Background to Othello

DATE Othello was likely written in 1604, after Hamlet and before King Lear. It was performed at court in Whitehall for King James I in November 1604, but may have been previously performed at the Globe. The play was not published in Shakespeare's lifetime but appeared in a Quarto in 1622, the First Folio in 1623, and a second Quarto in 1630.

SOURCES The play is based on a novella in Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi in 1565, which was possibly read in a 1584 French translation. Shakespeare follows Cinthio΄s plot quite closely, except in the original, Othello returns to Venice to be murdered by his wife’s family. Shakespeare also invented the character of Roderigo. However, the moral of Cinthio’s cautionary tale about the sad end that waits young women who disobey their parents is completely transformed in Shakespeare’s play.

THEMES Othello is the story of a General in the Venetian army who is targeted by Iago, a trusted soldier who enacts his revenge on him over the course of the play with tragic results. The reasons behind Iago’s actions and jealousy are subject to lots of debate. There are lots of themes in Othello, including: Jealousy Revenge Importance of Reputation Deception / Honesty (Appearance vs Reality) Prejudice Mistrust of Women (Misogyny) Love and Marriage

GENRE: Othello – A DOMESTIC Tragedy Othello encompasses elements of tragedies such as: It ends with the death/catastrophe of numerous characters including the title character The protagonist is a venerable general, but deeply flawed Free will is insisted upon –the protagonist makes choices that lead to his fall Yet, unlike classical tragedy, Othello is set in a domestic environment and built around protagonists of more modest status than traditional tragic subjects, who are of kingly or aristocratic rank. Domestic tragedy was a subgenre that flourished on the Renaissance stage from 1580-1620. 

IS OTHELLO A TRAGIC HERO OR A FOOL? Tragic flaw: a defect in the protagonist that brings about his or her downfall or an error of judgment (according to Aristotle ‘s Poetics). Tragic hero: the main character of great importance to his state or culture and who is conventionally of noble birth and high social station, the ruler or an important leader in his society. Does Othello belong in that category? Does his fall provoke the emotions of pity and fear (Aristotle)? Hubris: derived from the Greek word hybris, it means “excessive pride.” In Greek tragedy, hubris is often viewed as the flaw/error that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero. 6

Setting (place) · Venice in Act I; the island of Cyprus THE SETTING Setting (time) · Late sixteenth century, during the wars between Venice and Turkey Setting (place) · Venice in Act I; the island of Cyprus Cyprus is an exotic and strange country not only to the audience but also to most of the characters, who go there to fight against the Turkish fleet.

Venice: does it represent ORDER/RULE OF REASON? http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcitaly.htm

16th century map of Cyprus CYPRUS: DISORDER/RULE OF PASSION? 16th century map of Cyprus Cyprus is a war zone, a place of violence, where the characters’ attitudes and behaviour changes. Venetian dominions such as Cyprus were like Venice itself peopled with representatives of diverse nations. We know from contemporary accounts that Venetians, Cypriots, Jews and Turks lived on the island, which had been culturally diverse since the medieval period.

THE CHARACTERS

Kiernan Ryan: In a country where few people outside London would ever have seen a black person, and centuries before the problems that fuel the tragedy became as ubiquitous and pressing as they are today, Shakespeare produced in Othello a searing critique of racial and sexual injustice.

Venetians and the Moor Venetians Noblemen and women (Brabantio, Desdemona, Roderigo) Soldiers (Cassio [from Florence], Iago [possibly from Spain]) The nobles’ servants (Emilia) Othello is a Moor Discriminated against because of his race (black) Othello has been accepted in some ways because he is a Christian and a great general Yet his marriage to Desdemona exposes the prejudice against him. Othello’s vulnerability as a black outsider, who unconsciously shares the white perception of his blackness, is inseparable from his subjection to a patriarchal concept of masculinity and a misogynistic concept of marriage that are just as endemic as racism in Venetian culture,

Othello Moors: Muslim people of Arab and Berber descent from northwest Africa. The term Moor comes from the Greek work mauros meaning dark or very black. In the Renaissance, the term has also been used in Europe in a broader sense to refer to anyone of Arab or African descent, whether living in Spain or North Africa. Renaissance representations of the Moor were vague, varied, inconsistent, and contradictory. As critics have established, the term “Moor” referred to dark-skinned people in general, used interchangeably with similarly ambiguous terms as African, Ethiopian and even Indian to designate a figure from Africa (or beyond), an Other

SO, Is Othello north African or a sub-Saharan African? The play is often discussed about as being about race, provoking lots of debates whenever it is performed. The word Moor is used a lot in the play and Othello is referred to as a "Barbary horse" (1.1.113), a "lascivious Moor" (1.1.127), and "the devil" (1.1.91). In Renaissance drama, Moors often represented the Other, the opposite of the European “civilized” self. Most critics today suggest that the racial identity of the character of Othello fit more clearly as a man from Sub-Saharan Africa than from North Africa (Barbary). Roderigo’s description of Othello having "thick lips" was a racial stereotype used by 16th century explorers for southern Africans. ]Modern-day readers and theatre directors lean away from a North African Moorish interpretation.

