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Index of Shakespeare Plays on DVDs, Including Five Productions of Othello, Moor of Venice
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Othello, Moor of Venice
A Study Guide
Cummings Guides Home..|..Shakespeare Books
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Key Dates
Source
Type of Work
Settings
Characters
Plot Summary
Themes
Racism in Othello
Imagery
Use of Irony
Planted Evidence
Climax
Hinge Character
Murder Methods
Othello as Hero
Shakespeare in Italy?
What Was a Moor?
Study Questions
Essay Topics
Complete Free Text
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Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings...© 2003


This page has been revised, enlarged, and moved to

http://www.shakespearestudyguide.com/Othello.html#Othello


Key Dates
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Date Written: Probably between 1602 and 1604. 
First Performance: Probably November 1, 1604, before King James I at Whitehall Palace.
First Printing: 1622 in a quarto edition; 1623 as part of the First Folio, the first authorized collection of Shakespeare's plays..The First Folio version omits oaths and curses that appeared in the quarto edition in compliance with a law passed by Parliament that forbade blasphemous language in stage dramas.

Source

.......The probable main source for Othello, Moor of Venice is.Ecatommiti, (also called Hecatommithi), published in Venice in 1566 and written by Giovanni Battista Giraldi (1504-1573), also known as Cinthio. Ecatommiti means One Hundred Tales.

Type of Work

.......Othello is a stage play in the form of a tragedy in which a good man falls to ruin after an evil man inflames him with jealousy.

Settings

.......Othello takes place in Venice (in northern Italy) and Cyprus (an island in the eastern Mediterranean about forty miles south of present-day Turkey). The time is between 1489 and 1571. It is interesting to note that Venice is the setting for both major Shakespeare plays dealing in part with racial prejudice, Othello and The Merchant of Venice
.......As one of the world’s leading sea powers, Venice was the center of commercialism and materialism and, therefore, corruption and conflict arising from avarice, social status, and fierce competition. Cyprus–as a strategically located island which yielded substantial harvests of olives, grapes and various grains–was much prized throughout its history. Assyrians, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Byzantines all fought over and occupied it. England’s King Richard I, the Lion-Hearted, conquered Cyprus in 1191 but later ceded it to the French. Venice seized the island in 1489 and in 1571 the Ottoman Turks brought Cyprus under its control. 

Characters
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Protagonist: Othello
Antagonist: Iago
Foils of Othello: Michael Cassio, Iago

