Othello and Equus Comparisons

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  • Created by: charl_w
  • Created on: 21-01-16 19:14
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  • Equus and Othello comparison
    • Theme 1: Oppressed women
      • Jill (equus) Bianca and Desdemona are all perceived as threats because of their sexuality. All three are seriously punished as a result of this.
      • Hester, Desdemona and Emila are all shocked by the capacities of others around them.
      • Dora and Emilia both have key speeches which shows the oppression of their views at different points.
      • Dora and Desdemona both choose husbands that are seen as socially inferior to them with consequences for their happiness.
      • Dora and Emilia both shown a lack of respect by their husbands yet they still love and defend them.
    • Theme 2: Madness
      • Social context is blamed for both the madness of Othello and Alan.
      • Madness is seen as a threat to stability/society in both Othello and Alan's cases.
      • Madness is exaggerated when described by Hester and Iago.
      • The audience are never certain to whether Iago and Dysart are on the verge of madness.
      • Both Othello and Alan are perceived as falling into madness as a result of the actions of others.
    • Theme 3: Violence
      • Violence is discussed but not seen in Equus, unlike in Othello which illustrates conflict on stage.
      • Images of violence are frequent in the soliloquies of Dysart and Iago
    • Theme 4: Love
      • Women are perceived by the audience as being much more loyal in terms of love than their partners- which is the central irony of Ohello.
        • -Dora is more defensive of frank and he is caught at the cinema.
        • Desdemona is faithful to Othello despite his thoughts
        • Emilia remains faithful to Iago until she realises the extent of his crimes
        • Bianca is faithful to Cassio despite his apparent infidelity
      • Marriage is not necessarily perceived to be about love. E.g Dysart and Margeret, Emilia and Iago and Frank and Dora.
      • The idea of sex leads to crime of both Alan and Othello
      • Parents and children: Desdemona'scomplicated relationship with her father is similar to that of Alan and Frank
    • Theme 5: Authority
      • Clear authoritative people. E.g Hester as law and order, the Duke as the monarch and Ludovico as the military.
      • Authority is restored at the end of the play. Cassio's position in cyprus and Dysart s cure of Alan.
      • Authority figures are often challenged by their social inferiors
        • Brabantio challenges Desdemona
        • Dysart challenges Alan
        • Frank challenges Alan
        • Iago challenges Othello
      • Figures question their own authority e.g Othello over Desdemona and Dysart over Alan
    • Theme 6: Outsiders
      • Social status is prized in both societies
      • The truth about Iagos's and Desert's role as outsiders are only known to the audience. (Dramatic irony)
      • People are perceived as outsiders even with tightly defined groups. Iago with the military and Dysart in comparisonto to other psychiatrists.
      • Both Alan  and Othello are seen as different by their societies. Language used to describe them are demeaning.

Comments

gembean

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very nice comparisons, however Jill does not get punished because of her sexuality, its rather a thing of Desdemona gets punished when she hasn't done anything, but Jill was actively pursuing a man - using her sexuality but faces no repercussions :) 

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