Othello context Flashcards
What does Gli Hecatommithi mean as context
This means that there aspects Shakespeare adds in or alters are of key importance, Shakespeare’s Iago is far
more ambiguous, and therefore seems more evil, than Cinthio’s Ensign.
Shakespeare gives more
time to Iago’s soliloquies, and although we never truly know his motives, it is clear that Shakespeare intended for Iago to be bloodthirsty and merciless for seemingly little reason.
Shakespeare fleshes out the plot by adding more characters, including Brabantio and Roderigo.The addition of Brabantio adds more depth to Othello’s situation: Desdemona’s father being entirely opposed to their marriage offers us another reason for Othello’s insecurities, and a potential reason why he so easily succumbs to Iago’s manipulations. The addition of Roderigo, on the other hand, adds more depth to Iago’s character.
It is another character for him to manipulate,
and so we have a greater impression of Iago’s web of authority, and the extent to which he will go
to ruin Othello.
Inspired by Gli Hecatommithi
By Cinthio
A collection of short stories written in Italian - published in 1565
Tells story of Desdemona and a Moor captain - and the Moor ensign falls in love with her
Only in the first story she rejects him - so ensign plots to tell captain she has cheated on him with corporal - and he kills desdemona with sand filled stocking
Lack of comedic subplot
Often, Shakespeare’s plays feature a comedic subplot which would include bawdy and crude jokes, intended to entertain the groundlings and the lesser-educated audience members. These scenes can also serve to mimic and undermine the main plot, and provide some comic relief
from the main plot’s intensity.
However, this is not the case in Othello as the play remains sombre throughout, with an intense focus on Iago’s evil manipulations and Othello’s subsequent
breakdown - exception being the clown
African origin
The fact that the role of Othello, a character of African origin, was written by a white Jacobean Englishman for another white Englishman to portray wearing black make-up alters our perception of race in the play.
This undermines the credibility of Othello’s characterisation, and we question to what extent he is a stereotype of a Moor, or whether he is a depiction of a genuine black man.
Venice republican gov
Othello begins in Venice, but by Act II the action has moved to a Venetian war outpost in Cyprus.
In England in the 16th and 17th centuries, Venice had a reputation as a cosmopolitan and diverse city, full of wealth and political stability.
Venice was a rare example of a contemporary republican government for Shakespeare’s original audience. The Republic style was a continuation of the Ancient Roman tradition. There was a fascination among Renaissance viewers with the republic. This is because the end of the
Tudor era was rapidly approaching and there was no indication of who would succeed the heirless
Elizabeth I, so there was widespread interest in Elizabethan England with potential alternative forms of rule, and the successful and unique Republic of Venice therefore caught general public attention.
Venice diversity
Venice was also known for the diversity of its population: it was home to people from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, including those like Othello who had immigrated and adopted Venetian (and Christian) values.
It was a place bustling with trade and opportunity; although
several Ottoman-Venetian Wars raged throughout the 16th century (one of which is the backdrop of Othello), there was still trade and cultural exchange between the Venetians and the Turks. This was another reason for Western European fascination with Venice: it was geographically familiar,
being situated in Europe, but also exotic as it had close trading ties with North Africa and the Middle East.
In the minds of Shakespeare’s English audience, Venice was therefore a place simultaneously associated with exotic excitement and dangerous otherworldliness. It seems alluring and almost mystical in its exoticism, but also a place on the edge of ‘civilisation’ and therefore something to be feared. We see this attitude in Othello as well, especially in Shakespeare’s treatment of his protagonist. On the one hand, Iago uses anti-black derogatory language to
describe him, but the white Venetian characters are also very intrigued by him and his backstory.
Desdemona in particular listens “with greedy ear” to Othello’s speech in Act I Scene III, in which
he details “the story of my life”. Othello repeatedly told the story of his past to Brabantio.
Although the Venetians seem to hate and fear Othello, they are simultaneously fascinated by his
backstory and ‘exotic’ upbringing and experiences.
Cyprus
Despite the fact that Othello features a set of Venetian characters, much of the play’s action is
actually set in Cyprus, at a war outpost. This setting is even further removed from the English
audience, both geographically and symbolically. Whilst Venice sat at the edge of ‘civilisation’, Cyprus was even more unknown, therefore more dangerous, and closer to the Arab and Turkish world. The further the play is removed from Western Europe, the more civilisation and honour
break down.
‘Moor’
Moor’ refers to an Arab inhabitant of North Africa, in Shakespearean England the term had numerous definitions
and could also describe people from any region in Africa. In some senses, pinning down Othello’s specific race is unimportant. His precise origins do not matter to the other characters: they are aware of his Otherness, and the very fact that he is not white and European is enough to set him
fully apart from them.
