Othello extras Flashcards
(10 cards)
1
Q
Deception and idealisation
A
- Deception – self-deception and self-dramaticising
- The handkerchief is the main motif of deception, Iago and Cassio’s talk
- Othello’s idealization of himself is how Desdemona sees him – his self-deception is hers – they idealise their love and set it up for tragedy - Shakespeare’s wife
2
Q
4
Women
A
- Shakespeare’s wife successfully managed a home and a property as well as a family for 20 years while Shakespeare was in London. Shakespeare wrote a large number of parts of a strong minded female character. He was interested in females perspectives. Men wished to marry virgins and to have chaste wives for social reasons, but whores available for their pleasure.
- Arthurian legend - Romance now concerned exotic tales of magic, superstition, and travel as well as love affairs. The masculine ideals of the soldier. The courtly lover had to be a member of high society and concerned with honour and reputation
This created a dichotomy of two types of women: reputable and non reputable. - Unfortunate. (Nominative determinism)
- The image of a cuckold would be a horned beast and this was a prevalent male fear at the time as it would mean you were an object of ridicule as a man who couldn’t control his wife and it was also related to the wider issue of succession. Illegitimate children could not be assimilated into the family structure. Desirable wives were considered dangerous.
- The Great Chain of Being - The Elizabethans had a mediaeval theology of a hierarchical chain of being on which every creature appeared in its ordained position - Chaos was the undoing of gods creation and a return to nothingness indicating the breakdown of the chain of being. Shakespeare’s contemporaries had a terror of the return of the anarchy of the Civil War period prior to the Tudor settlement. Chaos could initiate tragedy. Chaos was also a return to the state prior to the creation of the universe. For chaos to come again, the world must be de-created through a gross revolt against nature. This is what Desdemona is accused of in her choice of husband
2
Q
Iago
A
- Iago is deceptive in the play by using role playing as he pretends he’s benefitting all characters when he’s deceiving them, pretending to be something they’re not - Iago is given subversive views to discredit them because the voice of Iago was highly criticised by the audience. Shakespeare as a revolutionary
- Irrational jealousy was viewed as an incurable infection which eroded trust. It guarantees tragedy
3
Q
7
Appearance vs Reality
A
- Appearance vs Reality is revealed – I am not who I am - Appearance versus reality is a central issue and the imagery of seeming permeates the language of the play. The conundrum that torments this play is that Iago looks honest so he is perceived to be incapable of villainy -Telling lies was much more serious back then. Satan told lies to Eve in the garden of Eden. Telling the truth as a way to shame the devil. Iago as devil
- Both Iago and Othello insist that they are able to control their emotions, that they can use their reasons to counteract the force of their passions - Both characters use soliloquies to give reasons to justify their actions, however they can appear to be motive hunting- trying to rationalise actions which are driven by their passions
- The failure of reason was considered to be the cause of the fall of man, for example Adam followed his love for Eve to overrule his better judgement. Elizabeth and therefore believed it was dangerous to let reason be dominated by passion. In Othello he becomes uncontrollably emotional and is therefore heading for a fall. His heightened state means impulses are activated and a lack of reason leads to tragic consequences
- On at least 2 occasions, characters demand to have proof before they are willing to act. In the case of Othello, he acts without convincing evidence, driven by his emotions - Othello wants to present the murder of Desdemona a just punishment or a sacrifice rather than an act of passion
- The story is framed by a historical contest over the possession of Cyprus near the start of the play in which Brabantio demonstrates that reason cannot console those who have lose possessions - Because of censorship, any criticism Shakespeare makes of those in authority or questions he asks about race and nobility had to be muted. He couldn’t directly criticise the Monarch or the English court.
- The imagery of the play frequently suggests that we are irrational. We are driven by appetite, not reason. Jealousy is a monster which takes control of us. It reveals out animal natures
- Isolation - As a self-preservation leads to downfall. People fall into their own obsessions and prey upon one another. Othello prejudiced.
4
Q
Renaissance
A
- Renaissance - Rebirth’
- Began in Italy in the 14th century. It saw a revival of artistic and intellectual endeavor which gradually spread across Europe.
Classic texts and culture of Greece and Rome were rediscovered and the ‘golden age’ of English Literature began. It is innovative and it challenges and questions the beliefs and assumptions upon which Elizabeth in society was founded.
