| The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice | Othello’s full Name |
| Apri 23rd, 1564-1616 | years of William Shakespeare’s life |
| Stratford-on-Avon | Shakespeare’s birthplace |
| Anne Hathaway | Shakespeare’s wife |
| shot gun wedding- she was pregnant | wedding of shakespeare and wife |
| Susannah + twins: Judith, and Hamnet (died at 11) | Shakespeare’s children |
| 1592 | year Shakespeare left his family behind and moved to London |
| Lord Chamberlain’s Men | Shakespeare’s first acting company |
| The Globe | theater/play house for Lord Chamberlain’s Men |
| The King’s Men | Shakespeare’s second acting company named after King James |
| 37 | how many plays Shakespeare wrote |
| tragedies, histories, comedies | types of plays Shakespeare wrote |
| 154 | number of sonnets Shakespeare wrote; most of them dedicated to a “fair youth,” others to a “dark lady” |
| 3000 | how many words shakespeare invented |
| Blank verse | unrhymed, iambic pentameter – what Shakespeare used in his plays; used it for richer classes |
| iambic | unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable |
| pentameter | 5 iambs per line |
| his language and the way it can be read on so many different levels as well as his character development (insight into human psychology) | what’s so remarkable about Shakespeare |
| The Poetics | Aristotle’s book on art and literature: What makes art Art is an imitation of Reality |
| art | an imitation of reality – poetry speaks of universals, history of particulars |
| tragedy | highest form of dramatic art, enables people to empathize– purge the feelings of pity and fear |
| tragic hero | a noble (high status) character; Othello a warrior and generally good person |
| hamartia | fatal flaw (Ex: Greeks had Hubris) |
| Peripeteia | the reversal of fortune; character often curses people when they die |
| Catharsis | pity and fear |
| Pathos | uncommon type of suffering |
| anagorisis | a revelation or realization of the tragic hero that its their own fault |
| classical Tragedy | has a focus on the role of Fate |
| Othello | Moorish general who marries a Venetian lady and is cruel tricked into thinking she’s cheated on him |
| 1604 | when Othello was first performed |
| Cinthio | original source Shakespeare took from and made into a play; 100 tails, written in 1500’s |
| Venice and Cyprus | where Othello is set- gives this exotic appeal of a city on the water |
| Venice | where Act 1 is set |
| Othello defends | Cyprus |
| Cyprus | where Acts 2-5 are set; wild, savage, demoralized setting |
| Venice in the 1500’s | pleasure capital of Europe |
| In the play…. lose | Turks ___ bc a storm |
| courtesan | high class prostitute |
| Turks (Ottoman Empire) | at war with the Venetians over power, money, and land |
| Larger Exterior conflicts | Christian vs. Muslim, European vs. Foreign, “Civilized” vs. Barbarian/Savage |
| essential underlying question | which man, the European, Christian Iago or the Foreign, Muslim-born Othello, its the real threat to civilization? |
| Moor | mixed ancestry- Caucasian “barbers” and Arabs from East (light-skinned Arabs); darker skin, but not native Congo black |
| Barbary Coast (North Africa) | where the Moors are located |
| 8th century | when the Moors took over Spain |
| Moor of Venice (Othello) | A North African man, well educated, raised Muslim but converted and baptized Christian as an adult; admired and valued for intellect and military prowess |
| Great Britain | didn’t want Moors in their country; the character Othello provokes curiosity, fear, hatred, discrimination |
| xenophobia | fear of outsiders |
| “double time scheme” | play takes place in 3 days (in 5 acts) to increase dramatic tension but references suggest more time has passed |
| OtHELLo | tragic hero |
| DesDEMONa | Greek for “unlucky” |
| Brabantio | Desdemona’s father, a racist, doesn’t approve of relationship |
| Cassio | Othello’s right hand man, a “player,” overall nice guy |
| Iago | villain who decides to destroy these people’s lives for no reason |
| Roderigo | lovesick fool in love with Desdemona; so desperate he’s paying Iago to set him up with Desdemona |
| Emilia | Iago’s wife, lady in waiting to Desdemona |
| Bianca | courtesan, in a relationship with Cassio |
| Themes | Love vs. Lust, Jealousy, Manipulation, Loyalty and Honor, Trust, The “Other” (person different in society, Othello), violence (wrath) |
| Other motifs/themes | color (black vs. white, good vs. evil), water, plants, Satan and Diabolism, fire (passion and love), slaves, music, lightness vs. darkness, vision (Othello’s blindness to see the truth), animals (references to raunchy sex and racism), poison (lies- planting a seed to slowly poison a person), and disease/medicine |
Othello Background Quiz
September 6, 2019