Students will work in groups to explore different attitudes to othello by looking at a range of texts from the. They have been written by ben arogundade, author of. Play construction and the suffering and murder of desdemona lectures on othello. Detailed information on shakespeares othello from scholars and editors, from your trusted shakespeare source. A critical essay on william shakespeares othello the. Critics exploring othello from a postcolonial perspective would focus on the two areas of colonialism and racism presented in the play, the occupation of cyprus and attitudes to othello s moorish origins. He is overcome with jealousy when iago tells him of desdemonas unfaithfulness. Articles and essays were selected from several periodicals. Critics on othello rather may we ask here what unnatural crime desdemona or her parents had committed, to bring this judgment down upon her. Often described as a tragedy of character, much of the critical commentary of othello focuses on the main characters of the playothello, iago, and desdemonaand their relationships.
Essay writing service of the highest quality, our essay writing service provides custom papers written from, we are a cheap, fast, and reliable essay writing service. Critical analysis of the tragedy of othello 971 words critical. A feminist interpretation of the play would assess the balance of power between the genders, the cultural expectations displayed in the play and the degree to which these are conformed to by the women, as well as how far the drama centres on male or female. Critical approaches to othello what do new historicists do. Pdf critical analysis of the characters othello and iago in the play. It has been accepted for inclusion in scripps senior theses by. Jan 15, 2010 merely having othello done away with would not have satisfied his craving to scheme against others. Materials i discussed in this thesis included a number of articles and essays, as well as a handful of monographs. Iago is a moral relativist, allowing him to use any means to change the social order because the ends justify the means. Yet from its first staging to the present, othello has also been among the few shakespearean plays to be repeatedly staged to enthusiastic audiences, not only in. These are just some of the topics covered by the online articles opposite, and that take the literary criticism of othello into new essay areas. Othello a2 critical quotes revision notes in a level.
A new interest in literary subgenres, including detective stories, science fiction, supernatural fiction and gothic fiction. Discover librarianselected research resources on othello from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Shakespeares other great tragedies hamlet, king lear and macbeth deal with issues that. But othello has adopted the christian faith of his peers and therefore believes in gods absolute moral standards, like goodness and truth. The tragedy of othello, the moor of venice, william shakespeare. Othello s jealousy the moral enigma of shakespeares othello othello as tragic hero iagos motives. When a group of critics generally agree on what to focus on in a work of literature, this is called a critical approach.
The volume includes a refreshing array of critical and ideological perspectives in essays which are uniformly scholarly and thorough in their treatment of the subject matter. Othello serves as an example to demonstrate the expectations of the elizabethan patriarchal society, the practice of privileges in patriarchal marriages, and the suppression and restriction of femininity. Admirable is the preparation, so truly and peculiarly shakspearian, in the introduction of roderigo, as the dupe on whom iago shall first exercise his art, and in so doing display his own character. Us custom essay service at your door step the global essay writing service delivering proquality help and secure experience to customers worldwide. With the unwitting aid of emilia, his wife, and the willing help of roderigo, a fellow malcontent, iago carries out his plan. Mar 30, 2020 jealous of othellos success and envious of cassio, iago plots othellos downfall by falsely implicating othellos wife, desdemona, and cassio in a love affair.
Although rymers hostility to othello and his overt racism make unpleasant reading for modern critics, a short view of tragedy is not without. In fact, on this interpretation, iago almost loves othello, precisely because he has given his tormentor the opportunity to exercise his greatest talent and achieve his highest joy. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Mar 31, 2020 this resource contains more than 20,000 critical essays from over 500 literary journals and 2,300 scholarly and critical books, including 700 titles published by blooms literary criticism and facts on file. Michael cassio as a foil to shakespeares othello inquiries.
Ebscohost serves thousands of libraries with premium essays, articles and other content including othello. To extend the aquatic imagery, othello is a play about fish out of water, not only with regards to othello s blackness amongst his white peers, but also in its investigation of what happens to military personnel when they are away from the frontline. The unraveling of shakespeares othello scholarship. There are several ways in which othello can be seen as a play about powerful narratives. Critical opinion there has been a great variety of critical approach to shakespeares work since his death.
Critical approaches to othello the british library. Critical analysis of othello introduction william shakespeares othello is an ideal example of a romantic tragedy. Thomas rymer was one of the plays earliest critics. Othello is the tragedy of a noble hero brought down by a fatal flaw jealousy in his character. As the play progresses and othello s character is more developed it is clear that he does not fit the limiting and racist description given to hi by iago and roderigo at the beginning and it also becomes evident that many of those around othello consider him to be an equalalbeit a peer with an interesting and exotic history and heritage. Reflecting the culture in which othello was written, none of the three female characters is ultimately treated as an equal by the men. Anyone who doubts that shakespeares greatest tragedies were written from an imaginative standpoint far ahead of his time need only think of othello. Othello second edition norton critical editions second. It is thought that his life and character were ruined by the art and skill of the incredible villain, iago. New historicists seek to place literary works within historical framework. The traditional critical approaches to literature have, over the last 30 years, been supplemented by newly prominent ideas, for example. Othello is believed to be one of the noblest characters in english literature.
