Critics

Question 1

Failure of Othello and Desdemonas relationship- Donkor

Answer 1

‘Lack of straightforward communication’

Question 2

Samuel Johnson on Desdemonas Character

Answer 2

Said he liked the ‘soft simplicity of Desdemona’ -lack of depth Shakespeare allowed what could of been such a key and powerful character if he permitted her to be

Question 3

What lesson did Samuel Johnson suppose the play was teaching?

Answer 3

‘Not to make an unequal match’ and ‘not to yield too readily to suspicion’

Question 4

Neo-classicists wanted the play to have tragic decorum

Answer 4

-characters (particularly the women) had to be polite
-linear plot
-characters and plot had to have a moral focus
-crude language unacceptable