Shakespeare and

Othello

Author & Theater

Information

William Shakespeare• 1563-1616

• Born in Stratford-on-Avon • Father – glovemaker &

wool merchant• Mother – daughter of a

wealthy local landowner

• Married Anne Hathaway in 1582• 12 years older than him• Four months pregnant

at the wedding

Professional Life• He wrote 37 plays

and 154 sonnets.

• Wrote three kinds of plays:• Comedies• Tragedies• Histories

• Both wrote for and acted with Lord Chamberlain’s Men

Professional Life• In 1599, he and the

Lord Chamberlain’s Men built the Globe Theater.

• Theater burned down in 1613 and was rebuilt in 1614.

• Wrote plays both for Queen Elizabeth I and for King James.

Elizabethan England• Queen Elizabeth I : 1533-

1603

• Daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

• Became Queen in 1559.

• Never married and was nicknamed “The Virgin Queen”.

• English Renaissance in music, literature, and military strength happened under her.

Elizabethan Theater• Protestant Church and

city officials banned theaters because of :• fighting• crime• drinking• crude subject matter• threat of Bubonic

Plague

• The 1596 plague caused London to ban all public plays and theaters within city limits.

• Theaters also used for bear-baiting and gambling.

• All actors were men because theaters were too scandalous for women.

• Young boys whose voices had not changed played women’s roles.

Elizabethan Theater• Little to no scenery was

used.

• Settings were understood because of references in dialogue.

• Lots of props were used.

• Plays were fast-paced and colorful.

• Much more interaction with audience than today.

Attending a Theater Performance

• Plays were produced for the general public.

• Theaters were roofless, so all performances were open air.

• No artificial lighting.

• Courtyard surrounded by three levels of galleries.

• Wealthy patrons sat in benches with a roof over their heads.

• Groundlings: poor people who stood and watched from “the pit” (the courtyard).

• Groundlings went for the entertainment of alcohol, fights, prostitution, and lewd subject matter.

• They often threw food at the actors.

• All but the wealthy were uneducated/illiterate.

Attending a Theater Performance

• Pricing of admission based on comfort:• 1 penny (week’s

wages for apprentice) pit

• 5 pence cushioned gallery seat

• Nobility generally had private performances in their own homes.

Shakespeare and English

• Over 12,000 words entered English 1560-1650

• Shakespeare’s plays show the first recorded use of 2,035 new English words

• Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Lear have one new word every 2.5 lines.

• Phrases coined by Shakespeare:• A laughing stock• A sorry sight• As dead as a doornail• Eaten out of house

and home• In a pickle• In the twinkling of an

eye• Mum’s the word• Neither here nor there• There’s method in my

madness

Historical Background

Setting• Act I : Venice

• A wealthy city-state that was important in trade

• Known for luxury and culture• Famous for its judicial system

• Act II-V: Cyprus• Island near Turkey and Syria• Annexed by Venice in 1489 and

conquered by the Turks in 1571

The Moors• Equivalent to “African”

with expectation that the person would be black.

• In 711 Moors, who were Muslim, conquered Spain and ruled until 1492, when Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand took over and brought it to Christianity.

• Moors were forced to leave Spain or become Christian.

Military Terms• Ancient

(pronounced “en-sin”)• Military rank• Standard-Bearer• Iago is third in

command behind Othello and Cassio.

• Lieutenant• Means “place

holder”• Cassio is second in

command to Othello.

• The Lieutenant holds the General’s place in his absence.

OthelloThe Play

Themes of Othello• Destructive nature

of jealousy

• Importance of honor and reputation

• Being an outsider

• Appearance vs. Reality

• Loyalty vs. Treachery

Motifs of Othello• Motif: Major topic

related to the theme

• Animals

• Jealousy

• Sight and Darkness

• The Handkerchief

• Magic

• Evil and the Devil

Terminology

Static & Dynamic Characters

Dynamic Character

• The character changes from beginning to end and has many personality traits, like a real person

• Othello is a good example.

Static Character• The character

remains the same throughout the story. He does not change his mind, opinion, or character.

• Iago is a good example.

Foil• FOIL: Character

who highlights or emphasizes certain traits of the main character by contrasting them.

• Examples:• Emilia is the foil to

Desdemona• Cassio is the foil to

Iago

Irony: Three Types1. Dramatic Irony: A contradiction

between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true.

2. Situational Irony: An event that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, readers, or audience.

3. Verbal Irony: Words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant.

Conflict Types1. Internal

a. man vs. himself (Othello vs. Himself)• Doesn’t want to distrust Desdemona• Insecure about qualities to enable Desdemona to love

him.

2. Externala. man vs. society (Othello vs. Venice)b. man vs. naturec. man vs. man (Iago vs. Othello) (Iago vs. Cassio)

• Iago hates Othello and plots to bring about his downfall.• Iago is jealous of Cassio, and works to ruin his reputation,

as well as separate him from Othellos’ friendship.

Tragedy• Drama in which the main character

suffers a disaster after a serious struggle.

• Faces downfall in a heroic way.

Soliloquy• Long speech

• Character’s inner (truthful) thoughts are spoken aloud

• No other characters present

Aside• Character’s inner

thoughts spoken aloud

• Other characters are present

• Other characters cannot hear the spoken thoughts

Monologue• One person

speaking on stage.

The Five-Part Dramatic Structure

Act IIRising Action,

Or Complications

Act I Exposition, or Introduction

Act IIICrisis, or Turning

Point

Act IVFalling Action

Act VResolution, orDenouement

Ways to Understand Shakespearean

Language• Watch out for inverse word order!• Read in sentences don’t break at the end of

lines.• Read footnotes!• Worry about the overall sense of the words,

not every word individually.• Watch out for Shakespearean contractions.• READ OUT LOUD AND PARAPHRASE!

Shakespearean Insult Generator

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/