Othello: Black Moor who is the greatest army general in Venice. He is intelligent, courageous, and honorable. His marriage to beautiful Desdemona, the daughter of a prominent Venetian, provokes racial slurs against him. But he carries on with nobility and dignity as he leads an army against Turks on Cyprus. His dedication to duty is eclipsed only by his dedication to Desdemona, who follows him to Cyprus. So passionately does he love her that he cannot endure the thought of another man even looking at her. And therein lies his Achilles' heel, jealousy. 
Iago: Military officer who schemes against Othello because the Moor did not promote him. He is evil through and through, taking great pleasure in bringing down the great Othello. 
Desdemona: Daughter of Brabantio, wife of Othello, and  victim of Iago's machinations and Othello's jealousy. She is the noblest and most unselfish character in the play.
Michael Cassio: Othello's lieutenant, who is manipulated by Iago. Cassio is a hinge on which the play turns. On the one hand, it is his promotion that arouses Iago's jealously. On the other, it is his alleged (but nonexistent) love affair with Desdemona that arouses Othello's jealousy.
Duke of Venice: Ruler who finds in favor of Othello when Desdemona's father attacks Othello's character.
Brabantio: Senator and father of Desdemona. A bigot whose racism is inflamed by Iago, he despises Othello.
First Senator, Second Senator
Gratiano: Brabantio's brother.
Lodovico: Brabantio's kinsman, who bears a message from the duke recalling Othello to Venice.
Roderigo: Venetian gentleman and former suitor of Desdemona. He is manipulated by Iago.
Montano: Othello's predecessor in the government of Cyprus.
Clown: Servant to Othello. 
Emilia: Wife of Iago. She is blind to his evil until she discovers that it was he who plotted against Othello and Desdemona.
Bianca: Cassio's mistress.
Minor Characters: Sailor, messenger, herald, officers, gentlemen, musicians, attendants.
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Plot Summary
By Michael J. Cummings...© 2003
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....... Othello, a black Moor, is a general in the service of Venice. Because he has conquered the Turks, the Venetians esteem him highly as a military leader. Iago, Othello’s ensign, aspires to rise in the ranks. But when Othello promotes the Florentine Michael Cassio to the position of personal lieutenant, Iago smolders with deadly anger for being passed over. Immediately he begins a campaign to poison Venice against Othello. On a Venetian street, Iago tells the gullible Roderigo, a gentleman of the city, that Cassio is untested in battle and that his soldierly abilities consist of “mere prattle, without practise" (1. 1. 28). In other words, Cassio is all talk, no action. Iago says that he himself, on the other hand, has proved his military prowess in battles at Rhodes, Cyprus, and elsewhere against Christian and heathen alike. Apparently, he says, Othello promotes his men on the merits of their political and personal connections, not on their soldierly skills. The goal of Iago’s plot against the highly respected Moor is not only to gain revenge; it is also to do what he most enjoys: evil. 
....... When Othello elopes with Desdemona, daughter of Senator Brabantio, Iago realizes he has the perfect opening to get back at Othello. He enlists Roderigo, a former suitor of Desdemona, to awaken Desdemona’s father late at night. Then Iago, using crude racist metaphors, inflames Brabantio against Othello:
For shame, put on your gown;
Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul;
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram1
Is tupping2your white ewe3. Arise, arise;
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you:
Arise, I say. (1. 1. 92-98)
....... Outraged, Brabantio complains to the Duke of Venice, claiming Othello used spells and charms to win Desdemona's favor. How else could a vile black man have won her favor?
.......When a fleet of Turks threatens Cyprus, the Venetian Senate decides to send Othello to Cyprus to defend it and become the new governor. During the senate meeting, the duke listens to Brabantio's charges against Othello. But after hearing Othello speak of his love for Desdemona, the duke finds in favor of Othello, and Brabantio relinquishes his daughter to the Moor. She decides to follow him to Cypress. Unaware that Iago was behind Brabantio's earlier protests against the elopement, Othello orders Iago to accompany his wife. Roderigo goes along at the urging of Iago, who tells Roderigo that Desdemona will eventually tire of Othello. However, Iago also tells Roderigo they must first act to discredit Cassio to prevent Desdemona from taking up with him. 
.......Meanwhile, a raging storm devastates the Turkish fleet, upending its attack, although the ships from Venice arrive safely at Cyprus. A celebration follows. 
.......On the evening of the first night in Cyprus, Iago–implementing his plan to discredit Cassio–gets Cassio drunk, then has Roderigo start an argument with him. Montano, the outgoing governor of Cyprus, intervenes, and Cassio wounds him. 
.......After Othello arrives at the scene of the commotion, he asks: “Honest Iago, that look'st dead with grieving / Speak, who began this?" (2. 3. 135-136). Playing the innocent, Iago replies: “I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth / Than it should do offense to Michael Cassio" (2. 3. 181-182). Having duly established himself as an unbiased onlooker, he then says, ''Yet, I persuade myself, to speak the truth. . ." (3. 1. 183). After Iago recounts for Othello what happened during the fray, implicating Cassio, Othello tells Cassio that he will never more serve as the Moor’s officer. Lovely Desdemona appears and inquires about the disturbance. Othello tells her all is well, and they go off to bed. Montano is led away for treatment of his injury. Cassio, now alone with Iago, says he regrets his behavior. Iago tells him he can yet regain favor with Othello by having  Desdemona intercede on his behalf. 
.......When Cassio presents his case to Othello’s wife, she agrees to speak with her husband on Cassio’s behalf. When she does so in an innocent attempt to be helpful, she arouses Othello’s jealousy. After all, Cassio is far younger than Othello–and terribly handsome. Is it not reasonable to believe that Desdemona has something going with Cassio? 
.......Meanwhile, Iago’s wife Emilia has found a handkerchief dropped by Desdemona. Othello had given it to his wife as a gift. When Emilia shows it to Iago, he sees an opportunity to advance his scheme and snatches it away, saying he has use for it. Iago then plants the handkerchief in Cassio’s room and tells Othello that Cassio has come into possession of it. When Othello asks his wife for the handkerchief and she cannot produce it, he tells her that it was a valued heirloom given to his mother by an Egyptian woman. He says his mother, in turn, gave the handkerchief to him as she lay dying, requesting that he give it to his future wife. 
.......“To lose ’t or give ’t away were such perdition / As nothing else could match" (3. 4. 69-70), Othello says. When he further presses Desdemona to produce the handkerchief and she cannot, he becomes convinced that she gave it to Cassio and has been  having affair with him. Othello then tells Iago he plans to poison Desdemona, but Iago advises him to “strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated (4. 1. 182).  As for Cassio, Iago says, “[L]et me be his undertaker" (4. 1. 184).
 .......Letters from the Duke of Venice arrive with Lodovico, recalling Othello to Venice and naming Cassio the new governor of Cyprus. Kind-hearted Desdemona praises Cassio. For this seemingly untoward gesture, Othello strikes and berates her. To further his plan, Iago again uses the hapless Roderigo, persuading him to kill Cassio for him. On a dark street Roderigo thrusts at Cassio but fails to kill him. Cassio in turn wounds Roderigo. Iago, darting by unseen, wounds Cassio in the leg. 
.......Othello arrives to observe from a distance. Believing Iago has been good to his word, that he has killed Cassio, the Moor goes back to the castle for the awful task of executing his wife. As others are drawn to the scene of the fray between Roderigo and Cassio, Iago returns with a lantern as if he is just discovering the melee. At an opportune moment he steals aside and finishes off Roderigo with a dagger thrust. Cassio is taken away for treatment. 
.......Othello, still in love with his wife, kisses her awake, asks her to prepare her soul for death, and–after an exchange of accusations and denials–smothers her with a pillow. As Desdemona lies dying, Emilia arrives to report the death of Roderigo. Desdemona cries out, “A guiltless death I die" (5. 2. 149), then breathes her last. Othello reveals that he killed his wife because she was having an affair with Cassio. Iago, he says, can verify her infidelity. Emilia, shocked, says Desdemona was always “heavenly true" (5. 2. 165) to Othello. If Iago reported otherwise, she says, he is a liar. 
.......Emilia calls for help, and Montano, Iago, and others respond. Emilia immediately impugns Iago: “You told a lie, an odious damned lie; / Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie" (5. 2. 215-216). Othello, still convinced of Desdemona’s guilt, brings up the matter of the handkerchief, saying  Desdemona gave it to Cassio, as Iago can attest. Emilia then discloses that she found the handkerchief and gave it to her husband at his insistence. At long last, Iago’s whole sordid plot unravels. 
.......When Othello lunges at him, Iago stabs his wife and runs off. Montano and others pursue him. Emilia dies and Montano returns. With him are Lodovico, Cassio (carried on a chair), and Iago (held as a prisoner). Othello strikes at Iago with a sword and wounds him. When Cassio declares that he never wronged Othello, the Moor says he believes him and asks his pardon. Lodovico presents letters found in Roderigo’s pocket that disclose further details of Iago’s nefarious plot.
.......Despondent with self-recrimination, Othello stabs himself, falls on the bed, and dies. Iago is held for punishment. “The time, the place, the torture" (5. 2. 427), Lodovico says, are up to the new governor of Cyprus, Cassio.
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Themes

