Character – Othello
Quote Critic
"Othello is a terrible exposure of human weakness" T.S. Elliot
“Othello never comes to an understanding of the gravity of his crime – he realises the error but T.S. Elliot
consoles himself in his final speech with a cheering reminder of his virtues”
"The noble Othello is now seen as tragically pathetic" Leavis
'Iago simply exploits a weakness that already existed in Othello's character' Leavis
"Iago's machinations are effective because Othello is predisposed to believing his Loomba
pronouncements about the inherent duplicity of women."
"Othello is a victim of racial beliefs precisely because he becomes an agent of misogynistic Loomba
ones."
"The actor (of Othello) cannot help himself by studying his part acutely; for there is nothing to George Bernard
Shaw
study in it. Tested by the brain, it is ridiculous: tested by the ear, it is sublime."
“Othello does not see Desdemona as a real girl, but as something magical that has happened Wain
to him"
'the least heroic of Shakespeare's tragic heroes' Heilman
'So the delayed appearance of Othello, 'the noble Moor', could not have been more dramatic Lees
in reversing their initial expectations.’
'He has submitted himself to a kind of psychological castration in which he has been robbed of Draper
his essential power and authority and been seduced into a deep, emotional intimacy.’
"Of all parts in the canon, perhaps Othello is the one which should most definitely not be Hugh Quarshie
(Othello, RSC
played by a black actor." 2015):
"If a black actor plays Othello does he not risk making racial stereotypes seem legitimate and Hugh Quarshie
(Othello, RSC
even true?" 2015):
, Character – Iago
Quote Critic
‘Less than a complete human being because love had been left out of his composition' Wain
'Iago was destroyed by the power that he attacked, the power of love; and he was destroyed by Bradley
it because he could not understand it; and he could not understand it because it was not in him'
"Despite his cleverness, he has neither felt nor understood the spiritual impulses that bind Honigmann
ordinary human beings together, loyalty, friendship, respect, compassion - in a word, love.'
"Since his victims lack humour, Iago appeals to us as more amusing." Honigmann
'Iago excels in short-term tactics, not in long-term strategy' Honigmann
'Iago enjoys a god-like sense of power' Honigmann
‘Emilia’s love for Desdemona is Iago’s undoing.’ Honigmann
Iago's excuses are 'the motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity' Coleridge
Iago is a repressed homosexual Smith
the phonetic affinity between 'ego' and 'Iago' Raatzch
‘if one is so obviously honest, it is astonishing it need be repeated so often.’ Detobel
'Shakespeare knew that love of power, which is another name for the love of mischief, is natural Hazlitt
to man' so Iago is 'an amateur of tragedy in real life'
'The secret of Iago is not a motiveless malignity, nor evil for evil's sake, nor a professional envy, Muir
but a pathological jealousy of his wife'
'Iago's villainy is as successful as it is because he speaks to the lowest common denominator, Vanita
the most widely accepted prejudices.'
'Iago's feeling towards Othello seems to be a contradictory mixture of envy and resentment.' Draper
'If there is witchcraft in this play, its source is its most adept liar.' Karim-Cooper
'Iago is an example of a 'white devil' - a figure in the Elizabethan period that presented as 'fair' Karim-Cooper
but was actually rotten to the core.'
'According to the racist logic of Elizabethan colour symbolism, he is metaphorically as 'black' in Karim-Cooper
his purpose as Othello is in his complexion.'
'Iago publishes doubt and calls it knowledge' William Blake
Quote Critic
"Othello is a terrible exposure of human weakness" T.S. Elliot
“Othello never comes to an understanding of the gravity of his crime – he realises the error but T.S. Elliot
consoles himself in his final speech with a cheering reminder of his virtues”
"The noble Othello is now seen as tragically pathetic" Leavis
'Iago simply exploits a weakness that already existed in Othello's character' Leavis
"Iago's machinations are effective because Othello is predisposed to believing his Loomba
pronouncements about the inherent duplicity of women."
"Othello is a victim of racial beliefs precisely because he becomes an agent of misogynistic Loomba
ones."
"The actor (of Othello) cannot help himself by studying his part acutely; for there is nothing to George Bernard
Shaw
study in it. Tested by the brain, it is ridiculous: tested by the ear, it is sublime."
“Othello does not see Desdemona as a real girl, but as something magical that has happened Wain
to him"
'the least heroic of Shakespeare's tragic heroes' Heilman
'So the delayed appearance of Othello, 'the noble Moor', could not have been more dramatic Lees
in reversing their initial expectations.’
'He has submitted himself to a kind of psychological castration in which he has been robbed of Draper
his essential power and authority and been seduced into a deep, emotional intimacy.’
"Of all parts in the canon, perhaps Othello is the one which should most definitely not be Hugh Quarshie
(Othello, RSC
played by a black actor." 2015):
"If a black actor plays Othello does he not risk making racial stereotypes seem legitimate and Hugh Quarshie
(Othello, RSC
even true?" 2015):
, Character – Iago
Quote Critic
‘Less than a complete human being because love had been left out of his composition' Wain
'Iago was destroyed by the power that he attacked, the power of love; and he was destroyed by Bradley
it because he could not understand it; and he could not understand it because it was not in him'
"Despite his cleverness, he has neither felt nor understood the spiritual impulses that bind Honigmann
ordinary human beings together, loyalty, friendship, respect, compassion - in a word, love.'
"Since his victims lack humour, Iago appeals to us as more amusing." Honigmann
'Iago excels in short-term tactics, not in long-term strategy' Honigmann
'Iago enjoys a god-like sense of power' Honigmann
‘Emilia’s love for Desdemona is Iago’s undoing.’ Honigmann
Iago's excuses are 'the motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity' Coleridge
Iago is a repressed homosexual Smith
the phonetic affinity between 'ego' and 'Iago' Raatzch
‘if one is so obviously honest, it is astonishing it need be repeated so often.’ Detobel
'Shakespeare knew that love of power, which is another name for the love of mischief, is natural Hazlitt
to man' so Iago is 'an amateur of tragedy in real life'
'The secret of Iago is not a motiveless malignity, nor evil for evil's sake, nor a professional envy, Muir
but a pathological jealousy of his wife'
'Iago's villainy is as successful as it is because he speaks to the lowest common denominator, Vanita
the most widely accepted prejudices.'
'Iago's feeling towards Othello seems to be a contradictory mixture of envy and resentment.' Draper
'If there is witchcraft in this play, its source is its most adept liar.' Karim-Cooper
'Iago is an example of a 'white devil' - a figure in the Elizabethan period that presented as 'fair' Karim-Cooper
but was actually rotten to the core.'
'According to the racist logic of Elizabethan colour symbolism, he is metaphorically as 'black' in Karim-Cooper
his purpose as Othello is in his complexion.'
'Iago publishes doubt and calls it knowledge' William Blake
