Context

Question 1

Shakespeare

Answer 1

• well educated, influenced by classical writers like Virgil and Ovid in plays and sonnets
• Othello written in 1603, first recorded performance in 1604

Question 2

Renaissance Period

Answer 2

• importance of theatre in Jacobean period, Shakespeare’s company invited to perform by the Queen
• cultural movement of Latin and Ancient Greek philosophies -> flourishing literature visible in Shakespeare’s writing

Question 3

Gli Hecatommithi by Cinthio

Answer 3

• original source material for Othello (short Italian story) -> Disdemona and the Moor
• Shakespeare clearly takes inspiration from the writing, but adds in key moments of relevance in line with the era -> fleshes out the plot, creation of more complex characters

Question 4

Production

Answer 4

• all classes would be able to view the play, therefore written to be enjoyed by all
• all actors were men, Othello would have been performed in black-face -> undermines credibility of Othello’s characterisation as written by a white Englishman played by another white man -> stereotype as a Moor?
  “genuine black man”

Question 5

Setting

Answer 5

• Venice considered to be a diverse, cosmopolitan, contemporary society compared to England -> less of a focus on hierarchy (familiar yet exotic) - English anxieties, xenophobia reflected in Iago
• Othello classed and referred to as a “Moor”, relating to his African descent/ apparent previous Muslim faith
• Spatial shift to Cyprus, battle of Christian Republic of Venice and the Muslim Ottoman Empire, as backdrop that is seemingly resolved to focus on the domestic sphere -> Cyprus is even more unknown, therefore considered more dangerous to audiences

Question 6

Race

Answer 6

• Prejudice against Othello’s ‘Otherness’ as a “Moor” doesn’t even require his specific heritage -> reflective of English anxieties and lack of evidence for many people of colour in England during Elizabethan period
• Othello’s blackness (associated with evil, “black magic”) simply means he is not white, hence the judgement and derogatory language inflicted upon him by those against him-> treatment is mixed: respected as military leader but ultimately purged in Eurocentric society

Question 7

Religion

Answer 7

• Explored relationship between Christianity and Islam through Othello’s transition to Christian belief as a supposed past Muslim > religious conflict is a reminder of his ostracisation from society
• Great Chain of Being, hierarchy of creation -> Iago uses Othello’s race as reasoning to demote him to a more animalistic existence than human; animals were lower than humans in this great chain, so Othello was viewed as less than human due to his blackness

Question 8

Women and Marriage

Answer 8

• Woman considered the lesser sex in patriarchal society, mere counterparts of the men their “duty” lay with (father -> husband, general transactional reality of marriage), hence Brabantio’s overreaction for Othello being a “thief”, stealing his daughter whom he hasn’t given permission to marry
• Women were “bound” to their husbands -> Desdemona’s initial subversion of marriage with Othello is ultimately reduced to her expectation of silence and forced submission despite his anger -> Emilia’s freedom of speech contradicting the patriarchal hierachy and reducing her to the same demise as Desdemona: killed by their own husbands due to disobedience under patriarchal rule

Question 9

Madonna-whore Dichotomy

Answer 9

In psychoanalysis, a Madonna–whore complex is the inability to maintain sexual arousal within a committed and loving relationship. First identified by Sigmund Freud, who called it psychic impotence, it is a psychological complex that is said to develop in men who see women as either saintly Madonnas (“divine Desdemona”) or debased whores. (Bianca-“strumpet”)