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Othello - Coggle Diagram
Othello
Key Moments
'One Michael Cassio, a Florentine' - Iago [1.1]
'We cannot all be masters, nor all masters Cannot be truly followed' - Iago [1.1]
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Brabantio's monologue [1.2] -
'O thou foul thief, where hast thou stowed my daughter?'
'Damned as thou art, thou hast enchanted her'
'a maid so tender, fair and happy'
'run from her guardage to the sooty bosom'
'practised on her with foul charms'
'My daughter, O my daughter!' - Brabantio [1.3]
Othello's monologue [1.3] -
'Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors'
'it is most true; true that I have married her.'
'Rude am I in my speech'
'I won his daughter'
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Othello's second monologue [1.3] - 'She gave me for my pains a world of sighs' 'She loved me for the dangers I had passed'
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critical quotes
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Othello
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'Othello is a victim of racial beliefs precisely because he becomes an agent of misogynist ones' (Loomba)
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Iago
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'It may be Othello's tragedy, but it is Iago's play' (Quarshie)
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Racism and Violence
'Othello is both a fantasy of interracial love and social tolerance and a nightmare of racial hatred and male violence' (Loomba)
Place/Setting
'In tragedies, spaces in opposition mark the tension between law/order and chaos, reason and passion, civilisation and wild, unstable possibilities' (Brown)
Reputation
'Both men, too, have wounded reputations' (Walker)
Class
'the real tragedy of the play lies in the fact that these hierarchies are not
external to the pair' (Loomba)
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Character Profiles
Othello:
- successful general in the Venetian army
- othered by Iago in the play, his insecurity
- initally he defies the stereotypes of 'Moors' but by the end of the play succumbs to what he so desperately fought against in the beginning
- his interracial marriage is frowned upon in Venetian society and as Iago abuses this, their relationship becomes tragic
- the focus of the play is Othello's tragic downfall as a result of his harmartia - jealousy
- however, he is not the only character to fall prey to Iago's machinations
Iago:
- antagonist who after failing to be appointed lieutenant seeks revenge by causing the utmost tragedy
- skilled manipulator as the characters believe him to be honest, unsuspecting of his machiavellianism
- despite his cruelty, he appeals to the audience and characters due to his humour
- displays misogyny - believes all women are promiscuous and does not demonstrate any love for Emilia
- he murders his wife in an attempt to silence her
Desdemona:
- rebels against traditional love and the patriarchy by marrying a black man that was not approved by her father
- displays assertivity but also passivity
- naive - refuses to believe there are unfaithful wives in Act 4, Scene 3
- victim of Iago's machinations and her husband's own naivity and male hubris
- tragic death due to her faithfulness and christian values
- her name means 'the unfortunate' in Greek
- treated awfully by men in the play
- finds solace in her female bond with Emilia
Cassio:
- chosen to be lietenant which Iago is jealous of
- his reputation is very important to him and ultimately becomes his harmartia
- easily-led and trusting
- seems to be intellectual but like Othello, is easily manipulated
- respects Desdemona but mocks Bianca
- unable to hold his drink - leads to his downfall
- ironic because Cassio replaces Othello at the end so gains a promotion as a result
Emilia:
- passive to her husband, desperate for his affection (giving him the handkerchief)
- loyal to Iago until the end when she becomes a martyr for the truth defing her husband until he murders her
- foil to Desdemona - Emilia is more realistic but both struggle as victims to male pride and jealousy
- Emilia defends Desdemona until her end
Bianca:
- prostitute who lives in Cyprus (heavily implied)
- in love with Cassio who more in love with his own reputation
- she is quite self-assured and is more honest that most characters - one of the most moral characters
- another foil to Desdemona - both are accused of promiscuity and defined by their relationship with men
- lower class than Desdemona, offering her less protection - vulnerability
- ironic because she is the only female character to survive - perhaps used to men abusing her?
Roderigo:
- rich, jealous Venetian who is in love with Desdemona
- a device for Iaog's machinations due to his naivity and desperation for Desdemona's attention
- encompasses some of Iago's evil traits - racism, immorality, desire to create chaos
- contrasts Othello - both love desdemona, both victims of Iago and ignorant
Brabantio:
- Desdemona's wealthy Venetian father
- important Senator - political influence
- disowned his daughter when she disrespects the patriarchal tradition of courting in the Elizabethan Era
- audience initally sympathise with his emotional reaction to Desdemona's marriage but this is quickly lost due to his racism
Context
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Setting
Begins in Venice a cosmopolitan and diverse city, wealthy and polticial stable, unlike Cyprus which faced a war against the Turks
Venice was seen as exotic and allowed Shakespeare to comment on Elizabethan society without explicitly doing so
Race
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There were people of colour living in Tudor England but they were a very small minority and their stories unknown
Othello being referred to as 'The Moor' is ambiguous because in Shakespeare terms this had numerous definitions - unimportant because he is still treated as the 'other'
the presentation of Othello as a noble and honourable man initally contrasts stereotypes but as he succumbs to jealousy and Iago's machinations, he moves closer to this characterisation of 'Moors'
Religion
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set in a time of ongoing wars between the Christian Republic of Venice and the Muslim Ottoman Empire
Great Chain of Being - hierarchy of all creation, Iago compares Othello to an animal
Women and Marriage
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although Desdemona is strong-willed and defiant, she is ultimately a passive character who is powerless under her husband's jealous rage
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