Lesson One: Introduction
Learning Intention: Understand the requirements and central ideas of the unit.
Rubric
In this module, students develop analytical and critical knowledge, understanding and appreciation of a literary text. Through increasingly informed personal responses to the text in its entirety, students develop understanding of the distinctive qualities of the text and notions of textual integrity.
Students study one text appropriate to their needs and interests. Central to this study is the exploration of how the author’s ideas are expressed in the text through an analysis of its construction, content and language. Students develop their own interpretation of the text, basing their judgements on evidence drawn from their research and reading, enabling the development of a deeper and richer understanding of the text. In doing so, they consider notions of contexts with regard to the text’s composition and reception; investigate the perspectives of others; and explore the ideas in the text, further strengthening their personal perspective on the text. Students have opportunities to appreciate and express views about the aesthetic and imaginative aspects of a text by composing creative and critical texts of their own. Through reading, viewing or listening they analyse, evaluate and comment on the text’s specific language features and form. They express increasingly complex ideas, clearly and cohesively using appropriate register, structure and modality. They draft, appraise and refine their own texts, applying the conventions of syntax, spelling and grammar appropriately. Opportunities to engage deeply with the text as a responder and composer further develops personal and intellectual connections with this text, enabling students to express their informed personal view of its meaning and value. |
rubric_statement_breakdown.pdf | |
File Size: | 67 kb |
File Type: |
What is Module B: Critical Study of Literature
Module B requires you to be a literary critic:
1. You must closely analyse a text. you must develop your own 'reading' of the text (this is your interpretation of the meaning and events of the text).
2. You must then appraise whether that demonstrates 'textual integrity'
3. You must also consider its critical reception by taking into account the opinions of other and evaluating their ideas about the text against your own.
4. You must write a critical response or presentation discussing the text.
1. You must closely analyse a text. you must develop your own 'reading' of the text (this is your interpretation of the meaning and events of the text).
2. You must then appraise whether that demonstrates 'textual integrity'
3. You must also consider its critical reception by taking into account the opinions of other and evaluating their ideas about the text against your own.
4. You must write a critical response or presentation discussing the text.
Essentially, you're a literary critic assessing whether the text's reputation is deserved. you need to ask, does it live up to the hype? Is it still relevant to us today?
Basically this module is concerned with getting students to evaluate how and why composers create meaning in their texts. This is because when we read texts critically, we want to unpack how composers develop their ideas and what techniques and tools they use to communicate them to the audience. We also want to think about why a composer would want to explore themes and ideas they have chosen. While it is impossible to know exactly what a composer seeks to achieve with their text, we can make reasoned hypotheses about their intent.
For the preliminary course you are going to focus on how composers construct meaning in their texts and why.
For the preliminary course you are going to focus on how composers construct meaning in their texts and why.
Structure of a Tragedy
Unity, Time, and Place
The dramatic form of classical tragedy derives from the tragic plays of ancient Athens, which depicted the downfall of a hero or famous character of Greek legend. The hero would struggle against overwhelming fate, and his defeat would be so noble that he wins the moral victory over the forces that destroy him. A tragedy evoked pity and terror in the audience; it was a catharsis, or washing clean of the soul, which left the spectator trembling but purified.
Aristotle proposed the tragic unities of Place, Time, and Action, that is, the whole tragedy would take place in a single location, for example a house or a city square (this included messengers who came in from elsewhere), it would happen during the course of one day (including speeches about events which had happened in the past), and it would be a single story, without sub- plots.
Compared with these strict rules, Shakespeare's tragedy is a more relaxed genre, but Othello much more than, for example, the sprawling Hamlet, observes the spirit of Aristotle. Othello, apart from Act I in Venice, is located entirely within the fortress at Cyprus. Although logically the play covers an unspecified time lapse of, we presume, two or three weeks, it proceeds, more or less, by major scenes through the hours of the day, starting in Venice with the elopement after midnight, the Senate meeting at dawn, then at Cyprus with the morning storm and afternoon landings and developments, the fateful drinking party in the early evening and the murder at bed time. This is not to say that everything happens in the same day; it obviously cannot, but the impression is of an abstract day unfolding.
The plot is fairly unified, focusing on Othello and his fate, and dealing with other people and events only in so far as they are relevant to this focus. Othello is about as near as Shakespeare gets to classical tragedy.
The Tragic Flaw
A. C. Bradley saw Shakespearean tragedy characterized by the "tragic flaw," the internal imperfection in the hero that brings him down. His downfall becomes his own doing, and he is no longer, as in classical tragedy, the helpless victim of fate. Some say that Othello's tragic flaw was jealousy which flared at suspicion and rushed into action unchecked by calm common sense. A more modern interpretation would say that Othello's tragic flaw was that he had internalized, that is taken into himself, the prejudices of those who surrounded him. In his heart he had come to believe what they believed: that a black man is an unattractive creature, not quite human, unworthy of love. Thinking this, he could not believe that Desdemona could truly love him for himself. Her love must be a pretense, or a flawed and corrupted emotion. Iago hinted at these ideas, and Othello rushed to accept them, because they echoed his deepest fears and insecurities.
The Play's Structure
Shakespearean tragedy usually works on a five-part structure, corresponding to the five acts: Part One, the exposition, outlines the situation, introduces the main characters, and begins the action. Part Two, the development, continues the action and introduces complications. Part Three, the crisis (or climax), brings everything to a head. In this part, a change of direction occurs or understanding is precipitated. Part Four includes further developments leading inevitably to Part Five, in which the final crisis of action or revelation and resolution are explained. Othello follows this pattern.
The dramatic form of classical tragedy derives from the tragic plays of ancient Athens, which depicted the downfall of a hero or famous character of Greek legend. The hero would struggle against overwhelming fate, and his defeat would be so noble that he wins the moral victory over the forces that destroy him. A tragedy evoked pity and terror in the audience; it was a catharsis, or washing clean of the soul, which left the spectator trembling but purified.
Aristotle proposed the tragic unities of Place, Time, and Action, that is, the whole tragedy would take place in a single location, for example a house or a city square (this included messengers who came in from elsewhere), it would happen during the course of one day (including speeches about events which had happened in the past), and it would be a single story, without sub- plots.
Compared with these strict rules, Shakespeare's tragedy is a more relaxed genre, but Othello much more than, for example, the sprawling Hamlet, observes the spirit of Aristotle. Othello, apart from Act I in Venice, is located entirely within the fortress at Cyprus. Although logically the play covers an unspecified time lapse of, we presume, two or three weeks, it proceeds, more or less, by major scenes through the hours of the day, starting in Venice with the elopement after midnight, the Senate meeting at dawn, then at Cyprus with the morning storm and afternoon landings and developments, the fateful drinking party in the early evening and the murder at bed time. This is not to say that everything happens in the same day; it obviously cannot, but the impression is of an abstract day unfolding.
The plot is fairly unified, focusing on Othello and his fate, and dealing with other people and events only in so far as they are relevant to this focus. Othello is about as near as Shakespeare gets to classical tragedy.
The Tragic Flaw
A. C. Bradley saw Shakespearean tragedy characterized by the "tragic flaw," the internal imperfection in the hero that brings him down. His downfall becomes his own doing, and he is no longer, as in classical tragedy, the helpless victim of fate. Some say that Othello's tragic flaw was jealousy which flared at suspicion and rushed into action unchecked by calm common sense. A more modern interpretation would say that Othello's tragic flaw was that he had internalized, that is taken into himself, the prejudices of those who surrounded him. In his heart he had come to believe what they believed: that a black man is an unattractive creature, not quite human, unworthy of love. Thinking this, he could not believe that Desdemona could truly love him for himself. Her love must be a pretense, or a flawed and corrupted emotion. Iago hinted at these ideas, and Othello rushed to accept them, because they echoed his deepest fears and insecurities.
The Play's Structure
Shakespearean tragedy usually works on a five-part structure, corresponding to the five acts: Part One, the exposition, outlines the situation, introduces the main characters, and begins the action. Part Two, the development, continues the action and introduces complications. Part Three, the crisis (or climax), brings everything to a head. In this part, a change of direction occurs or understanding is precipitated. Part Four includes further developments leading inevitably to Part Five, in which the final crisis of action or revelation and resolution are explained. Othello follows this pattern.
Below are the characteristics that have been identified in most of Shakespeare's tragedies.
1. There is one central character - the protagonist 2. The play leads up to and includes the protagonist's death, often violent and drawn out 3. The protagonist will affect the whole society 5. The protagonist undergoes mental and physical suffering - regret, guilt, anger ect - which contrasts with his former glory, and affects those around him 6. The protagonist contributes to his own downfall and reaches a state of realisation, of self-knowledge, before his death 7. Chance may affect the action 8. The supernatural is sometimes used: for dramatic effect, or as a plot device 9. Catharsis: According to Aristotle, the playwright should aim at making the members of the audience identify closely with the central character, so that they will be emotionally drained at the end of the performance. This should lead to their spiritual renewal. For decades, the structure of Shakespeare's tragedies has been analysed according to the recipe for tragedy elaborated by Aristotle in The Poetics. That Shakespeare did not write Aristotelian tragedy was irrelevant to many scholars who found his plays lacking as a result of their failure to conform. This criticism, incidentally goes right back to Shakespeare's own time and Sir Philip Sidney. However, it is still a useful way of clarifying the structure of the play to compare it to the Aristotelian model; the difference can highlight what Shakespeare was aiming for. Compare the Traditional Structure of Tragedy (below) with the Shakespeare Structure (Right). The Traditional Structure of Tragedy
Exposition (introduction): Characters are introduced; setting is described (time and place); conflict is prepared for and implied. The catalyst: Begins the conflict. Conflict or Rising Action: Plot advances by means of a series of crises until the point is reached where one force declines relative to the other. Technical Climax/Crisis: No going back. The point at which the rising action begins to fall. Catastrophe or Falling Action: Counteraction sets in. The fortunes of the protagonist are in decline and the action falls to a..... Resolution: the protagonist's death. Denouement: the highest-ranking character left alive has the last speech, to indicate the restoration of social stability. Comic or Dramatic Relief: To provide relaxation where tension gets too high and to intensify following build-up of tension |
|
Classical Tragedy is defined by the great Greek philosopher Aristotle in The Poetics as the 'imitation of a noble action' in which the hero - a person of noble birth or high estate - is brought to catastrophe by some tragic flaw in an otherwise estimable character, i.e his own folly or evil. there was no violent action on stage; a chorus was used to relate violent incidents, comment on them and on the action.
