context Flashcards
shakespeare - the renaissance man
shakespeare belonged to a renaissance ideology that celebrated art, life and culture and challenged old convictions and ideas.
the individual conscience was set alive, ‘reborn’ and not bound by the principles of the catholic church that had dominated politics and life for so long
shakespeare pushed elizabethan values whilst still respected its reasoning
othello
written by shakespeare around 1604 when he was about 40. he died in 1616, aged 52.
like some of his other plays, shakespeare borrowed the main outlines for othello from the Italian writer, cinthio and his collection of short stories entitled gli hecatommathi: un captiano moro or the moorish
captain published in 1565. the only named character in the original version was desdemona, others are named in 3rd person such as the moor.
shakespeare added several new characters such as cassio and emilia.
shakesperean tragedy
tragic hero
struggle between good and evil
hamartia
tragic waste -the good being destroyed along with the bad at the resolution of the play. often played out with the unnecessary loss of life, especially of good guy characters.
external conflict
internal conflict
catharsis
supernatural elements
lack of poetic justice - things end poorly for everyone, including the good guys
comic relief
chain of being
man is not an animal and it is unvirtuous if he loses his humanity to the point where he behaves like one.
in shakespeare a human who falls below the level of man is labelled a monster.
any attempts to rise above one’s station on this ladder results in the offender being cast down several rungs.
god
angel - often have their order
king- ordinary mortals should not aspire to be king
men
women - women should not dictate to men
animal- failure to reason deduced humans to an animal state
vegetable
mineral
the chain of being - souls
animate objects: one soul - just the capacity to live
animals: two souls - the capacity to live and feel
women and men: three souls - the capacity to live, feel and reason and rationalise
the renaissance
renaissance developed its own order - based on a medieval order, every creature appeared in its ordained position on a ladder
god designed the universe - all have a job to do for him and he works through them - this is the top of the ladder
angels have their own virtuous place in this hierarchy as
being spiritual entities.
ruler or monarch was called by god has obligations and responsibilities and pleasures which are not open to one who is a carpenter
characters in shakespeare who become uncontrollably emotional are heading for a fall - elizabethans believed it was dangerous to let reason be dominated by passion.
harmony: Important to an elizabethan audience in his plays harmony governs the cycle of nature - expressed in music, song and dance.
storms and tempests are symbolic of disruption in nature caused by human transgressions of the natural order.
nature - contradictory - benevolent and harmonious - reflecting a divine order. examines human nature - kind or unkind.
what is hubris?
excessive pride or self confidence
shakespeare and national identity
fascinated by history with tales of the struggles of the 15th century - war of the roses and politics or political unrest (so many of his characters dare to upset political and royal systems) there are recurrent themes in his work which are seemingly obvious.
women
women are often possessions - dependent on men whom they love, honour and are obedient to.
women can only rise through their association with high ranking men such as lady macbeth
young women are chaperoned to avoid ever being alone with a man.
religion
religion - protestantism was adopted and roman catholicism although initially tolerated became outlawed
this led to a split from the rest of europe which was, in large parts under the control of the catholic church
shakespeare lived through periods of ill feeling - as during both elizabethan and jacobean periods there was religious tension between the catholic and protestant religions.
before shakespeare, henry viii had disbanded catholicism in England, making himself head of the church of England under a Protestant rule. this was decreed so that he could divorce catherine of aragon
and marry his mistress anne boleyn.
led to political strife and a constant rumours and plots to overthrow the protestant elizabeth with the roman catholic mary queen of scots
plots and rebellions
the revolt of the northern earls 1569
the ridolfi plot 1571
the throckmorton plot 1583
the babington plot 1586
race
the play itself has often been used as a barometer to measure attitudes towards race and religion at the time.
for this reason interpretations and casting of othello often reflect attitudes of the time and place they are performed in.
for example the play is now being re-examined focusing
on attitudes towards religion and the supposed clash between european christian ‘values’ and eastern muslim ‘identity’.
the moor of venice
moor’ has two different meanings from the time of shakespeare.
a person of north african descent and or a wider term for a muslim
this confusion about othello’s background is further confused by the racial descriptions such as ‘thick lips’ to describe othello, which suggests sub-saharan origins rather than arab or north african descent
original title of the play when first published was the tragedy of othello, the moor of venice.
oxymoron of sorts as at the time a moor could not have been a venetian and symbolises the conflicting presence of othello in society. he is an outsider who is in charge of protecting venice; he is of muslim origin fighting turks for a christian kingdom; he is a man of colour in a xenophobic society
elizabethan relationships with the east
elizabethan england had a mixed view of ‘eastern’ cultures and races
once pope pius v formally excommunicated her in 1570, elizabeth was free to ignore the papal edicts forbidding christian trade with muslims, and by 1581 she had lodged an english ambassador in constantinople, signed formal commercial treaties with the ottomans and founded the turkey company
ottomans were seen as being mighty in terms of power and systems, but also seen as animalistic and base because of their religious differences (ottomans were muslims)
recent research has led to theories that the play is based on abd al-wahid bin masoud bin muhammad al-annuri
a moroccan diplomat who visited london in the year 1600 and was proposing a pact between the moroccan and english parties to fight the roman catholic church.
his arrival was met with great fascination and excitement and he was granted an audience with queen elizabeth
black tudors
queen elizabeth at one point felt that ‘blackamoors’ were a nuisance and should be deported
however, more recent research by miranda kaufman a historian and sociologist suggests a more nuanced attitude towards people of other races in a elizabethan times.
found around 360 black individuals had lived in england during the tudor period (1500-1640)
although they were seen as different, they were not treated as slaves as many black people were later on in british history.
many managed to get themselves into places working respectable jobs, earning wages and being accepted as citizens
some assimilated into the culture of britain, being baptised, married and very crucially being buried in churches. this showed a ‘significant form of acceptance’ as they were accepted as part of one christian body in death.
