Background to Othello

William Shakespeare(1564-1616)

“Shakespeare’s art is not for an age, but for all time.” – Ben Jonson

William Shakespeare was believed to have been born in Stratford-Upon-Avon on April 23, 1564. Oddly enough he died on April 23, 1616.

Shakespeare attended the Stratford grammar school where he likely studied classical literature in Latin and Greek. He did not follow up his education at a University.

He married 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18. They had a daughter named Susanna shortly after and in 1585 they had twins Hamnet and Judith.

In 1592 Shakespeare left his family and moved to London to pursue a life in theater. Regardless of his location he still provided for his family and expanded his financial holdings in Stratford.

Shakespeare’s Professional Career

Once Shakepeare was in London he made a name for himself as an actor and a playwright.

In 1593 the theaters closed due to the plague outbreak. During the closure Shakespeare produced narrative poetry such as Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece

When the theaters reopened Shakespeare became a partner in the theater company known as Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The group grew to be the most popular acting troupe in London and performed regularly for Queen Elizabeth I and later King James I. During King James reign their name was changed to the King’s Men.

In 1599 the acting troupe was wealthy enough to build their own theater. They named it The Globe.

Shakespeare never sought to have his plays published; however, many individual plays were published during his lifetime in unauthorized editions known as quartos. Quartos are unreliable and were believed to have been thrown together based on the memory of actors.

The language of Shakespeare

Shakespeare used one of the largest vocabularies ever employed by an author. In fact, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, Shakespeare actually introduced an estimated 3,000 new words into the English language.

Many of these words are used today, including,

Bedazzle

Silliness

Critical

Obscene

Hurry

Lonely

Numerous well known phrases can also be attributed to Shakespeare. These include:

“wear my heart upon my sleeve”

“the world is my oyster”

More on Shakespeare’s language

Shakespeare’s language tends to be dense, metaphorical, full of puns and wordplay.

It comes “trippingly off the tongue” of an actor

–Hamlet

A scene of Shakespeare tears across the stage, riveting and dramatic, and yet upon a close rereading it reveals astonishing depth and complexity.

Shakespeare used in his plays a combination of prose, rhymed poetry and blank verse.

The Renaissance in England The word renaissance means “rebirth.” Historieans used the term to refer

to the period between the fifteenth and early seventeenth centuries (1400-1600) when Europe was influenced by a rebirth of interest in Greek and Latin learning and experienced a boom in the fields of art and literature.

In England the Renaissance did not truly begin until the reign of Queen Elizabeth in 1558.

Her reign is known as the Elizabethan Age, English Literature reached what many believe to be its “zenith” or highest point.

The Elizabethan Era is when Shakespeare wrote and produced his plays. He continued throughout the Jacobean period marked by James I reign.

Shakespeare’s writing is a good example of the spirit of the Renaissance- his plays often focus on memorable and complex characters, his plots derive from classical sources and his themes often involve challenges to authority.

Shakespeare found inspiration in the classical works and history of Rome – i.e. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra

Tragedies and Comedies The two most common types of drama seen in the English

Renaissance were comedies and tragedies.

The main difference between the two is the ending. It is only a slight exaggeration to say one will end in wedding bells while the other ends in funeral bells.

Comedy is lighthearted, though it may touch on serious themes. Action in comedy usually progresses from initial order to humorous misunderstanding or confusion and back to order again. Stock elements of comedy include mistaken identities, puns and word play and of course exaggerated characters.

Tragedy tells the story of the downfall of a person of high status. Often it celebrates the courage and dignity of its hero in the face of inevitable doom. The hero is typically neither completely good nor completely evil, but they live and act between these two extremes.

The Theater

There were three well known theaters. The Theater, The Curtain and The Globe

Audiences were quite mixed. People of all classes attended the theater.

Poorer theatergoers called “groundlings” paid a penny each for admission and stood around the three sides of the stage.

Wealthier playgoers could pay more to sit on of the three galleries set in the walls of the theater.

Nobleman and women sat on cushioned seats in the first-tier balcony.

It is said that Shakespeare’s plays were written for everyone, from “the most able, to him that can but spell.”

THE THEMATIC IDEAS

Othello

The destruction caused by jealousy 

The pain of loveThe loss of innocence

Society's treatment of the outsider

A human being's lack of humanity

The evil of unchecked ambition

The clash between appearance vs reality

THE PLOT

Othello is a general, a military leader, in Venice hundreds of years ago.

But he is an outsider because he is from another country—and of another race.

When Othello secretly marries the young, beautiful and noble Desdemona,

her father, Brabantio, wants Othello to be arrested.

But Desdemona loves Othello and doesn’t care that he is an outsider.

At the same time, the men in the army under Othello can’t be trusted.

Cassio means well but is open to bad influences.

Iago pretends to be Othello’s friend, but secretly resents him for passing him over for promotion.