Jealousy has the power to destroy. It destroys both Iago (jealous that Michael Cassio has received an appointment over him) and Othello (jealous that his wife may love Cassio).
Hatred is often skin deep. Racial prejudice is a crucial issue in the play, for it isolates Othello, making him feel like a defective and an outcast. As such, he wonders whether he is worthy of Desdemona–and whether she has turned her attentions toward a handsome white man, Cassio, as Iago maintains. Brabantio and Iago are the most bigoted characters. Brabantio is horrified that his daughter has eloped with a Moor who will give him dark-skinned children; Iago cannot brook the fact that he must take orders from a black.
As in Macbeth, all things are not what they seem. At the beginning, Othello appears strong and self-disciplined, and Iago presents himself as loyal and trustworthy. Later, Othello is revealed as a victim of his emotions, and Iago as a disloyal and evil man.
True love sometimes requires courage. Desdemona marries Othello knowing well that his color, his cultural background, and his advanced age will arouse controversy. But she never wavers in her love for him, even when her own father–a prominent Venetian–speaks out against the Moor; she never allows the bigotry of others to affect her. 
Bad things happen to good people. Desdemona is pure and innocent, the ideal wife. Othello is noble, loving, and accomplished, the ideal husband. But he murders Desdemona, then kills himself. In the real world, bad things happen to good people. Chance, character flaws, and the presence of evil–in this case, Iago–often militate against happy endings.

