Othello

• what is the central theme of Othello?


  love
• Love as a theme


  destructive impulses of love, how love can turn to hate, love and hatred can cause jealousy, love in Othello is the direct cause of hatred and jealousy
• central conflict of Othello is ...


  between men and women which is presented through a series of parallel and contrasting couples similarly racism and patriarchy
• Moor


  - shakespearean audiences didn't find racism shocking unlike contemporary

  - invaded Spain and established civilisation in Andalucia lastina from the 8th to 15th centuries , moors often used to portray something non human and devilish, an outsider seen as a threat
• cuckold


  represented with horns growing out his forehead, more tragic that Othello was tricked to kill Desdemona than it would've of been if she had cuckolded him
• when was Othello written?


  1604, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear then Macbeth, studies the devastating effects of the deadly sins of the spirit it: ambitious pride, ingratitude, wrath, jealously and vengeful hate
• Setting


  • Set in 16th century Venice
  • Supreme trading state, extremely self confident state which believed in its own civilisation and christianity
  • Very rich and influential
  • Leader in the conflict between Christianity and barbarism (turk)
• Shakespeare uses conflict as the context for drama


  Cyprus - focal point of commercial and religious conflict between Venetian and Turks
• When Turks destroyed venetian civilisation


  Breaks down
• Othello


  • Tragedy about a black man in a position of power in a white society
  • Order in society depended on hierarchies -natural order
  • Iago is a threat to hierarchy
  • Top of hierarchy black man. lieutenant eductaed Florence - neither Venetian
• Shakespeare presents the idea (also in Hamlet) that the soul can't rest until its sins had been forgiven
• Cassio


  • Best represents conventional ideals of honour, echoes knightly ideals of chivalry of a bygone age
• Theatrical


  • Presents audience with unexpected black hero and white christian villain - impact on Elizabethan stage
  • Contemporary audience was responsive, not quiet , enthusiastic and critical
  • Modern audience gives automatic hushed respect, less a-tuned to listening intently to rich language
• Medieval theatre tradition, such as the mystery plays, the Italian tradition of commedia dellarte, neo classicism and elaborate court masques. Drama became a fixed and permanent rather than a transitionary phenomenon.
• Shakespeare and his Contemparies


  • Tragedy was a high literary form of the Greeks - inspired shakespeare
  • Shakespeare wouldve read or heard about Aristotle's theory of tragedy
  • Greek tragedy - strong sense of fate through the involvement of Gods in the drama
  • Aristotle said succesful tragedies had a 'unity' of time, place and action
• Aside


  A character remark either to the audience or another character, that other characters on stage are not supposed to hear
• Monologue


  An extended speech by a single character that is uninterrupted by others
• Soliloquy


  A speech a character gives when they are alone on stage
• Foil


  A character whose personality or attitudes are in sharp contrast to those of another character in the same work
• Allusion


  Reference to an event, person, place or other work of literature - typically Greek and Roman mythology
• Theatre very popular for of entertainment in late Elizabethan
• Shakespeare's company was often invited to perform at court for her in the 1590's
• Cultural movement which saw flourishing of latin and ancient greece philosphies
• Shakespeare draws on greek and roman classical writing in his genre and references
• Language was developing and flourishing
• Sources for Othello


  • Main plot come from Gli Hecatommithi by Cinthio, short stories published in 1565
  • Moor falls for D and she rejects him and says she cheated with a Corporal, Moor beats her to death with a sand filled sticking and he is tortured and killed by D's relatives
• Setting


  • Venice - rare example of a contemporary republican government, continuation of ancient Roman tradition, known for diversity within population - variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, bustling with trade and opportunity, geographically familiar to England but also exotic due to trading ties with North Africa and Middle East, alluring and mythical for Elizabethan audiences
  • Andrew Hadfield called Venice 'a critical utopian state' - ideal society where tensions are brewing beneath the surface
• Race


  • Records of some africans living in England during 16th and 17th century
  • Hard to define Othello's race, moor could be an Arab inhabitant of North Africa - doesnt matter just need to be aware of his otherness
  • Black could refer to morality and race, black antithesis to pure innocence associated with white
  • Association with blackness with evil is one reason why Othello is feared by Venetian society
  • Iago's reference to Othello loaded with moral undertones
• Dramatic Context


  • Moors were generally shown as been menaces intent on destruction - seen as a threat to moral, social and political order
  • Aaron in Titus Andronicus, moor who is a force of pure evil - typical depiction of Moors on Elizabethan Stage
  • Othello succumbs to stereotypical description of Moors as the play goes on
• Religion


  • Explores relationship between Christianity and Muslims in late 16th century - set against war between Christian Republic of Venice and Muslim Ottoman Empire
  • Othello's muslim background is another cause of peoples distrust in him - religiously fueled hatred
  • Othello is a convert to christiantiy from islam - external wars reflect his internal conflict
  • Iago percieves Moors and people of African descent as less than human - compares Othello to a ram alot
• Women


  • Fathers were expected to choose husbands for their daughters - ownership
  • Desdemona's subordination to Othello and is ultimately passive and powerless in the face of her husbands anger
  • At the end of the play Emilia is free to speak and contradicts the patriarchal hierarchy - too late
  • Venetian women easily judged to be unfaithful wives due to the reputation of Venice as a hub of prostitution and sexual freedom
• Themes

