Military contexts Flashcards
(5 cards)
When were the wars between Venice and Turks ? Which war was particularly significant in terms of othello
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the Republic of Venice was frequently at war with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), particularly over control of Mediterranean territories like Cyprus.
The Battle of Lepanto (1571) was a famous Christian victory over the Turks — it would have been fresh in the minds of Shakespeare’s audience.
What is Knolle’s The history of the Turks?
Richard Knolles’ The Generall Historie of the Turkes (1603) was a hugely popular text in England and painted the Ottomans as a looming threat to Christian Europe.
This stoked English interest in the East as mysterious, dangerous, and exotic.
Why does the wars and knolle’s history of the Turks matter to Othello ?
Shakespeare sets the first act in Venice, symbolising law, order, and Christian “civilisation”.
Then he moves to Cyprus, a military outpost closer to the “barbaric” East — an unstable, liminal space where passions take over, and Othello’s tragic fall unfolds.
The Turkish threat provides urgency and political tension, but it also lets Shakespeare explore identity, race, and otherness in a setting removed from English society.
Othello, a black Moor and military leader, fits into this world as both insider and outsider — respected in war but mistrusted in peace.
Why is the play not set in England?
A black general in Christian England would have been socially implausible, making the tragedy feel less credible.
The exotic setting allows Shakespeare to explore issues of:
Race and otherness
Jealousy and sexual anxiety
Clashes between civilisation and barbarism
Elizabethan audiences loved plays set in foreign lands — it created psychological and moral distance while reflecting English fears and fascinations.
By setting it in Venetian military society, Shakespeare mirrors English colonial anxieties without directly confronting English politics or institutions.
What is the significance of the play being set in a military setting?
Displacement into Cyprus
Cyprus, a war zone, is removed from the ordered civility of Venice.
This liminal space breaks down social norms, allowing chaos, jealousy, and violence to erupt unchecked.
The absence of an actual war after the Turkish fleet is destroyed mirrors the internal war within Othello himself — he becomes vulnerable in peacetime, when emotional challenges replace military ones.
✅ Masculinity and Reputation
The military setting intensifies expectations of male honour, dominance, and control.
Othello’s tragedy partly stems from applying military codes (obedience, punishment, action) to personal, emotional situations like marriage
