"Unabridged" Othello CSI (Maria and Hara)

• Othello based off of Cinthio’s Hecatommithi
• The plot and characters mostly come from this collection of short stories
• A key difference: In Cinthio’s Iago loved Desdemona and so pretended she was having an affair with Cassio because he was jealous
• In Othello Iago is motivated by anger (he was passed over for a promotion) and general love of evil

Contexts

• Written in present day for when it was published (1604)
• Ambassador of the Kind of Barbary had visited in 1600 and caused much excitement
• English were interested in Muslims and their customs/ culture
• Perhaps audiences compared Othello with these recent visitors
• Takes place in Venice, which was a bustling area at the time
• Was Europe’s greatest trade center with Africa and Middle East so had many foreigners coming from around the world
• Considered Venice a major trading rival → thus was of interest/ attracted audiences
• Was “pleasure capital” of Europe and very sexually tolerant (a woman was considered virtuous if she only had one lover aside from her husband)
• Venice’s History with Cyprus
• Cyprus used to belong to Venice
• Venice lost Cyprus to the Turks in 1570 - 1573 (started the decline of Venice)
• Turks dominated eastern Mediterranean from then on
• “Moor”
• Derived from the word Mauritania but used to refer to North Africans, West Africans, Muslims or any other non-whites
• North/West Africans living in Elizabethan England were often singled out for having unusual customs – also often referred to as ‘devils’ or ‘villains’
• Technically had full diplomatic recognition, but they were looked down upon – stereotyped as sexually overactive, prone to jealousy, and generally wicked
• ‘Blackness’ was associated with moral corruption and sin and ‘whiteness’ was associated with purity

Intertexts

• Biblical References
• Iago when talking to Roderigo “I am not what I am” (1.1.67) – God talking to Moses “I am what I am” (Exodus)
• Jesus’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane – Othello’s first appearance in the book (torch-bearing men coming to arrest him, Othello tells the men to put their swords away, 1.2.60-63)
• Cassio addressing Desdemona with “Hail to thee, lady! And the grace of heaven before, behind thee, and on every hand” (2.1.88-89) – Almost same as beginning of Hail Mary prayer (“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee”)
• Iago when questioned by Othello if he really loves him “My lord, you know I love you” (3.3.129) – Peter’s response to Jesus after denying/betraying Jesus
• Othello accusing Desdemona of betraying him, “You, mistress, that have the office opposite to Saint Peter and keep the gate of hell!” (4.2.94-96) – Saint Peter is said to hold the key to the gates of heaven
• A Geographical Historie of Africa by John Pory
• Influenced Othello’s background story of traveling “of antes vast and deserts idle, / Rough quarries, rocks and hills” (I, 3, 142-143)
• Gave the idea for the embroidered handkerchief made in Egypt
• Pliny’s Historie of the World
• Written in 1601
• Probably where Shakespeare found most of his information on the mediterranean world from
• Words like “Anthropophagi” (I, 3, 146) and others, as well as references to Pontic Sea from this source
• The Commonwealth and Government of Venice by Sir Lewis Lewkenor
• Written in 1599
• This book explained in detail the functionings of Venice, especially the complex power structures
• Explains role of Duke and Senate in Venetian politics and the power of their decisions
• Source also explains the very rigid social classes where there was little possibility for change → Iago’s anger towards the privileged highlights this distinction

• Roman mythology References
• Aphrodite rose from the sea on the western side of Cyprus
• Jove
• “Th’ immortal Jove’s dread clamors counterfeit, Farewell! Othello’s occupation is gone” (3.3.372-373)
• Jove (Jupiter) had many wives and was notorious for cheating on Hera

Subtexts

• Gender
• Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca all cast aside and treated poorly by their male counterparts, but they still remain loyal (despite class)
• Desdemona in particular considered perfect Christian woman → “the more angel she” (V, 2, 134)/ “she was heavenly true” (V, 2, 140) yet she cannot defend herself against Othello’s accusations in Act 5, Scene 2
• Venetian women all also seen as promiscuous by men  
• Racism
• Othello: tragic hero
• Often referred to with animal imagery/ connotations to make him seem base → “O! O! O!” (V, 2, 204)/ “black ram” (I, 1, 90)

• Othello will always be seen as “other”/ an outsider because of his color
• Racism coexists with the very noble notion others have of him
• He is very noble but pushed into the stereotypical “savage” role by Iago
• Morality
• Should Desdemona and Othello have married? Did the play condemn them?
• Tragic error of judgement that led to them getting married caused their downfall? -- Race question (more prevalent in Cinthio’s version
• Love and marriage
• Othello and Desdemona’s love so dedicated and fulfilling -- not an error of judgement that they married
• Love is a form of knowledge -- “knowing others, and oneself, is not easy” (Honigmann)
• Love and Relationships
• Relationship between Othello and Desdemona
• They are in love, but they barely know each other
• Dynamic between them doesn’t always work -- Desdemona trying to ‘lead’ Othello/make decisions of her own; Othello not trusting her

Works Cited

Johnson-Neshati, Kristin. "A Cultural Context for Othello." Shakespeare Theatre Company.

N.p., 19 Aug. 2005. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

<http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/articles.aspx?&id=83>.

Shakespeare, William. "Introduction." Introduction. Shakespeare: Four Tragedies. Ed. David

Bevington, David Scott Kastan, James Hammersmith, and Robert Kean Turner. New

York: Bantam, 1988. 217-29. Print.

Shakespeare, William, and E. A. J. Honigmann. Othello. London: Arden Shakespeare, 2001. Print.