Context
Othello was written in the early 17th century (Elizabethan era), then performed later in the
Jacobean era.
Othello is potentially derived from an Italian prose tale written in 1565 by Cinthio. His story
is also about a Moorish general who is deceived by his ensign into believing his wife is
unfaithful.
o In the original story however, the Ensign was motivated by lust for Desdemona,
while in ‘Othello’, Iago seems to have ‘motiveless malignity’. Shakespeare therefore
makes the character of Iago more complex perhaps to suggest evil.
Othello as a tragedy:
Traditionally a Greek tragedy was about high-ranking characters who make fatal errors of
judgement (hamartia) because of either ambition or pride. Though Othello is an unorthodox
tragic hero as a black man, his story could be seen as a tragedy as it is his pride that
precipitates his downfall. Other characters in the play also make these fatal errors of
judgement- eg Roderigo.
Aristotle’s claims that in a tragedy, the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed
character, with the audience able to sympathise with this character therefore.
Shakespeare’s tragedies are characterised by:
o A five act structure.
o Featuring heroes who the audience can feel sorry for
o Chaos is often reflected by the natural world with storms or strange mists being
characteristic.
Suicide was a sin in Christianity, but for the Romans and Greeks, it was an act of honor and
self-preservation to avoid disgrace
Location:
Setting of Cyprus- ironic setting for a tragedy about love as this was believed to be the
birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. BUT- the reference to the tempest perhaps
implies that with this love will come destruction- storm foreshadows passion that will be
unleashed. This is an island of love dominated by war.
In the time Shakespeare was writing, plays with an Italian setting were popular. Venice in
particular was a thriving commercial centre, seen as a place of romance BUT- also as the
birthplace of Machiavelli, it was also associated with poisonings and vice
The conflict between Venice and the Ottomans could be a background for a domestic
tragedy about the violent breakdown of marriage.
Desdemona dies in her bedroom- a setting often associated with tragedy in Jacobean drama.
In Hamlet, he confronts his mother Gertrude in her bedchamber, urging her to repent the
sin she has committed by remarrying. Also, in Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Giovanni kills the sister
he has a love affair with in her bedroom.
Shakespeare’s information of the Venetian-Turkish conflict probably derives from The
History of the Turks by Richard Knolles- published in 1603.
The location of the play in war torn cyprus holds a strong political resonance for its
contemporary audience, following the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
, In Loomba’s “Othello, Race and Society”, the “openness of Venice could be seen as
dangerous”, hence it appears possible to Othello that his wife is predisposed to sexual
promiscuity. This image of a liberal Venice was often employed by English writers as a
symbol of sexual deviance among women.
Social hierarchy:
Birth mattered a great deal in terms of social standing.
Women were often seen as the property of either their fathers or husbands
Women could only really make their way in the hierarchy through their relationship to a
man.
Marriage:
Marriage was often not seen as a transaction of love, especially for those in the higher
classes.
There was a social expectation of subservience and obedience of a wife to her husband.
At the time Othello was written, interracial marriages would have been shocking.
Cuckolds were men depicted with animal horns as a shameful sign their wives had been
unfaithful- they became a running joke in many early modern ballads, plays and pamphlets.
Race:
To most Elizabethans, pale skin was the epitome of beauty and purity, and therefore dark
skin ranked below it.
The term black was used in a variety of texts to stand for sin, ugliness or the devil.
Some believed that black skin was a punishment for sin, hence there was a stereotype that
the blacks were especially sexual in nature- as shown through Brabantio’s beliefs about
Othello.
The only other black character in Shakespeare is Aaron, the villain of the play Titus
Andronicus. He is the antithesis of the noble and respected Othello, and is instead cunning
and vicious. By the end of the play however, perhaps Othello too takes on this stereotypical
role of black men- is Shakespeare saying that he was never to truly assimilate into white
culture, or that a black man can never really be a good hero?
The Moroccan Ambassador visited London in 1600 to negotiate with Queen Elizabeth about
a military alliance against Spain. Shakespeare may have seen the impressive North African
party before he wrote Othello, shaping his views on black men and his character of ‘valiant
Othello.’
So unorthodox to have a black hero that in the first productions of the play, Othello was
played by a white man- Richard Burbage.
