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Introduction to Shakespeare’s Othello

Introduction to Shakespeare’s Othello. Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely, but too well…. William Shakespeare. Born in April 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. He died in 1616. Received a classical education including Latin, Greek, history, math, astronomy, and music

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Introduction to Shakespeare’s Othello

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  1. Introduction to Shakespeare’s Othello Then must you speak Of one that loved not wisely, but too well…

  2. William Shakespeare • Born in April 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. He died in 1616. • Received a classical education including Latin, Greek, history, math, astronomy, and music • Most likely began as an actor • Wrote 38plays, including comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances

  3. Verse vs. Prose Verse: Poetic language that includes meter and sometimes rhyme; organized in lines with a consistent number of syllables Prose: Ordinary written language with no meter or rhyme; organized in sentences

  4. “Sir, he’s rash and very sudden in choler, and haply may strike at you. Provoke him that he may, for even out of that will I cause these of Cyprus to mutiny, whose qualification shall come into no true taste again but by the displanting of Cassio” (2.1.294-298). “Most potent, grave, and reverend signoirs, My very noble and approved good masters: That I have ta’en away this old man’s daughter, It is most true; true I have married her” (1.3.91-94). Prose Verse

  5. Verse vs. Prose: Usage • Poetic style of verse used for high status characters, great affairs of war and state, and tragic moments. • Prose used for low status characters (servants, clowns, drunks, villains), proclamations, written challenges, accusations, letters, comedic moments, and to express madness.

  6. Verse vs. Prose • In Othello, pay careful attention to the situations in which Iago switches between speaking in verse and speaking in prose.

  7. Meter • Meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. • Meter is responsible for creating the rhythm of a line.

  8. Meter and Foot • Foot: a group of syllables that forms one complete unit of a metrical pattern. • Meter is described in terms of the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables AND the total number of metrical feet in a line of verse. • Iambic pentameter is the most common metrical pattern in Shakespeare.

  9. Iambic Pentameter Iamb: unstressed syllable, stressed syllable ˘ / Pentameter: Lines of five iambic feet; 10 syllables Example: ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?

  10. Blank Verse vs. Free Verse Blank Verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. Free Verse: No regular meter One’s-Self I sing, a simple separate person, Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En- Masse.

  11. Sonnet • 14 line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter • organized in three quatrains and a couplet • typical rhyme scheme ababcdcdefef gg • most pronounced break or turn comes with concluding couplet

  12. Sonnet: Quatrain and Couplet Quatrain: four-line verse stanza, usually rhymed Couplet: a pair of rhyming verse lines

  13. Aside, Monologue, and Soliloquy Aside: a character’s remark, either to the audience or another character, that other characters on stage are not supposed to hear Monologue: an extended speech by a single character that is uninterrupted by others Soliloquy: a speech a character gives when s/he is alone on stage

  14. Foil A character whose personality or attitudes are in sharp contrast to those of another character in the same work

  15. Allusion • Allusion: reference to an event, person, place, or another work of literature • Shakespeare’s work contains numerous allusions to Greek and Roman mythology.

  16. Allusion: Janus • Roman god of gates and doors, beginnings and endings • Depicted with a double-faced head, each looking in opposite directions • Worshipped at the beginning of the harvest time, planting, marriage, birth, and other types of beginnings • Also represents the transition between primitive life and civilization, between the countryside and the city, peace and war, and the growing-up of young people

  17. Tragedy • A serious play representing the disastrous downfall of the hero • Achieves a catharsis by arousing pity and terror in the audience • Hero is led into fatal calamity by a tragic flaw, which often takes the form of hubris (excessive pride) • Tragic effect depends upon audience’s awareness of the admirable qualities of the hero which are wasted in the disaster

  18. Classical Tragic Hero • The tragic hero is a good man, important to society • The hero suffers a fall brought about by something in his nature • The fall provokes the emotions of pity and fear in the reader • The tragic character comes to some kind of understanding or new recognition of what has happened

  19. Tragic Flaw Defect of character that leads to the hero’s disastrous downfall

  20. Othello Terminology: Moor • Muslimperson of Arab and Berberdescent from northwest Africa • Moors invaded Spain and established a civilization lasting from the 8th -- 15th centuries • Term Moor comes from the Greek work mauros meaning dark or very black • In Renaissance drama, Moors often symbolized something other than human - and often, indeed, something devilish.

  21. Al-Annuri from Morocco

  22. Othello Terminology: Cuckold • a man whose wife is unfaithful to him • Represented with horns growing out of his forehead “That cuckold lives in bliss Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger; But O, what damned minutes tells he o’er Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves!” (3.3.197-200) “I have a pain upon my forehead, here” (326).

