othello themes
- Created by: tamar.klajman
- Created on: 15-05-18 16:14
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- Themes
- Revenge
- "jealousy ... green eyed monster" - Iago
- The whole play is fuelled by jealousy. Begins with Iago being jealous of Cassio. He then lends this to Othello, influencing him.
- "wife for wife" - Iago suddenly thinks Othello is sleeping with Emilia, 'eye for an eye' revenge.
- "justice of it pleases" - Othello believes he can be judge, Jury and executioner of what he THINKS Desdemona has done.
- Appearance vs Reality
- "I am not what I am" - Iago
- "I follow him to serve my turn upon him" - Iago
- "by Janus" Janus was the two faced Roman god, reinforces Iago's deception
- "tis a pageant / to keep us in false gaze" manifested itself in political situation. Global situation reflecting private one
- 2.1 begins with "discern at sea" getting hard to see what is happening now, murky and confusing
- "men should be what they see, or those that be not, would they might seem none" - Iago
- Iago plays with language, exploring the idea. He manipulates language portraying how the concept is meaningless to him.
- Pleasure from the fact that he is presenting his scheme to Othello but he is blind to it.
- "to be direct and honest is not safe" - Iago
- "I should be wise for honesty's a fool" - Iago
- Reputation
- "reputation, reputation, reputation" - Cassio, after being demoted this was all he could think about
- Context: Reputation was one of the most important things to men at the time.
- Context: during Renaissance period a woman's virtue was inextricably linked with her husband's reputation. 90% of those publicly disgraced at the time were due to their wife's reputation.
- "rather be a toad ... than keep a corner in the thing I love for others' use" - Othello
- Context: during Renaissance period a woman's virtue was inextricably linked with her husband's reputation. 90% of those publicly disgraced at the time were due to their wife's reputation.
- Love
- Aphrodite, the goddess of love was born off the coast of Cyprus
- Othello places love before war when he greets Desdemona before the generals as he arrives. The herald later places war before love, showing war will prevail.
- "she loved me for the dangers I had passed, and I loved her that she did pity them" - Othello
- he suggests their love is equal and reciprocated. Later it seems as if she loves him more.
- one reading of the play may suggest that Othello kills her out of love, he loves her so much he can't bear to see her with anyone else
- 2.1 when Desdemona and Othello are reunited see how good their love is
- "is it were now to die, t'were now to be most happy"
- Iago mentions "love" often in soliloquy at the end of 2.1, debases it and suggests it cannot survive
- Handkerchief
- An important prop that Shakespeare draws attention to when Desdemona drops it 3.3
- "spotted with strawberries" could be symbols of Desdemona's blood that will be shed due to this prop
- "magic in the web of it" - Othello
- "web" echoes Iago's earlier words about nets and being trapped
- "magic" conforms to racial stereotype
- symbols different things for each person
- Othello - Desdemona's unfaithfulness
- Desdemona - initially symbol of love later on of fear
- Emilia - test of her loyalty to Iago
- Iago - evil + plans working
- Bianca - how little Cassio cares about her
- Cassio - shows how carelessly he treats women
- due to her low status?
- because he is infected by Iago?
- Willow song 4.3
- the story it depicts foreshadows Desdemona's death
- willow was a sign of forsaken love
- sycamore has ominous overtones as Scottish barons used to hang their enemies there
- in 'Romeo and Juliet' Romeo can be found wandering through a sycamore grove and so it has become a symbol of forsaken love
- mirrors much of what happened to Desdemona suggesting their ends too will be the same
- Revenge
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