Othello

Question 1

When was ‘Othello’ set?

Answer 1

• 1570 - 1573, latter half of the sixteenth century

Question 2

What are the TWO main settings of the play?

Answer 2

1. Cyprus

2. Venice

Question 3

What are the FOUR contexts of ‘Othello’?

Answer 3

1. Race
2. Religion
3. Setting
4. Patriarchy

Question 4

How does ‘Race’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 4

• 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.
• Othello is a racial ‘outsider’ in Venice, but Shakespeare stresses his noble origins and his power and status as a mercenary general. - - During the Renaissance many believed black people were fit only to be slaves. Shakespeare subverts this view in his depiction of his noble Moor.

Question 5

How does ‘Religion’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 5

• 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.

Question 6

How does ‘Setting’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 6

• Venice (in Italy) 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, and frequently used as a setting for plays on such themes. Iago personifies these stereotypical Italian vices.
• The isolation of and threats to the Cyprus setting symbolise the isolation of and threats to Desdemona and Othello.
• The use of a military setting for a play about marriage underlines the conflict Othello faces when trying to combine love and work.

Question 7

How does ‘Patriarchy’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 7

• Renaissance women were subordinate to men and were ruled by them.
• Legally, women were the possessions of men, so fathers and husbands often treated their daughters and wives as objects to be used as they saw fit.
• Assertive women were considered a threat to the social order. Desdemona asserts her right to live with Othello, but never challenges his authority over her.
• Shakespeare’s positive portrayal of Emilia suggests assertiveness in a woman is not always a threat to patriarchy.

Question 8

What are the FOUR themes in ‘Othello’?

Answer 8

1. Incompatibility between Military Heroism and Love
2. Danger of Isolation
3. Revenge
4. Justice and Revenge

Question 9

How does ‘Incompatibility of Military Heroism and Love’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 9

• Othello is a soldier, from the earliest moments in the play his military career affects his married life.
• The military also provides Othello with a means to gain acceptance in Venetian society, the Venetians in the play are generally fearful of the prospect of Othello’s social entrance into white society through his marriage to Desdemona.

Question 10

How does the ‘Danger of Isolation’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 10

• The play seems to say, self-isolation as an act of self-preservation leads ultimately to self-destruction. Such self-isolation leads to the deaths of Roderigo, Iago, Othello, and even Emelia.
• Iago is an expert at manipulating the distance between characters, isolating his victims so that they prey to their own obsessions. At the same time, Iago falls prey to his own obsession with revenge.

Question 11

How does ‘Jealousy’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 11

• Jealousy motivates the central conflicts of Othello, Iago’s resentment of Othello, and Othello’s suspicion of Desdemona.
• Iago is immediately revealed as a jealous character in the first scene, he complains that Cassio has been promoted instead of him. - He later implies that his hatred of Othello is rooted in jealousy, since there are rumours of Othello having slept with Emelia.

Question 12

How does ‘Justice and Revenge’ link to ‘Othello’?

Answer 12

• Characters justify their actions on the basis of deserving justice.
• As Othello becomes increasingly convinced that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him, he also feels entitled to seek a form of bloody, self-administered justice. He is not interested in seeking official forms of justice, he wants to punish his wife himself, and feels entitled to do so.

Question 13

What are the TWO main symbols in ‘Othello’?

Answer 13

1. Handkerchief

2. The Willow Song

Question 14

What is the significance of the ‘Handkerchief’?

Answer 14

• A token of love Othello passes to Desdemona
• A symbol of their marriage and also Desdemona’s fidelity.
• Emphasises the confinement in a relationship and the possession of one individual by another.
• Othello’s obsession with the handkerchief brings about the destruction of his marriage.
• Shakespeare uses love tokens to emphasise the bestower’s misplaced affection, and to reveal the loss of independence of the recipient. - war and pride, critics believe Iago is in love with Othello “I am yours and you are mine”.

Question 15

What is the significance of the ‘Willow song’ in ‘Othello’?

Answer 15

• It’s a song Desdemona sings about a woman who is betrayed by her lover, sings it on her death bed.
• The song’s lyrics suggest that both men and women are unfaithful to one another.
• To Desdemona, the song represents melancholy and resigned acceptance of her alienation from Othello’s affections, and singing it leads her to question Emilia about the nature and practice of infidelity.