Othello - HALCYON DAZE...

Othello

William Shakespeare

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The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ?1998-2002; ?2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design? and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". ? 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". ? 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copywritten by BookRags, Inc. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher.

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................1 Author Biography.........................................................................................................2 Summary and Analysis.................................................................................................4

Act 1......................................................................................................................4 Act 2......................................................................................................................4 Act 3......................................................................................................................5 Act 4......................................................................................................................6 Act 5......................................................................................................................7 Act 1, Scene 1.................................................................................................................8 Act 1, Scene 2...............................................................................................................10 Act 1, Scene 3...............................................................................................................11 Act 2, Scene 1...............................................................................................................13 Act 2, Scene 2...............................................................................................................16 Act 2, Scene 3...............................................................................................................17 Act 3, Scene 1...............................................................................................................20 Act 3, Scene 2...............................................................................................................22

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Table of Contents

Act 3, Scene 3...............................................................................................................23

Act 3, Scene 4...............................................................................................................28

Act 4, Scene 1...............................................................................................................31

Act 4, Scene 2...............................................................................................................34

Act 4, Scene 3...............................................................................................................36

Act 5, Scene 1...............................................................................................................38

Act 5, Scene 2...............................................................................................................40

Characters....................................................................................................................43 Attendants:..........................................................................................................43 Bianca:................................................................................................................43 Brabantio:...........................................................................................................43 Cassio:.................................................................................................................44 Clown:.................................................................................................................45 Desdemona:........................................................................................................46 Duke of Venice:..................................................................................................47 Emilia:.................................................................................................................47 Gentlemen (of Cyprus):......................................................................................48 Gratiano:.............................................................................................................49 Herald:................................................................................................................49 Iago:....................................................................................................................49 Lodovico:............................................................................................................51 Messenger:..........................................................................................................52

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Table of Contents

Characters Montana:.............................................................................................................52 Musicians:...........................................................................................................53 Officers:..............................................................................................................53 Othello:...............................................................................................................53 Roderigo:............................................................................................................55 Sailors:................................................................................................................56 Senators:.............................................................................................................57 Venice (Duke of Venice):...................................................................................57

Character Studies........................................................................................................59

Conclusion....................................................................................................................61

Themes.........................................................................................................................62 Jealousy...............................................................................................................62 Sexuality.............................................................................................................63

Principal Topics...........................................................................................................64

Style..............................................................................................................................66 Irony....................................................................................................................66 Chronology.........................................................................................................67

Historical Context.......................................................................................................69 The Moorish Ambassador and the Banishment of Africans...............................69 Trade and Exploration........................................................................................69

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Modern Connections...................................................................................................71 Critical Overview........................................................................................................74 Criticism.......................................................................................................................77 Critical Essay #1..........................................................................................................78 Critical Essay #2..........................................................................................................85 Critical Essay #3........................................................................................................101 Critical Essay #4........................................................................................................112 Critical Essay #5........................................................................................................123 Critical Essay #6........................................................................................................133 Critical Essay #7........................................................................................................137 Critical Essay #8........................................................................................................150 Critical Essay #9........................................................................................................166 Critical Essay #10......................................................................................................186 Media Adaptations....................................................................................................191

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Topics for Further Study..........................................................................................193 Compare and Contrast.............................................................................................194 What Do I Read Next?..............................................................................................195 Sources for Further Study........................................................................................196

Literary Commentary........................................................................................196 Copyright Information.............................................................................................201

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Introduction

Othello is unique among Shakespeare's great tragedies. Unlike Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, which are set against a backdrop of affairs of state and which reverberate with suggestions of universal human concerns, Othello is set in a private world and focuses on the passions and personal lives of its major figures. Indeed, it has often been described as a "tragedy of character"; Othello's swift descent into jealousy and rage and Iago's dazzling display of villainy have long fascinated students and critics of the play. The relationship between these characters is another unusual feature of Othello. With two such prominent characters so closely associated, determining which is the central figure in the play and which bears the greater responsibility for the tragedy is difficult. Written in 1604, Othello is one of Shakespeare's most highly concentrated, tightly constructed tragedies, with no subplots and little humor to relieve the tension. Although he adapted the plot of his play from the sixteenth-century Italian dramatist and novelist Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi, Shakespeare related almost every incident directly to the development of Iago's schemes and Othello's escalating fears. This structure heightens the tragedy's omi nous mood and makes the threat to both Desdemona's innocence and the love she and Othello share more terrifying. Although narrow in scope, Othello, with its intimate domestic setting, is widely regarded as the most moving of Shakespeare's great tragedies.

Introduction

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Author Biography

William Shakespeare's life was a source of mystery and controversy among scholars of English literature. What little was known of his life was gleaned from documentary evidence and writings of his contemporaries. Shakespeare himself left no writings concerning his personal life and thus remained a frustrating enigma for biographers and critics alike.

Shakespeare was born to parents Mary and John Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. Church records show that he was baptized on April 26, 1564; from this, scholars extrapolate that he was born several days earlier, and so April 23, 1564, is the traditional dating of his birth.

Shakespeare's father was a glover and was active in town government. That John Shakespeare's fortunes began to decline in about 1576 suggested to some scholars that the family may have been Catholic or had Catholic sympathies at a time when membership in the Church of England was required for any kind of social or financial standing.

It was assumed that Shakespeare attended the Stratford grammar school, where he would have learned Latin and studied the classics in depth, although little was known of his young life. In November 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. Hathaway was eight years his senior and was pregnant with their first child at the time of their marriage. The couple had three children: Susanna, born in 1583, and the twins, Judith and Hamnet, born in 1585.

At this point, Shakespeare disappeared from records known as of 2004. Then he reappeared in 1592 in theatrical circles in London. Both Robert Greene and Thomas Nashe referred to Shakespeare in print. In 1593, poems by Shakespeare appeared in print. In all, Shakespeare composed some 154 sonnets during these early years.

Author Biography

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