Othello Flashcards
basically his views are rather “eccentric” (as York Notes says) he considered the plot to be untrue and believed that soldiers would never behave as they do within the play. Bearing in mind that his view was recorded in the 1700’s he labelled the play as “a bloody farce, without salt or savour” and that Othello should be a warning to wives to behave and “look well to their linen”. He also basically said Desdemona deserved what she got as she married a moor – rather narrow minded I thought BUT this does reflect the times and context of early Othello crit.
Rymer
was around at roughly the same time as Rymer but disagreed completely and felt that Shakespeare depicted human nature very skilfully. He also felt that the play provided a “very useful moral, not to make an unequal match”.
Dr. Johnson
commented mainly upon the character of Iago and commented on him as “being next to the devil” and that Iago operates without adequate motivation, basically he is simply a bad man with no reason or excuses.
Coleridge
also saw Iago as “an aesthete of evil”
Hazlitt
One school of thought sympathises with Othello and see him as a noble hero, yet others state he is a credulous fool who is out of his depth among the Venetians. Yet this view over looks Iago’s cunning and evil behaviour throughout the play.
Recent Crit
sees Othello as the greatest lover in literature and basically defends him by calling him noble and at the end of the play we feel sympathy and love for the fallen Moor.
A.C. Bradley
takes a very different approach by stating that at the end of the play Othello is trying to cheer himself up and ignores what he has done. He rejected Bradleys view and basically said it was all Othello’s fault.
T.S. Elliot
suggests that Desdemona accepts her society and that she must obey the males
French
also suggests that the play simply gives a male point of view and that Jacobean drama is male centred.
Jardine
suggests that blacks and women both exist as the “other” within the play
Loomba