The scholars of Shakespeare's day were adamant that stage drama should follow these rules, and they were scathing of the free-flowing and often - before Shakespeare - formless Elizabethan plays. Shakespeare made no effort to follow all these 'rules' - he only used what suited him. Structure The plot, said Aristotle, should be build up as a unity: the actions confined to one purpose =, time and should be continuous; action should remain in one place. (Unity of time, place and action). The plot may be simple or complex - as is life itself or as actions may be. An action which brings the tragic hero to death by chance by death or accident can be defined as having a simple plot, eg. the murderer kills his victim in stone quarry and in escaping is killed by a falling rock - the idea of poetic or divine justice. Complex action involves reversal of the situation; recognition (change from ignorance to knowledge); and suffering for the hero. These elements do not accompany the change of fortune in a simple plot. Reversal of the situation (peripeteia) occurs when the action swings unexpectedly to the opposite direction. Thus in the Oedipus, the messenger comes to cheer Oedipus and free him from his alarms about his mother, but revealing who he is (his own wife's sons), he produces the opposite effect. And as in Hamlet, when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are taking Hamlet to his death in England, but Hamlet escapes and they meet the fate planned for him. Recognition means a change from ignorance to knowledge. A good example is in Macbeth, when Lady Macbeth acknowledges that gaining her ambition has not brought her happiness. Suffering may lead to recognition and also be the result of recognition. The Function of A Tragedy
Aristotle said that the tragic action must evoke fear and pity. In seeing the tragic culmination of events, the onlooker is freed from these disturbing elements and so experience a katharsis or purging of the spirit. In simple terms, Aristotle says we should ear ourselves if we were in the hero's position and we pity him because of his plight. He is not an innocent sufferer, but meets with sufferings beyond his deserts. The tragic hero is a man (or woman) of exalted rank, but in moral character a human being like ourselves, though usually possessing qualities above the common level. Translators of the Poetics S.H Butcher maintains that the exalted rank of the hero removes the action from conditions of life too like our own. We are not painfully reminded of our own cares because the pressure of immediate reality has been removed. Thus our fear, disengaged from the petty interest of self, is modified by the process of dramatic art, and becomes the more universalised 'tragic fear'. It loses the crushing dimensions of personal disaster. The tension of mind, the agonised expectation with which we await the impending catastrophe, springs from sympathy with the hero in whose existence we have for the time merges our own. A self-absorbed fear or anxiety makes us incapable of sympathy with others. True tragic fear becomes almost an impersonal emotion. attaching itself to the tragic action which offers us an image of human destiny. We pass beyond the narrow limits of our petty concerns and through the enlarging power of sympathy, identify ourselves with the fate of mankind. Essential Elements for the Tragic Katharsis 1. A proper balance between pity and fear. This depends on (2). 2. Dramatic action of such significance and universal experience that the laws which rule the world can be discerned. 3. Some quality of greatness in the situation - as well as in the hero - is necessary if we are to be raised above individual sufferings. 4. This suffering must be portrayed in one of its comprehensive aspects: the actions and fortunes of the hero and actions must be attached to issues larger than individual misfortunes, is the audience is to be confronted with universal laws. 5. The emotions raised by the tragic action must divest themselves of individual sentiment just as the consequences of the hero's fate the meaning of life to all who behold it. In this way Katharsis brings purification as well as expulsion of disturbing emotions. (eg deaths of Romeo and Juliet result in the pacification of the family feud.) |
Othello is not only the most masterly of the tragedies in point of construction, but its method of construction is unusual. And this method, by which the conflict begins late, and advances without appreciable pause and with accelerating speed to the catastrophe, is a main cause of the painful tension. To this may be added that, after the conflict has began, there is very little relief by way of the ridiculous. Henceforward at any rate Iago's humor never raises a smile.
Susan Langer says of tragedy:
- The rhythm of tragedy is that of the individual life which comes to a close, and its great symbol is death.
- A tragedy is played under the shadow of an inevitable end, and is an image of the life pattern of every one of us.
- Tragedies focus on the inner life of one - or, at most, two - characters.
- The exterior world of the play is a extension, a reflection, of the world.
Is this true of Othello?
Susan Langer says of tragedy:
- The rhythm of tragedy is that of the individual life which comes to a close, and its great symbol is death.
- A tragedy is played under the shadow of an inevitable end, and is an image of the life pattern of every one of us.
- Tragedies focus on the inner life of one - or, at most, two - characters.
- The exterior world of the play is a extension, a reflection, of the world.
Is this true of Othello?
Lesson Two: Othello?
Learning Intention: Understand the plot and structure of the play Othello.
Overview of Othello
Othello, a Moor and a General in the service of the Venetians, has married Desdemona secretly, without the permission of her father, the senator Brabantio.
Iago, an ensign, hates Othello for having given to Cassio the promotion which he himself wanted; he determines to be revenged on them both. He enlists Roderigo, who is in love with Desdemona, to help him. Brabantio accuses Othello of witchcraft but Desdemona makes it clear that she chose him freely. The Venetian Senate appoints Othelllo commander of the forces to deal with a threatened invasion of Cyprus by a Turkish fleet. Iago is deputed to accompany Desdemona to Cyprus. The invading fleet is destroyed by a storm, and Othello declares a celebration. Cassio has no head for liquor and Iago contrives to get him drunk and into a fight with Roderigo. Othello dismisses Cassio from his post. Iago advise Cassio to approach Desdemona to use her influence with her husband to get his reinstated. Meanwhile, by sly hims and insinuations, while making a great show of honesty and reluctance, Iago persuades Othello into the belief that his wife has been unfaithful with Cassio. As proof, he refers to a missing handkerchief of Desdemona's which has in fact been stolen at his request by her maid Emilia, how is Iago's wife. Iago has put the handkerchief into Cassio's room; Cassio gives it to his mistress Bianca. Iago contrives to have Othello overhear a conversation with Cassio about Bianca, which Othello thinks is about Desemona.
Convinced of Desdemona's infidelity, Othello ask Iago to have Cassio killed and decides to kill Desdemona on their marriage bed. Lodovico arrives from Venice with instructions for the recall of Othello and the appointment of Cassio as governor in his place. Gratiano, Desdemona's uncle, brings news of the death of Brabantio, who had never got over his daughter's marriage. Iago incites Roderigo to attack Cassio, who is wounded but not killed. Iago kills Roderigo and contrives to lay the blame on Bianca. In their bedroom, Othello smothers Desdemona, but immediately afterwards the truth is revealed by Emilia, who is then stabbed by her husband. Overcome by remorse, Othello stabs himself. Cassio's appointment is confirmed and Iago is taken away to pay the penalty for his crimes. |
|
Overview of Structure in Othello
Act 1
Othello’s noble status is demonstrated; the character and motivation of Iago (jealous at being overlooked, suspicious of his wife’s relationship with his master) is revealed; Othello and Desdemona’s love is exposed; Iago encourages Roderigo’s thwarted love; the context is of likely warfare. Act 2 Iago engineers Cassio’s drunkenness, demotion and desire for Desdemona’s help (which will later inflame Othello’s jealousy) and encourages Roderigo to act as a tool for Iago’s retribution. Act 3 As Desdemona intercedes for Cassio, Iago persuades Othello that she is being unfaithful to him with Cassio and uses her fallen handkerchief as ‘evidence’ until Othello vows his betrayers will die. Desdemona’s failure to ‘read’ her husband is contrasted by Bianca (Cassio’s girlfriend)’s understanding that love is precarious. Act 4
As Iago continues to work on him, using the fault lines in Cassio and Bianca’s relationship as further ‘evidence’, Othello temporarily loses his wits and the extent of the breakdown of his trust in Desdemona is witnessed by visitors from Venice as well as his stunned wife and her maid. However, both Roderigo and Emilia are becoming suspicious of Iago’s machinations, whose position is becoming less secure. The poignancy of the last scene prepares us for the tragedy to come. Act 5 Roderigo is (apparently) killed and Desdemona suffocated, but then Iago’s plans unravel: Emilia exposes Iago’s role, Cassio is able to confront Othello and Roderigo provides incriminating evidence, all leading to the capture and future punishment of Iago. However, it is too late to avoid the destruction of Desdemona, Emilia and then Othello. |
Setting Notes
Shakespeare's play were - and often are - on a bare stage. Any details of time and place are conveyed in the dialogue. In Othello, unlike many of the other plans, the geographical setting are significant, particularly for the associations they had for Shakespeare's audience.
As well, the setting provides yet another example of the way Shakespeare has formally constructed the play using a series of contrasts and parallels.
It also conforms to a pattern not uncommon in his plays, of moving the story from comparatively sheltered place to a wilder one - so taking his character out of their secure environments (their 'comforts zones') - and ending with the start of the journey back, as in As You Like it, A Midsummer's Night Dream, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra. Othello begins in Venice, moves to Cyprus, and, although it does not return, the closing moments look back from the tragic chaos to the orderly processes of the city-states.
Venice
Venice is far from being a mere background to the action of the play; its presence is felt almost like another character. Renaissance Venice was a republic, noted for its wealth acquired by trade, its religious and political tolerance in a period where intolerance was the norm, its political cunning and its sensual and sophisticated women, especially its courtesans. At the time the events take place (1571). Venice was seen as the champion of Christendom against the barbarian infidel.
However, Shakespeare also emphasis the image of Venice as a city state - a supreme example of government, of order, reason and justice, of law and social control. This is a civilized and well-ordered republic, as Brabantio implies when he says to Roderigo: What tell'st thou me of robbing? This is Venice;/ My house is not a grange.
This is reinforced in the scene where Brabantio's grievances are examined by council, judged by reason, and the verdict enforced by civic power. Two issues - public and private - meet when the two search parties converge on Othello's lodging. One group is bent on state affairs; the other seeks redress for a private grievance, Othello's marriage. The following scene [I. iii] begins with the deliberation of the Senate over the actions of the Turks and shows them making clear decisions as to deference. It should not be forgotten that Othello, for all his dignity and ability, is employed by the Senate. And although the civil disturbance relating to Desdemona and Othello is resolved in the context of a solemn assembly of the governors of Venice, it should also be remembered that the council is fairly off-hand in its dismissal of Brabantio's complaints with the duke's facile platitudes. The political over-rules the personal.
As well, the setting provides yet another example of the way Shakespeare has formally constructed the play using a series of contrasts and parallels.
It also conforms to a pattern not uncommon in his plays, of moving the story from comparatively sheltered place to a wilder one - so taking his character out of their secure environments (their 'comforts zones') - and ending with the start of the journey back, as in As You Like it, A Midsummer's Night Dream, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra. Othello begins in Venice, moves to Cyprus, and, although it does not return, the closing moments look back from the tragic chaos to the orderly processes of the city-states.
Venice
Venice is far from being a mere background to the action of the play; its presence is felt almost like another character. Renaissance Venice was a republic, noted for its wealth acquired by trade, its religious and political tolerance in a period where intolerance was the norm, its political cunning and its sensual and sophisticated women, especially its courtesans. At the time the events take place (1571). Venice was seen as the champion of Christendom against the barbarian infidel.
However, Shakespeare also emphasis the image of Venice as a city state - a supreme example of government, of order, reason and justice, of law and social control. This is a civilized and well-ordered republic, as Brabantio implies when he says to Roderigo: What tell'st thou me of robbing? This is Venice;/ My house is not a grange.
