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Lecture 10 OTHELLO THE MOOR OF VENICE Critical Focus on Act 5, Scene 1 Then enters Cassio followed by a flurry of violent action After the wounding of Roderigo and ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Lecture 10 OTHELLO THE MOOR OF VENICE


1
Lecture 10 OTHELLO THE MOOR OF VENICE
  • Critical Focus on
  • Act 5, Scene 1

2
Entry point through the form and choice of speech
of characters
  • All human speech reveals states of mind focus on
    diction, and imagery
  • And a character is just as capable of seducing
    and misleading an audience as s/he is of seducing
    and misleading another character
  • Asides and Soliloquies involve a character
    talking to the audience some sort of
    relationship is thus established between audience
    and charac

3
Essay
  • Othello is powerless, and Iago the real enemy.
  • Discuss the presentation of the character of
    Othello in the light of this statement,
  • and relate your discussion to the theme of
  • the individual and society more generally.

4
  • The interplay between what society expects and
    individual freedom

5
Prefacing remarks regarding recent Reading
Literature exam paper
  • Recall Section B, 2 (a) essay question
  • Re- Shakespeare delights in human
    inconsistencies
  • Careful reading of question?
  • What sense can be attached to the playwright
    delights?
  • Context? Plot Structure? Dramatically?

6
Othello examination essay question
  • Show how the playwright delights
  • in human inconsistencies
  • which contribute to
  • the major themes of the play.

7
Inconsistency?
  • Changeable contrary
  • fluctuating shifting
  • incompatible
  • inconsonant inconstant
  • unstable unsteady unsuitable
  • Vacillating variable varying

8
Playwright (Shakespeare) delights
  • How can I, or anyone tell?
  • Good test of De Bono style lateral thinking
  • Who gets the best lines? The best speeches?
  • The most memorable and impacting role?
  • All of which must be considered in context
  • E.g. The socio-cultural context of the world of
    the play

9
Interesting ironic ironising reversals
  • Who does not like to reverse, turn round or
    undermine our anticipations / expectations?
  • It can be very pleasure giving evident in this
    play?
  • Popular and common cultural stereotypes of
    Africans (Venetian expectations of Othello?)
  • Promiscuous Polygamous uncouth no concept of
    love and fidelity of romantic feelings?
  • Deficient in standards of cultivated expression
  • Incapable of self-discipline easy-going too
    relaxed

10
Re- Iago
  • No sense of honesty trustworthiness loyalty,
    fairness justice?
  • Barbaric? Iago, the real barbarian of the play
  • Ironic contrasts in Iagos character
  • Iago as rough in his speech acts uncultured
  • Iago as the one who obviously thinks and speaks a
    great deal about lust about women

11
Iago (in contrast with Othello)
  • Iago as the one who has no real religious
    (Christian), or moral values who only really
    cares about himself worships himself alone
  • Iago as the one who cannot be trusted as the
    dark, diabolical prince of darkness of
    dishonesty of deception of discrimination, of
    destruction
  • Iago as the real black devil dark savage
  • The barbarian one ready to expunge even the
    good the innocent the well-meaning the
    virtuous
  • Roderigo O damned Iago! O inhuman dog! p223

12
Noteworthy words of IAGO
  • To gross the clasps of a lascivious Moor
  • Though I do hate him as I hate hell pains
  • It is merely a lust of the blood
  • The Moor is of a free and open nature, // That
    thinks men honest

13
Iago from Act 2 Scene 1
  • Her eye must be fed. And what delight shall
  • she have to look at the devil? When the blood
  • is made dull with the act of sport, there should
  • be, again to inflame it and give satiety a fresh
  • appetite, loveliness in favour, sympathy in
  • years, manners and beauties all of which the
  • Moor is defective in.