  23. Othello: A Tragedy • Written in 1604 • One of the major tragedies -- after Hamlet and before King Lear and Macbeth • Fascination with evil • Study the devastating effects of the deadly sins of the spirit: ambitious pride, ingratitude, wrath, jealousy and vengeful hate

  24. Othello: Setting • Journey from Venice, Italy to Cyprus • Venice = order, rule of reason • Cyprus = disorder, rule of passion

  25. Othello: Thematic Ideas • Nature of love and marriage • Nature of jealousy • Male mistrust of women • Deception / Honesty • Importance of reputation

  26. Tips for Reading Shakespeare • Pay attention to punctuation. Remember periods, colons, and semicolons mark the end of a thought. • Reword inverted so that the subject comes first. Inverted: But no such roses see I in her cheeks Reworded: I see no such roses in her cheeks

  27. Tips for Reading Shakespeare • Keep an eye out for metaphors (two dissimilar objects being compared) • Strange words with apostrophes are just contractions Example: “ne’er” is just “never” • Look up difficult words; use the glossary!

  28. Sonnet: Example A My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun B Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; A If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; B If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. C I have seen roses damask’d, red and white, D But no such roses see I in her cheeks; C And in some perfumes is there more delight D Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. E I love to hear her speak, yet well I know F That music hath a much more pleasing sound; E I grant I never saw a goddess go; F My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. G And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare G As any she belied with false compare.

  29. The Dark Lady? Emilia Bassano

  30. Othello Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIIjya_5Oro

  31. Act I Vocabulary • 1. Abhor – v. to regard with disgust and hatred • 2. Civility – n. courtesy; politeness • 3. Delude – v. to impose a misleading belief upon someone; deceive; fool

  32. Act I Vocabulary • 4. Grievance – n. an official statement of a complaint over something believed to be wrong or unfair • 5. Iniquity – n. evildoing; wickedness; denotes an offense against morality rather than a violation of law

  33. Act I Vocabulary • 6. Insolent – adj. showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect • 7. Lascivious – adj. (of a person, manner, or gesture) feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire

  34. Act I Vocabulary • 8. Moor – n. a Muslim of the mixed Berber and Arab people inhabiting northwest Africa • 9. Promulgate – v. promote or make widely known (an idea or cause) • 10. Timorous – adj. full of fear; fearful

  35. Act II Vocabulary • Discern – v. to see, to recognize, or to notice • Citadel – n. fortress set high above a city • Discreet – adj. having or showing good judgment about what one says or does • Eminent – adj. standing out so as to be easily noticed

  36. Act II Vocabulary 5. Impediment – n. obstacle, bar, hindrance 6. Gnaw – v. to bite or chew persistently 7. Ensue – v. to take place after or as a result; to follow

  37. Act II Vocabulary 8. Barbarous – adj. uncivilized, cruel 9. Censure – n. strong disapproval; an official expression of disapproval 10. Inordinate – adj. uncontrolled, excessive, exceeding reasonable limits

  38. Act III Vocabulary • Procure – v. to get possession of, to obtain through care or effort • Affinity- n. familial relationship, kinship • Penitent – adj. feeling sorrow for having committed a wrongdoing

  39. Act III Vocabulary • 4. Ruminate – v. to go over and over in one’s mind • 5. Inference – n. a conclusion based on some facts or evidence • 6. Disposition – n. the orderly arrangement or settlement of a matter • 7. Vehement – adj. powerful, strongly felt or expressed

  40. Act III Vocabulary • 8. Tranquil – adj. free from disturbance; calm; quiet • 9. Compulsive- adj. having to do something with irresistible force • 10. Loathed – v. disliked intensely, often with disgust; hated

  41. Act IV Vocabulary • 1. Dotage – n. state of mental decline associated with advanced age • 2. Credulous- adj. ready to believe, often on slight or uncertain evidence • 3. Lethargy – n. the quality or state of being drowsy, lazy, or indifferent • 4. Beguile – v. to deceive or to trick

  42. Act IV Vocabulary • 5. Importunes – v. begs or urges persistently • 6. Breach – n. break, rupture, or gap • 7. Requite – v. to make suitable return for; to repay • 8. Impudent – adj. shamelessly bold; cocky

  43. Act IV Vocabulary • 9. Shroud – v. to screen, to veil, or to disguise • 10. Peevish – adj. whining; fretful; complaining

  44. Act V Vocabulary • 1. Restitution – n. an act of restoring or making good • 2. Monumental – adj. serving or resembling a monument or a memorial • 3. Quench – v. to put out

  45. Act V Vocabulary • 4. Portents – n. things that foreshadow a coming event • 5. Pernicious – adj. very destructive; deadly • 6. Amorous – adj. having to do with love • 7. Viper – n. poisonous snake

  46. Act V Vocabulary • 8. Wrench – v. to twist violently or take forcibly • 9. Ensnared – v. trapped, caught • 10. Interim – n. time between; interval

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