Summary Shakespeare's Othello Critics (A-level English Literature Analysis)

‭OTHELLO‬‭CRITICS‬

‭●‬ ‭Honigmann‬‭-‬‭‘The‬‭Portrayal‬‭of‬‭Iago’‬
‭○‬ ‭Moral‬‭dilemma‬‭-‬‭may‬‭be‬‭evil‬‭but‬‭is‬‭witty‬‭and‬‭perhaps‬‭the‬‭cleverest‬‭person‬‭in‬‭the‬
‭play‬
‭○‬ ‭Audiences‬‭have‬‭reacted‬‭in‬‭different‬‭ways‬‭depending‬‭on‬‭the‬‭actor‬
‭○‬ ‭Johnson‬‭:‬‭the‬‭character‬‭of‬‭Iago‬‭is‬‭from‬‭the‬‭first‬‭scene‬‭to‬‭the‬‭last‬‭hated‬‭and‬
‭despised‬
‭■‬ ‭Honigmann‬‭:‬‭our‬‭reactions‬‭fluctuate‬‭throughout‬
‭○‬ ‭Lamb‬‭:‬‭we‬‭think‬‭not‬‭so‬‭much‬‭of‬‭the‬‭crimes‬‭which‬‭they‬‭commit,‬‭as‬‭of‬‭the‬‭ambition,‬
‭the‬‭aspiring‬‭spirit,‬‭the‬‭intellectual‬‭activity‬‭which‬‭prompts‬‭them‬‭to‬‭overleap‬‭these‬
‭moral‬‭fences‬
‭○‬ ‭Dramatic‬‭perspective‬‭can‬‭make‬‭us‬‭the‬‭villain’s‬‭accomplice;‬‭he‬‭confides‬‭in‬‭us‬‭so‬
‭we‬‭watch‬‭his‬‭plot‬‭unfolding‬‭from‬‭his‬‭point‬‭of‬‭view‬
‭○‬ ‭Iago‬‭is‬‭the‬‭play’s‬‭chief‬‭humorist‬
‭○‬ ‭W.H.Auden‬‭:‬‭‘the‬‭joker‬‭in‬‭the‬‭pack’‬‭a‬‭‘practical‬‭joke‬‭of‬‭a‬‭peculiarly‬‭appealing‬‭kind’‬
‭■‬ ‭Honigmann‬‭:‬‭this‬‭just‬‭identifies‬‭one‬‭of‬‭Iago’s‬‭convenient‬‭masks,‬‭not‬‭the‬
‭inner‬‭man,‬‭and‬‭may‬‭blind‬‭readers‬‭to‬‭Iago’s‬‭essential‬‭sadism‬
‭●‬ ‭Sociopath‬‭in‬‭today’s‬‭definition‬
‭●‬ ‭He‬‭may‬‭be‬‭funny‬‭at‬‭the‬‭beginning,‬‭but‬‭towards‬‭the‬‭end‬‭his‬‭true‬
‭sadism‬‭is‬‭revealed‬‭-‬‭eg‬‭when‬‭it‬‭doesn’t‬‭matter‬‭if‬‭Cassio‬‭or‬
‭Roderigo‬‭dies‬‭because‬‭it‬‭will‬‭still‬‭advance‬‭him‬‭strategically‬
‭○‬ ‭Humour‬‭intends‬‭to‬‭give‬‭pain,‬‭allows‬‭him‬‭to‬‭bask‬‭in‬‭his‬‭own‬‭superiority;‬‭very‬‭rarely‬
‭is‬‭it‬‭at‬‭his‬‭own‬‭expense‬
‭○‬ ‭He‬‭enjoys‬‭a‬‭godlike‬‭sense‬‭of‬‭power‬‭(eg‬‭when‬‭he‬‭decides‬‭whimsically‬‭that‬‭it‬
‭doesn’t‬‭matter‬‭who‬‭kills‬‭whom)‬
‭○‬ ‭Since‬‭his‬‭victims‬‭lack‬‭humour,‬‭iago‬‭appeals‬‭to‬‭us‬‭as‬‭more‬‭amusing;‬‭dramatic‬
‭perspective‬‭compels‬‭us‬‭to‬‭see‬‭with‬‭his‬‭eyes‬‭and‬‭to‬‭share‬‭his‬‭‘jokes’‬
‭○‬ ‭Humour‬‭makes‬‭him‬‭see‬‭cleverer‬‭than‬‭his‬‭victims‬
‭○‬ ‭Goddard‬‭:‬‭Shakespeare‬‭bestowed‬‭the‬‭‘highest‬‭intellectual‬‭gifts’‬‭on‬‭Iago‬
‭■‬ ‭Honigmann‬‭:‬‭may‬‭be‬‭Iago’s‬‭opinion‬‭but‬‭not‬‭Shakespeare’s‬
‭■‬ ‭Does‬‭he‬‭just‬‭exploit‬‭existing‬‭insecurities‬‭due‬‭to‬‭wider‬‭structural‬‭factors?‬
‭■‬ ‭May‬‭be‬‭hoodwinked‬‭by‬‭fast‬‭pace‬‭of‬‭the‬‭play‬‭-‬‭seems‬‭to‬‭dominate‬‭but‬‭it‬‭is‬
‭only‬‭a‬‭week‬
‭■‬ ‭Serendipitous‬‭actions‬
‭○‬ ‭Iago‬‭excels‬‭in‬‭short-term‬‭tactics,‬‭not‬‭in‬‭long‬‭term‬‭strategy‬‭(eg‬‭doesn’t‬‭preempt‬
‭that‬‭his‬‭wife‬‭will‬‭accuse‬‭him‬‭of‬‭lying)‬
‭■‬ ‭Despite‬‭his‬‭cleverness‬‭he‬‭has‬‭not‬‭understood‬‭the‬‭spiritual‬‭impulses‬‭that‬
‭bind‬‭ordinary‬‭human‬‭beings‬‭together‬‭-‬‭loyalty,‬‭friendship,‬‭respect‬‭-‬‭LOVE‬
‭■‬ ‭Emilia’s‬‭love‬‭(of‬‭Desdemona)‬‭is‬‭Iago’s‬‭undoing‬