Shakespeare subverts traditional values in his plays, for example, in Othello the tragic hero is a black man and the heroine is assertive. - Evil spirits were believed to be on the watch for an opportunity to corrupt. In Shakespeare, foolish or hubristic characters are sealing their own damnation. Othello fears that this is what he has done in marrying Desdemona which heightens his insecurity. Othello’s invitation to evil takes the form of him giving in to Iago’s temptations - The fear of damnation stems from the contemporary conviction that there was a literal hell. Hell was portrayed the way Othello describes it, engulfed in dark flames. Elizabethans also believed in the incarnation of the devil which is how Othello finally sees Iago
- Henry VIII had broken with Rome in the 1530s and at this time there was now an independent Protestant state church. Protestantism reinforced nationalism – the preoccupation of good and evil, introspective tendencies are encouraged
5
Q
6
Iago extra critics
A
- Coleridge - Iago’s excuses are ‘the motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity’ and Othello is ‘a being next to the devil’
- Raatzch - the phonetic affinity between ‘ego’ and ‘Iago’
- Duthie - the tragedy is caused by ‘two forces working in conjunction: it is caused by an external force of evil deliberately bringing itself to bear on a noble figure which has within it a seed of evil’
- Wain - ‘less than a complete human being because love had been left out of his composition’
- Praz - Iago ‘incensed by the public report that Othello has cuckolded him’ seeing ‘parallels in may cases of retaliation instanced by the Italian novelle’
- William Empson’s ‘Honest in Othello’ - Argues that as regards the epithet “honest” Iago, the word has a cluster of possible meanings and a ‘head sense’ (in this case, telling the truth, not stealing, keeping promises)
- medievally, it meant ‘deserving the receiving social honour’
- 16th c, it meant ‘one of us, the type we like’
- Restoration, anti-Puritan feeling that a man might be selfish and unreliable but honest in that he tells the truth about it so honesty not valued
- Victorian times, used to patronise the lower classes or suggest that they had common sense
6
Q
3
Othello extra critics
A
- TS Elliot - He argues Othello does not obtain redemption although Othello believes he is honourable as he acted accordingly to the circumstances of female infidelity
- Robert B Heilman - ‘the least heroic of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes’
- John E. Seaman - It is a Christian tragedy ~ Othello’s fall is a version of Adam’s, while Desdemona’s is an inversion of Eve’s
7
Q
5
Ideology extra critics
A
- Rymer and Voltaire – neo classist - sees it as having a compendium of faults
- N-Cs derived critical theory from Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ so he expected (i) the doctrine of generality, which says that the difference between the poet and the historian is that describe what was and what could be (ii) the quadrivium of ‘Plot, Character, Thought, and Expression’ so should produce a nugget of wisdom/moral - not a proper tragedy
- The Doctrine of Generality
The difference between the poet and the historian is that the poet describes what could be, not just what was.
Aristotle’s View (as adopted by N-Cs):
Poetry (drama) is philosophical and universal—it should express general truths about human nature, not merely recount specific historical events.
In Othello:
Shakespeare does not strictly follow this ideal. He bases Othello on a known Italian novella (Un Capitano Moro by Cinthio), a relatively specific and plausible story.
However, Othello does generalize in its themes: jealousy, manipulation, the fragility of trust, the outsider’s alienation, and the tragic flaws of great men.
Othello, though a Moor and a military general in Venice, becomes a universal figure—a noble man destroyed by internal flaws and external deception.
👉 So Shakespeare aligns with the doctrine of generality to the extent that Othello transcends its historical basis to explore timeless human emotions and dilemmas.
- The Quadrivium (Plot, Character, Thought, and Expression)
A good tragedy should include these four elements and deliver a nugget of moral wisdom.
Aristotle’s Breakdown:
Plot: The arrangement of incidents; central to tragedy.
Character: Moral or ethical quality revealed through action.
Thought: The themes or reasoning in the play.
Expression: The style and diction.
In Othello:
Plot: Shakespeare constructs a tight, escalating structure built around Iago’s manipulation. There’s a clear peripeteia (reversal) and anagnorisis (recognition) for Othello.
Character: Each major character is morally and psychologically complex. Othello is noble but insecure; Iago is evil yet intelligent and charismatic.
Thought: Central themes include jealousy, race, honor, and the power of language and persuasion.
Expression: Shakespeare’s language is rich, poetic, and tailored to each character—far from the plainness preferred by N-Cs.
However, the ending does not offer a “neat moral nugget.”
The audience learns something (e.g., don’t trust appearances; jealousy is destructive), but the moral is not stated didactically—it’s implicit, ambiguous, and emotionally devastating.
👉 So Shakespeare partially follows the quadrivium: all four elements are present, but the expression is more elaborate than N-Cs liked, and the moral is not cleanly delivered.
- John Wain, general - “we respond deeply or shallowly according to [the play] whether we have deep or shallow natures”
- John Middleton Murray - ‘the idea of magic is central to it’ and David Kuala opposes Thomas
- Babington Macaulay - ‘Perhaps the greatest work in the world’, Thomas Rymer - ‘a bloody farce without salt or saviour’
7
Q
2
Desdemona extra critics
A
- John Quincy Adams - believed Desdemona deserved her fate as ‘black and white blood cannot be intermingled’
- Heraud - ‘there exists fiction in whatever is romantic. She suffers from illusion and loves to be deluded’
‘she frequently evades the truth, when attention to its strict letter would raise difficulties’
8
Q
2
Tragedy extra critics
A
- Rymer (1600s) - ‘Tragedy of the Handkerchief’
- John Wain - ‘a tragedy of misunderstanding’
