Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
Shakespeare
• Actor and playwright
• Theatrical company
• Globe Theatre
– Stockholder
– Greatest plays produced here
– Burned in 1613
•During performance of Henry 8th - cannon went off
Globe Theatre
• Enclosed space with partial roof
• Seat as many as 2500
• 3 galleries of seats around 3 sides
• Platform stage extending from rear wall
• Groundlings
• Intimate atmosphere
Globe Theatre
• Trapdoors
• Inner stage
• Upper stage
• Simple scenery
• Elaborate costumes
• Female roles by boys
• Elaborate sound effects
Shakespeare’s Greatness
• Deep understanding of human
nature
• Knowledge in a wide variety of
subjects
• Influence on language
– Freely experimented with grammar,
vocabulary
– Created words:
• Shakespeare invented the word
"assassination".
– Originated phrases:
• The Bard coined the phrase, "the beast
with two backs" meaning intercourse in
his play Othello.
Shakespeare added suffixes and prefixes,
changed nouns to verbs, verbs to nouns, and
verbs to adjectives. Below are some words
that he created:
• academe accused addiction advertising
• Amazement arouse assassination backing
• bandit bedroom beached besmirch
• birthplace blanket bloodstained
• barefaced blushing bet bump buzzer
• caked cater champion circumstantial
• cold-blooded compromise courtship countless
• critic dauntless
http://www.op97.k12.il.us/LAB/shakespeare/words/shakewords.html
A Note on Reading
Shakespeare
• Keep track of characters
from list
• Poetic language - read slowly & carefully
• Pay attention to the annotations
• Listen to recording; read summary; view
a video
OTHELLO
By
William
Shakespeare
Iago’s Motives
• Ambition
• Envy of Cassio’s
promotion
• Sexual jealousy of Othello
• Profit from robbing Roderigo
• Pleasure of deceiving Roderigo and
Othello
Iago’s Motives
• Sexual jealousy of
Cassio
• Love for Desdemona
• Hatred of Cassio’s handsomeness
• Hatred of Othello
• “Motiveless malignity”
Iago
• Intelligent
• Cunning
• Capable of tempting and
controlling characters around him
• Villain without conscience
• Diabolically evil while appearing to be
honest, trustworthy
Iago
• Reduces human nature to
its least attractive traits
• Coarse, blunt
• Suspicious view of human nature - allows
him to locate weakness in others;
encourage its dominance of whole
personality
Iago’s Techniques
for Deception
• Instigates others to act
• Pretends to speak only out of the best
motives
• Works through insinuation rather than
through explicit lies
Othello
• Greatness
• Tragic hero
• Virtues carried to excess
– Loves - “too well”
– Trusts - too much
– Great sense of moral virtue - punishes sin
– Sensitive nature - vivid fantasies
Othello
• “Free and open
nature”
• “Constant, loving,
noble nature”
• Energetic
• Desire for perfection
• Trusting
Othello’s Insecurities
• HIS BLACKNESS
– A Moor (North Africa)
– Negative stereotyping by
other characters
• Lascivious
• Unnatural mate for white woman
• Practitioner of black magic
Othello’s Insecurities
• HIS LACK OF SOPHISTICATION
– Not a native of Venice
– At home on battlefield, not in sophisticated
Venetian society
– Lacks self-confidence
– Trusts Iago’s view
Othello’s Insecurities
• HIS AGE
– Older than
Desdemona
– Iago plays
on this insecurity
Iago
• Manipulates all
minor and
major characters
• Plays upon their individual
weaknesses
• Makes them instruments in his
scheme to deceive Othello
Desdemona
• Admirable
• Self-contained
• Speaks forcefully
and to the point
when she confronts her father
• Speaks playfully with Iago while
waiting for Othello’s ship
Desdemona
• Is known for her innocence, purity
• Can plead for Cassio - but not for
herself
• Dutiful, obedient
• Can be regarded as
model Elizabethan wife
Dramatic Irony
• Characters’ belief in
Iago’s honesty
• Othello’s belief in
Desdemona’s guilt
Confidant(e) - serves a major
character as a friend
• Emilia - confidante to
Desdemona
• Roderigo - confidant to Iago
Foil - illuminates a more
important character
• Emilia, Bianca - foils
to Desdemona
• Cassio - foil to Iago
Time of Play
• Concentration of time
• Othello elopes with Desdemona; same
night takes ship for Cyprus
• Cassio disgraced 1st night after arrival in
Cyprus
• Desdemona killed 2nd night
• No adherence to unities of time, place,
action
• KJV of Bible
– Quotes
– Allusions
• KJV of Bible and Shakespeare’s
plays
– Literary masterpieces of the
Elizabethan period
Sources and Sites Cited
• Ziegler, Rosemarie. MVNU professor who
first composed this PowerPoint
• About Shakespeare
http://www.op97.k12.il.us/LAB/shakespear
e/index2.html
• Absolute Shakespeare
http://www.absoluteshakespeare.com/index.
htm