Context Flashcards
Why was Venice a very multicultural city?
Due to its trade with North Africa and the Middle East.
Why did Shakespeare choose Venice as his setting?
Multiculturalism: exotic allure, yetgeographical familiarity - essentially on the edge of civilisation.
Sexual freedom: hub of prostitution; known for unfaithful wives.
Why did Shakespeare choose Cyprus as his setting?
Strong political relevance with his contemporary audience: wars with the Turks (including the huge sea-battle of Lepanto). Therefore associated with conflict between the West and ‘other’, which reflects on the interracial conflict with Des and Othello.
Strong exotic allure: between Arab and Turk nations; therefore ‘uncivilised’.
Birthplace of Aphrodite (from Greek mythology): goddess of love, sexual pleasure, who was unfaithful to her husband.
Essentially the characters have gone from Venice, mildy uncivilised, mildly unfaithful-y, to Cyprus, which is very uncivilised and very unfaithful-y.
What genres does Othello conform to?
Morality play.
Revenge tragedy.
Greek tragedy.
What are conventions of a revenge tragedy?
Machiavellian villain (Iago), themes of revenge, soliloquies, death and terror, shocking events.
What are conventions of Greek tragedies?
Downfall of high-ranking characters (peripeteia), due to their hamartia and hubris. The tragic hero dies fighting against a strong element of fate, and at the end, a new social order is restored.
What are Aristotle’s three unities for a Greek tragedy?
Time: duration takes place over one day.
Place: limits the location to one locality.
Action: a single set of related incidents contribute directly to progression of the plot.
What is a malcontent villain?
Due to economic and social discontent in the early seventeenth century, malcontents wanted to BURN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE DOWN.
Often used metatheatricity (like Iago - “who says I play the villain” 2:3).
What is a Machiavellian villain?
‘Puppet masters’ who use other characters as tools to get what they desire.
They operate in secrecy, but reveal themselves in soliloquies.
Why was the patriarch’s role in the family important?
It was analogous with God in the universe, or the king I the state. Therefore, defying the ‘man of the house’ was going against God.
What happened in defamation cases against women in the seventeenth century?
Over 90% included a woman’s sexual history.
What’s another dramatic presentation of ‘Moors’?
Shakespeare’s play ‘Titus Atronicus’, where ‘Moorish’ Aaron is a caricature of remorseless evil; truly, sadism itself, and the absolute epitome of evilness.
Why did Christian Renaissance traditions believe Africans were cursed?
Apparently, they were descended from Noah’s cursed son, and therefore the entire race is cursed.
Why does Shakespeare change the ending of the original material for ‘Othello’ by Cinthio?
In the end, Iago is killed by Desdemona’s relatives. However, Shakespeare refuses us this catharsis
Which book could have influenced Shakespeare when Othello goes all “Othello music”-y (G. Wilson Knight, 1930)?
‘The Travels of John Mandeville’ describes many exotic, wondrous races and creatures in Oriental geography.
