Othello Context
Venice
Cyprus
Marriage
Tragedy
Theatre
Race
Leads to assumptions made about Othello viewing him as violent and barbaric.
Shakespeare set his plays in exotic locations so as to make his plays entertaining, also to include ethnically diverse characters.
Fortified outpost on the edge of christian territory, heavily militarised and values male power.
Located in Italy with a mainly white European population, meaning Othello would be an outlier in the Setting, both in England and Venice.
Full of different cultures from
around Europe, including North Africa.
Revolved around a main character whos tragic trait destroys them. eg Othellos trust and jealousy lead to his fate.
Shakespeare adapted the genre to his own ideas instead of following Aristotle's conventions of tragedy
A form of drama
black people weren't allowed to act on stage so white men would paint their skin with a darker colour instead
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Marrying a "black" man was demonstrated as a form of disobedience. This was due to it being a very patriarchal society, with very strict gender roles, and marriage expectations.
Father's were expected to choose the husband for their daughters and they were expected to follow
Elizabethan societies didn't see racism as a thing, people were valued based on their societal roles rather than their race.
The idea of a black man being a general in Elizabethan society wasn't heard of, so they set 'Othello' in Venice.
'Moore' referred to the Northern African's
Aristotle's conventions of tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, song
Harmartia: hero's tragic flaw
Shakespear always preformed his plays on the globe theatre
Venice, was associated with foreign cultures and rapid change, making the Elizabethan audience more susceptible to be understanding the new racial ideas.
Females were not allowed to act on stage so men would have to dress up as the female characters. The reason women weren't allowed to act is because it was considered 'dangerous' and they had to stay inferior to men.
Anagnorisis: when the tragic hero recognizes something about themselves
Peripeteia: The reverse of a hero's fortune
Hubris: excessive pride and self-confidence
Catharsis: the release of tense emotions
Englands conflict with Spain, led to the relation with Iago's Spanish name and the idea of him being evil.
Tragic hero: the protagonist who has had a tragic experience in their life
Nemesis: the fate experienced as punishment that befalls the tragic hero
Aristotelean 5 act structure: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
Venice is known as the "City of Sin" as it's full of prostitution among other things that go against christian beliefs. This is also one of the driving forces that led Othello to believe Desdemona was unfaithful to him.
Cyprus was seen as Barbaric and was so were Blacks, so by Othello fighting against the Turks in Cyprus, it shows how he has conformed to the rules of Venice.
Ottoman Empire seen as dangerous to Europeans. Formerly Christian.
Tragic hero - higher class
Malcontent: a dissatisfied and rebellious character
Fathers were encouraged to choose the husbands for their daughters to follow as they felt as though they had their best interest in mind due to the family connections and connections they had to their society adapting to their authority in the community.
Shakespeare uses this setting to fit the perspectives of his English audience better. Many people in England haven't been to Venice, but know it's a wondrous yet weird place where it would be possible for a "Moore" (Othello) to have a reasonably high ranking position in society.
1604 -jacobean, james the first
Marrying for love was a challenging idea during this time, with the understanding of arranged marriages to be the most common.
Marriage enables the understanding of an economic transaction with the understanding that marrying for love was a fairly new concept.
He had a public and a private performance
They would get teenage boys to play the female roles as they were more easily passed off as a girl than compared to a grown man acting as a female
Mixed marriages were not as excepted, understanding the idea of equality. This challenges the idea of equality demonstrating the idea that "falling in love" was not as common during this time, as it is now
Seen as civilised, passionate and heavily stereotyped.
"When we consider Th' importancy of Cyprus to the Turk...That as it more concerns the Turk than Rhodes"
16th century Europe began expanding its trade routes, one new area was Mauritian in Northern Africa
"But that I love the gentle Desdemona...Put into circumscription and confine for the seas worth.."
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Othello was written to use as representation and goes through the themes manipulation, jealousy and racial prejudice
A1, S3, talks about the conflict between Cyprus and Venice.
A1, S1, Iago refers to Othello as the Moore
A1, S1, Rodrigo makes reference to Othello by calling him thick lips, known to be a racial slur.
A1, S1, Iago refers to Othello as an old black ram, tupping a white ewe, referring to the idea that Black men were animalistic and sexually driven.
"I crave fit disposition for my wife. Due reference of place and exhibition With such accommodation and besort As levels with her breeding" (Act 1, scene 3) Othello feels undeserving of Desdemona and that displays his hamartia and paves way for his future jealousy.
"Call up my brother- Oh, would you had had her! Some one way, some another. Do you know where we may apprehend her and the moor"
A1, S1 Iago constant reference to Othello being an animal, shows how he is trying to tell Brabantio Othello is corrupting his daughter and making Othello seem inhuman.
This is Venice, my house is not a grange. - Brabantio
I never knew a Florentine more kind and honest - Cassio, showing the civilised and passionate stereotypes of Venetian peoples.
Repetition of the word "Moor" when referring to Othello - Multiple people, shows the different culture and beliefs in Venice compared to England.