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“Revenge in Shakespeare's Plays”

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“Revenge in Shakespeare's Plays” “REVENGE IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS” “OTHELLO” – LECTURE/CLASS WRITTEN: 1603-1604…. although some critics place the date somewhat earlier in 1601- 1602 mainly on the basis of some echoes of the play in the 1603 “bad” quarto of “Hamlet”. GENRE: “The Great Tragedies” SOURCE: An Italian tale in the collection “Gli Hecatommithi” (1565) of Giovanni Battista Giraldi (writing under the name Cinthio), from which Shakespeare also drew on for the plot of “Measure for Measure. TRANSLATE: John Pory’s 1600 translation of John Leo’s “A Geographical History of Africa”, Philemon Holland’s 1601 translation of Pliny’s “History of the World” and Lewis Lewkenor’s 1599 “The Commonwealth and Government of Venice”, mainly translated from a Latin text by Cardinal Contarini. STRUCTURE: “More a domestic tragedy than “Hamlet”, “Lear” or “Macbeth” concentrating on the destruction of Othello’s marriage and his murder of his wife rather than on affairs of state and the deaths of kings. SUCCESS: High since its initial staging at the Globe mainly because of its exotic setting and the foregrounding of issues of race, gender and sexuality. HIGHLIGHT: Performed at the Banqueting House at Whitehall before James I on 1 November 1604. AFTER: Steadily since 1604; for a production in 1660 the actress Margaret Hughes “could have been the first professional actress on the English stage” in the role of Desdemona. CRITICS: 1814 – Hazlitt of Edmund Kean: (Othello’s final speech was like) “the sound of years of departed happiness” 1814 – Leigh Hunt of Edmund Kean in Othello’s death scene: “Can you not mark the frozen shudder as the steel enters his frame? Death by a heart wound is instantaneous. Thus does he portray it; he literally dies standing”. OTHELLOS: Richard Burbage, David Garrick, Edmund Kean, Paul Robeson (1930), Orson Wells, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Paul Scofield, Ralph Richardson IAGOS: Edwin Booth, Henry Irving, Jose Ferrer, Ian McKellen, Kenneth Branagh, Lucian Msamati (2014 - first black actor) DESDEMONAS: Margaret Hughes, Maggie Smith RECENT: James Earl Jones on Broadway (1981); Shakespeare Theater, Washington D.C. (1997) with Patrick Stewart (“photo-negative production…featuring race reversal”); Laurence Fishburne (1995 Film – “fierce and smoldering”); London’s Donmar Warehouse with Chiwetel Ejiofor (2007) SETTING: Act 1 – Venice; Acts 2-5 Cypress YEAR: Perhaps Summer 1571 ACTION: Iago, “honest soldier” and ensign to the Moorish general Othello, is passed over for promotion to lieutenant by Othello in favor of Michael Cassio, “a great arithmetician of Florence” but who has “never set a squadron in the field.” Incensed with new hatred for Othello and Cassio, Iago sets out to destroy the latter. As the play unfolds vengeance continues to multiply like a virus and eventually destroys Othello, his wife Desdemona, his own wife Emilia and himself. NOTE: In “Othello” the Moor is assumed a Mohammedan and is viewed as an exotic figure who exerts a powerful sexual attraction especially over, Desdemona, the white daughter of a Venetian Senator. Shakespeare’s source materials include the key tale with begins with the line: “There once lived in Venice a Moor who was very valiant and of a handsome person, a passionate southern nature.” --------------------------------------------------- F O R C L A S S E X P L O R A T I O N : I A G O FACT: Othello is highly regarded as a man of “dignity and glory” and the Venetian Republic’s most successful leader in battle; thus he is the one with “chivalric valor” to speedily lead his army to Cypress to fight “the Turks” whose fleet is headed to that island. FACT: Iago is Othello’s “ancient” or ensign/flag officer and an experienced soldier; the war god Othello has been “everything to Iago, because war was everything”; no doubt he had was burning for promotion. FACT: Othello has selected Michael Cassio for promotion over Iago. FACT: Iago is married to Emilia, Desdemona’s lady in waiting; as such she accompanies the Venetian company to Cypress. ASSUMPTION: No reason is given for Othello’s decision; “Othello, the skilled professional who maintains the purity of arms by sharply dividing the camp of war from that of peace, would have seen in his brave and zealous ancient someone who could not replace him where he to be killed or wounded; Iago cannot stop fighting, and so cannot be preferred to Cassio, who is relatively inexperienced but who is courteous and diplomatic and knows the limits of war.” (Bloom) NEW: The first scene reveals Iago’s anger and plotting against Othello: “I follow him to serve my turn upon him…..I am not what I am”; as a clever artist….inventor, experimenter and, and above all, no joker, Iago sets on his alert path of revenge while playing his best role as a genius of improvisation. NEW: Iago suspects Othello of more - Act I, Sc 3, 384: “I hate the Moor and it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets he’s done my office.” (Read aloud) NEW: Note how often Othello, Cassio and other refer to Iago in his role-playing as “honest Iago”, “humble Iago”, “good Iago”. NEW: With his own sense of logic, Iago justifies himself and his actions: Act 2, Sc 3, 337-351 (Read aloud) NEW: What other new information about Iago’s persona do we gather as the play unfolds? DISCUSS: From the facts we know and the new facts we learn, how has Iago’s past formed the man we meet at the start of the tragedy? DISCUSS: Does Iago possess a fierce delight in pulling strings, in the feeling of power that comes out of making others into marionettes who one can manipulate while whetting his appetite for more of the same? DISCUSS: The truth and irony of “The green-eyed monster…” speech – Act 3, Sc 3, 165-167 (Read aloud) DISCUSS: The appalling speed with which the action unfolds (“notoriously, there seems not literally to be time for Desdemona’s supposed adultery to have taken place”) makes it an exciting – almost unbearable—play to watch. DISCUSS: Iago’s enveloping trance over Othello; is Othello hopelessly outclassed in intellect and drive by Iago or is Iago a powerful prophet of Revenge and a genius for improvisation? DISCUSS: Iago’s build to the decisive moment of the play: Act 3, Sc 3, 362 -482 with cuts (Read aloud) DISCUSS: Iago manipulates another subtle jab at Othello: As a professed Christian Desdemona is assumed to be a virginity; based on the unfolding speed of the play disrupting the consummation of the marriage on the wedding night in Venice and then again on their first night in Sicily with Othello attending to Montano’s wounds some critics claim that Othello is incapable of consummating the marriage so cannot attain to the truth about Desdemona and Cassio. DENOUEMENT: Iago: Act 5, Sc 2, 302-303 “Demand me nothing. What you know, you know. From this time forth I never will speak a word” Othello: Act 5, Sc 2, 338-356 “…..and smote him – thus!” ------------------------------------------- F O R O P T I O N A L V I E W I N G….. OTHELLO Oscar® nominee Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh star in a naturalistic version of Shakespeare's thrilling tale about the doomed marriage between a Moorish general and the daughter of a Venetian noble. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZiRPiIkRKo May be a rental charge of $3.99 + Tax Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice (1981, starring William Marshall) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCdHpKXw_Tg&t=158s .
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