Constance intervenes in the plot of othello, revealing to othello that iago is trying to trick him. 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. 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. This activity allows students to consider how different critical approaches can influence a reading of the play. The tragedy of othello, the moor of venice, william shakespeare.
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. Othello is the tragedy of a noble hero brought down by a fatal flaw jealousy in his character. 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. 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. With the unwitting aid of emilia, his wife, and the willing help of roderigo, a fellow malcontent, iago carries out his plan. Reflecting the culture in which othello was written, none of the three female characters is ultimately treated as an equal by the men. 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. Jan 09, 20 a critical essay on william shakespeares othello othello is a play about powerful narratives. 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. The unraveling of shakespeares othello scholarship. They have been written by ben arogundade, author of the shakespeare mashup. 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.
The marriage between othello and desdemona is a real marriage of true minds, a true love based on a mutual. There are several ways in which othello can be seen as a play about powerful narratives. The unprotectedness of wives in othello ruth vanita university of montana missoula, ruth. It is thought that his life and character were ruined by the art and skill of the incredible villain, iago. But othello has adopted the christian faith of his peers and therefore believes in gods absolute moral standards, like goodness and truth. Essays, articles and book excerpts on shakespeares othello. A survey of criticism internet shakespeare editions. Othello is the famous play by william shakespeare presenting the tragic and crucial part of shakespeares writings.
A literary analysis of the jealousy in othello by william. 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. Questions i investigated during the progress of this thesis included, but were not limited to, the following. We will be able to best realize the tragic effect jealousy if we consider first the nature of the relation between othello and desdemona.
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. Shakespeares other great tragedies hamlet, king lear and macbeth deal with issues that. 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. Iago is a moral relativist, allowing him to use any means to change the social order because the ends justify the means. 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. 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. Literary criticism on shakespeares famous play othello. A literary reference to his life and work, critical companion. Mar 31, 2020 these scholarly articles focus on race in othello.
All he can think about is getting revenge on desdemona. We observe his plot to destroy othello by instilling jealousy and incidentally cassio and desdemona. Since then, much of the adverse criticism has not been considered relevant, although certain issues have continued to interest critics throughout the years. Critics on othello rather may we ask here what unnatural crime desdemona or her parents had committed, to bring this judgment down upon her. Michael cassio as a foil to shakespeares othello inquiries.
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. Critical approaches to othello what do new historicists do. Ebscohost serves thousands of libraries with premium essays, articles and other content including othello. 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. 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. It has been accepted for inclusion in scripps senior theses by. Anyone who doubts that shakespeares greatest tragedies were written from an imaginative standpoint far ahead of his time need only think of othello.
A feminist analysis of the play othello allows us to judge the different social values and status of women in the elizabethan society. Detailed information on shakespeares othello from scholars and editors, from your trusted shakespeare source. The relationship between othello and iago shakespeare and race. Thomas rymer was one of the plays earliest critics. Although othello has regularly been praised as william shakespeares most cohesive tragedy, many critics have discovered the. A critical essay on william shakespeares othello the. Critical analysis of the tragedy of othello essay critical writing. List of books and articles about othello online research.
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. 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. Although rymers hostility to othello and his overt racism make unpleasant reading for modern critics, a short view of tragedy is not without. Othello essay features samuel taylor coleridges famous critique based on his legendary and influential shakespeare notes and lectures. Get an answer for what would a critical analysis of othello be. Othello was crafted at the dawn of the 17th century, shaped by complex social and geopolitical issues that new historicist critics, who seek to. Dec 23, 2001 this is a wellorganized, comprehensive, and often innovative account of issues in current othello criticism. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. 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. 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. 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. Although othello has frequently been praised as william shakespeares most unified tragedy, many critics have found the central character to be the most. The tragedy othello focuses on the doom of othello and the other major characters as a result of jealousy.