14
And yet?Iago, the intellectual, the philosopher?
  • Iago, just another ordinary soldier?
  • Rank?
  • Recall and Note an ancient / an ensign
  • Thus, he is an officer of the lowest commissioned
    rank in the military chain of command
  • But
  • No typical soldier is IAGO

15
Recall Iago expounding on Free Will in Act 1,
Scene 3
  • Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our
  • are our gardens, to the which our wills are
  • gardeners.either to have it sterile with
  • idleness or manured with industry, why the
  • power and corrigible authority of this lies in
    our
  • willsWe have reason to cool our raging
  • motions, our carnal stings, our unbitted lusts

16
Delight proportionate to the degree and
quantity of human inconsistencies
  • Shakespeare very greatly, and very frequently
    takes immense pleasure in not only reminding, but
    in showing his audience they cannot rely on
    cultural or sexual stereotypes
  • Indeed, the WHITE IAGOs of this world not only
    may well be, but more often than not really are
    the darkest, most diabolical villains of all

17
We can sense Shakespeares delight
  • For IAGO in the play Othello (and his fellow
    IAGOs in the real everyday world)
  • They have turned the act of evil into fine art
  • They are able to practice being evil with others
    thinking and believing they are good
  • Good Iago Honest Iago Brave Iago
  • That one may smile, and smile, and be villain
    Echoing famous words in Hamlet

18
  • Act 5,
  • Scene 1
  • Iagos MaliceThe Final Stage

19
The Tragic Downfall of OthelloTragedy / Tragic
Drama
  • For the Tragic Hero, there is always a fall
    arising from flaw in his character
  • Situation changes from well-being to misfortune
  • Tragic hero need not be unusually virtuous or
    just yet potentially, a noble person
  • but he should be someone whose misfortunes are
    brought about by some error of judgment on his
    part

20
  • This error of judgment arises from some flaw in
    his character some human weakness
  • It is essential that to some extent he
    contributes to his own downfall
  • And then by suffering as a result,
    he acquires self-knowledge,
    and so purges his faults /
    wrongdoings

21
How does Othello fulfill the role of Tragic Hero?
Think critically!
  • Where does the problem lie in Othello? Flaw?
  • Does the high regard with which he is held in
    Venice cause him to believe in his own power and
    become convinced of his own merit?
  • Is he too proud? Too unrealistic?
  • Does his preoccupation with military duty and war
    render him unfit to conceive of any other way of
    life besides militaristic affairs?

22
  • Is he incapable of seeing marriage as a
    partnership?
  • Is he overly credulous?
  • Is his tragic flaw jealousy?
  • Is he overly concerned with his reputation?
  • Is he inherently vindictive and violent?

23
Note the Atmosphere on stage
  • The scene is set in darkness
  • Lodovico Tis heavy night. p221
  • The action and busy movement of this scene
    contrasts with the quiet passivity of previous
    Willow scene i.e. Scene 3, of Act 4
  • Noise, confusion, rapid movement,
  • And murder
  • Begins with conspiratorial whispering and ends
    with a brutal murder

24
Dramatic purpose of Act 5 Scene 1
  • To present a scene full of action
  • To give the audience a last look at Roderigo
  • To put into action Iagos plot to have both
    Roderigo, and Cassio killed
  • To keep Othello before the mind of the audience
    (appears only briefly in this scene)
  • To prepare the audience for the downfall of Iago
    indeed, to show his first ever set-back

25
Dramatic Techniques
  • Copia Verborum / Copia also Enumeration
  • Antithesis Parallelism
  • Foreshadowing
  • Imagery Symbolism
  • Irony dramatic irony, when the audience knows
    something that one or more than one of the
    characters do not
  • verbal irony, when someone says something and
    means another

26
Poetic Language / Poetic Drama
  • Heightened poetic language
  • Rhyme
  • Patterned sounds to highlight and reinforce
    meaning and message
  • Compulsive Rhythms

27
Copia Verborum / CopiaWarriors in Wars of Words
  • Abundance of words, for verbal fencing
  • Use of lengthy speeches, Othello and Iago
  • Used as a rhetorical device / technique
  • Employing a large army of skillfully chosen and
    well arranged words to pack a powerful series of
    effectively delivered punches or hammer strikes
    to drive your point home to sink your point into
    those with seemingly thick, impenetrable skulls,
    so that they get and accept your message, your
    point of view

28
Characters Diction / Speech Style
  • Characters choice and use of
  • Saxon words
    Plain, simple, short, monosyllabic words
  • Characters choice and use of
  • Latinated words
    Formal, complex, long, polysyllabic
    words

29
Noticing words that are frequently repeated word
patterns
  • Note characters choice and use of simple, short
    words used quite frequently, and
    with increasing dramatic significance?
  • honest honesty honour honourable
    good true truly
  • dishonest villain villainy knave
    slave dog devil gross

30
Diction / word choice, and
literary-critical significance
  • Entry point through word choice / language
  • Consider how the choice of these words reflects
    on the character using them
  • And what they reveal about his or her attitude to
    the character spoken about
  • Notice there is also an element of irony in the
    use of these words

