Othello Context

Year written

• 1604

• Jacobean

• First year of James' I’s reign

• Patron of Shakespeare

Revenge Tragedy

• Popular genre

• Example: The Spanish Tragedy 1587

• Protagonist must seek revenge at tall costs

• Clear villain

• Murder, violence

• Avenger has soliloquies and asides (other characters on stage but cannot hear)

The Term Moor

• Muslims from Morocco who conquered and settled in Spain in 7th century

• Othello’s name = spanish

Venice

• Same size as London

• Foreign residents and visitors due to trade links

• Trade hub for the west and east

  • Society of merchants

  • Obsession with money and social advancement

    • Corruption

• Power

  • Governed by Doge and republic

• Known for its sexual tolerance

The great chain of being

Verse vs prose

Turks and Venice

Machiavellian Villian

Venice and Florence

• Rival republics

The Malcontent

‘I am not what I am’

‘I am what I am’ — God, Exodus

Clowns

Venice and Cyprus