Othello’s blackness
In the 16th and 17th centuries, black could
refer to both morality and race; white stood for purity and innocence, and black was the antithesis. For example, the quote “when devils will the blackest sins put on” (Act II Scene III) explicitly confirms the association in the audience’s mind between morality and blackness because the very worst sins are the very “blackest”. This association of blackness with evil is one reason why Othello and his ‘otherness’ are feared by white Venetian society.
Iago’s references to Othello’s blackness are therefore loaded with moral undertones: as well as describing his physical appearance, he is also calling him evil. Even the Duke of Venice defends Othello’s marriage to Desdemona by saying “Your son in law is far more fair than black” (Act I
Scene III). On the one hand, this suggests that the Duke has to look past Othello’s colour in order to describe him as a good, moral person - he behaves as if he were “fair”, i.e. white. This quote also indicates the constant conflation of blackness and evil that Shakespeare’s audience as well
as his characters would have assumed.
General dramatic convention
The general dramatic convention was that Moors were menaces intent on destruction, and when they appeared on stage it was seen as a threat to the moral, social, and political order. We see this in the character of Aaron, a Moor in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Aaron is a force of pure
evil who takes pleasure in causing pain and suffering.
Othello’s character is clearly starkly different from this: he is the play’s protagonist, and initially is a noble and honourable man. In some ways Shakespeare’s characterisation of him certainly contrasts a stereotypical depiction. However, we can still see echoes of this typical characterisation of a Moor in Othello, for example when he very quickly succumbs to a jealous rage, and ultimately murders his innocent, white, and pure European wife.
Religion
Othello explores the relationship between Christians and Muslims in the late 16th century. It is set against the backdrop of the ongoing wars between the Christian Republic of Venice and the Muslim Ottoman Empire which raged throughout the 16th century and this is another key aspect of the play’s religious elements.
We are informed at the beginning of Act II that the Turkish fleet has been destroyed by a storm, and so the Venetian forces have been successful. Shakespeare’s source material for Othello was set in Florence rather than Venice / Cyprus, so his decision to set the play specifically during these
wars was deliberate. This religious conflict is an important background to a play whose protagonist is a convert to Christianity from Islam. The wars are a subtle reminder of the conflict between Christians and Muslims, and yet another reminder of how Othello stands apart from his
society.
Great Chain of Being
One other key concept of the Elizabethan / Jacobean period that is grounded in religion is the Great Chain of Being. This concept informs several of Shakespeare’s works and it is the notion of a hierarchy of all creation, from God at the very top, down through the angels, to kings and other
men, to animals, and then plants.
In Othello specifically, this hierarchy informs Iago’s derogatory descriptions of Othello. He frequently compares him to an animal (“black ram”, “Barbary horse”,
“the beast with two backs” (Act I Scene 1)). Since we know that animals were considered lower than humans in the Christian hierarchy ordained by God, Iago perceives Moors and people of African descent to be less than human in his eyes.
Women
Women were subordinates to men during the 16th and 17th centuries, and we see this manifested
in Othello. When they married, everything they owned became their husband’s possession;
wives themselves were even considered one of their
possessions.
Fathers were expected to choose a
husband for their daughters, as
Brabantio expects to do for Desdemona. He also
considers her to be under his ownership and accuses
Othello of being a “foul thief” (Act I Scene II) who has
stolen her.
Emilia
Emilia is another important female character. She is even more oppressed than Desdemona: by her husband, her mistress, and to an extent Othello as well as she serves under him. She is powerless throughout most of the play. Despite her distrust of her husband - she knows that he is
“wayward” (Act III Scene III) - she still takes Desdemona’s handkerchief as he demanded because, as his wife, she is bound to him according to the social order.
However, by the end of the play, Emilia speaks the truth. She exposes Iago’s manipulations, insisting that “I am bound to
speak” (Act V Scene II), even when he threatens and eventually stabs her.
By the final Act of Othello, the normal social order has been so disrupted by Othello’s murder of Desdemona, Emilia
is now free to speak up for herself and to contradict the patriarchal hierarchy. However, her exposure of the truth comes too late to achieve any real change: Desdemona is dead, Othello kills himself in regret and grief, and Emilia herself is killed by Iago for her disobedience.
Stereotypes of Venetian women
stereotypes of Venetian women. Venice was thought of as a city famous for the freedoms and the liberality it offered its inhabitants, and as a result of this reputation it was thought of as a place of sexual freedom as well.
This manifests in Othello when the male characters are quick to assume that their wives are unfaithful: Othello quickly believes that Desdemona has cheated on him and in
fact calls her the “whore of Venice” (Act IV Scene II), and Iago is also suspicious that Emilia has slept with Othello.
The reputation of Venice as a hub of prostitution and sexual freedom may be one contributing factor as to why they believe this.
