1. Shakespearean Tragedy Othello

2. Shakespeare’s Use of Language Essential pattern is blank verse—unrhymed iambic pentameter Iambic pentameter is meter that Shakespeare nearly always used when writing in verse. Most of his plays were written in iambic pentameter, except for lower- class characters who speak in prose.  Iambic Pentameter has:  Ten syllables in each line  Five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables  The rhythm in each line sounds like: ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM

3. Shakespeare’s Use of Language Whenever a reader notices a change in this pattern there is a reason for the change. With the change, Shakespeare is creating a mood, or establishing character.  Be aware of shifts. For example: Othello’s lines as jealousy consumes him (Act III) Iago’s use of varied rhyme and rhythm in his soliloquies (Act II, Scene 1) Desdemona’s song (Act IV)

4. Figurative Language (especially simile and metaphor) Shakespeare’s characters often speak in similes and metaphors—to expand ideas and amplify imagery.  Be certain not to miss the “like” or “as” or the text will seem incomprehensible.

5. Dramatic Conventions and Author’s Techniques Soliloquy: is a monologue. The character is alone on stage. It is a device the playwright uses to give the audience insight into the character’s thoughts and emotions. Aside: gives the audience insight into the character. Here the character is speaking either to himself or directly to the audience. There are other characters onstage who do not hear the aside. Foil: is a character who highlights or emphasizes certain traits of the main character by contrasting them.

6. The Tragic Hero According to Aristotle, a tragic hero was a man who rose to a high position and then fell from that high position. Usually there is only one tragic hero  Shakespeare’s tragedies are stories of one person, the “hero”  The Love Tragedies (Romeo and Juliet; Antony and Cleopatra) are exceptions to this pattern.

7. The Tragic Hero and the Tragic Story The tragic story leads up to, and includes, the death of the hero. The suffering and calamity are exceptional. They are contrasted with previous happiness and/or glory that took place before. The hero falls unexpectedly from a high place; thus, the catastrophe will be of monumental proportions.

8. Only great men qualify as tragic heroes Peasants do not inspire pity and fear as great men do. A great man’s fate affects the welfare of a whole nation or empire. A story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man of high estate. The calamities of tragedy proceed mainly from actions of men. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are responsible for the catastrophe of their falls. In Shakespeare, the hero recognizes his own responsibility for the catastrophe which befalls him too late to prevent his death.

9. The Abnormal, the Supernatural, Fate/Fortune/Chance Shakespeare occasionally represents abnormal conditions of the mind: insanity, hallucinations. Shakespeare introduces the supernatural: ghosts and witches. Men may start a course of events but can neither calculate nor control it.  Example: Desdemona lost her handkerchief at exactly the fatal moment. Action of the protagonist/tragic hero is often motivated by external and internal conflicts, which lead to complications from which further conflicts arise (snowballing effect), driving the action toward a tragic resolution.

10. Tragic Conflict External Internal Usually there are two persons, of whom the hero is one—or two parties or group, one of which the hero leads—or the passions, ideas, forces which animate these persons or groups.  The conflict between the group ends with the defeat of the hero. Shakespeare’s tragic hero, though he pursues his fated way, is torn by an inward struggle. Includes the action of “spiritual forces”.  These spiritual forces include doubts, desires, scruples, ideas—whatever can shake, possess, animate, and drive a man’s soul.

11. Common Qualities of the Tragic Hero/Protagonist They contribute to their own destruction by actions they take in which we see a flaw in their character.  Tragic flaw—a defect in the protagonist that brings about his or her downfall (hamartia) They have a fatal gift (fierce, determination, fixed ideas) and when nobility of mind, or genius are joined to it, we realize the full power and the conflict which it engages which stirs not only sympathy and pity, but admiration, terror, and awe. The flaw often takes the form of obsession.  Hubris: derived from the Greek word hubris, means “excessive pride.” In Greek tragedy, hubris is often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are generally good.

12. The Tragic Pattern in Five Acts (Summary) Dealing with a man of high estate: a king, a prince, a general, etc. Normally, we will hear about the tragic hero from others before he makes an entrance in the play—this is where we are given the first impression of the greatness of the tragic hero through the eyes of others. Within the first two acts, we will become aware of a driving force within the hero that is almost, obsessive in nature. As the inner and outer conflicts become more apparent as the hero pursues his course, time becomes more important. The pace and urgency pick up in the third act. Contributing to and furthering the obsession of the tragic flaw are supernatural suggestion, and accident or chance.

13. (Summary continued) As the flaw continue, new conflicts arise which bring about the death or alienation of all forms of support for the hero, so that by the end, he must face the consequences alone. What we see during alienation is suffering, sleeplessness, rage, confusion, and violence. At some point, the hero will realize his error that is bringing about his fall. Knowing that he alone is to blame is called the Tragic Recognition. Tragic recognition occurs when there is no time to correct the error: it is too late.

14. Tragic Structure Tragedy can be divided into 4 parts. EXPOSITION—We are made aware of the general setting, persons, character traits, problems, and potential conflicts. We also know who our protagonist or tragic hero is. DEVELOPMENT—Comprising the 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th acts. This consists of the beginning, growth, and nature of the conflict. It unveils the complications arising from the conflicts. The tragic hero begins to alienate his allies, until he is alone. DEVELOPMENT:FALLING ACTION—Takes place late in the 4 th act. Opposing forces begin to resist and to make place for the removal of the tragic hero, and the hero’s power is declining. TRAGIC RESOLUTION—In the final act, the opposition defeats/destroys the isolated weakened hero and order becomes restored.

15. Setting Setting (time) · Late sixteenth century, during the wars between Venice and Turkey Setting (place) · Venice in Act I; the island of Cyprus thereafter

17. THE CHARACTERS

18. Types of People in Othello Venetians  Most are noblemen and women (Brabantio, Desdemona, Roderigo)  Also, there are the nobles’ servants (Emilia)  Some are soldiers (Othello, Cassio, Iago)  Others are part of Venetian government (the Duke)

19. Othello is subtitled, “The Moor of Venice” The word “Moor” comes from Mauri, the name of an old tribe in the area of present day Morocco in northern Africa. Their northern-African kingdom was known as Mauretania.  The descendents of the Mauri became Muslims very early in Islamic history.  Between the years 1609 and 1614, all Moors were expelled from the few regions in Spain where they remained.  The first recorded performance of Othello was in 1604, during the time when Christian European tolerance of Muslims was greatly strained. It is significant to remember that Othello is the tragic hero of the play, not the villain.

20. 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. 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.

21. Culture of the time—Women A typical wife receiving her instruction The husband, in the accepted role as head of the household, gives moral direction to his wife and children--who sit obediently listening.

22. Evil Women! The men in Othello have differing views of women – from Othello who idolizes 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. In the Elizabethan times there was a long and well established tradition in the Church of what we would now 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!

23. The Cuckold * Any man whose wife cheated on him (without his knowledge) was known as a cuckold. * The word derives from “cuckoo” – the bird known for laying their eggs in another’s nest. * It was highly undesirable to be considered a cuckold. * All of the community would find out about it and it was considered a public humiliation. * 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.