Evil/ religion
Othello was written in the early 17th century (Elizabethan era), then performed later in the
Jacobean era.
Othello is potentially derived from an Italian prose tale written in 1565 by Cinthio. His story
is also about a Moorish general who is deceived by his ensign into believing his wife is
unfaithful.
o In the original story however, the Ensign was motivated by lust for Desdemona,
while in ‘Othello’, Iago seems to have ‘motiveless malignity’. Shakespeare therefore
makes the character of Iago more complex perhaps to suggest evil.
Othello as a tragedy:
Traditionally a Greek tragedy was about high-ranking characters who make fatal errors of
judgement (hamartia) because of either ambition or pride. Though Othello is an unorthodox
tragic hero as a black man, his story could be seen as a tragedy as it is his pride that
precipitates his downfall. Other characters in the play also make these fatal errors of
judgement- eg Roderigo.
Aristotle’s claims that in a tragedy, the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed
character, with the audience able to sympathise with this character therefore.
Shakespeare’s tragedies are characterised by:
o A five act structure.
o Featuring heroes who the audience can feel sorry for
o Chaos is often reflected by the natural world with storms or strange mists being
characteristic.
Suicide was a sin in Christianity, but for the Romans and Greeks, it was an act of honor and
self-preservation to avoid disgrace
Location:
Setting of Cyprus- ironic setting for a tragedy about love as this was believed to be the
birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. BUT- the reference to the tempest perhaps
implies that with this love will come destruction- storm foreshadows passion that will be
unleashed. This is an island of love dominated by war.
In the time Shakespeare was writing, plays with an Italian setting were popular. Venice in
particular was a thriving commercial centre, seen as a place of romance BUT- also as the
birthplace of Machiavelli, it was also associated with poisonings and vice
The conflict between Venice and the Ottomans could be a background for a domestic
tragedy about the violent breakdown of marriage.
Desdemona dies in her bedroom- a setting often associated with tragedy in Jacobean drama.
In Hamlet, he confronts his mother Gertrude in her bedchamber, urging her to repent the
sin she has committed by remarrying. Also, in Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Giovanni kills the sister
he has a love affair with in her bedroom.
Shakespeare’s information of the Venetian-Turkish conflict probably derives from The
History of the Turks by Richard Knolles- published in 1603.
The location of the play in war torn cyprus holds a strong political resonance for its
contemporary audience, following the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
, In Loomba’s “Othello, Race and Society”, the “openness of Venice could be seen as
dangerous”, hence it appears possible to Othello that his wife is predisposed to sexual
promiscuity. This image of a liberal Venice was often employed by English writers as a
symbol of sexual deviance among women.
Social hierarchy:
Birth mattered a great deal in terms of social standing.
Women were often seen as the property of either their fathers or husbands
Women could only really make their way in the hierarchy through their relationship to a
man.
Marriage:
Marriage was often not seen as a transaction of love, especially for those in the higher
classes.
There was a social expectation of subservience and obedience of a wife to her husband.
At the time Othello was written, interracial marriages would have been shocking.
Cuckolds were men depicted with animal horns as a shameful sign their wives had been
unfaithful- they became a running joke in many early modern ballads, plays and pamphlets.
Race:
To most Elizabethans, pale skin was the epitome of beauty and purity, and therefore dark
skin ranked below it.
The term black was used in a variety of texts to stand for sin, ugliness or the devil.
Some believed that black skin was a punishment for sin, hence there was a stereotype that
the blacks were especially sexual in nature- as shown through Brabantio’s beliefs about
Othello.
The only other black character in Shakespeare is Aaron, the villain of the play Titus
Andronicus. He is the antithesis of the noble and respected Othello, and is instead cunning
and vicious. By the end of the play however, perhaps Othello too takes on this stereotypical
role of black men- is Shakespeare saying that he was never to truly assimilate into white
culture, or that a black man can never really be a good hero?
The Moroccan Ambassador visited London in 1600 to negotiate with Queen Elizabeth about
a military alliance against Spain. Shakespeare may have seen the impressive North African
party before he wrote Othello, shaping his views on black men and his character of ‘valiant
Othello.’
So unorthodox to have a black hero that in the first productions of the play, Othello was
played by a white man- Richard Burbage.
Evil/ religion
