Research Theme: Othello by William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his wife, Desdemona; his lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted ensign, Iago. Because of its varied and current themes of racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal, Othello
is still often performed in professional and community theatres alike
and has been the basis for numerous operatic, film, and literary
adaptations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello
Key Facts http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/facts.html 05 January 2013
full title · The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Veniceauthor · William Shakespeare
type of work · Play
genre · Tragedy
language · English
time and place written · Between 1601 and 1604, England
date of first publication · 1622
publisher · Thomas Walkley
tone · Shakespeare clearly views the events of the play as tragic. He seems to view the marriage between Desdemona and Othello as noble and heroic, for the most part.
setting (time) · Late sixteenth century, during the wars between Venice and Turkey
setting (place) · Venice in Act I; the island of Cyprus thereafter
protagonist · Othello
major conflict · Othello and Desdemona marry and attempt to build a life together, despite their differences in age, race, and experience. Their marriage is sabotaged by the envious Iago, who convinces Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful.
rising action · Iago tells the audience of his scheme, arranges for Cassio to lose his position as lieutenant, and gradually insinuates to Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful.
climax · The climax occurs at the end of Act III, scene iii, when Othello kneels with Iago and vows not to change course until he has achieved bloody revenge.
falling action · Iago plants the handkerchief in Cassio’s room and later arranges a conversation with Cassio, which Othello watches and sees as “proof” that Cassio and Desdemona have slept together. Iago unsuccessfully attempts to kill Cassio, and Othello smothers Desdemona with a pillow. Emilia exposes Iago’s deceptions, Othello kills himself, and Iago is taken away to be tortured.
themes · The incompatibility of military heroism and love; the danger of isolation
motifs · Sight and blindness; plants; animals; hell, demons, and monsters
symbols · The handkerchief; the song “Willow”
foreshadowing · Othello and Desdemona’s speeches about love foreshadow the disaster to come; Othello’s description of his past and of his wooing of Desdemona foreshadow his suicide speech; Desdemona’s “Willow” song and remarks to Emilia in Act IV, scene iii, foreshadow her death.
Books to look at:
-Othello: Cartoon Shakespeare (Graphic Shakespeare) PaperBack
William Shakespeare (Author), Oscar Zarate (Illustrator)
Othello Book Cover designs
From researching as there are many adaptation to this play, I wanted to look at the different visuals that had been designed and the main ones seemed to be the book/play covers. Each are completely different as they all have there own style, and portray the play subtley but appropriately. If you dont read the play then you wouldnt neccessarily understand the covers however majority of them become clear when you have.
10th December 2012
This theatre poster would have to be my favourite, the photographer has really caught the emotion within this mans eyes, and due to the play being a very passionate, emotion filled play it was important to capture it and that is shown evidently. Im not sure as to wether the rips in the poster are meant to be there however if they are i really love this idea. Its like visual concept of his life being ripped apart slowly which is what happens to Othello in the play.
Other imagery
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| http://pinterest.com/pin/311311392961515282/ |
10th December 2012
Due to the main themes within this play are racism, love, jealousy and betrayal. I have decided to look at the quotes within the play that represent this.
Watching and Reading
Too really understand the play I bought the original book from Amazon on Kindle so i could try get a feel for the play, however coming from a background of using modern day English i found understanding the play very difficult. To get around this aspect I decided to see if i could find and watch online any films that were in modern English.
This was the first film i came accross and watched. It was set with a young cast in a high school. Othello was called 'O' who was a successful basketball player for his school team, one of his 'friends' who was also on the team's father was the coach. The Coach considered 'O' to be like one of his own sons which infuriated his son, which is when all the lies spiral out of control and lives became disrupted. The film enlightened me to the story behind Othello. I knew full well this wasnt anything like the original however it allowed me to get a good idea of what i should expect.
'O' (2001)
21st December 2012
Othello (1995)
28th December 2012
Above are the images of me watching the film.
I also watched a few cartoon versions of the film on youtube
18th December 2012
Another Clip I watched on Youtube about Othello was called
RSC - William Shakespeare (Abridged) 05 Othello Rap
This was a rap which explained the story, it was light hearted and fun, i enjoyed watching this film.
Jealousy Quotes
http://www.shmoop.com/othello/jealousy-quotes.html
10th December 2012
Quote #1
IAGO: One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,
Wherein the toged consuls can propose
As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,
Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election:
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds
Christian and heathen, must be be-lee'd and calm'd
By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,
He, in good time, must his lieutenant be (1.1.2)
A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;
That never set a squadron in the field,
Nor the division of a battle knows
More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,
Wherein the toged consuls can propose
As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,
Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election:
And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof
At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds
Christian and heathen, must be be-lee'd and calm'd
By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,
He, in good time, must his lieutenant be (1.1.2)
Translation:Here, Iago claims he hates Othello because Othello passed him, Iago,
over for a promotion, giving "one Michael Cassio" the job as his
military lieutenant instead. Iago claims he's far more qualified than
Cassio, who lacks Iago's experience on the field of battle. Clearly,
Iago seems pretty jealous. But is this the real reason Iago sets
out to destroy Othello? Or, is this merely an excuse to go after him? In
other words, does Iago say all of this in order to manipulate Roderigo?
(Roderigo, as we soon learn, is completely envious of Othello for
marrying Desdemona.)
Quote #2
IAGO
I hate the Moor:
And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if't be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety. (1.3.12)
I hate the Moor:
And it is thought abroad, that 'twixt my sheets
He has done my office: I know not if't be true;
But I, for mere suspicion in that kind,
Will do as if for surety. (1.3.12)
Now this is interesting. Earlier, Iago said he hates Othello because
"the Moor" passed him over for a promotion. Yet, here, Iago says he
hates Othello because he's heard a rumor that Othello has been hooking
up with Iago's wife, Emilia, "twixt [Iago's] sheets." Iago says he
doesn't exactly know if the rumor's true, but he's decided to go ahead
and ruin Othello's life anyway. Seems like Iago has listed a couple of
incompatible motives for seeking to destroy Othello, wouldn't you say?
So, we're just not sure we can believe that Iago's jealous of Othello's
supposed relationship with Emilia.
As the original play is in old English it makes it hard to understand what the play is about due to the fact i dont know how to read and understand so one of my starting points was to watch a film that was modern and up to date.
The first film i watched was 'O' which was made in 2001 and is set in a school centred around a basketball player called Odin.
Although it wasnt the best film i had ever watched it really enabled me to get an idea and grasb the idea of what shakespeare was portraying within his film. If it wasnt for the fact i had previously researched about what the play was about i dont think i would have been able to make perfect sense of the actual play. However putting the two together allowed me to understand this and have emphasis on the main point of love, betrayal, jealousy and racism.
During 2001 there was another film created that was based on this shakespearean play called othello except it is based within the police force it is told again in modern English.
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