Iago Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains, often considered so because of the unique trust Othello puts in him, which he betrays while maintaining his reputation of honesty and dedication. Iago is a malcontent – he has a bitter and cynical view of the world around him. Conscienceless, and amused by his own cunning. Related to Vice, the figure of personified evil, from the medieval morality play whose role is to lure humankind away from virtue. Takes audience into his confidence, boasts of his cleverness, exults in the triumph of evil, and improvises plans with resourcefulness The name Iago is a shortened version of the Spanish name “Santiago” or “St James”. Saint James of Spain was also known as “St James the Moor Killer” which seems appropriate within the play.

Imagery and symbol Images are focused on the natural world. Important patterns – contrast of light and dark, black and white. Many animal images: goats, monkeys, wolves, baboons, guinea hens, wildcats, spiders, flies, asses, dogs, horses, sheep, serpents, and The handkerchief: One of the things Iago is very good at doing in this play is controlling other people. He even manages to make Othello think Desdemona has stopped loving him and is in love with Cassio. One of the reasons Othello starts to believe this is because of a handkerchief which he had from his mother and offered as a present to Desdemona.

Love-marriage-misogyny Cultural background

A typical wife receiving her instruction The Wife’s Status The husband, in the accepted role as head of the household, gives moral direction to his wife and children--who sit obediently listening. A typical wife receiving her instruction

Evil Women The men in the play have differing views of women – from Othello who idolizes/idealizes his wife (Desdemona) to Iago who sees love as "merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will“. The attitudes of the audience at the time are likely to have been varied too. Iago: Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see; / She has deceived her father, and may thee’ (1.3.292-3). In the Elizabethan period there was a long and well established tradition of what we would call misogyny – women were distrusted simply because they were women. At the time it was assumed that women would cheat – it was part of their nature…

The Cuckold Any man whose wife cheated on him was known as a cuckold. The word derives from “cuckoo” – the bird known for laying their eggs in another’s nest. It was highly humiliating for a husband to be considered a cuckold. Cuckolds were often described as having horns – a hangover from the days when a cuckold was forced to parade around his town wearing antlers as a sign of his wife’s infidelity. Othello's dread of cuckoldry and the misogyny that feeds it are perfectly in tune with the patriarchal culture of a city where his colour makes him feel like an alien, but where he’s entirely at home as a man.

Jealousy Jealousy was viewed as something irrational and linked to the deadly sin of envy. It was considered a sudden infection against which there was no prevention or cure. It was thought of as eroding trust and it dissolved the bonds holding together marriages, families and social frameworks. Being jealous could let in evil and chaos and it was a state greatly feared by Shakespeare’s audiences.

Deception AND SELF-DECEPTION Iago - describing Othello: “loving his own pride and purposes” Iago - speaking about his relationship with Othello: “I follow him to serve my turn upon him” Iago - speaking about himself: “I am not what I am”. Othello - speaking about himself: “My parts, my title and my perfect soul shall manifest me rightly” Othello - about Iago: “A man he is of honesty and trust”. Seeming vs being (repetition of verb to seem throughout)

Past productions The first actor to play the title role in Othello was Richard Burbage, who along with William Shakespeare, was a leading member of the King’s Men theatre company. Burbage was amazing in the role according to tributes made after his death in 1615.  After the Restoration and the re-opening of the theatres, Margaret Hughes became the first recorded woman to perform on the English stage, when she played Desdemona on 8 December 1660. In the 19th century , Othello was usually performed as an Arab Moor, starting with Edmund Kean's production of 1814. Not until the 1830s did a black actor play the title role when Ira Aldridge toured Europe to great acclaim. Nearly 100 years later, the black singer, activist and actor Paul Robeson was a memorable Othello.

Paul Robeson, the son of a run – away slave, was a very successful Othello-- 296 performances in Broadway alone (1943). This production was the first ever in America to feature a black actor playing Othello with an otherwise all-white cast (there had been all-black productions of the play before). Before productions in London and New York, there was tension at the prospect of an African–American man kissing a white woman (Peggy Ashcroft as Desdemona in the London production and Uta Hagen in the New York one).  

In 1997, Patrick Stewart took the role with the Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, D.C.) in a race- bending performance, in a "photo negative" production of a white Othello with an otherwise all-black cast.  In 2015 Iqbal Khan’s ground-breaking production of Othello was the first RSC production to cast a black actor, Lucian Msamati, as Iago.