Since then, much of the adverse criticism has not been considered relevant, although certain issues have continued to interest critics throughout the years. Feminist interpretation othello study guide from crossref. One of the questions that has most vexed critical commentary on othello is that of the responsibility for desdemonas death, some critics ascribing it to othello, others to iago, others to both. Critical approaches to othello it is sometimes thought that literary criticism is a process of decoding or unlocking a literary text, where a critic takes a difficult piece of literature and. The basic purpose of the study is the character analysis of othello and iago in the play othello by william shakespeare. Please follow this link to view resources that can be used to help students establish the background needed to analyze othello in the three critical lenses historical, cultural and feminist. Literary criticism on shakespeares famous play othello. Mar 15, 2016 there have been numerous interpretations of othello over the last 400 years. Othello is the famous play by william shakespeare presenting the tragic and crucial part of shakespeares writings.
The moral enigma of shakespeares othello othello as tragic hero iagos motives. Although othello has frequently been praised as william shakespeares most unified tragedy, many critics have found the central character to be the most. Silence, speech and gender in shakespeares othello. In othello shakespeare presents us with the tragic spectacle of a man who,in spirit of jealous rage,destroys what he loves best in all the world. This paper follows the critical lines of feminism and psychoanalysis to argue that othello is a conflict between female characters moral voices and male figures treacherous voices. Othello trusts iago too much and becomes easily convinced of this accusation.
Along with kolins substantial introductory survey of the plays critical and performance history, this book is bound to reinforce othello s extraordinary current appeal, not just to scholars and students of shakespeare but to nonacademic readers, theatrical audiences and moviegoers as well. Explore the play othello in the light of this view. This activity allows students to consider how different critical approaches can influence a reading of the play. The drama is based on the three characters namely othello, lago, and. Essays, articles and book excerpts on shakespeares othello. The following discussion sketches in broad strokes some of the most influential literary critical approaches to othello, including character criticism, formalism, psychoanalysis, and a range of politically inflected approaches such as feminism and new historicism. Critical analysis of the tragedy of othello essay critical writing. Dec 23, 2001 this is a wellorganized, comprehensive, and often innovative account of issues in current othello criticism. A literary reference to his life and work, critical companion. Mar 31, 2020 these scholarly articles focus on race in othello. New approaches since the 1970s new critical approaches over the last 30 years.
Iago maintains to the end the dreadful integrity of his own ignorance othello retains to the end his agonized incomprehension his love for desdemona was to him a marvellous revelation of himself she is going to heaven and he is going to. Virginia mason vaughan discusses four recent critical approaches. Jan 09, 20 a critical essay on william shakespeares othello othello is a play about powerful narratives. Othello s sharing of personal exotic narratives about his achievements that are true, iagos narratives that are completely untrue and have the. A research paper recommender system would greatly help researchers to find the most desirable papers, although this list suggests that there is a simple, linear process to writing such a paper, the actual process of writing a research paper.
Questions i investigated during the progress of this thesis included, but were not limited to, the following. Due to innumerable changes within society over time, it is inevitable that a wide range of critical interpretations and. Othello s aide iago kenneth branagh, jealous over the elevation of his rival, cassio nathaniel parker, the directors reallife brother to lieutenant, begins scheming to make othello believe. Critical approaches to othello and misunderstanding in othello. Pdf critical analysis of the characters othello and iago. Racism, misogyny and motiveless malignity in othello the british.
The unprotectedness of wives in othello ruth vanita university of montana missoula, ruth. In shakespeares othello, jealousy is mainly portrayed through the two major characters. We will be able to best realize the tragic effect jealousy if we consider first the nature of the relation between othello and desdemona. A feminist analysis of the play othello allows us to judge the different social values and status of women in the elizabethan society. Othello was crafted at the dawn of the 17th century, shaped by complex social and geopolitical issues that new historicist critics, who seek to. Othello critical views of othello king edward vii academy. A survey of criticism internet shakespeare editions. Cassio serves as a foil to othello in this manner because though each man has an injured ego and position in the venetian world, othello remains focused on the injury itself, no matter how valid it is, dwelling only on the hurt that desdemonas faithlessness caused him. List of books and articles about othello online research. Get an answer for what would a critical analysis of othello be. However, iagos cynical, amoral philosophy, which allows him to tell outrageous lies in the cause of personal advancement, destroys. Drawing on the concepts of jungian and freudian psychoanalysis, i argue that the association of female speech and silence with sexuality is a projection of.
