Othello Context Notes

?

OTHELLO

Othello

Black protagonist with high ranking and noble position in Venetian Army, this challenged traditional values of the protagonist always being white.

Black considered lower class and uncivilised/immoral.

At the time a mans honour was often linked to his wife's sexual purity.

Time of patriarchal society, and Othello demands obedience from women but also goes against it by not following Brabantio's wishes.

Soldier= respected member of society. Othello has high ranking status which means responsibility, because of this role in society he has to punish himself for letting himself be manipulated.

Desdemona

Arguments that see Desdemona as stereotypically weak and submissive ignore the conviction and authority of her first speech- typical woman.

Her submissive nature to her husband reflects a typical patriarchal society.

Her fight against society by marrying a black man which was in them days wrong. She defies societies norms and values by falling in love with Othello.

Strong female character standing up for and against Othello.

She is defined as Othello's wife and Brabantio's daughter and the object of the male characters affection.

She embodies the Venetian lady/Renaissance wife.

Cultural Context

Shakespeare was writing in a Renaissance, a cultural movement inspired by…

Comments

No comments have yet been made