  • The plays central theme is love, although this is about the destructive impulses of love, and how love can turn into hate. Also, how love and hatred combined can arouse jealousy. Jealousy being an emotion that is all destroying. Othello is not a traditional love. There are some romantic moments, but they are very quickly spoiled and put an end to. Love, in Othello is the direct cause of hatred and jealousy. There is not one relationship of romantic love in Othello that is not destructive or miserable
  • The central conflict is between men and women and this is presented through a series of parallel and contrasting couples
  • Racism and Patriarchy- status dynamics. These are issues that appear in the play that are still prevalent today
  • The most important emotion to consider within Othello is jealousy
• Journey


  • From Venice, Italy to Cyprus. Venice= order rule of reason? At the time of writing, Venice was an incredibly powerful city state, with a huge amount of military power. When the characters are in Venice, we see conflict dealt with in rationale and in a reasonable way. Brabantio airs his problems to the Duke, who diplomatically resolves his issues with Othello. Conflict that occurs later in the play is not dealt with so sophisticatedly. Cyprus= disorder, rule of passion? Cyprus was an area that was regularly fought over-think about a modern place that has been ravaged by war many times (compare to Syria). OBVIOUSLY, that being a very war-torn place, it would have a lot of tension. It seems in Cyprus, the characters become much more savage, and lose their composure.
• Moor


  Muslim person of Arab and Berber descent from northwest Africa. Moors invaded Spain and established a civilisation in Andalucía lastina from the 8th to the 15th centuries. Term moor comes from the Greek word Mauros meaning dark or very black. In renaissance drama, Moors often symbolized something other than human, and often, indeed something devilish. Othello shows a clash of cultures, between European and African, Christianity vs Muslims. LOTS OF TENSION BETWEEN THE TWO. The moor is the outsider and is seen as a threatening and different presence to the euros centric characters. OTHELLO IS THE OUTSIDER; HE IS DIFFERENT TO ALL THOSE AROUND HIM.
• Cuckold


  A man whose wife is unfaithful to him. Represented with horns growing out of his forehead. There is almost a logical acceptance that a husband could do violence to his wife if she has been unfaithful to him. It was frowned upon for a man to cheat, but NOT for a woman to do so. The Shakespearean audience would find tragedy in the fact that he was tricked into killing her. If D had actually cheated it would not have phased them as much. There is much more horror for a contemporary audience.
• Context and Important facts


  • Written in 1604. One of the major tragedies, after Hamlet, and before King Lear and Macbeth. It has a fascination with evil, and Macbeth. It has a fascination with evil, and studies the devastating effects of the deadly sins of the spirit it: ambitious pride, ingratitude, wrath, jealously and vengeful hate
• Tragic Conventions


  • Tragic flaw-defect of character that leads to the hero's disastrous downfall
  • Tragedies almost act as a warning to the audience of what humans are capable of
  • Tragedies are serious plays representing the disastrous downfall of the hero
  • Tragedies Achieve a catharsis by arousing pity and terror in the audience. A social good, watching a terrible thing makes us want to not repeat them in our own lives. Catharisis is an empathy for the character, and by the end the catharsis is when the terrible thing happens, those negative emotions we feel will be removed. The audience are healed
  • The Hero is led into a fatal calamity by hamartia (tragic flaw or error) which often takesteroryte of hubris (excessive pride leading to divine retribution)
  • Something in his nature. The fall provokes the emotions of pity and fear in the reader. (Also Catharsis)
  • The tragic character comes to some kind of understanding or new recognition of what has happened.
• Key Scenes

  • Beginnings of the plays are effective in establishing PERIOD, ATMOSPHERE
  • Whereas ends of the play bring TENSIONS, CONFLICT, RESOLUTION with an EMOTIONAL IMPACT on the audience.
  • Tragic effects depend upon the audience's awareness of the admirable qualities of the hero which are wasted in the disaster. The tragic hero is a good man, important to society. The hero suffers a fall brought about by
• lago VS Othello


  • Villain VS Hero
  • lago is intelligent, cunning, capable of tempting and controlling those around him, he is a villain without a conscience, diabolically evil while appearing to be honest, trustworthy, reduces human nature to its least attractive traits, coarse, blunt, suspicious view of human nature allows him to locate weakness in others; encourage its dominance of whole personality, manipulates all minor and major characters, plays upon their individual weaknesses, makes them instruments in his scheme to deceive Othello
  • Othello is great, tragic hero, virtues carried to excess: he loves "too well", he trusts too muchette he has a great sense of moral virtue therefore he punishes sin and has a sensitive nature, so he has vivid fantasies. Othello has a free and open nature, contestant, loving, noble nature, energetic, desire for perfection, trusting, violent. Violence is Othello's profession, he kills people for a living, and so in this scenario his ability to switch from non-violent to violent very quickly is part of his downfall.
• Motivation


  • Stan insisted that an actor was either driven by emotions or by the mind to choose physical actions. This in turn aroused the "will" of the actor to perform the given actions. Thus, the "will" became activated indirectly through either emotions or the mind. The "will" or motivation is in the subconscious. Motivation becomes important in realism; it is based on the subtext and any hidden meanings. Always be asking... What does the character do? Why does the character do it? How does the character do it?