Shakespeare Study Guide in Book Form

........Shakespeare: a Guide to the Complete Works is now available in hardback and paperback. It incorporates virtually all of the information on this web site, including plot summaries of all the plays. It also gives dates and sources of each play, describes the setting and characters, discusses imagery, identifies themes, points out the climax, and provides historical background wherever necessary. In addition, it discusses and analyzes the sonnets, as well as other poems written by Shakespeare. 
........Among the many additional features of the book are essays, glossaries, explanations of versification and iambic pentameter, and a section on the Globe Theatre.
........Your purchase of this book will help maintain this web site as a free resource for teachers and students. You can order the book directly from the publisher's web site or from Amazon.com

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Racism in Othello

.......Among the vilest characters in all of Shakespeare is Iago. Audiences attending Othello begin learning the extent of his villainy in the opening scene of the play, when Iago uses racism as a spark to inflame Desdemona’s father, Senator Brabantio, against Othello. Here is the scene:
.......After Iago and Roderigo raise a clamor outside Brabantio’s house late one evening, the senator awakens and comes to a window. Iago then uses vulgar animal imagery to slur Othello, telling Brabantio that the black Moor has seized his greatest treasure, his daughter, and at that very moment is defiling her. 

Zounds!4 sir, you’re robb’d; for shame, put on your gown; 
Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul; 
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram 
Is tupping5 your white ewe6. Arise, arise! 
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, 
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. (1. 1. 92-97)
When Brabantio reacts with incredulity, Iago replies with a metaphor that this time compares Othello to a horse:
’Zounds! sir, you are one of those that will not serve God if the devil bid you. Because we come to do you service and you think we are ruffians, you’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse; you’ll have your nephews7 neigh to you; you’ll have coursers for cousins and gennets8 for germans.9 (1. 1. 119)
.......Roderigo, whom Iago uses as a cat’s-paw, supports Iago’s story. Iago then says, “I am one, sir, that comes to tell you, your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" (1. 1. 121). Roderigo adds that Desdemona is indeed in the “gross clasps of a lascivious Moor" (1. 1. 131). Brabantio, now convinced of the truth of the story, tells Roderigo to summon help. 
.......Afterward, on a street in another location, Iago meets with Othello to inflame him against Brabantio. The latter had denounced Othello, Iago says, with “scurvy and provoking terms" (1. 2. 10) after hearing of his and Desdemona’s elopement. Iago also says that
he will divorce you,
Or put upon you what restraint and grievance
The law–with all his might to enforce it on– 
Will give him cable. (1. 2. 17-20)
.......By and by, Brabantio and others appear. The senator, after denouncing Othello for taking Desdemona to his “sooty bosom" (1. 2. 87), accuses the Moor of having used “foul charms" (1. 2. 90) and “drugs or minerals" to weaken Desdemona’s will. 
.......The matter becomes an issue in the Venetian council chamber, where the Duke and other senators are preparing for war against the Turks. After Othello speaks eloquently of his love for Desdemona and she speaks on his behalf, the Duke exonerates Othello. But in doing so, the Duke obliquely denigrates Othello because of his race–apparently unintentionally, in a Freudian slip–telling Brabantio, “Your son-in-law is more fair than black" (1. 3. 311), implying that fairness is superior to blackness. Brabantio reluctantly accepts the ruling. 
.......Having lost a battle, Iago continues to plot to win the war, still using racism as one of his weapons. Consider that in referring to Othello, he sometimes inserts the word black to remind listeners that the Moor is different, a man apart, a man to be isolated. For example, after referring to Othello in Act 1 as a “black ram," he tells Michael Cassio in Act 2, Scene 2, “Come, lieutenant, I have a stoup of wine, and here without are a brace of Cyprus gallants that would fain have a measure to the health of black Othello" (25). 
 