This is reinforced in the scene where Brabantio's grievances are examined by council, judged by reason, and the verdict enforced by civic power. Two issues - public and private - meet when the two search parties converge on Othello's lodging. One group is bent on state affairs; the other seeks redress for a private grievance, Othello's marriage. The following scene [I. iii] begins with the deliberation of the Senate over the actions of the Turks and shows them making clear decisions as to deference. It should not be forgotten that Othello, for all his dignity and ability, is employed by the Senate. And although the civil disturbance relating to Desdemona and Othello is resolved in the context of a solemn assembly of the governors of Venice, it should also be remembered that the council is fairly off-hand in its dismissal of Brabantio's complaints with the duke's facile platitudes. The political over-rules the personal.
Lesson Three: Who is in Othello?
Learning Intention: Identify the characters and understand the relationship between them.
Character
The focus is very much on the central triangle - Othello, Iago & Desdemona.
Iago has most of the lines & is a key figure but the tragic hero & protagonist is still Othello.
In terms of the play’s moral argument these 3 characters say it all.
Major Characters
Iago: The motivated but seemingly selfish & evil antagonist. He values mastery in trickery, ambition and lusts for power. Othello’s ensign (a job also known as an ancient or standard-bearer), and the villain of the play. Iago is twenty-eight years old. While his ostensible reason for desiring Othello’s demise is that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant, Iago’s motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in an obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation and destruction.
Desdemona: The naive and innocent good willed character. She values commitment & compassion. The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in many ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting bawdily with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy.
Othello the Moor: The seriously confused and easily manipulated protagonist who values honesty, loyalty, bravery, pride and most of all love. Othello represents the pain of moral ambiguity in an imperfect world. [a moor is a member of a Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent living in Northwest Africa]
Minor Characters
Cassio: is Othello’s lieutenant and right hand man who values loyalty & honour. Othello’s lieutenant. Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier, whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s fidelity.
Roderigo: is Iago’s pawn or the dupe who is a victim of Iago’s deception.
Brabantio: is Desdemona’s father and values tradition and legacy. He only wants what is best for his daughter therefore eventually approves of their marriage.
Duke of Venice: Is the authoritative figure within the play. He values fairness and order in his state.
Emilia: Iago’s wife. Depending on how you interpret Emilia’s character, she is driven by love, truth & discretion. She wants to please her husband in any way necessary & unfortunately this becomes the cause for all the conflict (the handkerchief).
Bianca: is a pawn within the story who only serves Cassio & Iago. She becomes the love interest for Cassio, as a distraction, and her curiosity gets the better of her when she gives Cassio the handkerchief back (all set up by the evil mastermind Iago).
Montano: the governor of Cyprus before Othello.
Lodovico: One of Brabantio’s kinsmen, Lodovico acts as a messenger from Venice to Cyprus.
Iago has most of the lines & is a key figure but the tragic hero & protagonist is still Othello.
In terms of the play’s moral argument these 3 characters say it all.
Major Characters
Iago: The motivated but seemingly selfish & evil antagonist. He values mastery in trickery, ambition and lusts for power. Othello’s ensign (a job also known as an ancient or standard-bearer), and the villain of the play. Iago is twenty-eight years old. While his ostensible reason for desiring Othello’s demise is that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant, Iago’s motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in an obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation and destruction.
Desdemona: The naive and innocent good willed character. She values commitment & compassion. The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in many ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting bawdily with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy.
Othello the Moor: The seriously confused and easily manipulated protagonist who values honesty, loyalty, bravery, pride and most of all love. Othello represents the pain of moral ambiguity in an imperfect world. [a moor is a member of a Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent living in Northwest Africa]
Minor Characters
Cassio: is Othello’s lieutenant and right hand man who values loyalty & honour. Othello’s lieutenant. Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier, whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s fidelity.
Roderigo: is Iago’s pawn or the dupe who is a victim of Iago’s deception.
Brabantio: is Desdemona’s father and values tradition and legacy. He only wants what is best for his daughter therefore eventually approves of their marriage.
Duke of Venice: Is the authoritative figure within the play. He values fairness and order in his state.
Emilia: Iago’s wife. Depending on how you interpret Emilia’s character, she is driven by love, truth & discretion. She wants to please her husband in any way necessary & unfortunately this becomes the cause for all the conflict (the handkerchief).
Bianca: is a pawn within the story who only serves Cassio & Iago. She becomes the love interest for Cassio, as a distraction, and her curiosity gets the better of her when she gives Cassio the handkerchief back (all set up by the evil mastermind Iago).
Montano: the governor of Cyprus before Othello.
Lodovico: One of Brabantio’s kinsmen, Lodovico acts as a messenger from Venice to Cyprus.
Tragic Hero
The term hero is derived from a Greek word that means a person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage, in the face of danger. However, sometimes he faces downfall as well. When a hero confronts downfall, he is recognized as a tragic hero or protagonist. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, characterizes these plays or stories, in which the main character is a tragic hero, as tragedies. Here, the hero confronts his downfall whether due to fate, or by his own mistake, or any other social reason.
Aristotle defines a tragic hero as “a person who must evoke a sense of pity and fear in the audience. He is considered a man of misfortune that comes to him through error of judgment.” A tragic hero’s downfall evokes feelings of pity and fear among the audience. Characteristics of a Tragic HeroHere we have basic characteristics of a tragic hero, as explained by Aristotle:
Function of Tragic Hero The purpose of a tragic hero is to evoke sad emotions, such as pity and fear, which makes the audience experience catharsis, relieving them of their pent up emotions. The tragic flaw of the hero leads to his demise or downfall that in turn brings tragic end. This gives wisdom to the audience to avoid such things in their everyday lives. The sufferings and fall of a hero, arousing feelings of pity and fear through catharsis, purges the audiences of those emotions, to transform them into good human beings and good citizens. |
|
The Tragic Othello
From Hamlet, an ideal prince, and other essays in Shakesperean interpretation: Hamlet; Merchant of Venice; Othello; King Lear by Alexander W. Crawford. Boston R.G. Badger, 1916
In the matter of Othello and Iago, it cannot fairly be maintained that Iago was the sole cause of the calamities that befell Othello. In general it must be said that there is no Shakespearean tragedy in which the responsibility for the deed of the hero and the subsequent tragedy can be shifted from him to another person of the play. Shakespeare no doubt did not have the conception of the influence of social forces that some modern dramatists display, for that is a conception belonging to the nineteenth century. Professor Stoll may be correct when he says that "In no case does Shakespeare represent men as overwhelmed by anything so vague and neutral as social forces," but he is surely incorrect when he adds, "or as devoured by their own passions alone."
It is this very conception of the consuming and destructive power of passion that marks the superiority of Shakespeare's conceptions over that of his contemporaries. This "fatalism of overmastering passion," as it has been called by Professor Corson,2 is the distinguishing feature of Shakespeare's conception of man's relation to the world, and marks the culmination of the Elizabethan drama, and its superiority to the classical drama where men are overcome by external fate. In the case of Othello, as ,of all the other tragedies, it is the passion of the hero that is the mainspring of all the action of the play that finally and certainly destroys the hero. There are two or three types of such passion in Shakespeare, according to their moral character, but all alike give rise to the action of the play and lead the hero to his fate.
Beginning, then, with this passion, it is the art of Shakespeare to place his characters under those conditions that will show the true nature of their passion and develop it to its fullness and to its fated end. It is one of Shakespeare's supreme excellences that he realized that "every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed," and that every man's condemnation comes from the development of his own passions.
It was under the sway of this conception that Shakespeare brought Othello into his fatal conflict with Iago, for this drew from him all the hidden passion of his nature. To make Iago the sole cause of the tragedy that befell Othello is to seek outside the human heart for the causes of human failure. The wonder is that Coleridge, philosopher and genius that he was, could content himself with an explanation that does such violence to a true moral psychology. But Coleridge may have had a personal interest in laying the blame outside the soul of the one who is overcome by weakness or by fate. Othello, like all of Shakespeare's plays, is a drama of character, not a drama of intrigue. But only a very careful study of the leading topics of the play will make this clear.
The attempt to solve the moral difficulties of Othello has never been given up entirely, though quite recently two distinguished critics have taken "the moralists" to task, and have appeared to think that the chief excellence of the drama is in its "moral enigma." Professor (Sir) Walter Raleigh has made a vigorous attack, and says that "The moralists have been eager to lay the blame of these events on Othello, or Desdemona, or both; but the whole meaning of the play would vanish if they were successful." Professor Bradley, in a somewhat similar strain, rejects all the more obvious interpretations of the play, because, as he says, they "reduce Shakespeare to common-place." Both alike refuse to give credence to any view that does not make Shakespeare subtle and far-fetched and mystical. They seem ready to reject alike what is common-place and common-sense.
The names of these two eminent critics have carried more weight in some quarters than their theories have deserved, and some students have been too willing to give up the search for a true moral interpretation of the plays. Others, however, dissatisfied with this complete moral scepticism of Shakespeare, and with this substitution of the critic's fancy for the poet's vision, have made attempts to find a larger moral meaning for the plays, and have tried to assign some kind of large spiritual principles in place of the plain moral principles it was thought necessary to abandon. The suggestion has been made that in cases like that of Desdemona there is only an apparent defeat and nemesis, but that in reality there is a much higher spiritual vindication, and that the close of the play marks a complete spiritual triumph in which the human spirit remains "essentially unconquered." Professor Alden, as the latest spokesman of this view, says, "If the love of Desdemona had perished in the face of injustice and falsehood, then we should have had indeed a chaos of spiritual wreckage, a poetical injustice for which no mere beauty of form could easily atone. But on the contrary there remains in each case, amid the very crash and vanishing of all earthly hope, a spirit that transcends common humanity as far as its suffering has transcended common experience, proving anew through poetry that the world of the senses is 'inferior to the soul.'"
This, as criticism, seems somewhat better, for it grants our inexorable conviction that Shakespeare is after all a moral dramatist, and tries to square himself with our moral principles. But, unfortunately, this kind of criticism makes a demand of us that no generation of theatre-goers or readers has ever been able to meet. To picture Othello and Desdemona as in the end not failing but actually triumphing, as Professor Alden finds himself obliged to maintain, is to think of them as in the same class as the suffering Job, and as Romeo and Juliet. He says, "If the individual experience often seems to be at odds with everything but itself; if Job suffer for no reason such as can be stated in general terms; if Juliet and Romeo are the victims of the animosities of their parents ... ; if Desdemona dies because her pitiful life has found a number of malignantly potent trifles looming so big for the moment as to shut from view any source of active justice . . ."
This, however, it is impossible to admit. The writer of "Job" explicitly declares that Job was a righteous man, and that his misfortunes were entirely due to the malignity of the evil one. Neither were his misfortunes of the nature of moral catastrophes, as were those of Othello and Desdemona. In Shakespeare, as in the Bible, the misfortunes that are objective in their source are never moral in character. Romeo and Juliet were undoubtedly "the victims of the animosities of their parents," or in other words were the victims of social conditions for which they were personally in no way responsible. About their misfortunes, however, there is not the slightest suggestion of retribution, and as Carlyle long ago observed, their apparent defeat is really a moral victory. But it is very different with Othello and Desdemona, for there is an element of retribution in their misfortunes. The play explicitly depicts them as the authors of all the elements of their social conditions that give rise to their conflicts and subsequent misfortunes.
