'Othello' Context
- Created by: charlottehair
- Created on: 14-01-20 21:23
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- 'Othello' Context
- Shakespeareand Tragedy
- Tragic hero
- A main character characterized by their tragic flaw and cursed by fate
- A struggle between and evil
- Could be external or internal
- Hamartia
- Fatal flaw
- Tragic waster
- The good being destroyed along with the bad, typically with good characters dying
- External conflict
- Problem faced, typically because of the antagonist
- Internal conflict
- Hamartia
- Catharsis
- The release of the audience's emotions
- Supernatural elements
- Magic/witchcraft
- Lack of poetic justice
- Everything ends badly for everyone
- Comic relief
- One or more comedic characters to lighten the mood
- Tragic hero
- Venetian Society
- 'Othello raises the issue of how rampant beliefs and attitudes in society can cause a person to question their sense of self
- Othello in Venice
- Othello is a Moor and is constantly reminded of his status as an outsider
- However, Othello isn’t presented in a stereotypical manner but is instead treated harshly and greeted with racism by the rest of Venice
- Venetian society tries to manipulate Othello’s self-confidence and emotional state to alienate him due to the great fear of interracial marriage
- A common idea in Venetian society (as well as the rest of Europe at this time) is that black people are inhumane and animalistic
- Social, Historical, Setting, and Biographical Context
- Biographical
- Born in 1564
- Married Anne Hathaway
- Anne 6 months pregnant when they married – a negative stigma attached to this such as in Othello – the relationship between Othello, a black army general and Desdemona, a white lady
- 1590 – left his family and went to London to be an actor and playwright
- Part owner of the Globe Theatre
- Career in both Elizabeth’s reign and James I’s reign – favoured by both monarchs
- James granted Shakespeare's company the title of 'King's Men'
- Retired in Stratford Upon Avon and died in 1616 at the age of 52
- Social, Historical, and Setting - Context
- The war between the Turks and Venetians forms the symbolic background
- Cyprus is vulnerable and isolated like Othello
- Venice was at war with the Ottoman Empire between 1570 and 1573
- King James I and his court were the first to watch the play - 1604
- Closely resembles a 1565 story by Italian writer Giovanni Cinzio: a Moorish general that thinks his wife has been unfaithful
- Biographical
- Renaissance Society and History
- 14th Century-17th Century
- Praised for bridging the gat between the Middle Ages and modern day civilisation - saw an introduction of science but people were still strongly holding on to religion
- Humanism
- The individual man is the most significant thing in the Universe
- Humans should celebrate their achievements in art, maths, science, literature, and education
- 1450 - invention of printing press allowed better communication throughout Europe
- The Moors
- Muslim inhabitants that lived in southern parts of Spain, Sicily, France, and north Africa
- Controlled parts of Spain and Portugal until 1492
- Attitudes Towards Women and Race
- Women
- The role of women was to look after the house and children
- Considered subordinate to men
- Had to obey their father and then husband
- Couldn't own property
- Little rights
- Couldn't own property
- Had to obey their father and then husband
- Race
- Dark skin was compared to corruption and white skin to purity
- Black people were seen as exotic but potentially savage or dangerous
- Women
- Shakespeareand Tragedy
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