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Imagery

.......Othello is rich in memorable figures of speech, several of which have become part of our language. Although the characters speak in prose as well as verse, the imagery remains vivid throughout the play. Among the most frequently quoted passages are the following:
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve 

For daws to peck at. (1. 1. 67-68)
In a metaphor comparing his heart to bird food, Iago comments on what he would do if he were like other men who make no attempt to hide their true feelings. Iago, of course, prides himself on his ability to give false impressions.

I will a round unvarnish’d tale deliver. (1. 3. 104)
Othello defends himself against accusations that he abducted Desdmona, saying he will tell the whole truth (round unvarnish’d tale).

To mourn a mischief that is past and gone 
Is the next way to draw new mischief on. (1. 3. 226-227)
Using alliteration (mourn a mischief), the Duke of Venice advises Brabantio not to fret over a lost cause.

The robb’d that smiles steals something from the thief. (1. 3. 230)
After the Duke of Venice exonerates Othello before the council of Venice, he advises Brabantio in this paradox to accept the verdict in good humor rather to protest it with petty grumbling.

Virtue! a fig! (1. 3. 331)
In this metaphor, Iago belittles virtue.

The food that to him now is as luscious as locusts, shall be to him shortly as bitter as coloquintida. (1. 3. 333)
In a metaphor, Iago compares current events to food; in a simile, he compares the taste of the food to the delicious taste of locusts. He predicts that the sweetness of Othello’s life will soon turn bitter. (Coloquintida is an alternate name for colocynth, a vine that bears a tart fruit resembling a lemon.)

Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving. (2. 3. 226)
Iago tells Cassio that reputation is not as important as the latter thinks it. 

How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees? (2. 3. 274-275) 
In a metaphor comparing emotional anguish to an injury to the body, Iago scolds Roderigo for complaining when his plans go awry.

O! beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. (3. 3. 191-193)
In this metaphor, Iago tells Othello that jealousy is monstrous. Iago’s observation is also an example of irony, in that Iago is attempting to inflame Othello with jealousy and in that Iago himself suffers from jealousy aimed at Michael Cassio.

Poor and content is rich, and rich enough. (3. 3. 198) 
Iago consoles (falsely) Othello with a paradox after the latter’s suspicions against Desdemona are aroused.

Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, 
Nor set down aught in malice: then, must you speak 
Of one that lov’d not wisely but too well. (5. 2. 398-400)
Before stabbing himself, Othello explains that he loved Desdemona deeply–but not wisely. Alliteration (wisely, well) helps make Line 400 memorable.

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Use of Irony

Othello’s Prejudice, the Ultimate Irony

.......Centuries of analysis and criticism of this play have focused on Othello as the victim of prejudice. Ironically, though, it is Othello who commits the most heinous act of prejudice in the  play–forejudging his innocent wife as, in his own words, a “cunning whore" (4. 2. 105) who must pay for her transgression with her life. His mulish refusal to consider confuting evidence and his summary execution of his wife demonstrate that prejudice is an equal-opportunity affliction. 

Iago's "Good Name"

.......Irony plays an important role in Othello. For example, Othello, a good man, commits a heinous crime. Iago, an evil man, masquerades as an honorable man. In fact, in one of the better known passages in the play, Iago extols honor, saying:

................Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, 
................Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
................Who steals my purse steals trash . . .
................But he that filches from me my good name
................Robs me of that which not enriches him
................And makes me poor indeed. (3. 3. 180-185)

Iago’s Ironic Warning

.......Ironically, it is the deceitful Iago who, in a pretense to make himself seem a friend to Othello, speaks of the danger of jealousy:

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on. . . . . (3. 3. 191-193)
Planted Evidence