It should be remembered that Othello was not a son of Venice, but a foreigner, and moreover a foreigner of a different race and color, with all that means of divergence of mind and character. Moreover, there was no conflict between Romeo and Juliet, for their love was perfect, but the conflict was between their united and unwavering love and the hostility of their families. In the case of Othello and Desdemona |he conflict becomes acute and finally fatal between husband and wife, and from this the play takes its character of a hapless mismarriage.
All these unsuccessful attempts to understand the drama come from long-continued but erroneous habits of interpretation. The plays have been treated as if they were historical documents and not works of poetic imagination. Historical documents have to be evaluated by the student, and often parts are judged to be unauthentic and hence of little or no value. But literary products cannot be treated in this manner, for every word of a great poet has been elaborated with turious care and is of value to the whole, and cannot be ignored.
Some critics who regret that we have no external comments of Shakespeare upon his plays persistently ignore the numerous comments the dramatist has made within the plays. It must be claimed that Shakespeare's dramatic methods are not subtle and elusive, but pre-eminently artistic and open. They are indeed so artistic that they have concealed his art, and unfortunately have also concealed his mind from us. We have steadfastly overlooked even his most obvious attempts to make his meaning clear, and have missed all his own comments, which are the best keys to his plays. We have, moreover, explained away his own very plain words, we have ignored his conduct of the plot of the dramas, and have refused to accept as part of his plan the very issues of the plays themselves that he has elaborated with such unequalled skill. No wonder if we have begun to think perhaps after all the plays have no meaning to be discovered.
Let us begin, then, our study of this play by observing very carefully whatever comment Shakespeare has made upon it. In the very title, Othello, the Moor of Venice, we have the dramatist's comment that the play is to be the story of a certain Moor, Othello, who had abandoned his native land and had taken up his residence and life in the Italian city of Venice. In doing this Othello had left his native Africa, or Spain,4 and undertook to live his life in Venice.
The Moors of both Africa and Spain were looked upon by Englishmen and other Europeans as barbaric or semi-barbaric, while the Venetians were looked upon as the most civilized and cultured people of Europe.5 The change took Othello among another race of another color, one that Shakespeare and most of his countrymen of whatever time considered a much superior race. Now if Shakespeare had any aptness in giving titles to his plays, and did not add mere idle words, the play must be considered "primarily a study of a noble barbarian who had become a Christian . . . but who retains beneath the surface the savage passions of his Moorish blood . . . and that the last three Acts depict the outburst of these original feelings through the thin crust of Venetian culture."6 This is Professor Bradley's statement of the view which has been held, but which he scouts as impossible.
His chief argument against it, however, is that it is not like Shakespeare, adding that "To me it appears hopelessly un-Shakespearean." Ever since Schlegel's time, however, this has been the generally accepted interpretation of the play, though of course there has been disagreement about details. But this recent imaginative criticism has given us a new Othello, a new Hamlet, and verily a new Shakespeare; and instead of the vision and the faculty divine of the great dramatist we have the fancies of the critics. This criticism has succeeded in little, however, but in convincing itself that Shakespeare is mystical and modern, that he wrote with a very vague notion of what he was doing, and that frequently in his haphazard manner he misnamed his plays. It is now time for criticism to reach the conviction that Shakespeare wrote with a very clear notion of what he was aiming at, and not by mere intuition or chance. Only if we take this attitude is it possible at this day to discern the true thought and intent of his dramas.
The entire drama is Othello's story, though from the outset Iago takes the initiative, and seems to be the protagonist. The situation, however, has been created by Othello in every particular, and from this springs all the action or rather the reaction of Iago. By his action, previous to the opening of the play, Othello furnished the motive for lago, from which springs all his intrigue. It is only under the clever manipulation of Iago that Othello is put on the defence, from which he does not escape until near the close of the play. The real conflict of the play, then, is between Othello, with whom is joined Desdemona, on the one hand, and Iago, his ancient, on the other. From the outset, Othello is struggling with a situation which he inaugurated before the opening, of the play, and which grows more complex as the movement develops.
In the matter of Othello and Iago, it cannot fairly be maintained that Iago was the sole cause of the calamities that befell Othello. In general it must be said that there is no Shakespearean tragedy in which the responsibility for the deed of the hero and the subsequent tragedy can be shifted from him to another person of the play. Shakespeare no doubt did not have the conception of the influence of social forces that some modern dramatists display, for that is a conception belonging to the nineteenth century. Professor Stoll may be correct when he says that "In no case does Shakespeare represent men as overwhelmed by anything so vague and neutral as social forces," but he is surely incorrect when he adds, "or as devoured by their own passions alone."
It is this very conception of the consuming and destructive power of passion that marks the superiority of Shakespeare's conceptions over that of his contemporaries. This "fatalism of overmastering passion," as it has been called by Professor Corson,2 is the distinguishing feature of Shakespeare's conception of man's relation to the world, and marks the culmination of the Elizabethan drama, and its superiority to the classical drama where men are overcome by external fate. In the case of Othello, as ,of all the other tragedies, it is the passion of the hero that is the mainspring of all the action of the play that finally and certainly destroys the hero. There are two or three types of such passion in Shakespeare, according to their moral character, but all alike give rise to the action of the play and lead the hero to his fate.
Beginning, then, with this passion, it is the art of Shakespeare to place his characters under those conditions that will show the true nature of their passion and develop it to its fullness and to its fated end. It is one of Shakespeare's supreme excellences that he realized that "every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed," and that every man's condemnation comes from the development of his own passions.
It was under the sway of this conception that Shakespeare brought Othello into his fatal conflict with Iago, for this drew from him all the hidden passion of his nature. To make Iago the sole cause of the tragedy that befell Othello is to seek outside the human heart for the causes of human failure. The wonder is that Coleridge, philosopher and genius that he was, could content himself with an explanation that does such violence to a true moral psychology. But Coleridge may have had a personal interest in laying the blame outside the soul of the one who is overcome by weakness or by fate. Othello, like all of Shakespeare's plays, is a drama of character, not a drama of intrigue. But only a very careful study of the leading topics of the play will make this clear.
The attempt to solve the moral difficulties of Othello has never been given up entirely, though quite recently two distinguished critics have taken "the moralists" to task, and have appeared to think that the chief excellence of the drama is in its "moral enigma." Professor (Sir) Walter Raleigh has made a vigorous attack, and says that "The moralists have been eager to lay the blame of these events on Othello, or Desdemona, or both; but the whole meaning of the play would vanish if they were successful." Professor Bradley, in a somewhat similar strain, rejects all the more obvious interpretations of the play, because, as he says, they "reduce Shakespeare to common-place." Both alike refuse to give credence to any view that does not make Shakespeare subtle and far-fetched and mystical. They seem ready to reject alike what is common-place and common-sense.
The names of these two eminent critics have carried more weight in some quarters than their theories have deserved, and some students have been too willing to give up the search for a true moral interpretation of the plays. Others, however, dissatisfied with this complete moral scepticism of Shakespeare, and with this substitution of the critic's fancy for the poet's vision, have made attempts to find a larger moral meaning for the plays, and have tried to assign some kind of large spiritual principles in place of the plain moral principles it was thought necessary to abandon. The suggestion has been made that in cases like that of Desdemona there is only an apparent defeat and nemesis, but that in reality there is a much higher spiritual vindication, and that the close of the play marks a complete spiritual triumph in which the human spirit remains "essentially unconquered." Professor Alden, as the latest spokesman of this view, says, "If the love of Desdemona had perished in the face of injustice and falsehood, then we should have had indeed a chaos of spiritual wreckage, a poetical injustice for which no mere beauty of form could easily atone. But on the contrary there remains in each case, amid the very crash and vanishing of all earthly hope, a spirit that transcends common humanity as far as its suffering has transcended common experience, proving anew through poetry that the world of the senses is 'inferior to the soul.'"
This, as criticism, seems somewhat better, for it grants our inexorable conviction that Shakespeare is after all a moral dramatist, and tries to square himself with our moral principles. But, unfortunately, this kind of criticism makes a demand of us that no generation of theatre-goers or readers has ever been able to meet. To picture Othello and Desdemona as in the end not failing but actually triumphing, as Professor Alden finds himself obliged to maintain, is to think of them as in the same class as the suffering Job, and as Romeo and Juliet. He says, "If the individual experience often seems to be at odds with everything but itself; if Job suffer for no reason such as can be stated in general terms; if Juliet and Romeo are the victims of the animosities of their parents ... ; if Desdemona dies because her pitiful life has found a number of malignantly potent trifles looming so big for the moment as to shut from view any source of active justice . . ."
This, however, it is impossible to admit. The writer of "Job" explicitly declares that Job was a righteous man, and that his misfortunes were entirely due to the malignity of the evil one. Neither were his misfortunes of the nature of moral catastrophes, as were those of Othello and Desdemona. In Shakespeare, as in the Bible, the misfortunes that are objective in their source are never moral in character. Romeo and Juliet were undoubtedly "the victims of the animosities of their parents," or in other words were the victims of social conditions for which they were personally in no way responsible. About their misfortunes, however, there is not the slightest suggestion of retribution, and as Carlyle long ago observed, their apparent defeat is really a moral victory. But it is very different with Othello and Desdemona, for there is an element of retribution in their misfortunes. The play explicitly depicts them as the authors of all the elements of their social conditions that give rise to their conflicts and subsequent misfortunes.
It should be remembered that Othello was not a son of Venice, but a foreigner, and moreover a foreigner of a different race and color, with all that means of divergence of mind and character. Moreover, there was no conflict between Romeo and Juliet, for their love was perfect, but the conflict was between their united and unwavering love and the hostility of their families. In the case of Othello and Desdemona |he conflict becomes acute and finally fatal between husband and wife, and from this the play takes its character of a hapless mismarriage.
All these unsuccessful attempts to understand the drama come from long-continued but erroneous habits of interpretation. The plays have been treated as if they were historical documents and not works of poetic imagination. Historical documents have to be evaluated by the student, and often parts are judged to be unauthentic and hence of little or no value. But literary products cannot be treated in this manner, for every word of a great poet has been elaborated with turious care and is of value to the whole, and cannot be ignored.
Some critics who regret that we have no external comments of Shakespeare upon his plays persistently ignore the numerous comments the dramatist has made within the plays. It must be claimed that Shakespeare's dramatic methods are not subtle and elusive, but pre-eminently artistic and open. They are indeed so artistic that they have concealed his art, and unfortunately have also concealed his mind from us. We have steadfastly overlooked even his most obvious attempts to make his meaning clear, and have missed all his own comments, which are the best keys to his plays. We have, moreover, explained away his own very plain words, we have ignored his conduct of the plot of the dramas, and have refused to accept as part of his plan the very issues of the plays themselves that he has elaborated with such unequalled skill. No wonder if we have begun to think perhaps after all the plays have no meaning to be discovered.
