Critical Quotes Flashcards
What does Hugh Quarshie say about the importance of Iago?
“It may be Othello’s tragedy, but it is Iago’s play.”
What does Daniel Stempel say about Iago’s motives?
“Iago embodies the mystery of the evil will.”
How does Kiernan Ryan explain Iago’s actions?
“As Iago sees it, a black African has had the gall to court and marry a white Venetian beauty.”
What does Kiernan Ryan dub Iago?
“The venomous rage of a society.”
How does Caryl Phillips describe Othello’s love for Desdemona?
“the love of a possession. She is a prize, a spoil of war.”
How does Kate Ashdown talk about Othello’s possession of Desdemona?
“The hawking imagery turns Desdemona into a possession, she is clearly a prized one.”
What does Alexandra Melville tell us about Jacobean perceptions of women and how this impacts Desdemona?
“The Jacobean idea of total chastity leaves Desdemona vulnerable to an unforgiving male gaze.”
How does Kiernan Ryan describe Othello’s self perception?
“Unconsciously shares the white perception of his blackness.”
How does Kiernan Ryan explain Othello’s desire for retribution and belief in Iago?
“Othello is primed to believe it by the warped view of women and female sexuality that he shares not only with Iago but with other men.”
What reason does Thomas Rymer (1693) give for Othello’s suicide?
“to avoid a death the law was about to inflict upon him”
What quality does Kiernan Ryan say makes Shakespeare’s tragic heroes?
They become “a stranger to the person they used to be or thought they were.”
What does Michael Donkor say about miscommunication in Shakespeare plays?
“Shakespeare’s plays are so often marked by a lack of straightforward communication.”
What does Thomas Rhymer (1693) say to mock the importance of the handkerchief in Othello?
“Tragedy of the Handkerchief”
How does Philip Allan interpret Desdemona’s apologies for Othello on a psychological level?
“With the psychology of the victim of domestic violence, begins to blame herself and make excuses for her abuser.”
How does Abdul-Rehman Malik liken Iago to today’s politically prevalent manipulators?
“Iago is the master of ‘alternative facts’. The manufacturer of false scenario and story.”
