Othello Critical Texts

who wrote about the inevitability of tragedy in Shakesperian plays

david scott katsan

what sort of logic did katsan say Shakesperian tragedies have → maybe link to Iago

‘desolating, controlling logic’

who wrote about the tragic hero in shakespeare - is this Othello or could it be Desdemona?

A C Bradley

what does Bradley argue tragic heroes like Othello are, and how might we undermine Othello as a tragic hero/how does his ending become more ambiguous

retain status and significance, othello is simultaneously a hero and the ‘other’

who talked about the simulatenous fantasy of othello [quote]

ania loomba, ‘othello is simultaneously a fantasy of interracial love and social tolerance, and a nightmare of racial hatred and masculinity’

who explored the uncomfortable and inexplicable pleasure we gain from tragedy

A. D. Nuttall

building on Nuttall’s interpretation of the pleasure of tragedy, who could we say the audience is perhaps likened to/complicit with in the construction of the play

iago

who talks about the civilising power of love (e.g. through changing language) in Othello

Catherine Bates

what did Samuel Taylor Coleridge describe Iago as

the motive hunting of a motiveless malignity

how does Samuel taylor Coleridge describe the changes to Othello and our perception of him

othello first becomes our acquaintance, then our friend, then the object of our anxiety

who talked about female sexuality as all encompassing and the gaping ‘nothing’, which scares men

terry eagleton

who analyses the strawberry handkerchief as a symbol of virginity and consumation

lynda boose

who identifies how the three women of the play, all of different statuses, face charges of sexual misconduct and respond to these charges in different ways

lisa jardine

what scene does othello publicly defame desdemona

act 4 scene 2

what solidifies Desdemona’s reputation as being ruined

when Emilia overhears Othello (private into public sphere)

who compared Othello to Adam and the temptation in the garden of eden

Irving Ribner

who describes ‘honest’ Iago merely as a magnifying glass for the tensions already present in Venice and in Othello’s marriage to Desdemona

Hao You

who argued that Iago no longer represents the ubiquity of Satan (for a modern audience) but instead racial aggression

germaine greer

who argued Shakespeare’s plays present women and men as equals, and what scene might support this

dusinberre, 4.3

who argued that desdemona transgresses social norms of the play, and is punished as a desiring women, but is presented throughout by Shakespeare as sympathetic and virtuous

karen newman

what did J. W. Lever argue about tragedy and the tragic hero

Lever argued tragedies are about societies not the heroes, and its society which stands condemned at the end

who said that interpeting shakespeare’s villains as evil deflects away from the political significance of the play

dolimore and sinfield

what work was Othello inspired by

Cinthio’s Hecatommithi

in Hecatommithi, why does Iago start the drama between the moor and Desdemona - arguably different/more implicit in Othello

he’s in love with Desdemona and jealous

what year was there a production of Othello where all characters but Othello were black, subverting/exploring the outsider-insider status and cultural differences

1997

what wars take place in the backdrop of othello

ottoman-venetian wars

what were the ottoman-venetian wars also a conflict of

islam vs christianity

Iago’s references to Othello as ‘black’ are also loaded with what

moral undertones

what classical tragic traits does othello possess

hamartia (fatal flaw), anagnorisis (becoming aware of his mistake) and catharsis (in a way)

how could we question the tragedy of othello

treatment of othello’s fatal flaw, complex role of iago

how many times is the word ‘honest’ used in the play (most regularly repeated word)

52 times

what quote could be seen as capturing the oxymoronic status of Othello according to the Venetians, and how does Iago describe him

‘noble moor’, ‘erring barbarian’

when does a double time scheme emerge (days/weeks passing without a scene break)

act 3 scene 3