Act One 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 lago’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; lago’s class envy towards Cassio who was a scholar and a man of prestige therefore suggests why lago 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 lago’s hatred; his own experience in rising up in society himself meant that Shakespeare would have been able to appreciate lago’s resentment
explore
“I am not what I am”
lago 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.
lago sneers that Cassio is “a fellow almost damned in a fair wife” explore
This casual sexism exposes the way in which male characters discuss women and permeates the play with a patriarchal context. It as well establishes lago’s misogyny used to infect Othello’s trust for Desdemona into violent jealousy used to compel her murder. The imagery of “fair wife” furthers lago 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!” lago’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 renaissance 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 villains 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 lago; 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, lago, 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 lago?
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 lago want Rodrigo 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 lago call Othello?
“a knave of common hire, a gondolier”
