Context-AO3 Flashcards
Fear of cuckoldry a3s3
‘That cuckold lives in bliss…
KEY POINT WHERE IAGO FINALLY ‘CONFESSES’ D IS DISLOYAL
‘That cuckold lives in bliss who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger, but O, what damned minutes tells he o’ver who dotes you doubts, suspect yet strongly loves!
Masculine honour a3s3
‘Than keep a corner…
Than keep a corner in the thing I love’ Othello
Caricature of cuckold a3s3
‘I have a a pain upon…
‘I have a pain upon my forehead here’ (Othello)
Dehumanisation of cuckold
‘A horned man’s a… a4s1
‘A horned man’s a monster, and a beast’ (Othello)
What were Shakespearean and Greek/Roman views on suicide?
- Shakesperean audeiences would have viewed suicide as a mortal sin
- Greeks and Romans thought suicide could be honourable as a sign of courage. Therefore in a sense O is atoning for his sins
What is the context of the Willow Song?
- Shakespearean audiences would have been familiar with the Willow Song and aware that the end of the original ballad foretold tragedy
- When Emilia sings the Willow Song before her death lying next to Desdemona, Shakespeare highlights the innocence of the two women and the cruel acts of their husbands.
What is the context for Emilia lying next to Desdemona in death?
- Lying side by side, their bodies recall 14th and 15th century English monuments and tombs with images of MALE friends who chose to spend eternity buried together, cementing a bond more sacred than blood or marriage
How was race viewed in the Renaissance?
- Black men and the Moors were usually portrayed negatively; Othello is the first black hero
- Othello only behaves as the stereotype of the lustful, murderous Moor when he is corrupted by Iago
- Othello is a racial ‘outsider’ in Venice but Shakespeare stresses his noble origins and power as a general, subverting racial stereotypes
How was religion portrayed in the Jacobean era?
- The preoccupation with good and evil underlines the play’s religious context
- Desdemona is linked to heaven and Iago is linked to evil
- Othello has converted to Christianity and subscribes to Christian values. He knows he is damned in the final moments of the play but still tries to retain his reputation
- Iago has atheistic attitudes when he says men are in control of their own fates ‘tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus’ a1s3
What is the significance of the setting in Othello?
- Venice was associated with power, romance and high culture, an appropriate setting for the Othello-Desdemona love match
- Italy was associated with villainy, decadence and corruption. Iago personifies these stereotypical Italian vices
- The military setting for a play about marriage underlines the conflict Othello faces when trying to combine love and work
What were the beliefs of the patriarchy in the Jacobean period?
- Renaissance women were subordinate to men and were ruled by them
- Renaissance fathers and husbands often treated their daughters and wives as objects
- Assertive women were considered a threat to the social order. Shakespeare’s presentation of Emilia demonstrates that these women are not always a threat to the patriarchy.