31
Characters Diction
  • You should also notice how often characters refer
    or appeal to such words as
  • heaven or hell and are concerned about the
    soul
  • The frequency of this simple vocabulary makes it
    clear how much the play is concerned with?
  • With human values, and divine values
  • Dramatic effects

32
Scene takes place in darkness made apparent to
audience through hints
  • Cassio O help, ho! Light! A surgeon!
  • Lodovico Two or three groan. It is a heavy
    night.
  • Gratiano Heres one comes in his shirt, with
    light and weapons.
  • Iago Kill men ithdark? Where be these bloody
    thieves?

33
Enter Iago Roderigo
  • Iago to Roderigo
  • Here, stand behind this bulk straight will
  • he come. // Wear thy good rapier bare, and put
  • it home, // Quick, quick fear nothing Ill be
    at
  • thy elbow. // It makes us or mars us think on
  • that, // And fix most firm thy resolution.
  • Here we see a firm and determined IAGO

34
  • Then enters Cassio followed by a flurry of
    violent action
  • After the wounding of Roderigo and Cassio when
    all is increasing confusion in darkness
  • Othello makes a brief appearance
  • Comes on stage at a point whereby he becomes
    indirectly a party to a treacherous and cowardly
    attack on Cassio

35
Diction? What words critically stand out in
Othellos praise of Iago?
  • And Othello on hearing the victim, Cassio,
    cry in pain
  • Othello remarks
  • Tis he! O brave Iago, honest and just,
  • That hast such noble sense of thy friends
  • wrong, // Thou TEACHEST me.
  • Note significance of Othellos diction

36
Re Othello, and dramatic effects
  • Change? (Tragic downfall of Othello)

    From noble Moor to base Moor
  • Surely nothing shows more clearly the present
    debasement of his once honourable and noble
    character
  • Than at this point in 5.1 when Othello does
    become a party to this treacherous and cowardly
    attack on Cassio

37
Note Othellos diction, and dramatic effects
  • And note the critically significant words here
  • brave, honest, just, noble
  • Indicating symptoms of a now perverted and
    debased mind
  • Where good values have been transformed into bad
  • Where evil now seems right

38
DRAMATIC EFFECT?
  • And what the audience comes to painfully realize
    on hearing Othello say
  • Thou teachest me
  • The shocking, evil, tragic truth

39
And IRONY? Ironic effects
  • Othellos interpretation of character and event
    is the source of much irony
  • His reference to Iagos honesty and justice is
    exploited many times in the play
  • In the light of what we know of Iagos part in
    this particular enterprise
  • O brave Iago
    is another instance of
    deception

40
  • And thus marks Othello yet again as a victim of
    irony
  • Is Iago really that brave?
  • We notice Iago lurks in the background
  • Ordering Roderigo instead to make the attempt on
    Cassios life
  • Only when Roderigo fails does Iago step in

41
After which we next hear Othello say
  • Strumpet, I come!
  • Forth of my heart those charms, thine eyes, are
  • blotted
  • Thy bed, lust-stained, shall with lusts blood be
  • spotted.
  • Exit Othello

42
  • Othello regrets what he has set out to do
  • He conjures up an image of killing Desdemona in
    her bed, but this mental image of the outspread
    blood blotted bedsheets begins to call to his
    mind the handkerchief
  • The bed in his mind is stained with lust, echoing
    Desdemonas infidelities with Cassio
  • And will be spotted with the blood of lust

43
Exit Othello
  • So the Moor leaves the stage with an indication
    that Desdemona will be the next to suffer
  • It is also ironic he should take Iagos brave
    activity as an incitement to act against
    Desdemona
  • However the impending tragedy is delayed for a
    short period of time (Dramatic Effect?)
  • Creating further suspense
  • As the uproar spreads with the comments made by
    Lodovico, and also Gratiano
  • Iagos stabbing of Roderigo, and entry of Bianca

44
Iago the ever ready master of improvisation
  • Iago ever ready to seize every opportunity
  • Fastens upon Bianca as a possible scapegoat for
    what has happened
  • Thereby reaching a further height of hypocrisy
    when as Iago says
  • Look you, pale mistress?
  • Do you perceive the gastness of her eye?

