Setting And Social Issues Flashcards
What are the 2 settings in Othello? What do they represent?
Venice and Cyprus
Different “worlds”
What 3 factors determine shifts in Othello’s setting?
Plot, action and characterisation
What was Venice? What did it take a big role in?
Seaport in Italy
Renaissance culture
What 3 things were Venice symbolic of?
Factionalism, intrigue and moral corruption
How could Venetian society be described?
Orderly and civilised
What setting does Cyprus represent?
Unstable/Violent setting
Who was Cyprus controlled by? Who invaded it? When?
Venice
Invaded by Turkey in 1570
What kind of History was James I interested in?
Turkish history
How is the Turkish threat used by Shakespeare? What does it intensify?
A pretext to change the play’s setting
The ominous atmosphere of tragedy
What did critics often believe about locations Shakespeare wrote about? What do his plays distinctly contain?
To avoid prosecution for writing about controversial issues in Britain
British values
What did Elizabeth I be told to complain about?
Black people living in England
What was critic Ogude quoted saying?
Shakespeare may have “shared deep-stated fears of the blacks”
From what year could black people be deported in England?
1601
What does the pre-16th Century Oxford Dictionary associate “black” with? What does Jordan believe it symbolises?
“Stained with dirt… horrible, wicked”
“Symbols baseness and evil”
Why do some people see the Othello play as racist? What have some critics highlighted?
Othello is presented as irrational and violent
Othello’s sexual and violent nature adheres to stereotypes of black men
How does Iago refer to Othello? What does it mean?
As “the Moor”
Relates to Othello’s African heritage
How does Roderigo describe Othello? What does this mean
“Thick lips”
Roderigo mocks his physical appearance
What do some people thinks about the representation of Othello?
Its positive representation subverts negative stereotypes
What do most critics agree about Othello?
What is significant about it?
He is classed as an “other”
People refer to his as the Moor, showing Othello is ethnically an “other”
What was society like in England in the Elizabethan Era?
Patriarchal
How were women expected to be in the 16th century? What promoted these values?
Obedient and passive in male authority
Sermons
What did marriage reinforce? How were fathers involved in marriage?
Patriarchy
They married their daughters to who they want
What were husbands to their wives? What were their powers?
“Legal masters”
They could punish their wives
When did Elizabeth take the throne? What did she believe?
1558
A woman could not lead as well as a man
What did some people believe about Elizabeth not being married? What type of women rose in literature?
Women could gain greater freedoms
The “shrew” woman
What was the “shrew” woman? What did they beckon?
Dominant
The need of reinforcement in patriarchy
How is female sexuality seen in Othello?
Emasculating
What does Othello believe about Desdemona? How does he feel? What does this lead to?
She is being unfaithful
Cuckolded
His cruel treatment of Desdemona
What character appears to have a misogynistic attitude? What does he imply?
Iago
He thinks women are deceitful: “Players in your housewifery, and housewifery in your bed”
How does Othello describe Desdemona and Emilia later in the play? What causes this?
“Whores”
Iago’s language rubs off him
What could you argue about some of Emilia’s comments? What does Emilia tell Desdemona?
They rebel against the patriarchy
Men exploit women: “They eat us hungerly, and when they are full, they belch us”
