When Iago wants to set up the appearance of inappropriate behavior between Cassio and Desdemona, he decides that "my wife must move for Cassio to her mistress" (2.3.) T.S Eliot argues Othello is a 'criminal. Geoffrey Sax 2001) thello'. He would have performed in black make-up and a wig made of black lambswool. However, it is clear that Othello's love for Desdemona can be perceived as 'true love'. William Shakespeare and Othello Background. 132 0 obj <>/Encrypt 105 0 R/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<29498E6B48029A4091C3B3364DE7A179>]/Index[104 62]/Info 103 0 R/Length 122/Prev 633683/Root 106 0 R/Size 166/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Copyright Get Revising 2023 all rights reserved. Subscribe now. Recent views Othello: Advanced - York Notes "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Othello A-Level: Critics Provide 4 critical comments on femininity Click the card to flip Loomba: "Othello is predisposed to believing his pronouncements about the inherent duplicity of women" "Venice was repeatedly pictured as a city full of whores" French: "two kinds of women, one being superhuman, totally virtuous." You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. In order to achieve a top grade in English Literature, it is absolutely essential to include critics and/or critical approaches in your answer to act as supporting evidence. Like Iago, other Venetians resort to racial slurs to deal with their own feelings of inferiority or powerlessness. . Geoffrey Sax 2001), Film: Othello (filmed theatrical production, 1965). Aspects of tragedy - exemplar student response and commentary Shakespeare had portrayed [Othello] the very opposite to a jealous man, Othello is understandably human but he is not greatly noble, describes how Othello sees his murder of Desdemona as a sacrifice, he is to save Desdemona from herself, calls Othellos final speech a terrible exposure of human weakness, Othello is dominated by its protagonist, Everybody calls Iago honest once or twice but with Othello it becomes an obsession, Othello is of course the plays hero only within the terms of a white elitist male ethos, sees Iago as powerfully possessed by hatred against a master who (as he thinks) has kept him down, descries how Iago displays the desire to manipulate, describes how the audience become complicit in Iagos intention, puts forward the idea that we feel uncertain about the validity of the love between Othello and Desdemona, Suggests Iago is motivated by the desire to know and show what Othello is really like, Suggests there is something lovable about Cassio, we trust him to never pervert the truth for the sake of doctrine or purpose of his own, puts forward the idea that Emilia nowhere shows any sign of having a bad heart, suggests Emilia dies in the service of the truth, suggests we have to acknowledge the fact that wives are required to be obedient to understand Emilias handing over of the handkerchief, puts forward that Desdemona receives a wh0res death for all her innocence, cites the fact that Biancas name translates as white in Italian, suggests that all 3 women in the play are wrongfully accused of sexual misdemeanor in the course of the play, argues that lucky would be a more appropriate epitaph than honest for Iago, suggests that Iago make his superiors his puppets, says Iago publishes doubt and calls it knowledge, suggests that Iago revels in his ability to destroy, puts forward the idea that Desdemona deserved her fate as maidens of quality should not run away with blackamoors, argues that Othello allows Iago to replace Desdemona in his esteem and affection, and as his confidant and soulmate, suggests that Othello is by far the most romantic among Shakespeares heroes, suggests that Othello is an alien in a white society and a black villain in a white society, suggests that women and blacks exist as the other, Desdemona is helplessly passive. Brabanzio, outraged at his daughters elopement, expresses disbelief that Desdemona could shun the curly-haired young men of Venice in favor of Othellos sooty bosom. Brabanzio channels his own insecurity about his daughters loyalty to him by expressing sneering disgust about Othellos race, implying that Othellos Blackness is a dirty coating that threatens to soil Desdemonas purity. SparkNotes PLUS There have been numerous interpretations of Othello over the last 400 years. on 2-49 accounts, Save 30% Like those men, Othello wants to place the blame for his feelings of inferiority somewhere and winds up laying that blame not where it belongs (in this case, at Iagos feet), but on his own skin. The story of an African general in the Venetian army who is tricked into suspecting his wife of adultery, Othello is a tragedy of sexual jealousy. Designed by GonThemes. for a group? Copyright Get Revising 2023 all rights reserved. She can do nothing whatever. You may either corroborate or challenge this critic - it is often quite fun to counter the critic and open up a literary debate. egoist' and for this, Iago plays on his weaknesses: Lisa Jardine argues Desdemona is 'Too knowing and: too independent' she is too passive! 