Let us begin, then, our study of this play by observing very carefully whatever comment Shakespeare has made upon it. In the very title, Othello, the Moor of Venice, we have the dramatist's comment that the play is to be the story of a certain Moor, Othello, who had abandoned his native land and had taken up his residence and life in the Italian city of Venice. In doing this Othello had left his native Africa, or Spain,4 and undertook to live his life in Venice.
The Moors of both Africa and Spain were looked upon by Englishmen and other Europeans as barbaric or semi-barbaric, while the Venetians were looked upon as the most civilized and cultured people of Europe.5 The change took Othello among another race of another color, one that Shakespeare and most of his countrymen of whatever time considered a much superior race. Now if Shakespeare had any aptness in giving titles to his plays, and did not add mere idle words, the play must be considered "primarily a study of a noble barbarian who had become a Christian . . . but who retains beneath the surface the savage passions of his Moorish blood . . . and that the last three Acts depict the outburst of these original feelings through the thin crust of Venetian culture."6 This is Professor Bradley's statement of the view which has been held, but which he scouts as impossible.
His chief argument against it, however, is that it is not like Shakespeare, adding that "To me it appears hopelessly un-Shakespearean." Ever since Schlegel's time, however, this has been the generally accepted interpretation of the play, though of course there has been disagreement about details. But this recent imaginative criticism has given us a new Othello, a new Hamlet, and verily a new Shakespeare; and instead of the vision and the faculty divine of the great dramatist we have the fancies of the critics. This criticism has succeeded in little, however, but in convincing itself that Shakespeare is mystical and modern, that he wrote with a very vague notion of what he was doing, and that frequently in his haphazard manner he misnamed his plays. It is now time for criticism to reach the conviction that Shakespeare wrote with a very clear notion of what he was aiming at, and not by mere intuition or chance. Only if we take this attitude is it possible at this day to discern the true thought and intent of his dramas.
The entire drama is Othello's story, though from the outset Iago takes the initiative, and seems to be the protagonist. The situation, however, has been created by Othello in every particular, and from this springs all the action or rather the reaction of Iago. By his action, previous to the opening of the play, Othello furnished the motive for lago, from which springs all his intrigue. It is only under the clever manipulation of Iago that Othello is put on the defence, from which he does not escape until near the close of the play. The real conflict of the play, then, is between Othello, with whom is joined Desdemona, on the one hand, and Iago, his ancient, on the other. From the outset, Othello is struggling with a situation which he inaugurated before the opening, of the play, and which grows more complex as the movement develops.
Lesson Four: Act One
Act 1, Scene 1
1. Where is the scene set?
2. What causes the argument between Roderigo and Iago?
3. Why does Iago have cause to hate Othello?
4. What is Iago’s relationship with Othello?
5. Why does Iago feel Othello’s choice of Michael Cassio to be unjust?
6. What does Iago reveal in the following lines: In following him I follow but myself; Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, But seeming so for my peculiar end. (I.i.60)
7. What does Iago advise Roderigo to do?
8. What does Roderigo hope to achieve by his scheming?
9. Iago speaks in inflammatory terms about Othello and Desdemona, by “making the beast with two backs.” Discuss his purpose.
10. What is Brabantio’s nationality and status?
This play begins in media res (into the middle of things). What are we in the middle of and what is the effect of this type of dramatic opening on the audience?
This scene is full of bestial imagery. Make a list of the bestial imagery employed and who says them.
Act 1, Scene 2
1. Why does Brabantio order his men to subdue Othello?
2. How does Othello avert hostilities? What does this suggest about him?
3. Othello isn’t named upfront. What names is he referred to and what do they suggest?
4. How does Iago play on the Senator’s fears?
5. Is the portrait painted of Othello credible?
6. Why does Roderigo pay Iago? What does he hope to gain?
7. Complete a detailed character profile of Iago. How does the audience respond to him?
8. Complete a detailed character profile of Othello. Consider in your analysis the symbolic reference to Christ (I.ii.60.)
9. What does Brabantio accuse Othello of using to seduce his daughter? Why is this a serious offence? How do such accusations reinforce Othello as an outsider?
10. Why can’t Brabantio accept Desdemona’s attraction and relationship with “the Moor”?
In this scene, Iago makes reference to Janus. Research this mythological figure and its symbolic values and connotations. Why do you think it is appropriate that Iago is the character to swear in the name of this particular God?
This scene confirms that Othello and Desdemona are married. How do you think Shakespeare's audience would have responded to such a marriage?
Act 1, Scene 3
Why does the Duke call a military meeting with his senators?
1. Why does Brabantio demands that all state business be put on hold and his own grievances be attended?
2. What is the Duke’s reaction when he learns that Othello has been accused?
3. Why is Desdemona attracted to Othello? (I.iii.130-180)
4. In what ways might Desdemona been considered an ‘unusual’ female character?
5. Where is Othello sent to protect the island from the Turks?
6. Read Iago’s important soliloquy (I.iii.375). What does he reveal about his plans?
7. Discuss the dramatic impact of Iago’s soliloquy.
Consider the ideas established, tone, character, use of language, patterning.
Analyse Othello's use of rhetoric in his monologue to the Venetian Senate.
Consider the use of Logos, Ethos and Pathos.
Consider how Brabantio's final warning to Othello functions as both an example of narrative foreshadowing and dramatic irony.
Analyse Iago's use of the extended metaphor of an English garden. What is he saying about humanity and its desire for control?
Act 1 concludes with the first of Iago's seven soliloquys. Read this soliloquy closely and complete a 'Colour/Symbol/Image' analysis of it
1. Where is the scene set?
2. What causes the argument between Roderigo and Iago?
3. Why does Iago have cause to hate Othello?
4. What is Iago’s relationship with Othello?
5. Why does Iago feel Othello’s choice of Michael Cassio to be unjust?
6. What does Iago reveal in the following lines: In following him I follow but myself; Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, But seeming so for my peculiar end. (I.i.60)
7. What does Iago advise Roderigo to do?
8. What does Roderigo hope to achieve by his scheming?
9. Iago speaks in inflammatory terms about Othello and Desdemona, by “making the beast with two backs.” Discuss his purpose.
10. What is Brabantio’s nationality and status?
This play begins in media res (into the middle of things). What are we in the middle of and what is the effect of this type of dramatic opening on the audience?
This scene is full of bestial imagery. Make a list of the bestial imagery employed and who says them.
Act 1, Scene 2
1. Why does Brabantio order his men to subdue Othello?
2. How does Othello avert hostilities? What does this suggest about him?
3. Othello isn’t named upfront. What names is he referred to and what do they suggest?
4. How does Iago play on the Senator’s fears?
5. Is the portrait painted of Othello credible?
6. Why does Roderigo pay Iago? What does he hope to gain?
7. Complete a detailed character profile of Iago. How does the audience respond to him?
8. Complete a detailed character profile of Othello. Consider in your analysis the symbolic reference to Christ (I.ii.60.)
9. What does Brabantio accuse Othello of using to seduce his daughter? Why is this a serious offence? How do such accusations reinforce Othello as an outsider?
10. Why can’t Brabantio accept Desdemona’s attraction and relationship with “the Moor”?
In this scene, Iago makes reference to Janus. Research this mythological figure and its symbolic values and connotations. Why do you think it is appropriate that Iago is the character to swear in the name of this particular God?
This scene confirms that Othello and Desdemona are married. How do you think Shakespeare's audience would have responded to such a marriage?
Act 1, Scene 3
Why does the Duke call a military meeting with his senators?
1. Why does Brabantio demands that all state business be put on hold and his own grievances be attended?
2. What is the Duke’s reaction when he learns that Othello has been accused?
3. Why is Desdemona attracted to Othello? (I.iii.130-180)
4. In what ways might Desdemona been considered an ‘unusual’ female character?
5. Where is Othello sent to protect the island from the Turks?
6. Read Iago’s important soliloquy (I.iii.375). What does he reveal about his plans?
7. Discuss the dramatic impact of Iago’s soliloquy.
Consider the ideas established, tone, character, use of language, patterning.
Analyse Othello's use of rhetoric in his monologue to the Venetian Senate.
Consider the use of Logos, Ethos and Pathos.
Consider how Brabantio's final warning to Othello functions as both an example of narrative foreshadowing and dramatic irony.
Analyse Iago's use of the extended metaphor of an English garden. What is he saying about humanity and its desire for control?
Act 1 concludes with the first of Iago's seven soliloquys. Read this soliloquy closely and complete a 'Colour/Symbol/Image' analysis of it
Lesson Five: Act Two
Act 2, Scene 1
1. While the company waits for the ship, Cassio and Desdemona tease Emilia about being a chatterbox. What is Iago’s reaction?
2. Iago notices that Cassio takes Desdemona’s hand as he talks to her. What does he reveal in his aside (II,I,.169)
3. How does Iago reassure the despondent Roderigo of Desdemona’s potential love?
4. How does Cassio fit into Iago’s scheming here?
5. What does Iago reveal in his soliloquy (II.i.276)?
- Shakespeare's representation of the Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War (1570-1573) bears almost no resemblance to the actual historical events. Instead, Shakespeare reconstructs events to closely parallel the then-popular mythology in relation to Britain's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Account for Shakespeare's intentions in representing events in this way.
- Make note of the different setting of Act I and Act II. Venice is shown as a courtly and supposedly civilised place that mirrors the English Court in London. Cyprus is a frontier place that would have evoked exciting and dangerous notions of lawlessness and licentiousness.
Act 2, Scene 2
Make note of significant events and five quotes
Act 2, Scene 3
1. Iago once again confides his plan to the audience. List what he intends to do.
2. How is Montano duped by Iago’s plan? What is the outcome?
3. Once Othello has taken control of the situation, how does Iago cement his trap?
4. Cassio laments the permanent damage now done to his reputation by a quarrel whose cause he cannot even remember. What does Iago suggests he do?
5. When Cassio leaves, Iago jokes about the irony of the fact that his so-called villainy involves counselling Cassio to a course of action that would actually help him. However, as Iago reminds the audience, he does the most evil when he seems to do good. How does he intend to dupe Othello once again (II.iii.326)?
6. After telling Roderigo to go, Iago finishes telling the audience the plot that is to come. What does he intend?
- Consider the different forms of irony evident in the duologue between Iago and Cassio.
- Create a headline for this Act.
1. While the company waits for the ship, Cassio and Desdemona tease Emilia about being a chatterbox. What is Iago’s reaction?
2. Iago notices that Cassio takes Desdemona’s hand as he talks to her. What does he reveal in his aside (II,I,.169)
3. How does Iago reassure the despondent Roderigo of Desdemona’s potential love?
4. How does Cassio fit into Iago’s scheming here?
5. What does Iago reveal in his soliloquy (II.i.276)?
- Shakespeare's representation of the Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War (1570-1573) bears almost no resemblance to the actual historical events. Instead, Shakespeare reconstructs events to closely parallel the then-popular mythology in relation to Britain's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Account for Shakespeare's intentions in representing events in this way.
- Make note of the different setting of Act I and Act II. Venice is shown as a courtly and supposedly civilised place that mirrors the English Court in London. Cyprus is a frontier place that would have evoked exciting and dangerous notions of lawlessness and licentiousness.
