Lesson 1: The Character of Othello
Read Othello, Act 1
Paraphrase the following lines after rereading them in their context:
SHAKESPEARE IN MY OWN WORDS 1 Iago: Now, sir, be judge yourself whether I in any just term am affined to love the Moor. RODERIGO I would not follow him then. 2 Iago: O, sir, content you. I follow him to serve my turn upon him. For when my outward action doth demonstrate the native act and figure of my heart in complement
extern, ‘tis not long after but I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at. I am not what I am.
3 Iago:I am not what I am.
4 Iago: Thus do I ever make my fool my purse. I hate the Moor. He holds me well. The better shall my purpose work on him.
5 Iago: I hate the Moor, And it is thought abroad that ’twixt my sheets 325 He’s done my office. I know not if ’t be true, But I, for mere suspicion in that kind, Will do as if for surety.
Watching Watch https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/shak15.ela.lit.whoisothello/who-is- othello-shakespeare-uncovered/ (Who is Othello?)
Recap/speaking Study the flip cards and take turns explaining how the words were used in the video. http://d3tt741pwxqwm0.cloudfront.net/WNET/shak15_int_whoisothello/index.html
Casting the character of Othello
Speaking Discuss the following with a classmate: 1 Should Othello be portrayed by a black actor? Why (not)?
Yes, because No, because
2 If Othello is performed by a white actor, should this actor use make-up to black up?
Yes, because No, because
Reading
Read what Tim Irish, screenwriter, thinks of this in the following article and answer the questions underneath.
Should Othello be portrayed by black actors?
Historically, in theater and film in the US and England, Anglo- Saxon/Caucasian/white-skinned actors have most-often portrayed Othello. It was, (lets face it) primarily a result of racial discrimination in casting. At Shakespeare’s own Globe Theatre, Othello would certainly have been played by the company’s leading tragedian, Richard Burbage. He was neither an Arab, a North African or an African American. It is unknown if Burbage donned dark makeup for the role. I should point out that Desdemona was played by a made-up boy on very high heels…
Black persons were not unknown in Elizabethan London. Many were merchants or musicians, singers or artists who had arrived via the Venetian Trade Empire. Even Shakespeare’s own legendary mistress (the “Dark Lady” of the sonnets) was of likely black African heritage; she was a well-known keyboard artist whose family had emigrated from Venice.
Richard Burbage
I suppose the political correctness of exactly what actor of which race should play the Moor of Venice is a bit murky. Symbolically, Othello’s race, his difference, is meant as a symbol of the isolation and alienation in everyone’s lives. That is the universality of the play. Just when you think you’re a member of the team, someone kicks you in the face. The play also carries a strong theme regarding the essence of racism. To Shakespeare’s mind, the heart of race prejudice is envy—sexual envy especially.
Othello is one of Shakespeare’s few race-specific works. Myself, I grew up on Joseph Papp’s productions of Shakespeare, in which the casting was mostly race-neutral. Claudius could be black, Gertrude could be Puerto Rican and Hamlet white—if the acting was good, you’d get past the color thing very quickly. Whether played by an Arab, Central African, African American, Mandarin Chinese or anyone else, Othello must be portrayed as different in some immediate way from the rest of the cast. Part of the tragedy of the character is that he believes he is like everyone else—but, to his own peril, he is not.
1 What were the actors playing the first performance of Othello in 1604 like? Othello:
Desdemona:
2 What is the most important aspect of the role of Othello?
3 What does Tim Irish mean when he pleads for race-neutral casts? What reason does he give?
4 Look back at the answers you wrote down when discussing the casting of Othello. Did reading the article by Tim Irish change your point of view? Explain.
Homework / lesson work
Directions: Choose one of these quotations to analyze. Study the example underneath. Provide the following details for it:
1. Speaker: Who says it 2. Audience: The person(s) being spoken to 3. Context: The surrounding circumstances and events in the play when the quotation appears 4. Meaning: What the quotation means in your own words 5. Significance: Why this quotation is important and how it develops the plot, a motif, or theme in the play
0. ―The food that to him now is / as luscious as locusts shall be to him shortly as bitter as / coloquintida. She must change for youth. When she is sated with his body, she will find the errors of her choice. 1. ―I saw Othello‘s visage in his mind, / And to his honors and his valiant parts / Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate. 2. ―Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. / She has deceived her father, and may thee. 3. ―If virtue no delighted beauty lack, / Your son-in-law is far more fair than black. 4. ―I hate the Moor; And it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets / ‘Has done my office. 5. ―I have‘t! It is engend‘red! Hell and night / Must bring this montrous birth to the world‘s night.
Example:
0―The food that to him now is / as luscious as locusts shall be to him shortly as bitter as / coloquintida. She must change for youth. When she is sated with his body, she will find the errors of her choice.‖ (1.3.370–373)
1 Speaker: Iago
2 Audience: Roderigo
3 Context: Earlier in act 1, scene 3, Othello and Desdemona reveal their love for and marriage to one another. Roderigo is in despair because his love for Desdemona remains unrequited. Overcome with grief, Roderigo threatens to drown himself. The above quote is part of Iago‘s response to Roderigo.
4 Meaning: Iago is describing Othello and Desdemona in the above passage. To him, both characters are fickle. What they both desire now will soon turn sour. Iago believes that Desdemona is fickle because she will eventually desire a younger man. Iago wants Roderigo to believe that Roderigo shouldn‘t despair at the current situation, since it is likely going to change.
5 Significance: In this exchange, Iago manages to keep Roderigo‘s interest in pursuing Desdemona alive. This means that Roderigo will continue to play a role as the play unfolds. Iago‘s characterizations of Othello and Desdemona also show how Iago can manipulate characters‘ perceptions of others in order to benefit himself. This conversation shows Iago‘s true nature.