval morality plays who functioned as the embodiment of pure evil and often played the role of a tempter who lured the main protagonist to his downfall