othello Flashcards
‘thick lips’
racist stereotypes
black people were still looked down upon in society
implies that othello is an animal/ inhuman
‘an old black ram is tupping with your white ewe’
symbolism of age and colour difference
animalising othello
rams symbolise penetration and achievement
ewes symbolise gentleness, purity and innocence/ innocent sacrifice
illustrates a corruption of a pure, chaste and innocent desdemona
ewe makes a pun on word ‘you’ that iago uses to victimise brabantio as a victim of social and natural disorder.
‘keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them’
don’t use swords to fight, only defence
being reasonable - talk about it
presented differently as to how iago and roderigo spoke of him
natural imagery - othello as a positive force
iambic pentameter
’ o thou foul thief! where hast thou stowed my daughter?’
pirate language
demonstrates the sense of possession and ownership that an elizabethan man had.
constant objectification of desdemona throughout othello highlights the social hierarchy present at the time.
accuses othello of an unlawful act - shakespeare conveys to the audience the elizabethan social belief that women were not able to make their own choices or have an opinion
only purpose was to provide a male heir
‘thou hast enchanted her, for i’ll refer me to all things of sense, if she in chains of magic were not bound’
semantic field of supernatural
implies othello is involved in sorcery
would have upset the contemporary audience who deeply feared the supernatural
the correlation between othello’s race and his supposed supernatural abilities highlights the society’s desire to hate those of a different racial background in order to maintain their own superiority
brabantio and othello’s professional relationship is seemingly untainted by racism, however, the elizabethan views regarding inter-race marriage and social hierarchy become apparent, as brabantio does not want a ‘moor’ marrying his daughter.
the association that shakespeare makes between a ‘moor’ and witchcraft is significant as it evokes negative connotations between the two, forcing the audience to question their affiliation and created empathy with othello’s character.
‘valiant moor’
epithet
not heard of othello’s elopement with desdemona, nor his subsequent clash with brabantio. to them, he is still the prized general and the venetians’ best chance to repel the turks
race defines identity
gives him height to fall from
‘her father loved me, oft invited me, still questioned me the story of my life’
brabantio invited othello into his home to tell stories about the war
fascinated and repelled - dual way in which moors were seen
’to please the palate of my appetite, nor to comply with heat the young affects in my distinct and proper satisfaction, but to be free and bounteous to her mind’
he doesn’t want her for his own personal reasons, rather he wants to enrich her experience because that’s what she wants
progressive relationship
let her go - its what she wants
‘he hath achieved a maid’
is othello married?
positive - means no harm but can be easily flipped
description of desdemona alludes to the poetic tradition of the blazon while drawing attention to that tradition in a teasing manner.
a blazon is a style of poem in which the poet lists the favourable attributes of a lovely woman.
cassio performs a short blazon of desdemona while admitting that she ‘excels the quirks of blazoning pens.’
‘o, my soul’s joy, if after every tempest come such calms, may the winds blow till they have wakened death’
in love - not rational
chain of being - losing reason
links to iago’s garden
‘the purchase made, the fruits are to ensue’
haven’t consummated their marriage
stop being a virgin - innocent
harold bloom, among other critics, has argued that the two honeymooners never do have time to make love, and that othello’s murder of desdemona in act v enacts a symbolic, tragically ironic ‘consummation’
‘my blood begins my safer guides to rule, and passion, having my best judgement collided, assays to lead the way. if i once stir, or do but lift this arm, the best of you shall sink in my rebuke’
first time in the play we witness othello subject to his own temper
uncharacteristic of him to leverage his authority in such a tyrannical way
interplay between emotion and reason; in this case, othello’s passions collie - or control - his ‘best judgement’.
‘look if my gentle love be not raised up!’
never be an officer again
ruined cassio’s status
othello:
‘what dost thou say?’
iago:
‘nothing my lord’
makes you want to know more - removes responsibility from iago
rhetorical devices
layers of manipulation
temptation - snake in garden of eden
‘excellent wretch! perdition catches my soul, but I do love thee; and when i love thee not, chaos is come again’
refers to himself as an ‘excellent wretch’, an oxymoron that characterises his status as a foolish, out-of-control lover
acknowledges that his love for desdemona has the power to influence him negatively
iago knows this well and capitalises on it
prophetic
the moment they stop there will be chaos
elizabethans believed that before creation was a state of chaos, so would it be following the world had ended.
can be interpreted as othello’s fear of falling out of love with desdemona, that when the day comes it will be catastrophic. another way is that when their love ends, he will adopt some personal chaos, as proven with iago.
cannot see a natural world where he doesn’t love desdemona.
ironically, it is not for natural reasons that he hates her - it is all contrived by iago.
‘as if there were some monster in thy thought too hideous to be shown.’
gaslighting is working
suspects that iago is hiding something from him and it is too horrible to say, this is of course the perfect opportunity for iago to reveal how he feels about cassio and begin convincing othello of cassio and desdemona’s relationship
iago is the monster
’ tis not to make me jealous to say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company, is free of speech, sings, plays and dances well; where virtue is, these are more virtuous’
not the jealous type - reasonable
othello is naive
military thinking - black and white - simple
‘o curse of marriage, that we can call these delicate creatures ours and not their appetites! i had rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon’
links to chain of being - expected to be introspective
cuckoldry
dialogue grows darker.
throughout the entire play iago’s dialogue has been laced with mentions of demons, beastly animals, and semi- biblical atrocities such as plagues. othello’s dialogue has been much lighter and more noble, with imagery highlighting his love, civility, and nobility. iago’s psychological poison goes to work on his victims, they start to talk like him - iago’s mentality is itself an infectious disease.
public perception of black people as violent and savage , and how even the noble and loving othello can have a monster brought out from inside him. It is interesting to note that othello’s emerging monstrosity sounds like the white man who’s manipulating him, implying that this same savagery resides in all races, and in fact might be easier to bring out in ourselves than in people different from us.
‘i have a pain upon my forehead here’
manifesting cheating
physically affecting him
medieval folklore - a man who was cuckolded grew horns
‘farewel! othello’s occupation gone’
saying goodbye to his old self
hubristic
‘prove it that the probation bear no hinge nor loop to hang doubt on’
burden of proof law - beyond reasonable doubt
proof or death
‘i think my wife be honest, and think she is not’
military background - yes or no answers
destructive grey of the world
jonathan burton - on line 265, othello tries to counter the psychological effects - ‘i am black, and have not those soft parts of conversation’
‘dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black as my own face’
othello’s insecurities - internalising them
goddess of chastity and the moon
desdemona, who othello says resembled diana, has now seemingly had her purity stained and blackened
used to be proud of his race
madonna whore complex - women are either perfect or a whore, shows misogyny
