nSetting- Veice (4)
At the end of the sixteenth century, dramatists began to use Italy as a suitable location for revenge tragedies.
The Italians were thought to be worldly and Venice in particular was associated with everything that was culturally sophisticated. It was a location that suggest...
Setting- Venice (4)
At the end of the sixteenth century, dramatists began to use Italy as
a suitable location for revenge tragedies.
The Italians were thought to be worldly and Venice in particular was
associated with everything that was culturally sophisticated. It was
a location that suggested power, order and wealth.
Venice was (and still is) a predominantly white city- means that
Othello's actions as a Moor are judged and criticised
Renowned for its courtesans (prostitutes). When the English thought
about Venice, they often imagined it to be a city chock full of
promiscuous women.
Setting- storm (6)
The storm is a kind of pathetic fallacy that mirrors the jealous
storm that will brew inside Othello once on Cyprus.
There is much geographical symbolism in the play: Venice is
represented by Iago, that which is white, Christian, civilized.
Turkey is represented by Othello, that which is non-white, non-
Christian, uncivilized. And Cyprus is represented by Desdemona; she
is the island caught in the middle.
The storm is significant because it kills the Turks; it defeats
Othello's only purpose, leaving the island's occupants restless and
confined on a small island- Aristotle's unity of place and time-
creates claustrophobia- accelerates the turning points in the play
AO4 Comparison with Lives of The Saints- both storms act as a sign
for detrimental negative outcomes to occur in the future.
Lives of The Saints, storms happened when Vittorio and Christina were
in the ship and Christina died after the storm ended.
,Othello, the storms occurred and indirectly gave victory to Othello
and similarly most of the main characters die after the storm.
Setting- Cyprus (2)
The action moves to a military encampment in Cyprus, an island sacred
to Venus, the goddess of love. On the island of love, away from
civilization and rationality, Iago is able to convince Othello that
Desdemona has been cheating on him, using the compressed time frame,
location, and Jacobean gender stereotypes of Venetian women to aid
his Machiavellian scheming
At this military camp, Desdemona has lost any kind of support system
she may have had in her hometown of Venice, so she's vulnerable to
the kind of violence associated with the world of men and military.
Setting- bedchamber (3)
Gradually the attention of the audience becomes fixed on a single
bedroom, creating a feeling of claustrophobia that is unique in
Shakespeare's tragedies.
The outer world becomes insignificant as Othello becomes obsessed and
jealous
Private domestic place invaded by officials, clash of personal and
professional, exaggerates the extent of Othello's downfall.
Setting- bed (4)
Othello and Desdemona's relationship is regarded as extremely
physical despite the fact that they never consummate their marriage-
link this to the symbolic use of the handkerchief with strawberries
on it
This reflects blood upon bedsheets, a sign of virginity expected when
a couple would consummate their marriage.
Therefore, the use of blood on the bed sheets during the tragic
denouement of the novel is extremely dark and ironic- Othello and
Desdemona never consummate their love, rather the blood is from
Othello, who stabs himself out of guilt after murdering Desdemona due
to her supposed infidelity.
Emilia was always "in the middle of" Othello and Desdemona's
relationship, and symbolically dies laid between the two
Setting- the Saggitary (2)
refers to an Inn where Desdemona and Othello are supposed to be
consummating their marriage (acts as a foreshadowing moment for the
use of the handkerchief motif as Desdemona never loses her virginity,
,and so the red embroidery on the handkerchief and the blood on the
bed sheets is deeply ironic). Highlights irony behind Iago's
manipulation and creates a platform for Othello's insecurities to be
born- they never consummated their marriage.
Also refers to a centaur- a half man, half horse creature. Jacobean
racial commentary on miscegenation- link to "Barbary horse" "a black
ram is tupping your white ewe" and "making the beast with two backs"
Context- race (2)
Even though Othello was written at a time where the Venetians and the
English had a peaceful relationship with Turkey, the Turks were still
perceived negatively in Western Europe
The phrase "to turn Turn" was widely used and is used in the play.
This originally meant to convert to Islam, but took on other meanings
e.g. to become a traitor, to commit adultery or to become a *****
Modern view of race
The first piece of legislation was the Race Relations Act of 1965-
made it a civil offence to refuse to serve a person or to overcharge
on the grounds of colour, race or ethnic groups.
Today, there are multiple laws designed to prevent discrimination but
there is still prejudice based on race, e.g. still 3000 members of
the KKK- racism is still present in our modern society
Context- original source (2)
Shakespeare borrowed the narrative of Othello from Cinthio's Gli
Hecatommithi (a collection of 100 tales published in Italy in the
16th century)
Cintheo tells a tale of Disdemona (the only character given a name)
and a Moorish Captain duped by his villainous officer
Shakespeare's additions to Cinthio's story (6)
Roderigo- provides Shakespeare with the opportunity to emphasise with
greater intensity the evil and sadistic nature of Iago. Iago is
Roderigo's puppet master.
War with the Turks- in Cinthio's story Othello is deployed to Cyprus
to command troops in peacetime. Shakespeare changes this to wartime
and by doing so emphasises the warrier-like nature of Othello. The
handling of troops reflects how he handles his wife- major theme of
the play. The direct references to the war between the Turks and the
Venetians gives the play a more political resonance for a
contemporary audience
Emilia- Shakespeare expanded the role of Iago's wife. Some have
, called Emilia the first feminist in Western literature
Cassio- expands the role of Cassio to emphasise his honesty, kindness
and loyalty- acts as a stark contrast to the malevolence of Iago.
Cassio is the anti-Iago of the play
Murder of Desdemona- Cintheo has his Iago conspire with the Moor to
beat Disdemona to death with sandbags and make it appear that the
roof fell in on her. Shakespeare amends this with Othello murdering
Desdemona alone with his bare hands. Aristotle said that the
objective of tragedy is to imitate action that arouses pity and fear.
The strangulation of Desdemona by her warrier husband intensifies and
compounds the feeling of pity and fear suiting the genre f the
tragedy
Othello's race- Shakespeare improved on Cintheo's work by emphasising
Iago's exploitation of Othello's insecurities as a black man living
in a prejudicial white society
Shakespeare's subtractions to Cinthio's story (2)
Iago's motives- Shakespeare's Iago is not driven by lust for
Desdemona so his motives are more ambiguous. By removing Cinthio's
unrequited love motive, Shakespeare makes Iago even more sinister
Desdemona's doubts- in Cinthio's Othello, Disdemona has reservations
about her decision to marry a "hot blooded Moor". In Shakespeare's,
Desdemona's love for Othello never wagers, even after death
Context- cuckold (3)
A cuckold is the husband of an adultress, often regarded as an object
of derision- shamed and embarrassed. Othello believes he is being
cuckolded- the semantic field of death throughout the play symbolises
the deterioration of trust in their relationship. Suggests it is
their destiny to fail- lack of love.
Iago manipulates Venetian stereotypes of women as whores and
adulteresses to reinforce Othello's fears about becoming a cuckold.
A man's worth, status and reputation was tied to that of his wife as
marriage was seen as a "microcosm of the state"- Jacobean fears of
cuckoldry would be especially severe.
Context- Machiavellian (3)
A villain who is scheming, manipulative, and amoral.
"Machiavellian" means in the style of behavior described in Niccolo
Machiavelli's book The Prince, written in the early 1500s. It
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