William Shakespeares OTHELLO

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William ShakespearesOTHELLO
O
Mr. Hrga

• English 2 - World Literature

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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564
• Died April, 23, 1616 and is buried in the Holy
  Trinity Church in Stratford
• Arrived in London in 1588
• Ability first written about in 1592
• Wrote 37 plays and 154 poems
• Invented the word ASSASSINATION plus roughly 1700
  others

SHAKESPEARE
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OTHELLO - The Moor of Venice
SHAKESPEARE
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A TRAGEDY

• Key Terms
• HUBRIS - extreme pride, over-confidence
• ANAGNORISIS - the recognition
• HAMARTIA - the error or flaw
• KATHARSIS - the acceptance and healing

SHAKESPEARE
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A SHAKESPEREAN TRAGEDY

• Tend to be victims of their own excesses or
  self-deception
• Lack of understanding prevents them from seeing
  the truth
• Suffer from inner-conflict
• Characters of high power or status
• No real dependence on FATE or GOD

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WHERE OTHELLO TAKES PLACE
Venice
Cyprus

• VENICE - the setting for the beginning of the
  play
• CYPRUS - the setting for the major portion of the
  play

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VENICE

• Most powerful 16th century city-state
• Commercial centre of all Europe
• Protector of Christian faith against the Turkish
  infidels (Moors)

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CYPRUS

• Property of Venice for more than 100 years
• Turks attacked Cyrpus in 1570
• Famous sea-battle of Lepanto in 1571 written in a
  poem by James I - Englands new king in 1604
• Venice conceded Cyprus to Turks in 1572

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SOURCES FOR OTHELLO

• Main source is a collection of works called
  Hecatommithi (1565)
• Written by Italian author Giovanni Battista - aka
  Cinthio
• Shakespeare borrowed most of the characters and
  plot from Cinthio
• Also borrowed from The General History of the
  Turks (1603) which provided historical context
• The 16th century conflict between Christian
  Europe and the Ottoman Empire provided the
  background

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THE PRODUCTION OF OTHELLO

• First performed in 1604
• Published in 1622
• One of most famous plays through the 17th century
• Othello is fifth most acclaimed and studied play
  (Hamlet is first).

SHAKESPEARE
Laurence Fishburne - Othello Kenneth Branagh -
Iago 1995
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THE END!
SHAKESPEARE