45
And Iago continues
  • Nay, if you stare, we shall hear more anon.
  • Behold her well I pray you look upon her.
  • Do you see, gentlemen? Nay, guiltiness will
  • speak
  • Though tongues were out of use.
  • Rhetorical effectiveness? Convincingness?
  • This is villainy supreme

46
And re Iago
  • After Iago cunningly concealed himself while
    Roderigo on orders did the dirty work
  • (Looks and sounds familiar to the audience?)
  • Iago then emerges to play up the role of brave
    and helpful citizen
  • And pretending to be shocked beyond measure by
    the villainies of others
  • And even winning the admiration of Lodovico who
    finds Iago a very valiant fellow

47
Lodovico on Iago
  • Gratiano This is Othellos ancient, as I take
    it.
  • Lodovico The same indeed,
  • a very valiant fellow.

48
To be noted Iago and ironic humour
  • In Iagos question to Cassio
  • O my lieutenant,
    what villains have done this?
  • Dramatic Effects?
  • There is surely a touch of ironic humour here
  • Audience members can imagine the satisfaction the
    use of the word lieutenant must give Iago in
    this context.

49
Re- Motivation of Iagos evil towards Cassio?
  • One of the most suggestive (sub-textual) clues to
    Iagos motivation to do evil?
  • is perhaps to be found in Iagos characterization
    of Cassio at the beginning of this scene
    p219
  • Iago cannot tolerate Cassios continued existence
    because as we note him say
  • He hath a daily beauty in his life //
    That makes me ugly

50
Iago
  • The contemplation of beauty, grace, happiness or
    nobility,
  • In Othello, or Cassio or Desdemona
  • destroys Iagos peace of mind
  • He therefore feels compelled to undermine or
    eradicate or destroy such virtues
  • Whenever, wherever in whomever he finds them

51
Significant echoes of crucial events in earlier
scenes in Act 5, Scene 1?
  • Othellos few moments at the scene of Cassios
    injury take the mind of the audience back to
    Othellos intervention
  • To what earlier scene in the play?
  • The Brawl Scene
  • Act 2, Scene 2
  • The brawl that led to Cassios dismissal

52
(Cont)Antithesis of earlier later scenes
  • In that earlier scene Othello was
  • A majestic, authoritative figure
  • Lording it over everybody and everything around
    him by virtue of his mere presence
  • Hold, for you lives!

53
Cont.
  • But now Othello pauses like a thief in the night,
    degraded to that of a mere conspirator
  • We observe Othellos onstage actions
    (sub-textual implications?)
  • Othello remains concealed from view while he
    relishes Iagos treacherous attempt on Cassios
    life

54
Cont.
  • Even the noble, sonorous music of his early grand
    speeches is no longer in evidence
  • His few lines addressed to Cassio referring to
    and foretelling Desdemonas fate
  • Minion, your dear lies dead
  • Are strident and melodramatic

55
To conclude this segment re- echoing of earlier
scenes
  • We observe Emilia declare her outrage upon
    hearing Biancas claim to be as honest as
    herself. O fie upon thee, strumpet!
  • But audience will recall an earlier scene when
    Desdemona made a similar claim but was also not
    believed. What scene?
  • The Brothel Scene
  • Act 4, Scene 2
  • Othello Are you not a strumpet? p191

56
  • Up to this Act, fortune favoured Iago
  • Accidents and coincidences had always worked in
    his favour However
  • Had not anticipated Cassio would be wearing a
    coat of mail armour
  • Recall Cassios words
  • That thrust had been mine enemy indeed, // But
    that my coat is better than thou thinkst // I
    will make proof of thine.

57
  • Furthermore Iago had not anticipated either that
    Lodovico and Gratiano
  • Would come upon the scene when they did
  • And thereby prevent him being able to be at
    Roderigos elbow to add his sword
  • Their untimely entrance prevented him from being
    able to kill Cassio

58
Note Iagos concluding ASIDE
  • This is the night
  • That either makes me, or fordoes me quite
  • Prompting the audience to think back to Iagos
    initial words to Roderigo (now dead) at the
    beginning of this scene
  • It makes us, or it mars us think on that,

59
Antithesis word against wordscene against
scene and characters
  • One word or phrase set against another
  • Note Shakespeare thinks antithetically
  • Its the way his sentences over and over find
    their shape
  • Antithetical words and phrases
  • Note what words are set against each other
  • Earlier scenes and later scenes earlier words
    and later words
  • And point up their critical significance
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