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Othello A03 - Coggle Diagram
Othello A03
Gender
Women were subordinates to men in Shakespeare's time. When they married, everything they owned was their husbands property: wives themselves were even considered possessions.
Desdemona is strong willed and does defy her father to marry Othello, but she ultimately passive to her husbands anger: product of her times?
Emilia is also suppressed. Despite her mistrust of her husband, she still gives him the handkerchief as she is demanded to as she is his wife and therefore must obey Iago. She speaks against the patriarchy to the end of the novel, but is eventually killed by Iago for her disobedience.
Stereotypes of Venetian women: Venice was thought of as a place of freedom and liberty, and gained a reputation as a place of sexual freedom. This is seen in the play, with men quick to assume their wives are cheating: Venices repuatation as a hub of prostitution and sexual freedom may have contributed to this.
Cuckoldery: When a woman would cheat on her husband i.e. what Othello thinks Desdemona is doing to him. Despite this not being true, males in the novel are very aggressive towards the idea of being cheated on, as any indication of a wife being disobedient was embarrassing.
Chastity: Men depended on women to be virgins before and during marriage, as they had to be sure any children were there own for inheritance reasons: perhaps why Othello takes to seriously to the accusation Desdemona is cheating.
Race
Othello's race is touched upon many times throughout the play, especially by Iago, who refers to his 'blackness' multiple times. Racism was prevelant in Shakespeare's society, with anyone not of white and European descent being othered by society.
Throughout the play there are references to blackness as evil, confirming the audiences associations of black with immorality.
Othello becomes increasingly aware of his complexion throughout the play as his insecurities are focussed on by the likes of Iago.
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Literary Archetypes
Presentation of Moors in theatre: presented as menaces and intent on destruction: a threat to order. While Shakespeare's presentation of Othello as noble and the start arguably breaks these stereotypes, we still see echoes of this characterisation, like when he succumbs to jealousy and murders his innocent white European wife.
The tragic Hero: A character whose ultimate downfall is their own 'grave error'. Othello's error is his follow through of the murder of his wife.
References to fate and cosmic significance are featured heavily in Shakespeare's works, and the world reacting badly when the natural equilibrium of these things are thrown of balance. After Othello kills Desdemona, he says "it should be now a huge eclipse of sun and moon" due to the cataclysmic reactions of Desdemona's death.
Maciavellian Villain: He causes destruction through his manipulation and seems to be inherintly and iredeemably evil, which makes him a typical Jacobean villain. He shows no remorse for his actions and enjoys the pain he inflicts on others.
Religion
Set to the backdrop of ongoing conflict between the Christian republic of Venice and the Muslim Ottoman empire.
Othello is a convert from Islam to Christianity; the wars are a subtle reminders of the differences between christians and muslims: yet another reminder of how Othello stands apart.
The great chain of being: idea that there is a hierarchy of beings of creation, with God at the top, down to plants. In Othello, Iago refers to Othello as animalistic in many ways. Since we know animals were lower than humans on the chain, Iago perceives Othello to be less than human by both himself and God.
Play written under Queen Elizabeth: the nation was now protestant and free of direct religious sentiment. However, there are frequent references to religion throughout the play.
Setting
Venice: Play starts out in Venice. At the time, Venice was the capital of European trading, and a society built on christian values and order. It often took place in religious conflicts against Islam, on the side of Christianity.
Cyprus: Play moves to Cyprus, which was militarily vulnerable to the 'barbarous' Turks. The change of setting to civilised society to uncivilised in Cyprus may represent the deterioration of law and order in the play.