Critical approaches to othello and misunderstanding in othello. Also, how does the issue of othello s race impact contemporary readings of the text of the play. 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. Essays and articles on shakespeares othello shakespeare online. New historicists seek to place literary works within historical framework. Critical opinion there has been a great variety of critical approach to shakespeares work since his death. Jan 15, 2010 merely having othello done away with would not have satisfied his craving to scheme against others. 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. Cassio, comparatively, is quick to forgive the injury of othells.
Othello s sharing of personal exotic narratives about his achievements that are true, iagos narratives that are completely untrue and have the. 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. A new interest in literary subgenres, including detective stories, science fiction, supernatural fiction and gothic fiction. Suffice it to say, there is a large body of evidence to support this critical stance. 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. Pdf critical analysis of the characters othello and iago in the play. He is overcome with jealousy when iago tells him of desdemonas unfaithfulness. 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. Due to innumerable changes within society over time, it is inevitable that a wide range of critical interpretations and. Scholarly databases and articles shakespeares tragedies. 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. Critical analysis of othello introduction william shakespeares othello is an ideal example of a romantic tragedy. Lecture on othello othellos jealousy shakespeare online.
Theme of jealousy in othello throughout shakespeares othello, jealousy is apparent. Othello characters analysis features noted shakespeare scholar william hazlitts famous critical essay about othello s characters. 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. The traditional critical approaches to literature have, over the last 30 years, been supplemented by newly prominent ideas, for example.
The drama is based on the three characters namely othello, lago, and. Othello critical views of othello king edward vii academy. Students will work in groups to explore different attitudes to othello by looking at a range of texts from the. 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. But a historicist reading could examine his depiction of women as a product of his time and culture. In an oftquoted 1975 article titled othello s handkerchief. Othello a2 critical quotes revision notes in a level. New approaches since the 1970s new critical approaches over the last 30 years. Explore the play othello in the light of this view. 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. Racism, misogyny and motiveless malignity in othello the british. The moral enigma of shakespeares othello othello as tragic hero iagos motives. Racism, misogyny and motiveless malignity in othello the. Virginia mason vaughan discusses four recent critical approaches. The basic purpose of the study is the character analysis of othello and iago in the play othello by william shakespeare.
Pdf critical analysis of the characters othello and iago in. 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. 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. 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. 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. Feminist interpretation othello study guide from crossref. Articles and essays were selected from several periodicals.
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. Pdf critical analysis of the characters othello and iago. Critical approaches to othello the british library. However, iagos cynical, amoral philosophy, which allows him to tell outrageous lies in the cause of personal advancement, destroys. 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. Discover librarianselected research resources on othello from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. Othello second edition norton critical editions second. Play construction and the suffering and murder of desdemona lectures on 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. 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. Materials i discussed in this thesis included a number of articles and essays, as well as a handful of monographs.
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. 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. 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. This article also tries to explore different aspects of the personality of the character and provides a critical analysis on the same.
Oct 29, 2014 othello is the famous play by william shakespeare presenting the tragic and crucial part of shakespeares writings. 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. Othello criticism john bayley no one in othello comes to understand himself or anyone else. 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. We know his actions perfectly well, and he works as a dramatic figure, but we dont understand why he does what he does we dont grasp his motivation. In trying to establish the honesty of his ensign and the conduct of his wife. Othello falls right into iagos trap when he hears this news. Mar 15, 2016 there have been numerous interpretations of othello over the last 400 years. 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. When a group of critics generally agree on what to focus on in a work of literature, this is called a critical approach. 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 trusts iago too much and becomes easily convinced of this accusation.
Racism, misogyny and motiveless malignity in othello. Othello is believed to be one of the noblest characters in english literature. They have been written by ben arogundade, author of. Us custom essay service at your door step the global essay writing service delivering proquality help and secure experience to customers worldwide. Critical analysis of the tragedy of othello 971 words critical. Othello s jealousy the moral enigma of shakespeares othello othello as tragic hero iagos motives.
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