AO4 / AO5 Flashcards
This production highlights the limited theatrical convention to present Venice due to a small stage.
Jonathon Miller
This production was filmed in Venice, perhaps making it more appealing and realistic to a modern audience.
Kenneth Branagh
Othello is a tragedy that proceeds from misunderstandings and misconceptions.
Donkor
‘Othello’ is a tragedy of racial conflict.
Robeson (black actor)
‘Othello’ is a story focusing on the death of chivalry, romantic courting and Othello’s inability to love.
Leigh Copas
In this production, Iago’s speech is fast-paced and comical.
Jonathon Miller
In this production, Brabantio’s function a Senux Iratus is emphasised through his confusion.
Jonathon Miller
In this production, Desdemona’s speech is clear and eloquent, but she lacks emotion.
Jonathon Miller
In this production, Othello is played by a white man. He is laid-back and has a general lack of concern.
Jonathon Miller
In this production, there is a close-up shot of Iago whispering into Othello’s ear.
Kenneth Branagh
The Moor’s stories allow Desdemona to experience the exotic and erotic delight.
Virginia Mason Vaughan
Othello transforms into the ideal Renaissance lover, one who seeks spiritual love over physical love.
Leigh Copas
The loss of a hawk was considered a financial blow; Desdemona is therefore a prized , valuable possession.
Kate Ashdown
The handkerchief’s pattern of strawberries adds domesticity and femininity to his war-like personality, making his moorish culture civilised and cultivated.
Andrew Brown
Othello is not the beast we expect. In the end, it is Iago who is the ‘inhuman dog’.
Andrew Brown
The handkerchief’s ‘spotted’ pattern of red strawberries implies the loss of virginity.
Donkor
The handkerchief draws parallels with all three women, revealing the true nature of a woman’s role - a sexual being for a man.
Kiernan Ryan
Othello is more vulnerable to Iago because he is black. Othello is kept at a distance from the audience whereas Iago has a ‘seductive intimacy’ with the audience.
Kiernan Ryan
In this production, Othello is wrapped in chains in order to symbolise Iago’s control.
Kenneth Branagh
In this production Othello imagines a hyper-sexualised scene between Desdemona and Cassio, highlighting Jacobean fear of cuckoldry and female sexuality.
Kenneth Branagh
Jacobean theatrical performances often portrayed black men as villainous. However, Othello is the hero of the play whilst Iago, the white racist, is the villain.
Dickinson
Jacobean portrayals often reduce women to saints, mothers or whores.
Melville
Othello transplants the rapid, impulsive decision-making of the battlefield to the domestic sphere.
Donkor
This actor views the play in two halves. In the first half, Othello is wise, astute and mature whereas in the second half, Othello is obsessive, compulsive and a murderous maniac.
Quarshie (black actor)
The preoccupation with cuckoldry demonstrates a male insecurity about female sexuality.
Virginia Mason Vaughan
Courtly love introduces the theme of cuckoldry and most importantly, women’s loss of power
Leigh Copas
It is Othello’s devotion to his militaristic and social image that outweighs his love for Desdemona.
Leigh Copas
‘I wooed thee with my sword.’ - Theus to Hippolyta
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare
Aaron is a hyper-sexualised black male.
Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare
Touchstone is the court fool.
As You Like It, Shakespeare
There is betrayal and treachery between family members, Oliver and Orlando.
As You Like It, Shakespeare
Miranda and Ferdinand fall in love at first sight and desire to marry immediately. (love as naive and impulsive)
The Tempest
Egeus does not want his daughter, Hermia to marry Lysander. She must either face the death penalty or become a nun forever.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Cleopatra is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most developed female characters - a contrast from the passive Desdemona.
The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra
Orlando’s naive love for Rosalind demonstrates the artificiality and foolishness of Courtly Love.
As You Like It, Shakespeare
Old Hamlet dies from poison which is poured into his ear.
Hamlet, Shakespeare
Rosalind gives Orlando a necklace as a token of her love. (The handkerchief’s function)
As You Like It, Shakespeare
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth lose sleep over their distress and guilt.
Macbeth, Shakespeare
Vittoria appears innocent but remains guilty.
The White Devil, Webster
Isabella and Vittoria express their frustration with male dominance (in a misogynistic play).
The White Devil, Webster
Raven imagery is used when Duncan enters the castle in order to foreshadow his death.
Macbeth, Shakespeare
Leontes fears his wife has committed adultery with his best friend. Unlike Othello, who is manipulated by Iago, Leontes convinces himself. Both Othello and Leontes react violently.
The Winter’s Tale, Shakespeare
Demetrius and Lysander argue over who should marry Hermia.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare
When Cleopatra discovers that Antony has killed himself, she commits suicide out of loyalty to him.
The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare
Loyalty is questioned as an enduring feeling when Antony and Cleopatra’s loyalty to one another is tested through the choices they must make.
The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare
Hamlet seeks revenge on Claudius who killed his father, Old Hamlet.
Hamlet, Shakespeare
Barabus takes revenge on Ferneze. However, he is unsuccessful and, in the end, Ferneze betrays him and Barabus dies.
The Jew of Malta, Marlowe
‘Othello’ is a ‘tragedy of misunderstanding’
John Wain
Motiveless Malignity
Coleridge