Act 2, Scene 2
Make note of significant events and five quotes
Act 2, Scene 3
1. Iago once again confides his plan to the audience. List what he intends to do.
2. How is Montano duped by Iago’s plan? What is the outcome?
3. Once Othello has taken control of the situation, how does Iago cement his trap?
4. Cassio laments the permanent damage now done to his reputation by a quarrel whose cause he cannot even remember. What does Iago suggests he do?
5. When Cassio leaves, Iago jokes about the irony of the fact that his so-called villainy involves counselling Cassio to a course of action that would actually help him. However, as Iago reminds the audience, he does the most evil when he seems to do good. How does he intend to dupe Othello once again (II.iii.326)?
6. After telling Roderigo to go, Iago finishes telling the audience the plot that is to come. What does he intend?
- Consider the different forms of irony evident in the duologue between Iago and Cassio.
- Create a headline for this Act.
Lesson Six: Act Three Question
Act 3, Scene 1
1. How does Iago plan to have Cassio meet privately with Desdemona? What is his purpose?
Act 3, Scene 2
1. Find one moment from this scene. Analyse and complete a TQE table highlight one of the major themes.
Act 3, Scene 3
1. What is revealed in Emilia’s speech III.iii.294-303)
This was her first remembrance from the Moor, My wayward husband hath a hundred times Wooed me to steal it, but she so loves the token. . . .
2. How does Iago exert his influence over others?
3. Act 3, Scene 3 is known as the "great temptation scene." How does Iago tempt Othello? What rhetorical strategies does he use and what do these strategies reveal about Othello, Venice, and expectations about race and gender?
4. Read Othello’s soliloquy beginning: "Haply for I am black” (III.iii.267-279) After Iago has raised Othello’s suspicions about his wife’s fidelity, how does Othello now view himself as revealed in this speech?
5. The timing of events is very important in Act III. Iago anticipates and manipulates the other characters so skilfully that they seem to be acting simultaneously of their own free will and as Iago’s puppets. Detail how Iago manages this?
6. Consider Iago’s claim to Othello, “My lord, you know I love you” (III.iii.121), which echoes Peter’s insistent words to Christ, “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee” (John 21:15-17). Evaluate why Othello might never question Iago’s fidelity.
7. Why is the handkerchief so important to Othello? What might it be a symbol of?
8. Evaluate Iago’s final words in this scene in which he kneels and solemnly pledges to the other to take vengeance on Desdemona and Cassio. What is the significance of this pledge?
Act 3, Scene 4
1. Othello plays the role of the prosecutor, demanding that Desdemona produce the handkerchief and accusing her of being a whore. How does Desdemona defend herself? What is the outcome?
2. Iago is a skilful manipulator of the other characters. How does he manipulate the audience?
Creative Activity
Compose a 20-30 line soliloquy from Desdemona's perspective.
1. How does Iago plan to have Cassio meet privately with Desdemona? What is his purpose?
Act 3, Scene 2
1. Find one moment from this scene. Analyse and complete a TQE table highlight one of the major themes.
Act 3, Scene 3
1. What is revealed in Emilia’s speech III.iii.294-303)
This was her first remembrance from the Moor, My wayward husband hath a hundred times Wooed me to steal it, but she so loves the token. . . .
2. How does Iago exert his influence over others?
3. Act 3, Scene 3 is known as the "great temptation scene." How does Iago tempt Othello? What rhetorical strategies does he use and what do these strategies reveal about Othello, Venice, and expectations about race and gender?
4. Read Othello’s soliloquy beginning: "Haply for I am black” (III.iii.267-279) After Iago has raised Othello’s suspicions about his wife’s fidelity, how does Othello now view himself as revealed in this speech?
5. The timing of events is very important in Act III. Iago anticipates and manipulates the other characters so skilfully that they seem to be acting simultaneously of their own free will and as Iago’s puppets. Detail how Iago manages this?
6. Consider Iago’s claim to Othello, “My lord, you know I love you” (III.iii.121), which echoes Peter’s insistent words to Christ, “Lord, thou knowest that I love thee” (John 21:15-17). Evaluate why Othello might never question Iago’s fidelity.
7. Why is the handkerchief so important to Othello? What might it be a symbol of?
8. Evaluate Iago’s final words in this scene in which he kneels and solemnly pledges to the other to take vengeance on Desdemona and Cassio. What is the significance of this pledge?
Act 3, Scene 4
1. Othello plays the role of the prosecutor, demanding that Desdemona produce the handkerchief and accusing her of being a whore. How does Desdemona defend herself? What is the outcome?
2. Iago is a skilful manipulator of the other characters. How does he manipulate the audience?
Creative Activity
Compose a 20-30 line soliloquy from Desdemona's perspective.
Lesson Six: Textual Integrity
Lesson Seven: Act Four Questions
Focus questions on Act IV
1. Do you agree with Iago’s comment, “credulous fool”? Why?
2. How does chance advance Iago’s schemes in this scene?
3. What do you interpret of Othello’s state from his responses to Iago after the eavesdropping scene?
4. What transformation in Othello has Lodovico observed? Why is this important?
5. Why is Othello unmoved by Desdemona’s protestations that she is a “true and loyal wife”?
7. What can we infer of Iago’s treatment of Emilia from her strong speech about wives?
Act 4, Scene 1
1. How does Iago continue to manipulate Othello in this scene?
2. Othello strikes his wife in public and storms out inarticulately. How is this scene the reverse of Act 2, Scene 3 where, after calming the “Turk within” his brawling soldiers, Othello gently led his wife back to bed?
3. What new stratagem does Iago employ to enrage Othello?
4. Othello has trouble reconciling his wife’s delicacy, class, beauty, and allure with her adulterous actions. He suggests that he will poison his wife, but what does Iago advise him to do?
5. How does Lodovico’s arrival from Venice serves as a reminder of how great Othello’s transformation has been?
Act 4, Scene 2
1. What is the significance of the “Willow” song?
Act 4, Scene 3
The role of Act 4 is to show falling action, moving us to the resolution in Act 5. It is common in this part of the play that the characters appear a little more lethargic or resigned to their fate. Shakespeare also uses foreshadowing in Act 4, Scene 3 to create a palpable sense of foreboding. Look closely at this scene's use of foreshadowing by considering the role of the following: bed sheets, the dismissal of Emilia, Desdemona's story about Barbary, the Willow Song, Desdemona's complete obedience.
1. Do you agree with Iago’s comment, “credulous fool”? Why?
2. How does chance advance Iago’s schemes in this scene?
3. What do you interpret of Othello’s state from his responses to Iago after the eavesdropping scene?
4. What transformation in Othello has Lodovico observed? Why is this important?
5. Why is Othello unmoved by Desdemona’s protestations that she is a “true and loyal wife”?
7. What can we infer of Iago’s treatment of Emilia from her strong speech about wives?
Act 4, Scene 1
1. How does Iago continue to manipulate Othello in this scene?
2. Othello strikes his wife in public and storms out inarticulately. How is this scene the reverse of Act 2, Scene 3 where, after calming the “Turk within” his brawling soldiers, Othello gently led his wife back to bed?
3. What new stratagem does Iago employ to enrage Othello?
4. Othello has trouble reconciling his wife’s delicacy, class, beauty, and allure with her adulterous actions. He suggests that he will poison his wife, but what does Iago advise him to do?
5. How does Lodovico’s arrival from Venice serves as a reminder of how great Othello’s transformation has been?
Act 4, Scene 2
1. What is the significance of the “Willow” song?
Act 4, Scene 3
The role of Act 4 is to show falling action, moving us to the resolution in Act 5. It is common in this part of the play that the characters appear a little more lethargic or resigned to their fate. Shakespeare also uses foreshadowing in Act 4, Scene 3 to create a palpable sense of foreboding. Look closely at this scene's use of foreshadowing by considering the role of the following: bed sheets, the dismissal of Emilia, Desdemona's story about Barbary, the Willow Song, Desdemona's complete obedience.
Lesson Seven Part B: Act Five Questions
lyrics_to_the_willow_song.docx | |
File Size: | 94 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Act 5, Scene 1
1. Iago says that "Cassio...hath daily a beauty in his life/That makes me ugly." What is it that Iago truly detests about Cassio? What does this reveal about Iago's character?
Act 5, Scene 2
1. Evaluate what Othello reveals in this final speech and suicide:
Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely but too well...And smote him thus. (V.ii.352-365)
2. How does Othello’s language change over the course of the play?
3. Why do you think Shakespeare has elected to have Iago be wounded, but not killed, at the end of the play? Is this a just way of dealing with Iago?
4. What insights, if any, into Iago’s motivation can be gained from Act V?
5. Examine Othello’s speech as he enters Desdemona’s bedchamber.
6. How is Othello convinced of Iago’s treachery?
7. Can you agree with Othello’s assessment of himself in his final speech? Explain
Conflict
Understanding conflict is central to understanding the plot. Answer these questions at various points during the reading of the play:
1. Iago says that "Cassio...hath daily a beauty in his life/That makes me ugly." What is it that Iago truly detests about Cassio? What does this reveal about Iago's character?
Act 5, Scene 2
1. Evaluate what Othello reveals in this final speech and suicide:
Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely but too well...And smote him thus. (V.ii.352-365)
2. How does Othello’s language change over the course of the play?
3. Why do you think Shakespeare has elected to have Iago be wounded, but not killed, at the end of the play? Is this a just way of dealing with Iago?
4. What insights, if any, into Iago’s motivation can be gained from Act V?
5. Examine Othello’s speech as he enters Desdemona’s bedchamber.
6. How is Othello convinced of Iago’s treachery?
7. Can you agree with Othello’s assessment of himself in his final speech? Explain
Conflict
Understanding conflict is central to understanding the plot. Answer these questions at various points during the reading of the play:
- What are the central conflicts at this point in the play?
- How do these conflicts compare with those you have identified earlier in the play? Has anything changed about them? Why?
- What are Othello's internal conflicts? What are his external conflicts?
- Do the minor characters have both internal and external conflicts? If they do, identify some of them. If not, identify the characters without conflicts.
Lesson Nine
Dramatic Irony and Iago’s Asides and Soliloquies
In the theatre, this play is believed to have greater dramatic intensity or emotional effect on the audience than do most of Shakespeare’s other tragedies. According to theatre lore, audience members have been known to stand up and shout at Othello, “She didn’t do it!” Part of the reason for the play’s effect is that it focuses on the breakdown of a single marriage rather than the collapse of an entire society.
Aside: a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention the audience is to realise that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage.
Dramatic irony: a literary device by which the audience or readers understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters.
Soliloquy: a dramatic device in which a character speaks to himself or herself, relating thoughts and feelings, thereby also sharing them with the audience, giving off the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections.
Examples from the text
• 1.3.426-447 (55) — Soliloquy 1
“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse.... I hate the Moor...”
• 2.1.182-192 (71) — Aside
“He takes her by the palm.... With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio....”
