othello context

• 16th century England


  radical change of monarch, with ventures of discovery and colonial expansion. Elizabethan views were being challenged from their inherited middle age views
• chain of being


  God-Angel-King-man-woman-animal
• significance of the chain of being

  shows howwomenwere seen as below men. It was also believed that failure to assert reasonreducedhumans to the animal state. This links to the belief thatmoral sensibilitystemmed fromsocial class- links to when Iago is called 'villain' which contextually meant peasant. =hes seen to have poor morals
• Physiognomy


  judging someones nature by their external appearance, if appearances are deceptive one cannot be sure of anything. This conundrum torments many of Shakespeares tragic heroes
• passion as controlling reason

  As a religious society, many adapted the warning from the bible (Adam allowed his love for eve to overrule his better judgement), thereby the failure of reason was seen to be the cause of the fall of man= big fear of Elizabethans
• Evil spirits


  believed that calling upon evil spirits caused damnation, Iago does this- Othello does this in the form of giving ear to Iagos temptations, bonding himself to him and consequently evil spirits
• Lying

  links to the devil and Eve, lying through making oaths and promises were thought to be witnessed by the heavens. Elizabethans saw telling the truth as a way to shame the Devil
• courtly love


  shown through Cassio. The definition of the courtly lover was someone of a high society and concerned with reputation and honour
• cuckoldry


  prevalent fear, meant the man could not control his wife and that she had an unnatural sexual appetite. Linked to primogeniture and succession, led to complications of inheritance (seen in King Lear). It was believed that young desirable women (such as Desdemona) were 'dangerous', as they were often the target of other men (As Rodgerigo confirms)
• what does chastity mean


  refraining from sex, typically until marriage
• Chastity


  Also seen to test the nobility of males, since only higher orders were thought to be able to resist the temptation, as Othello claims to have succeeded to the Duke (also shown through their delayed wedding night, as Othello chooses duty= seen as more noble)
• The venetican empire


  much of Europe was ruled by monarchs, whereas the northern part of Italy was organised into autonomous 'city states', ei Venice. The venetican republic fell into decline around 1570 after the loss of Cyprus to the Turks
• The Turkish threat


  Cyprus had been a dangerously isolated Christian outpost in the moslem world. The turkish invasion of Cyprus 1570-71, when the play was set consolidated Ottoman control of the religion and they henceforth dominated the eastern Mediterranean
• Moor + Blackamoors + Moriscos


  terms used loosely for anyone of dark or black skin. Spain 1526 saw Islam be outlawed, and all Moors were forcibly converted to Christianity as 'Moriscos', many moved around after this. England had been anti spain, and thereby anti Moriscos
• King of Barbarys ambassador

  visited London in 1600, caused a stir. 'barbary' is referred to 3 times in the play, as it originates from the inhabitants of Barbary coast, northwest Africa. =Othello likely to be depicted as a dark skinned Berber.
• contemporary views on moors

  decreed that too many had 'crept into the realm'. Elizabeth 1 had issued two edicts of deportation for their return to Barbary

  
  

  Black people often seen as savages and fit to be slaves, or as mysterious
• Moors in Shakespeare


  there are four moors written into plays between 1593-1611. All the plays refer to the fear of forcible miscegenation (cross marriage)
• Theatrical context


  play going appealed to all classes, with drama becoming more political than before. King James 1 was a keen theatre-goer and a supporter of Shakespeare, many plays were made to fit his liking (witches etc)
• Anagnorisis definition


  point of the play in which reality is revealed/ when one character sees anothers true identity. Seen with Iago
• Catharsis definition


  purging of emotions
• Hamartia definition


  fatal flaw
• Peripeteia definition


  a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances
• Hubris


  excessive pride
• Aristotles 6 elements of tragedy

  plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle (scenic effect), and song (music),
• Shakespearean tragedies

  The initial conflict is often caused by a mistaken decision, against their better judgement led by desire, which spreads to impact many- linking microcosm and the macrocosm
• Similarities between Shakespeare tragedies


  shown particularly in his 4 written 1601-6 (of which Othello is the second), of families being split up etc. They also contrast each other- ei Iago is a inverted image of Hamlet, as the amoral instead of the moral philosopher, one reliant on evidence and other disregarding it. Yet Iago is also a parallel to the false Claudius in Hamlet.
• Nature in the major tragedies


  Often used as a main source of imagery and the embodiment of paradox, as good and evil. Uncertainty is the essence of tragedy, with a reflection on our moral awareness vs judgement (only God could truly judge humans)
• Shakespeares tragic heroes

  someone of eminent rank within hisownsociety, someone 'better than we are' (Aristotle) they become guilty of hubris, and are punished by Nemesis (goddess of retribution), leaving the audience to pity them. The hero must have had great potential to succeed, so need other redeemable qualities. Freewill is involved, making an accident of birth or fate alone cannot be blamed= more concerning for the audience
• Shakespeares tragic heroes comparison

  All very different, but all get driven to madness, represents the power of nature and how essentially tragedy can happen to anybody within society
• Death of the tragic hero

  One view is that they die making a fuss, unable to accept the injustice of the world (Leech), or the Christian view is that they die repenting, hoping that their true story be told to redeem them
• Countries to Shakespeare


  widely assumed that Shakespeare never left England= relies on stereotypes of countries, many of his places are set abroad
• Inspiration for Othello


  many preferred stories that were not original and playwrites hoped to improve stories, and its believed that Shakespeare was influenced by the story of 'Giraldi Cinthios' story, called 'El Capitano Moro
• Othello compared to Clinthios story

  -The only named character= Desdemona

  -Only called 'The moor'

  -couple travelled on the same boat (links to nobility of waiting for sex)

  -Iago falls in love with Desdemona

  -Iago doesnt hate Othello, sole motivation is sexual jealousy of Cassio

  -Iago steals the handkerchief himself

  -Iago is tortured to death for another crime

  -Desdemonas death made to look like an accident

  -Desdemona is killed by both Othello and Iago

  
  

  =changes were seen to be 'improvements'- consider why Shakespeare 'improved' each othe
• historical changes to the written script

  two main ones in which many texts nowadays are based from- the Quarto and Folio, which are both rather different. Folio had more profanities removed as swearing was on banned on stage 1606
• links to comedy

  Jealousy and cuckoldry were traditional concepts for comedy. The characters are also linked to stereotypes of comedy, (the fool=Roderigo, the clever plotting slave=Iago), with scenes being comparable- Cassios supposed confession and Antonio demanding the purse in 'Twelfth night'. Yet the comedic scenes enrich the tragedy, instead of juxtapose it as in 'Anthony and cleopatra', making the tragedy more poignant and ironic
• The play on stage

  scenes have often been cut, such as the willow scene, much of biancas sexual language as well as Othellos violent language.

  
  

  The killing of a woman happens on stage, as opposed to other plays like Macbeth, making the play far more charged and disturbing.

  Many people in the audience have been known to shout out warnings for Othello, as well as yell at Iago= reception of Othello as a tragic hero as opposed to deserving his downfall
• Costumes

  as a Christian its unlikely that Othello would be dressed any differently, as it was common for moors to dress in turbans etc to signify difference (many actors were white, so hard for the audience to distinguish)
• Actors of Othello- Salvini


  delivered lines in Italian (other characters did in English), first to strike Desdemona on stage and made animalistic sounds
• Actors of Othello-Burbage


  Delivered a deeply moving performance of Othello
• Actors of Roderigo- Parker


  Played Roderigo as a dangerous and explosive character driven to increasingly violent and desperate acts as opposed to the traditional fool portrayal