Critical approaches to Othello
What do new historicists do?
explores the pros and cons of different kinds of love, especially within marriage.
How does Shakespeare adapt Cinthio's tale in Othello?
Post colonialism
What is post colonialism?
it speaks about the human consequences of external control and economic exploitation of a native people and its lands.
What do post colonial readings focus on in the play?
they focus on the play’s representation of Ottoman Turks.
What real life event was the inspiration for the plays rising action?
set his play within the context of Venice’s struggle during the 1570s with the Ottoman Empire for control of CyprusVenice owned Cyprus from 1470 to 1569, but in 1571 Turkish forces seized the island. Later that year an alliance of Christian powers defeated the Turk in the famous naval battle of Lepanto.
How does the play undercut the Christian/Turkish binary?
by making the play’s most villainous character a Venetian and its hero an outsider.
What are Brabantio and Desdemona fascinated by and why?
by his strange stories of cannibals and anthropophagiNew historicist reading: ‘far more fair than black’
What debate are new historicist critics currently having?
Whether or not race was a factor in early modern representations of non-English peoples.
What evidence is there that Othello was held in high esteem by other characters?
‘far more fair than black’ and Montano’s claim that ‘the man commands / Like a full soldier’ (2.1.36–37) indicate the high esteem others have for him.
What references establish his liminal position in society?
Nevertheless, references to Othello as black and a Moor, as well as his lack of understanding of Venetian customs, establish his liminal position in Venetian society.
Feminist reading: ‘a maiden never bold’
What is endogamous marriage?
the practice of marrying within a local community or ethnic group
What has changed in the audiences reading of the character of Desdemona since the plays original performances and the 20th century?
From the play’s earliest performances, audiences responded sympathetically to Desdemona’s plight. After a 1610 production at Oxford, Henry Jackson recalled that Desdemona ‘entreated the pity of the spectators by her very countenance’. That changed in the late 20th century, however, when feminist critics underscored Desdemona’s initial independence and Emilia’s eventual strength, and outlined the ways both women – as well as the courtesan Bianca – were constrained by the male characters’ patriarchal suppositions.
What is the current feminist perspective on the play?
From a feminist perspective, early modern England’s preoccupation with cuckoldry demonstrates a basic male insecurity about women’s sexuality.
Can you find evidence in the text to support this (include quotations)
Say they slack their duties,
And pour our treasures into foreign laps,
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant of former having in despite –
. . .
Yet have we some revenge. (4.4.82–88)
And pour our treasures into foreign laps,
Or else break out in peevish jealousies,
Throwing restraint upon us; or say they strike us,
Or scant of former having in despite –
. . .
Yet have we some revenge. (4.4.82–88)
Marxist reading: ‘’Tis the curse of service’
What are marxists critics concerned with?
the economic and psychological impact of early modern England’s hierarchical social system.
What is the hierarchy (pecking order) in the play?
The Duke and aristocratic members of the Venetian Senate give orders to Othello, who in turn commands his Lieutenant Cassio. Ensign Iago is subordinate to both. All three ostensibly serve out of loyalty to the state and for the status their military position brings, but they can be dismissed at the pleasure of their superiors.
What have fuedal obligations of service been replaced with?
a new economic model (dont get it)
TASK 2
According to the article, where does the texts tragedy spring from?
essentially springs from acts of misunderstanding.
How does Iago manipulate Othello?
Iago manipulates Othello’s latent insecurities about his new marriage to Desdemona
The handkerchief
READ the explanation of Italian handkerchiefs to gain a better understanding of its significance.
What two things does the article believe the handkerchief represents?
emblematises both the unblemished quality of the couple’s affections and Desdemona’s sexual purity
What does the pattern on the handkerchief represent?
implies the loss of virginity and represents the beginning of greater sexual experience and the potential dangers of those experiences.
The Venetian ‘state of mind’
How does the play Othello characterise Venice?
- as an immensely sensationalist society – and perhaps such sensationalism adds to the characters’ difficulty in acquiring unequivocal knowledge.
- and a society eager for the most colourful version of events and with no pressing concern for the truth of the tales it is told.
What did the Venetians have an appetite for?
for the scandalous as opposed to more nuanced thought is also present in the immediacy with which Brabantio believes the speculations about how his daughter’s union with Othello started.
How did John Leo view Africans and why is this a significant difference to Venetian's?
Joannes Leo’s casting of ‘the African’ as ‘most honest’ and ‘high minded’. It is a counterpoint to the Venetian desire for salacious statements, a desire he is repeatedly confronted with.
War
Why does this section believe misunderstanding is inevitable?
Gender
In the play, what do Venetian men have little grasp of?
Venetian men have an insufficient grasp of the ‘true’ character of their womenfolk; men cannot see women for who they ‘really’ are.
What is Emilia's function?
Emilia’s function as the ‘straight-talking’ working woman seeking to cut through patriarchal misreadings makes her, to my mind, one of the text’s most memorable figures.
Summarise this section from a feminist perspective.
