Othello and Equus Comparisons
- Created by: charl_w
- Created on: 21-01-16 19:14
View mindmap
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Theme 1: Oppressed women
Comments
Report