• 2.1.218-220 (73) — Aside
“O, you are well tuned now, but I'll set down the pegs that make this music, as honest as I am.”
• 2.1.308-334 (79) — Soliloquy 2
“That Cassio loves her, I do well believe 't.... For I fear Cassio with my nightcap too....”
• 2.3.51-66 (85) — Soliloquy 3
“If I can fasten but one cup upon him....”
• 2.3.356-382 (103) — Soliloquy 4
“And what's he, then, that says I play the villain...”
• 2.3.404-410 (107) — Soliloquy 5
“Two things are to be done..../ Dull not device by coldness and delay”
• 3.3.369-382 (141) — Soliloquy 6
“I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin..../ The Moor already changes with my poison..../ Look where he comes....”
• 4.1.53-56 (175) — Soliloquy 7
“Work on my medicine....”
• 4.1.110-120 (177) — Soliloquy 8
“Now will I question Cassio of Bianca....”
• 5.1.13-23 (223) — Soliloquy 9
“I have rubbed this young quat almost to the sense..../ If Cassio do remain,/ He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly....”
• 5.1.150-51 (235) — Aside
“This is the night/ That either makes me or foredoes me quite.”
Questions:
1. Choose three of the Asides above. Read, and analyse. (try to write a 3 - 4 sentence summary on each)
2. Choose three soliloquy. Read and analyse. (try to write a 3 - 4 sentence summary on each)
3. In what ways does Shakespeare engage the audience as a witness to Iago’s plotting?
4. How does the dramatic irony contribute to the play’s dramatic intensity?
5. How do you feel about becoming Iago’s sounding board and being a silent participant in the tragedy fostered by him?
In the theatre, this play is believed to have greater dramatic intensity or emotional effect on the audience than do most of Shakespeare’s other tragedies. According to theatre lore, audience members have been known to stand up and shout at Othello, “She didn’t do it!” Part of the reason for the play’s effect is that it focuses on the breakdown of a single marriage rather than the collapse of an entire society.
Aside: a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience. By convention the audience is to realise that the character's speech is unheard by the other characters on stage.
Dramatic irony: a literary device by which the audience or readers understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters.
Soliloquy: a dramatic device in which a character speaks to himself or herself, relating thoughts and feelings, thereby also sharing them with the audience, giving off the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections.
Examples from the text
• 1.3.426-447 (55) — Soliloquy 1
“Thus do I ever make my fool my purse.... I hate the Moor...”
• 2.1.182-192 (71) — Aside
“He takes her by the palm.... With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio....”
• 2.1.218-220 (73) — Aside
“O, you are well tuned now, but I'll set down the pegs that make this music, as honest as I am.”
• 2.1.308-334 (79) — Soliloquy 2
“That Cassio loves her, I do well believe 't.... For I fear Cassio with my nightcap too....”
• 2.3.51-66 (85) — Soliloquy 3
“If I can fasten but one cup upon him....”
• 2.3.356-382 (103) — Soliloquy 4
“And what's he, then, that says I play the villain...”
• 2.3.404-410 (107) — Soliloquy 5
“Two things are to be done..../ Dull not device by coldness and delay”
• 3.3.369-382 (141) — Soliloquy 6
“I will in Cassio's lodging lose this napkin..../ The Moor already changes with my poison..../ Look where he comes....”
• 4.1.53-56 (175) — Soliloquy 7
“Work on my medicine....”
• 4.1.110-120 (177) — Soliloquy 8
“Now will I question Cassio of Bianca....”
• 5.1.13-23 (223) — Soliloquy 9
“I have rubbed this young quat almost to the sense..../ If Cassio do remain,/ He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly....”
• 5.1.150-51 (235) — Aside
“This is the night/ That either makes me or foredoes me quite.”
Questions:
1. Choose three of the Asides above. Read, and analyse. (try to write a 3 - 4 sentence summary on each)
2. Choose three soliloquy. Read and analyse. (try to write a 3 - 4 sentence summary on each)
3. In what ways does Shakespeare engage the audience as a witness to Iago’s plotting?
4. How does the dramatic irony contribute to the play’s dramatic intensity?
5. How do you feel about becoming Iago’s sounding board and being a silent participant in the tragedy fostered by him?
Lesson Ten
Characters to analyse:
Othello, Iago, Cassio, Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo, Brabantio, Bianca
Questions to work through when preparing your response:
1. What role does your character play in advancing and developing the plot of Othello?
2. Does the character change in the way they are perceived both within the play and by the audience? How?
3. Does Shakespeare use the character link to a particular theme? What is the point he might be trying to make?
4. How is the character representative of Shakespeare’s context and values?
5. If your character had a chance to reflect on what happened during the play, what would they say?
6. Find five quotes that sum up your character. Type them up to distribute to the class and include an explanation of their relevance.
Use the character information below to help with your analysis
Othello - The play’s protagonist and hero. A Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, Othello is an eloquent and physically powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status, he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race. He possesses a “free and open nature,” which his ensign Iago uses to twist his love for his wife, Desdemona, into a powerful and destructive jealousy (I.iii.381).
Beginning with the opening lines of the play, Othello remains at a distance from much of the action that concerns and affects him. Roderigo and Iago refer ambiguously to a “he” or “him” for much of the first scene. When they begin to specify whom they are talking about, especially once they stand beneath Brabanzio’s window, they do so with racial epithets, not names. These include “the Moor” (I.i.57), “the thick-lips” (I.i.66), “an old black ram” (I.i.88), and “a Barbary horse” (I.i.113). Although Othello appears at the beginning of the second scene, we do not hear his name until well into Act I, scene iii (I.iii.48). Later, Othello’s will be the last of the three ships to arrive at Cyprus in Act II, scene i; Othello will stand apart while Cassio and Iago supposedly discuss Desdemona in Act IV, scene i; and Othello will assume that Cassio is dead without being present when the fight takes place in Act V, scene i. Othello’s status as an outsider may be the reason he is such easy prey for Iago.
Although Othello is a cultural and racial outsider in Venice, his skill as a soldier and leader is nevertheless valuable and necessary to the state, and he is an integral part of Venetian civic society. He is in great demand by the duke and senate, as evidenced by Cassio’s comment that the senate “sent about three several quests” to look for Othello (I.ii.46). The Venetian government trusts Othello enough to put him in full martial and political command of Cyprus; indeed, in his dying speech, Othello reminds the Venetians of the “service” he has done their state (V.ii.348).
Those who consider Othello their social and civic peer, such as Desdemona and Brabanzio, nevertheless seem drawn to him because of his exotic qualities. Othello admits as much when he tells the duke about his friendship with Brabanzio. He says, -“[Desdemona’s] father loved me, oft invited me, / Still questioned me the story of my life / From year to year” (I.iii.127–129). -Othello is also able to captivate his peers with his speech. The duke’s reply to Othello’s speech about how he wooed Desdemona with his tales of adventure is: “I think this tale would win my daughter too” (I.iii.170).
Othello sometimes makes a point of presenting himself as an outsider, whether because he recognizes his exotic appeal or because he is self-conscious of and defensive about his difference from other Venetians. For example, in spite of his obvious eloquence in Act I, scene iii, he protests, “Rude am I in my speech, / And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace” (I.iii.81–82). While Othello is never rude in his speech, he does allow his eloquence to suffer as he is put under increasing strain by Iago’s plots. In the final moments of the play, Othello regains his composure and, once again, seduces both his onstage and offstage audiences with his words. The speech that precedes his suicide is a tale that could woo almost anyone. It is the tension between Othello’s victimization at the hands of a foreign culture and his own willingness to torment himself that makes him a tragic figure rather than simply Iago’s ridiculous puppet.
Desdemona - The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in many ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting bawdily with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy.
Desdemona is a more plausible, well-rounded figure than much criticism has given her credit for. Arguments that see Desdemona as stereotypically weak and submissive ignore the conviction and authority of her first speech (“My noble father, / I do perceive here a divided duty” [I.iii.179–180]) and her terse fury after Othello strikes her (“I have not deserved this” [IV.i.236]). Similarly, critics who argue that Desdemona’s slightly bizarre bawdy jesting with Iago in Act II, scene i, is either an interpolation not written by Shakespeare or a mere vulgarity ignore the fact that Desdemona is young, sexual, and recently married. She later displays the same chiding, almost mischievous wit in Act III, scene iii, lines 61– 84, when she attempts to persuade Othello to forgive Cassio.
Desdemona is at times a submissive character, most notably in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. In response to Emilia’s question, “O, who hath done this deed?” Desdemona’s final words are, “Nobody, I myself. Farewell. / Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell” (V.ii.133–134). The play, then, depicts Desdemona contradictorily as a self-effacing, faithful wife and as a bold, independent personality. This contradiction may be intentional, meant to portray the way Desdemona herself feels after defending her choice of marriage to her father in Act I, scene iii, and then almost immediately being put in the position of defending her fidelity to her husband. She begins the play as a supremely independent person, but midway through she must struggle against all odds to convince Othello that she is not too independent. The manner in which Desdemona is murdered—smothered by a pillow in a bed covered in her wedding sheets—is symbolic: she is literally suffocated beneath the demands put on her fidelity. Since her first lines, Desdemona has seemed capable of meeting or even rising above those demands. In the end, Othello stifles the speech that made Desdemona so powerful.
Tragically, Desdemona is apparently aware of her imminent death. She, not Othello, asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed, and she asks Emilia to bury her in these sheets should she die first. The last time we see Desdemona before she awakens to find Othello standing over her with murder in his eyes, she sings a song she learned from her mother’s maid: “She was in love; and he proved mad / And did forsake her. She had a song of willow. / . . . / And she died singing it. That song tonight / Will not go from my mind” (IV.iii.27–30). Like the audience, Desdemona seems able only to watch as her husband is driven insane with jealousy. Though she maintains to the end that she is “guiltless,” Desdemona also forgives her husband (V.ii.133). Her forgiveness of Othello may help the audience to forgive him as well.
Iago - Othello’s ensign (a job also known as an ancient or standard-bearer), and the villain of the play. Iago is twenty-eight years old. While his ostensible reason for desiring Othello’s demise is that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant, Iago’s motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in an obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation and destruction.
Possibly the most heinous villain in Shakespeare, Iago is fascinating for his most terrible characteristic: his utter lack of convincing motivation for his actions. In the first scene, he claims to be angry at Othello for having passed him over for the position of lieutenant (I.i. 7–32). At the end of Act I, scene iii, Iago says he thinks Othello may have slept with his wife, Emilia: “It is thought abroad that ’twixt my sheets / He has done my office” (I.iii.369–370). Iago mentions this suspicion again at the end of Act II, scene i, explaining that he lusts after Desdemona because he wants to get even with Othello “wife for wife” (II.i.286). None of these claims seems to adequately explain Iago’s deep hatred of Othello, and Iago’s lack of motivation—or his inability or unwillingness to express his true motivation—makes his actions all the more terrifying. He is willing to take revenge on anyone—Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, even Emilia— at the slightest provocation and enjoys the pain and damage he causes.