.......Writers often use "planted evidence" as a ploy to impugn an innocent character and thereby thicken the plot. Knives, guns, caches of jewels, umbrellas, and cigarette lighters have all been used by writers to suggest that an innocent character is guilty. The 19th Century playwright Oscar Wilde often resorted to such ploys to complicate his plots. One of his plays, Lady Windermere's Fan, relies heavily on seemingly incriminating evidence--a fan and a handwritten letter--to implicate an innocent woman. What was the planted evidence in Othello that implicated Desdemona? Describe this evidence and explain its role in convincing Othello that his wife was unfaithful. 
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Climax

.......The climax of a play or another literary work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax of Othello, according to the first definition, occurs in the third scene of Act III, when Othello becomes convinced that Desdemona has been unfaithful and resolves to retaliate against her. According to the second definition, the climax occurs when Othello kills Desdemona and discovers the horrible mistake he has made.

Hinge Character

.......Michael Cassio is a hinge on which the play turns. On the one hand, it was his promotion that aroused Iago's jealousy. On the other, it was his alleged (but nonexistent) love affair with Desdemona that aroused Othello's jealousy. 

Murder Methods

.......In this play, Othello apparently strangles Desdemona or smothers her with a pillow. (The stage directions say he "stifles" Desdemona.) Murder by pillow or strangulation was only one of a remarkable variety of killing tools and methods Shakespeare used to send his characters to the beyond. In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra commits suicide via the bite of an asp. In Richard III, Clarence is drowned in a barrel of wine. In Macbeth, hired assassins inflict "twenty trenched gashes" upon Banquo's head. In Cymbeline, Guiderius decapitates Clotan. In Titus Andronicus, throats are slit and Aaron the Moor is buried up to his chest, then starved. In Hamlet, Claudius murders his predecessor by pouring poison into his ear. In King John, a monk poisons the monarch in the conventional, oral way. The latter murder method has been a favorite of assassins since ancient times. It is said that the custom of garnishing food with parsley originated in the time of the Caesars. Parsley was a secret sign from a friend in the kitchen that food was uncontaminated.

Othello as Hero

.......Hellen Gardner observes, "Othello is like a hero of the ancient world in that he is not a man like us, but a man recognized as extraordinary. He seems born to do great deeds and live in legend. He has the obvious heroic qualities of courage and strength, and no actor can attempt the role who is not physically impressive. He has the heroic capacity for passion. But the thing which most sets him apart is his solitariness. He is a stranger, a man of alien race, without ties of nature or natural duties. His value is not in what the world thinks of him, although the world rates him highly, and does not derive in any way from his station. It is inherent. He is, in a sense, a self-made man, the product of a certain kind of life which he has chosen to lead...."--Gardner, Hellen. Quoted in Bender, David, publisher. Readings on the Tragedies of William Shakespeare. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1996 (Page 140).

Did Shakespeare Visit Italy?

.......Shakespeare's works suggest that he might have visited? Consider that more than a dozen of his plays--includingThe Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, All's Well That Ends Well, Othello, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew,  Much Ado About Nothing, and The Winter's Tale all have some or all of their scenes set in Italy. Consider, too, that plays not set in Italy are often well populated with people having Italian names. For example, although The Comedy of Errors takes place in Ephesus, Turkey, the names of many of the characters end with the Italian ''o'' or ''a'':--Angelo, Dromio, Adriana, Luciana. In Hamlet's Denmark, we find characters named Marcellus, Bernardo and Francisco. Practically all of the characters in Timon of Athens bear the names of ancient Romans--Lucullus, Flavius, Flaminius, Lucius, Sempronius, Servillius, Titus, Hortensius. Of course, it is quite possible that Shakespeare visited Italy only in his imagination..
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What Was a Moor?

.......A Moor was a Muslim of mixed Arab and Berber descent. Berbers were North African natives who eventually accepted Arab customs and Islam after Arabs invaded North Africa in the Seventh Century A.D. The term has been used to refer in general to Muslims of North Africa and to Muslim conquerors of Spain. The word Moor derives from a Latin word, Mauri, used to name the residents of the ancient Roman province of Mauritania in North Africa. To refer to Othello as a "black Moor" is not to commit a redundancy, for there are white Moors as well as black Moors, the latter mostly of Sudanese origin. 

