Othello

Question 1

Literary context : Shakespeare and his contemporaries

Answer 1

Tragic consequences of intense love.
Tragic heroine is assertive, but patriarch Brabantio expects his daughter to make a socially acceptable marriage.
Malcontent and Machiavellian villains in Renaissance drama who share Iago’s cynicism.

Question 2

Cynical interpretations

Answer 2

Thomas Rymer, one of play’s most negative critics - wrote a commentary.
Rymer was outraged by idea of a black hero and wouldn’t accept that the play was a great tragedy.

Question 3

19th, 20th century views

Answer 3

In 1904, A.C. Bradley presented a positive analysis of Othello, whom he saw as blameless.
For Bradley, Othello was ‘the most romantic figure among Shakespeare’s heroes.
Bradley believes Othello never falls completely.
For T.S. Eliot, this speech of Othello being guilty of trying to cheer himself up, is a ‘terrible exposure of human weakness’.

Question 4

Marxist readings

Answer 4

A Marxist critic would be interested in political context of Othello and power structure of society.
Also relationships can be examined between masters and servants.
Significance of Desdemona’s wedding sheets - economic and symbolic value of Renaissance.