I wanted an edition of othello that had the necessary footnotes, background material, and a good selection of recent critical articles that would be accessible to students and would spark class discussions. Othello criticism john bayley no one in othello comes to understand himself or anyone else. Ruth vanita a surprisingly large number of elizabethan and jacobean plays represent or culminate in the murder of a wife, the reason cited almost always being her infidelity. All he can think about is getting revenge on desdemona. The text published in the first folio of 1623 seems to have been based on a version revised by shakespeare himself that sticks close to the original almost line by line but introduces numerous. Also, how does the issue of othello s race impact contemporary readings of the text of the play. The character of othello is comparatively simple, but, as i have dwelt on the prominence of intrigue and accident in the play, it is desirable to show how essentially the success of iagos plot is connected with this character. Othello was crafted at the dawn of the 17th century, shaped by complex social and geopolitical issues that new historicist critics, who seek to place literary works within a historical framework, have recently sought to unravel. Othello essay features samuel taylor coleridges famous critique based on his legendary and influential shakespeare notes and lectures. The tragedy othello focuses on the doom of othello and the other major characters as a result of jealousy. Racism, misogyny and motiveless malignity in othello. Othello falls right into iagos trap when he hears this news.
People who mention othello in their critical commentary emphasize more on its main characters including othello, desdemona and lago and their bonds with one another. But a historicist reading could examine his depiction of women as a product of his time and culture. Scholarly databases and articles shakespeares tragedies. A literary analysis of the jealousy in othello by william. Othello characters analysis features noted shakespeare scholar william hazlitts famous critical essay about othello s characters. The jacobean view of venetian women, in particular the idea that they were sexually immoral compounds how credible roderigo, and othello, find iagos portrayal of desdemona. Drawing on the concepts of jungian and freudian psychoanalysis, i argue that the association of female speech and silence with sexuality is a projection of misogynist and racist discourses. In trying to establish the honesty of his ensign and the conduct of his wife.
Although it remains impossible for the reader to forget that othello is different, particularly in terms of race when performing a c lose reading of passages in othello that are most attuned to this theme, it is equally impossible to view him in the base and insulting terms given to him by iago and roderigo. In an oftquoted 1975 article titled othello s handkerchief. Essays and articles on shakespeares othello shakespeare online. Constance intervenes in the plot of othello, revealing to othello that iago is trying to trick him. We observe his plot to destroy othello by instilling jealousy and incidentally cassio and desdemona. Due to innumerable changes within society over time, it is inevitable that a wide range of critical interpretations and readings of the text will emerge. Perceptions of race in othello by shakespeare article myriad. The basic idea of the play is so well known that its easy to forget the startling boldness of shakespeares decision to take cinthios brief tale of a doomed mixedrace marriage and transform it into a heartbreaking. Suffice it to say, there is a large body of evidence to support this critical stance. Although othello has regularly been praised as william shakespeares most cohesive tragedy, many critics have discovered the.
The relationship between othello and iago shakespeare and race. Lecture on othello othellos jealousy shakespeare online. Perhaps iago is the only person not puzzled by iago, and there are signs in the play that he isnt entirely clear about iago either. The marriage between othello and desdemona is a real marriage of true minds, a true love based on a mutual. The recognizance and pledge of love, for instance, lynda boose argues that the strawberryspotted handkerchief given to desdemona by her husband gathers a heavy symbolic burden in the course of the play as it comes to stand for that much larger expanse of fabric, the couples. Pdf critical analysis of the characters othello and iago in. They have been written by ben arogundade, author of the shakespeare mashup.
Oct 29, 2014 othello is the famous play by william shakespeare presenting the tragic and crucial part of shakespeares writings. Often described as a tragedy of character, much of the critical commentary of othello focuses on the main characters of the play othello, iago, and desdemonaand their relationships. Othello essay william shakespeares othello tells a story of the tragic downfall of a man through jealousy and mistrust, influenced by the manipulative actions of another. It tells a story in which reality brings the play to its tragic end against events which involve the themes of greed, jealousy, revenge and appearance. Bernard begins his article by identifying the friction that exists between the performed text and that which appears in print, or more precisely, the opposing scholarly positions that such a division creates. This article also tries to explore different aspects of the personality of the character and provides a critical analysis on the same.
Othello, in full othello, the moor of venice, tragedy in five acts by william shakespeare, written in 160304 and published in 1622 in a quarto edition from a transcript of an authorial manuscript. This resource contains more than 20,000 critical essays from over 500 literary journals and 2,300 scholarly and critical books, including 700 titles published by blooms literary criticism and facts. Racism, misogyny and motiveless malignity in othello the. Theme of jealousy in othello throughout shakespeares othello, jealousy is apparent. Yet from its first staging to the present, othello has also been among the few shakespearean plays to be repeatedly staged to enthusiastic audiences, not only. Cassio, comparatively, is quick to forgive the injury of othells. An international journal of undergraduate research and criticism in the discipline of. The monster in the moor university of south carolina.
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