20% 165 0 obj <>stream This belief, as much as his conviction of Desdemonas guilt, allows Othello to kill his wife. Essay: Men, Women and War: An Examination of Gender Conflicts within Othello. Get Revising is one of the trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No. Something went wrong, please try again later. Refuting the arguments of "Othello critics" and "Iago critics," Neely reads the central theme in the play as love and the central conflict of the play as between the men and the women. Iago hopes to disgust Brabanzio with this animal imagery and with the contrast between Othellos Blackness and Desdemonas whiteness. a-level english literature , AQA A level English literature exam discussion (Paper A 23/05/19) , Edexcel A Level English Literature Paper 1: Drama 9ET0 01 - 7 Jun 2022 [Exam Chat] , Othello Scene Summaries with Quotes AQA English Literature A-level, Othello Revision - Context, Scene Summaries, Literary Criticism, Practice Paragraphs, 'Othello yokes together and reshapes [stereotypical] images ofMoros'- Ania Loomba, O: 'chop her into messes', 'sold to slavery', 'Othello is [already] predisposed to believing [Iago's] pronouncements about the inherent duplicity of women, and the necessary fragility of [his] 'unnatural' relationshp' - Ania Loomba, O: 'haply [prehaps she has been unfaithful],for I am black and have not those soft parts of conversation that chambers have', O: 'I took you for that cunning whore of Venice that married with Othello', '[At the end] He remains the same Othello; he has discovered his mistake, but there is no tragic self-discovery' - F R Leavis, 'Speaks of me asone that loved not wisely but too wellSpeak of meone not easily jealous', [Iago engages in] the motive hunting of motivelessmalignity' - Samuel Taylor Coleridge, I: 'if thou canst cuckold him, thou dost thyself a pleasure , me a sport', '[Iago is unconsciously motivated by] his resentment of social privilege' - E A J Honigmann, 'He hath a daily beauty in his life that makes me ugly', 'Dramatic perspective canmake us the villain's accomplices' - E A J Honigmann, 'He takes her by the palm: ay, well said, with as little a web as this I will ensnare as great a fly as Cassio', 'He enjoys a godlike sense of power' - E A J Honigmann, 'despite his cleverness he has [not] understood the spiritual impulses which bindhuman beings togetherEmilia's love (of Desdemona) is Iago's undoing' - E A J Honigmann, 'I take this that you call love to be a sect or scion, '[Othello is responsible for his own downfall and Iago is] subordinate and merely ancillary' - F R Leavis, 'Were they as prime as goats, as hot as monkeys', 'Through too often played by mature actresses, there are many hints that D is meant to be very youngperhaps 15 or 16' - E A J Honigmann, 'It is possibleto see Desdemona as the strongest, the most heroic person in the play' - E A J Honigmann, 'That I did love the Moor to live with him, My downright violence and storm of fortunes may trumpet to the world', 'Through the willow song, she has assimilated herself to the literary trope of the innocent girl dying for the love of a false-hearted manInto thisbreaks Emilia's disquisition on the sexual double standard. Othello: Critics - Litchapter.com In an attempt to enlist Brabanzio in his anti-Othello cause, Iago refers to the general as the Moor, the devil, and a Barbary horse. These terms reduce Othello to a crude stereotype, turning him into a villain and an animal. I have made it a policy in my store to give students and teachers who message me after a purchase the chance to receive revision freebies on top of their purchase (with proof of purchase). Othello is a soldier for whom the 'big wars' make 'ambition virtue'. When Iago tells Brabanzio that an old black ram / Is tupping your white ewe, he demeans a passionate and loving relationship between two intelligent adults by characterizing Othello as a mindless rutting animal who has soiled the pure Desdemona with his lust. Conditions. Key quotation (Aside) O, you are well tuned now!But I'll set down the pegs that make this music, As honest as I am. Whenever characters such as Iago feel jealousy, fear, or simple hatred toward Othello, they give vent to their feelings by using racist slurs. Dont have an account? Othello Study Guide | Literature Guide | LitCharts ? PASS Othello with ease. While Othello is barraged by racism, he manages to resist its pull for some time. This is highly easy to understand due to the easy table layout. Subject: English. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. SparkNotes PLUS (one code per order). But in Act IV, he crumbles. Get Revising is one of the trading names of The Student Room Group Ltd. Register Number: 04666380 (England and Wales), VAT No.
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