Moors in Other Shakespeare Plays

.......In Titus Andronicus Shakespeare introduces an evil Moor named Aaron who displays goodness near the end when he pleads for his child's life. Othello introduces an upright and righteous Moor who displays evil near the end when he suspects his wife of infidelity and kills her.
.......A Moor also appears in The Merchant of Venice. He is the Prince of Morocco, a suitor for the hand of Portia. Even before he arrives to make his bid for her, Portia, a racist snob, says, "[I]f  he have . . . the complexion of a devil, I had rather he should shrive me than wive me."
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Study Questions and Essay Topics

  • Brabantio protests the marriage of his daughter, Desdemona, to Othello, claiming Othello used "spells and medicines" to dull her senses so that she would marry "against all rules of nature." Do you think the real reason for Brabantio's protest is the color of Othello's skin? Use passages from the play to support your answer. 
  • What was the attitude of Europeans toward blacks during Shakespeare's time? 
  • In what ways are Othello and Desdemona similar to Romeo and Juliet? In what ways are they dissimilar? 
  • Do you believe Iago despises Othello because Othello is black? (4) Would you marry a person of opposite color? Explain your answer. 
  • What do you believe was Shakespeare's attitude toward blacks? 
  • Did any blacks live in London during Shakespeare's time? 
  • If Othello was such a great general, a man who could read the mind of his enemy, why was he so easily deceived by Iago?
  • Write an essay explaining why Othello promoted Michael Cassio as his personal lieutenant instead of Iago. The play does not address this question, and most scholars ignore it because there is virtually no evidence (prior to the appointment) to support a viewpoint. Using your imagination and what you know about Cassio and Iago from your reading of the play, venture an opinion, then support it with passages from the play.
  • Many of us tend to root for villains--bank robbers on the lam, prison inmates after an escape, mad scientists coaxing a monster to life, and miscreants like Iago. Write an essay explaining why we root for villains, an essay that probes the dark side of the human psyche to find sparks from a primeval fire that has enkindled malevolent voyeurism in all of us. 
  • Freely using your imagination, write an essay that tells what Iago was like as a child.

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Notes

1. Old black ram: Othello.
2. Tupping: Copulating with (used in reference to sheep).
3. Ewe: Desdemona.
4. ’Zounds: Corruption of by his wounds, referring to the wounds of Christ (used as a mild oath),
5. See No. 2.
6. See No. 3.
7. Nephews: Grandsons.
8. Gennets: Jennets, female donkeys.
9. Germans: Relatives.

Plays on DVD (or VHS) 
..