Iago is often funny, especially in his scenes with the foolish Roderigo, which serve as a showcase of Iago’s manipulative -abilities. He seems almost to wink at the audience as he revels in his own skill. As entertained spectators, we find ourselves on Iago’s side when he is with Roderigo, but the interactions between the two also reveal a streak of cowardice in Iago—a cowardice that becomes manifest in the final scene, when Iago kills his own wife (V.ii.231–242).
Iago’s murder of Emilia could also stem from the general hatred of women that he displays. Some readers have suggested that Iago’s true, underlying motive for persecuting Othello is his homosexual love for the general. He certainly seems to take great pleasure in preventing Othello from enjoying marital happiness, and he expresses his love for Othello frequently and effusively.
It is Iago’s talent for understanding and manipulating the desires of those around him that makes him both a powerful and a compelling figure. Iago is able to take the handkerchief from Emilia and know that he can deflect her questions; he is able to tell Othello of the handkerchief and know that Othello will not doubt him; he is able to tell the audience, “And what’s he then that says I play the villain,” and know that it will laugh as though he were a clown (II.iii.310). Though the most inveterate liar, Iago inspires all of the play’s characters the trait that is most lethal to Othello: trust.
Michael Cassio - Othello’s lieutenant. Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier, whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s fidelity.
Emilia - Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. A cynical, worldly woman, she is deeply attached to her mistress and distrustful of her husband.
Roderigo - A jealous suitor of Desdemona. Young, rich, and foolish, Roderigo is convinced that if he gives Iago all of his money, Iago will help him win Desdemona’s hand. Repeatedly frustrated as Othello marries Desdemona and then takes her to Cyprus, Roderigo is ultimately desperate enough to agree to help Iago kill Cassio after Iago points out that Cassio is another potential rival for Desdemona.
Bianca - A courtesan, or prostitute, in Cyprus. Bianca’s favorite customer is Cassio, who teases her with promises of marriage.
Brabanzio - Desdemona’s father, a somewhat blustering and self-important Venetian senator. As a friend of Othello, Brabanzio feels betrayed when the general marries his daughter in secret.
Othello, Iago, Cassio, Desdemona, Emilia, Roderigo, Brabantio, Bianca
Questions to work through when preparing your response:
1. What role does your character play in advancing and developing the plot of Othello?
2. Does the character change in the way they are perceived both within the play and by the audience? How?
3. Does Shakespeare use the character link to a particular theme? What is the point he might be trying to make?
4. How is the character representative of Shakespeare’s context and values?
5. If your character had a chance to reflect on what happened during the play, what would they say?
6. Find five quotes that sum up your character. Type them up to distribute to the class and include an explanation of their relevance.
Use the character information below to help with your analysis
Othello - The play’s protagonist and hero. A Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, Othello is an eloquent and physically powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status, he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race. He possesses a “free and open nature,” which his ensign Iago uses to twist his love for his wife, Desdemona, into a powerful and destructive jealousy (I.iii.381).
Beginning with the opening lines of the play, Othello remains at a distance from much of the action that concerns and affects him. Roderigo and Iago refer ambiguously to a “he” or “him” for much of the first scene. When they begin to specify whom they are talking about, especially once they stand beneath Brabanzio’s window, they do so with racial epithets, not names. These include “the Moor” (I.i.57), “the thick-lips” (I.i.66), “an old black ram” (I.i.88), and “a Barbary horse” (I.i.113). Although Othello appears at the beginning of the second scene, we do not hear his name until well into Act I, scene iii (I.iii.48). Later, Othello’s will be the last of the three ships to arrive at Cyprus in Act II, scene i; Othello will stand apart while Cassio and Iago supposedly discuss Desdemona in Act IV, scene i; and Othello will assume that Cassio is dead without being present when the fight takes place in Act V, scene i. Othello’s status as an outsider may be the reason he is such easy prey for Iago.
Although Othello is a cultural and racial outsider in Venice, his skill as a soldier and leader is nevertheless valuable and necessary to the state, and he is an integral part of Venetian civic society. He is in great demand by the duke and senate, as evidenced by Cassio’s comment that the senate “sent about three several quests” to look for Othello (I.ii.46). The Venetian government trusts Othello enough to put him in full martial and political command of Cyprus; indeed, in his dying speech, Othello reminds the Venetians of the “service” he has done their state (V.ii.348).
Those who consider Othello their social and civic peer, such as Desdemona and Brabanzio, nevertheless seem drawn to him because of his exotic qualities. Othello admits as much when he tells the duke about his friendship with Brabanzio. He says, -“[Desdemona’s] father loved me, oft invited me, / Still questioned me the story of my life / From year to year” (I.iii.127–129). -Othello is also able to captivate his peers with his speech. The duke’s reply to Othello’s speech about how he wooed Desdemona with his tales of adventure is: “I think this tale would win my daughter too” (I.iii.170).
Othello sometimes makes a point of presenting himself as an outsider, whether because he recognizes his exotic appeal or because he is self-conscious of and defensive about his difference from other Venetians. For example, in spite of his obvious eloquence in Act I, scene iii, he protests, “Rude am I in my speech, / And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace” (I.iii.81–82). While Othello is never rude in his speech, he does allow his eloquence to suffer as he is put under increasing strain by Iago’s plots. In the final moments of the play, Othello regains his composure and, once again, seduces both his onstage and offstage audiences with his words. The speech that precedes his suicide is a tale that could woo almost anyone. It is the tension between Othello’s victimization at the hands of a foreign culture and his own willingness to torment himself that makes him a tragic figure rather than simply Iago’s ridiculous puppet.
Desdemona - The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in many ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting bawdily with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy.
Desdemona is a more plausible, well-rounded figure than much criticism has given her credit for. Arguments that see Desdemona as stereotypically weak and submissive ignore the conviction and authority of her first speech (“My noble father, / I do perceive here a divided duty” [I.iii.179–180]) and her terse fury after Othello strikes her (“I have not deserved this” [IV.i.236]). Similarly, critics who argue that Desdemona’s slightly bizarre bawdy jesting with Iago in Act II, scene i, is either an interpolation not written by Shakespeare or a mere vulgarity ignore the fact that Desdemona is young, sexual, and recently married. She later displays the same chiding, almost mischievous wit in Act III, scene iii, lines 61– 84, when she attempts to persuade Othello to forgive Cassio.
Desdemona is at times a submissive character, most notably in her willingness to take credit for her own murder. In response to Emilia’s question, “O, who hath done this deed?” Desdemona’s final words are, “Nobody, I myself. Farewell. / Commend me to my kind lord. O, farewell” (V.ii.133–134). The play, then, depicts Desdemona contradictorily as a self-effacing, faithful wife and as a bold, independent personality. This contradiction may be intentional, meant to portray the way Desdemona herself feels after defending her choice of marriage to her father in Act I, scene iii, and then almost immediately being put in the position of defending her fidelity to her husband. She begins the play as a supremely independent person, but midway through she must struggle against all odds to convince Othello that she is not too independent. The manner in which Desdemona is murdered—smothered by a pillow in a bed covered in her wedding sheets—is symbolic: she is literally suffocated beneath the demands put on her fidelity. Since her first lines, Desdemona has seemed capable of meeting or even rising above those demands. In the end, Othello stifles the speech that made Desdemona so powerful.
Tragically, Desdemona is apparently aware of her imminent death. She, not Othello, asks Emilia to put her wedding sheets on the bed, and she asks Emilia to bury her in these sheets should she die first. The last time we see Desdemona before she awakens to find Othello standing over her with murder in his eyes, she sings a song she learned from her mother’s maid: “She was in love; and he proved mad / And did forsake her. She had a song of willow. / . . . / And she died singing it. That song tonight / Will not go from my mind” (IV.iii.27–30). Like the audience, Desdemona seems able only to watch as her husband is driven insane with jealousy. Though she maintains to the end that she is “guiltless,” Desdemona also forgives her husband (V.ii.133). Her forgiveness of Othello may help the audience to forgive him as well.
Iago - Othello’s ensign (a job also known as an ancient or standard-bearer), and the villain of the play. Iago is twenty-eight years old. While his ostensible reason for desiring Othello’s demise is that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant, Iago’s motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in an obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation and destruction.
Possibly the most heinous villain in Shakespeare, Iago is fascinating for his most terrible characteristic: his utter lack of convincing motivation for his actions. In the first scene, he claims to be angry at Othello for having passed him over for the position of lieutenant (I.i. 7–32). At the end of Act I, scene iii, Iago says he thinks Othello may have slept with his wife, Emilia: “It is thought abroad that ’twixt my sheets / He has done my office” (I.iii.369–370). Iago mentions this suspicion again at the end of Act II, scene i, explaining that he lusts after Desdemona because he wants to get even with Othello “wife for wife” (II.i.286). None of these claims seems to adequately explain Iago’s deep hatred of Othello, and Iago’s lack of motivation—or his inability or unwillingness to express his true motivation—makes his actions all the more terrifying. He is willing to take revenge on anyone—Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, even Emilia— at the slightest provocation and enjoys the pain and damage he causes.
Iago is often funny, especially in his scenes with the foolish Roderigo, which serve as a showcase of Iago’s manipulative -abilities. He seems almost to wink at the audience as he revels in his own skill. As entertained spectators, we find ourselves on Iago’s side when he is with Roderigo, but the interactions between the two also reveal a streak of cowardice in Iago—a cowardice that becomes manifest in the final scene, when Iago kills his own wife (V.ii.231–242).
Iago’s murder of Emilia could also stem from the general hatred of women that he displays. Some readers have suggested that Iago’s true, underlying motive for persecuting Othello is his homosexual love for the general. He certainly seems to take great pleasure in preventing Othello from enjoying marital happiness, and he expresses his love for Othello frequently and effusively.
It is Iago’s talent for understanding and manipulating the desires of those around him that makes him both a powerful and a compelling figure. Iago is able to take the handkerchief from Emilia and know that he can deflect her questions; he is able to tell Othello of the handkerchief and know that Othello will not doubt him; he is able to tell the audience, “And what’s he then that says I play the villain,” and know that it will laugh as though he were a clown (II.iii.310). Though the most inveterate liar, Iago inspires all of the play’s characters the trait that is most lethal to Othello: trust.
Michael Cassio - Othello’s lieutenant. Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier, whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s fidelity.
Emilia - Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. A cynical, worldly woman, she is deeply attached to her mistress and distrustful of her husband.
Roderigo - A jealous suitor of Desdemona. Young, rich, and foolish, Roderigo is convinced that if he gives Iago all of his money, Iago will help him win Desdemona’s hand. Repeatedly frustrated as Othello marries Desdemona and then takes her to Cyprus, Roderigo is ultimately desperate enough to agree to help Iago kill Cassio after Iago points out that Cassio is another potential rival for Desdemona.
Bianca - A courtesan, or prostitute, in Cyprus. Bianca’s favorite customer is Cassio, who teases her with promises of marriage.
Brabanzio - Desdemona’s father, a somewhat blustering and self-important Venetian senator. As a friend of Othello, Brabanzio feels betrayed when the general marries his daughter in secret.