Act 1 Extra Points Flashcards
What juxtaposes together at the beginning of the play to permeate the play with domestic issues which clouds with play with an inevitable chaos?
the juxtaposition between Rodrigo’s failure to marry Desdemona, and Iago’s failure to gain promotion with the setting of the wedding from the outset of Act 1
Act 1 Scene 1 includes references to the Venetian conflict with the Turks over Cyprus at the senate, why is this important?
as it is the setting where Othello’s mind and marriage will be destroyed, creating a sense of inevitability for his plight
Venice had a more rigid class structure than England at the time Othello was written meaning that the nobility and common people were very distinct form one another; Iago’s class envy towards Cassio who was a scholar and a man of prestige therefore suggests why Iago has such resentment for his ‘preferment.’ What does this show about Shakespeare?
Shakespeare perhaps uses this point to at the very least, give a possible justification for Iago’s hatred; his own experience in rising up in society himself meant that Shakespeare would have been able to appreciate Iago’s resentment
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“I am not what I am”
Iago demonstrates several characteristics of a typical Jacobean stage villain with his reputation as a dutiful subordinate is deceptive; openly retorting in an aside that “I am not what I am” which places him into the role of the Machiavellian villain with whom the audience associate the tragic fall of Othello.
Iago sneers that Cassio is “a fellow almost damned in a fair wife”
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This casual sexism exposes the way in which male characters discuss women and permeates the play with a patriarchal context. It as well establishes Iago’s misogyny used to infect Othello’s trust for Desdemona into violent jealousy used to compel her murder. The imagery of “fair wife” furthers Iago as the figure for the patriarchy, viewing women as one of their many possessions, as can be supported by his comment later in Act 1 when he calls to Brabantio to “look to your house, your daughter and your bags!” Iago’s use of verb when signifying Brabantio’s property has been “robbed” further signifies this association to Desdemona as an object, rather than an equal
What does Brabanxtio believe Desdemona has done by eloping?
that she has subverted the natural order by marrying a man contrary to her fathers wishes, an act which he proclaims as “treason of the blood” in Act 1. Brabantio believes that his daughters marriage is an incomprehensible rejection of everything she has known
Brabanxtio believe that Desdemona has subverted the natural order by marrying a man contrary to his wishes, an act with he proclaims as “treason of the blood” in Act 1. The image of Desdemona in ‘the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor thereby makes it clear that her ‘revolt’ is outrageous, why?
because Desdmona has not only deceived her father but has also chosen the Moor, a derogative term to sexualise his character and to discredit his intentions with her. It is important that Othello’s race is central to Brabanxtio’s contempt as from the medieval period onwards the devil was often depicted in art as a black man, suggesting to the audience his physical appearance was enough to prove his guilt in the eyes of Desdemona’s father.
Instead of being a willing bride, Brabanxtio suggests Desdemona is what which is in conjunction with the renasissance stereotype of the black man as a cunning sexual predator ?
a passive victim, who’s “youth and maid hood” had been “abused” by Othello’s magic and love potions
As the audience are allowed access to the villain;s thoughts from the outset of Act 1 and from thereafter the whole play; what could be suggested?
that we are gradually seduced into colluding with evil, lessening our remorse for Othello in the dénouement because of the almost obvious scheme plotted by Iago; Othello’s quick acceptance of Desdemona’s infidelity resultantly only frustrates the audience to his hubris, that of which disables him from noticing that his inferior, Iago, has manipulated him. This can be seen in the frustration felt towards Rodrigo who fails to see that the man who admits he is a selfish fraud is using him for his own goals.
By the end of Act 1 Scene 1, how has Shakespeare established Iago?
as a powerful, manipulative figure, who instigates and stage manages chaos effectively
What could be a reason that much of Act 1 veils Othello?
as Shakespeare structures the scene to highlight the audience’s attention to the role that rumour has in the play, learning everything from second hand knowledge
What can be said regarding Brabantio’s accusations that Othello performed black magic on his daughter?
that the Renaissance was a time of belief in the nature of evil and the black mans association to the devil
What does Iago want Roderigo to do once he has succeeded in creating his prejudice for Desdemona’s and Othello’s marriage?
“poison his delight” ( brabantio)
“plague him with flies”
How do the audience know that the social order has been threatened which pre-empts the tragedy of play until order is restored?
the fact that both the elopement had taken place at night, with Desdemona taken from her home in darkness by a “knave of common hire, a gondolier.” civilised place associated with power, prosperity and order has been ultimately assaulted by a “wheeling stranger” whom is the centre of tension within the place, signalling to the audience that Othello’s tragic fall is pivotal to the narrative of the play and in bringing a restoration of order which is a crucial feature of an Aristotelian tragedy.
What does Iago call Othello?
“a knave of common hire, a gondolier”
How is it clear that Iago has managed to control even the most powerful of characters such as Brabantio?
As instead of directing his social inferiors-Iago and Roderigo-Brabantio finds himself acting in response to them, listening to their impudent words, directed by Iago, regarding Desdemona’s “gross revolt” and relations with the sexualised “black ram.” Iago’s evident xenophobia through his descriptions of Othello as being a “Barbary horse” resinate with Brabantio’s similar views, consequently manipulating him into the decision to begin a manhunt to find the repugnant and lustful predator figure created by Iago. Iago forces his own interpretations of events on Brabantio in order to heighten his outrage and reaction to the elopement in an attempt to poison the social image of Othello through the power of Brabantio as a senator of Venice.
What does Iago reduce the Desdemona-Othello match to?
to a bestial sexuality which ironically communicates Iago’s character moreso than it does the former.
What does this exchange of contrasts and discord within Act 1 set the scene for?
the events that follow
What themes are built in Act 1?
social disruption class and power delusion and knowledge male and female sexuality black and white
In contrast to the other characters we meet in Act 1 scene 1, how does Othello speak in scene 2?
with a measured calm in blank verse
What has Caryl Philips noted about Othello’s position in Act 1 Scene 2 which was calm, and measured against accusations of enchantment?
that even from his very first speech, he subconsciously acknowledged the social pressure that he was under.
How can Othello be described as brave, dignified and authoritative?
through the way in which he handled Brabanxtio and his men