Play Director Actors
Antony and Cleopatra (1974) Trevor Nunn, John Schoffield Richard Johnson, Janet Suzman
Antony and Cleopatra BBC Production  Jane Lapotaire 
As You Like It (2010)  Thea Sharrock Jack Laskey, Naomi Frederick
As You Like It (1937)  Paul Czinner Henry Ainley, Felix Aylmer
The Comedy of Errors BBC Production Not Listed
Coriolanus BBC Production  Alan Howard, Irene Worth
Cymbeline Elijah Moshinsky Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Helen Mirren
Gift Box: The Comedies BBC Production Various
Gift Box: The Histories BBC Production Various
Gift Box: The Tragedies BBC Production Various
Hamlet (1948)  Laurence Olivier Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons
Hamlet (1990)  Kevin Kline Kevin Kline
Hamlet(1991)  Franco Zeffirelli Mel Gibson, Glenn Close
Hamlet (1996)  Kenneth Branagh Kenneth Branagh, 
Hamlet (2009) Gregory Doran David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie
Hamlet (1964)  John Gielgud, Bill Colleran Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn
Hamlet (1964)  Grigori Kozintsev Innokenti Smoktunovsky
Hamlet (2000)  Cambpell Scott, Eric Simonson Campbell Scott, Blair Brown
Henry V (1989)  Kenneth Branagh Kenneth Branaugh, Derek Jacobi
Henry V( 1946)  Laurence Olivier Leslie Banks, Felix Aylmer
Henry VI Part I BBC Production Peter Benson, Trevor Peacock
Henry VI Part II BBC Production  Not Listed
Henry VI Part III BBC Production  Not Listed
Henry VIII BBC Production John Stride, Claire Bloom, Julian Glover
Julius Caesar BBC Production  Richard Pasco, Keith Michell
Julius Caesar (1950)  David Bradley Charlton Heston
Julius Caesar (1953)  Joseph L. Mankiewicz Marlon Brando, James Mason
Julius Caesar (1970)  Stuart Burge Charlton Heston, Jason Robards
King John BBC Production  Not Listed
King Lear (1970) Grigori Kozintsev Yuri Yarvet
King Lear (1971) Peter Brook Cyril Cusack, Susan Engel
King Lear (1974)  Edwin Sherin James Earl Jones
King Lear (1976)  Tony Davenall Patrick Mower, Ann Lynn
King Lear (1984)  Michael Elliott Laurence Olivier, Colin Blakely
King Lear (1997)  Richard Eyre Ian Holm
Love's Labour's Lost (2000) Kenneth Branagh Kenneth Branagh, Alicia Silverstone 
Love's Labour's Lost  BBC Production) Not Listed
Macbeth (1978)  Philip Casson Ian McKellen, Judy Dench
Macbeth BBC Production  Not Listed
The Merchant of Venice BBC Production Warren Mitchell, Gemma Jones
The Merchant of Venice (2001)  Christ Hunt, Trevor Nunn David Bamber, Peter De Jersey
The Merchant of Venice (1973) John Sichel Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright
The Merry Wives of Windsor (1970)  Not Listed Leon Charles, Gloria Grahame
Midsummer Night's Dream (1996)  Adrian Noble Lindsay Duncan, Alex Jennings
A Midsummer Night's Dream  (1999) Michael Hoffman Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)  Kenneth Branaugh Branaugh, Emma Thompson
Much Ado About Nothing (1973)  Nick Havinga  Sam Waterston, F. Murray Abraham
Othello (2005)  Janet Suzman Richard Haines, John Kaki
Othello (1990)  Trevor Nunn Ian McKellen, Michael Grandage
Othello (1965)  Stuart Burge Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay
Othello (1955)  Orson Welles Orson Welles
Othello (1983)  Franklin Melton Peter MacLean, Bob Hoskins, Jenny Agutter
Ran  (1985) Japanese Version of King Lear  Akira Kurosawa Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao
Richard II (2001)  John Farrell  Matte Osian, Kadina de Elejalde
Richard III (1912)  André Calmettes, James Keane  Robert Gemp, Frederick Warde
Richard III - Criterion Collection (1956)  Laurence Olivier Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson
Richard III (1995)  Richard Loncraine Ian McKellen, Annette Bening
Richard III BBC Production  Ron Cook, Brian Protheroe, Michael Byrne
Romeo and Juliet (1968)  Franco Zeffirelli Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey
Romeo and Juliet (1996)  Baz Luhrmann Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes
Romeo and Juliet (1976)  Joan Kemp-Welch Christopher Neame, Ann Hasson
Romeo and Juliet BBC Production  John Gielgud, Rebecca Saire, Patrick Ryecart
The Taming of the Shrew Franco Zeffirelli Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton
The Taming of the Shrew Kirk Browning Raye Birk, Earl Boen, Ron Boussom
The Taming of The Shrew Not Listed Franklin Seales, Karen Austin 
The Tempest Paul Mazursky John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands
The Tempest (1998) Jack Bender Peter Fonda, John Glover, Harold Perrineau,
Throne of Blood (1961) Macbeth in Japan  Akira Kurosawa Toshirô Mifune, Isuzu Yamada
Twelfth Night (1996)  Trevor Nunn Helena Bonham Carter
Twelfth Night BBC Production  Not Listed
The Two Gentlemen of Verona BBC Production  John Hudson, Joanne Pearce
The Winter's Tale  (2005)  Greg Doran Royal Shakespeare Company
The Winter's Tale BBC Production  Not Listed

 
 

 

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