context Flashcards
Women and marriage
-The rules of marriage in the 16th century reflected the patriarchal society
-women were subordinate and were expected to be obedient and subservient
-marriage was more of a business proposal, families would marry high status or similar status families for connections and money
-fathers expected to choose for daughters as they are under there ownership
Desdemona has few rights and goes against stereotypical representation- strong willed and speaks up but is ultimately a passive character who is powerless in her husbands anger
Emilia is oppressed completely by her husband and represents stereotypical higher-class marriages
With Venice being seen as a place of sexual freedoms it manifests male characters in othello to assume their wives are unfaithful
Setting: Cyprus and Venice
Venice was associated with culture,romance and civilianisation but also corruption,conflict and prostitution making it easier for Iago to convince othello of desdemonas actions
Italy was associated with villainy, decadence and corruption, and frequently used as a setting for plays on such themes, Iago represents these themes
The isolation of and threats to the Cyprus setting symbolise the isolation of and threats to Desdemona and Othello
Othello changes when the setting changes
The use of a military setting for a play about marriage underlines the conflict Othello faces when trying to combine love and work.
shakespeare audience would see Venice as exciting and exotic but also dangerous and otherworldness on the edge of civilisation
racism and fear of outsiders scub as iagos views reflect English fears and behaviours
Race
Small minority of ethnic tutdors
No one is sure what race othello was actually meant to be but is unimportant as his otherworldliness and indifference is clear
although he’s described as black everyone who was not white was described to have ‘blackness’
Race refers to morality- white is innocence and purity, black was antithesis, associated with evil
Usually in Renaissance drama black men and Moors were portrayed negatively; Othello is the first black hero.
Othello only behaves as the stereotype of the lustful, murderous black man when he is corrupted by Iago
During the Renaissance many believed black people were fit only to be slaves. Shakespeare subverts this view in his depiction of his noble Moor.
Religion
The preoccupation with good and evil underlines the play’s religious context.
Desdemona is linked to good through the use of references to heaven. Iago is linked to evil through references to hell and the devil.
Othello has converted to Christianity and subscribes to Christian values. He knows he is damned in the final moments of the play.
Iago has atheistic attitudes. He says men are in control of their own fates
Iagos name origin
-iagos name is Spanish
-at the time England’s greatest enemy was Spain because of fear of invasion, competitive nature and colonisation
-clearly states Iago as the villain straight away
time period
renaissance 15th-17th century
cultural movement with Latin and ancient Greek philosophies
explores the psychological depth of characters
original sources for othello
Play written by cinthio tells the story of Disdemona and the moor captain
plot is very similar including the moors ensign telling everyone she cheated on the moor, the moor killing her and disdemonas relatives revenging on both the moor and ensign
shakespeares Iago is more ambitious,bloodthirsty and merciless painting him as more evil, adding more depth to his character
Shakespeare also adds characters such as Brabantio to add depth to the story eg. Adding depth to othellos insecurities and motives making the play more of a dramatised tragedy
Production history
first few productions females were played by young boys, all white cast, white male would wear black face paint and a black lamb wool wig
-20th century onwards othello played by black actors
-controversy in the fact a white man wrote an ethnic part for another white male to play- undermines credibility of othellos characterisation, is he a stereotype or a genuine depiction
-actor ‘Hugh Quarshie’ 2015 admitted he was hesitant about the role as he questioned whether it was an ‘authoritative and credible profile of a genuine black man’
