othello Flashcards
Coleridge
‘the motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity’
Iago is “a being next to devil”
F.R Lewis
‘Iago is only evil becuase he knows how to excercise his intellect more than anyone else’
- he doesn’t understand love as he only sees it as a weakness and motive for revenge
O’Toole
‘there is no Othello without Iago’
John Wain
“a tragedy of misunderstanding”
‘it is only the loveless heart that cannot learn’
AC Bradley
‘noblest soul on earth’
Samuel Johnson
“the cool malignity of Iago.”, “the soft simplicity of Desdemona”
T.S Elliot
Othello’s final speech was a “terrible exposure of human weakness”
Marilyn French
‘she must be obedient to males’
‘self denying in the extreme’
Lisa Jardine
“too-knowing” and “too-independent”
Religious context
The need for Desdemona to confess her “sin” before she dies reflects the Christian beliefs about a “good death” and how to prepare for eternal life and reconciliation with God.
Social context
Women in the Renaissance had few legal rights, and their life choices were commonly dictated by their fathers and husbands. However, Shakespeare creates strong female characters in Emilia and Desdemona, who challenge the social order even if they cannot overthrow it.
Aphrodite context
Ironically, the marriage of Othello and Desdemona is destroyed in Cyprus, the birthplace of the goddess of love, Aphrodite.
Aristotle context
According to Aristotle, the tragic hero should not be entirely good or evil. He should possess a fatal flaw which will incite pity and fear in the audience.
Desdemona context
The name Desdemona is a Greek baby name, meaning ‘misery’.
Historical context
Jacobean play
-originally written for the Globe
tragedy stemming from greek tragedy
-first performed in 1604