Iago is determined to get revenge.

He decides to attack Othello in his most vulnerable spot…

his love for Desdemona.

Will Othello be able to see through Iago’s schemes?

Or will jealousy and revenge turn to murder?

TERMS TO KNOW

Important Dramatic Terms

Tragedy—a drama of a solemn and dignified quality that typically depicts the development of a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force, such as fate, circumstance, or society, and reaches a mournful or ruinous conclusion.

Othello – A Shakespearean Tragedy

Othello is a Shakespearean Tragedy It encompasses elements of tragedies

such as: It ends with the death of numerous

characters including the title character The protagonist is admirable, but flawed,

with the audience able to understand and sympathise with the character.

The protagonist is capable of both good and evil

Free will is insisted upon – the protagonist must always be able to back out of a situation or to redeem themselves – but always towards their inevitable doom.

Important Dramatic Terms

Tragic flaw—a defect in the protagonist that brings about his or her downfall.

Hubris: derived from the Greek word hybris, means “excessive pride.” In Greek tragedy, hubris is often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.

Important Dramatic Terms

Tragic hero: the main character of great importance to his state or culture and who is conventionally of noble birth and high social station, the ruler or an important leader in his society.

The moral health of the state is identified with, and dependent on, that of its ruler, and so the tragic hero’s story is also that of his state.

Important Dramatic Terms

Such heroes are mixed characters, neither thoroughly good or thoroughly evil, yet “better” or “greater” than the rest of us in the sense that they are of higher than ordinary moral worth and social significance.

THE SETTING

Setting

Setting (time) · Late sixteenth century, during the wars between Venice and Turkey

Setting (place) · Venice in Act I; the island of Cyprus thereafter

http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcitaly.htm

http://geography.about.com/library/cia/nccyprus.htm

Cyprus is located east of Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea. It is just south of Turkey.

THE CHARACTERS

Types of People in Othello

VenetiansMost are noblemen and women

(Brabantio, Desdemona, Roderigo)

Also, there are the nobles’ servants (Emilia)

Some are soldiers (Cassio, Iago)Others are part of Venetian

government (the Duke)

Types of People (cont’d)

Moors (Othello)Black nomadic people of the northern shores of Africa, originally the inhabitants of Mauretania

Converted to Islam in the 8th century

Moors (cont’d)

Invaded Spain in 711 and dominated until the 11th century

had great dynasties up until 1492, when the last of their cities was conquered by Spain

virtually exterminated by Spain during the Inquisition (late 1400s-1820)

Moors (cont’d)

Othello is a Moor Discriminated against because of his race (black)

Othello has been accepted in some ways because he is a Christian and a military genius

Yet his marriage to Desdemona reflects the prevailing view toward interracial marriage.

Iago

Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains, often considered so because of the unique trust Othello puts in him, which he betrays while maintaining his reputation of honesty and dedication.

Shakespeare contrasts Iago with Othello’s nobility and integrity.

Iago is a malcontent – he has a bitter and cyncial view of the world around him.

The name Iago is a shortened version of the Spanish name “Santiago” or “St James”.

Saint James of Spain was also known as “St James the Moor Killer” which seems appropriate within the play.

THE CULTURE OF THE TIME

The Wife’s Status

A typical wife receiving her instruction

The husband, in the accepted role as head of the household, gives moral direction to his wife and children--who sit obediently listening.

Evil Women!The men in “Othello” have differing views of women – from Othello who idolizes his wife (Desdemona) to Iago who sees love as "merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will“.The attitudes of the audience at the time are likely to have been varied too.

In the Elizabethan times there was a long and well established tradition in the Church of what we would now call misogyny – women were distrusted simply because they were women. At the time it was assumed that women would cheat – it was part of their nature!

The Cuckold

Any man whose wife cheated on him (without his knowledge) was known as a cuckold.The word derives from “cuckoo” – the bird known for laying their eggs in another’s nest.

It was highly undesirable to be considered a cuckold.

All of the community would find out about it and it was considered a public humiliation.

Cuckolds were often described as having horns – a hangover from the days when a cuckold was forced to parade around his town wearing antlers as a sign of his wife’s infidelity.

Jealousy

Jealousy was viewed as something irrational and linked to the deadly sin of envy.

It was viewed as a sudden infection against which there was no prevention or cure.

It was thought of as eroding trust and it dissolved the bonds holding together marriages, families and social frameworks.

Being jealous could let in evil and chaos and it was a state greatly feared by Shakespeare’s audiences.

Today’s society - TASK

Think about the cultural rules that you live by.

Look at the questions opposite and discuss/make notes.

What rules dictate the behaviour of young men and women in relationships today?

What are the things “nice girls” just don’t do?

What are the things “nice boys” just don’t do?

What do you think the consequences are of breaking these rules?