8. OTHELLO

OthelloOthello directed by Tony Simotes and performed at Founders' Theatre in 2008

SHAKESPEARE CINTHIO

OTHELLO

A character with great qualities as a man

and caught in a trap

of evil as a leader

An unsympathetic man with no dignity

and honour

1. The source of OthelloOthello is based on a 1565 story by the Italian Giraldi Cinthio.

Othello

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Venice and Cyprus, a Venetian possession

Venetian men were hot-tempered,

aggressive and easily jealous

Shakespeare chose this setting for his tragedy

filled with passion, jealousy and sexual tension

2. The setting

Venetian women were beautiful and

interested in making love

Othello


• Othello, the Moor, the black general of the Venetian army.

• Desdemona, from a white aristocratic

Venetian family and wife to Othello.

• Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant.

3. Main characters

Laurence Fishburne as Othello in Alan Parker’s Othello (1995)

Othello


• Iago, Othello’s antagonist.

• Emilia, Iago’s wife.

• Brabantio, Desdemona’s father.

3. Main characters

Kenneth Branagh as Iago in Alan Parker’s Othello (1995)

Othello


OTHELLO

has married Desdemonaagainst her father’s wish

has been asked to defend Cyprus against the Turks

makes a plot to have Cassio dismissedIAGO

4. The plotFirst part: VENICE

Othello


4. The plotSecond part: CYPRUS

Cassio is dismissed

Seeks Desdemona’s help

Iago sows doubt in Othello’s mind about

Desdemona and Cassio’s love affair

Iago puts Desdemona’s handkerchief

into Cassio’s room

Othello kills Desdemona,but then he stabs himself understanding his fault.

Cassio becomesCyprus’s Governor

a.

b.

c.

Othello


BLACK WHITE

DESDEMONA

5. The main anthitesis

OTHELLO

• An African Moor of noble birth

• A great general ruined by his virtues

• A tragic hero

• Symbol of purity, chastity, innocence

• Symbol of evil

• The villain of the story

IAGO

Othello


• Racism Othello is not accepted by society because of the different colour of his skin and his different culture.

• The power of words used by Iago to make Othello jealous of his wife.

• Jealousy leading Othello to kill Desdemona and to his own downfall.

• Black vs white.

• Master vs servant.

• Elected vs damned.

6. ThemesOthello


IAGO OTHELLO

Prose:

• intellectual, cynical

• full of litotes

• linked to reason

Musical poetry:

• elevated tone

• full of hyperbole

• linked to feelings

7. StyleOthello


Dramatic tension

Almost always present in the tragedy

It starts when Iago reveals his plot to have

Cassio dismissed

Shakespeare prolongs

the tension even after

Desdemona’s death

He delays the discovery

of Iago’s plot when Othello,

accused by Emilia, claims

Iago’s evidence as his justification

and she refuses to believe him

Iago directs the action throughout

Othello

8. Dramatic tension


x = Time

y = Progression from love to death

c = Climax of their love

x

yc

9. Two female heroinesJuliet’s and Desdemona’s misfortunes can be summed up in the diagram:

Othello


8. OTHELLO

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