OTHELLO
The drama
The performance as literature
People were REALLY invested in this, so far as yelling and running on stage to protect Desdemona
Globe theatre: open air, two layers, circular stage U shape
Daytime theatre experience
Not Realistic theatre
The magic of the words is what made his stuff interesting
You could buy the book and read it yourself, but the play is the official thing
All actors were male

Race: Othello is black
No mention of blackface? None or no one cared to write it down?
Identified as moor (african), old, foreign, threat to christians
Mismatch between othello and desdemona
Not played by a black person for a loooong time

Theme of jealousy
Othello is straightforward and honest and expects others will be too
At the same time he experiences being the other
How does he internalize the racism and question himself?
Race is the framework, but jealousy is the driver of the plot

What are iago’s motivations?

Othello’s intro: Iago mentions “his moorship”not lordship or whatever
Not refer to him by name but by race
Says he wants to get othello back but is that his true purpose? He says this in front of rodrigo who he is trying to manipulate

Iago uses the word “seem” a lot. He manipulates appearances
“I am not who i am” = divine statement.
Moses met god “i am who am”
Rodrigo picks up the racism
Othello: i am what i am
Learn from scene 1 that the world can be manipulated
So een thgouh othello is so clear of concious, the world isnt so kind
“She loves me for my stories” this is interesting, a bit of doubt that he isnt what he is. This is room for iago
Desdemona explains she loves othello for othello, she has a bit where she explains she sees him in his mind
Othello says iago is a man of honesty and trust, othello makes this reference frequently.

DRAMATIC IRONY
Othello speaks to the court in Verse! To show his prestige

The end of the comedy- party, yet iago starts setting up the tragedy
Iago is misogynistic
Tries out his plan on Rodruigo
TWISTS THE STORY, USING A VERSINO OF IT
Othering othello as he describes the relationship between O and DEs
GONE WRONG GONE SEXUAL
Using questions to inquire curiosity and insight doubt
“Didn’t u see her touching his hand?”

“GIve me to know” - othello
He needs certainty and a need to know whats going on
Iago re-narrates whats going on and re-justifying it, changing the perspective
Othello assumes Iago is Cassio’s friend and Iago is doing the best for Cassio’s interest to present Cassio in the best light. Othello has become his own opponent
He makes a judgement of the double represenetation

Suitor and Cause=double meaning
Legal terms

Or Love terms
Shakespeare uses this pun between Desdemonda and Cassio

Iago: “I like not that”

Othello: :eyes:

Othello LISTENS, this means Iago reconstructs what Othello sees

She says her love came after chaos
chaos= before god
If their love is undone everything is undone
Handkerchief: psychosexual sybmol of othello’s parent’s relationship, in turn his relationship with her

The two of them kneeling (othello and iago)-> symbol of marriage, oof
Othello is str8
Iago is GAY

Iago is a terrible boy mdude
Theyre swearing vows to each other like a marriage but like, this is a symbol of all things gone wrong
Swearing to obey othello/loyalty
Othello is like thanks, ur the best


Summary:
3.4 Othello wants handkerchief, desdemona has lost it. Cassio shows it to Bianca who is jealous of it
4.1 Iago asks othello to assume the worst about desdemona and cassio. Othello hides and witnesses iago talk with cassio. Bianca appears w handkerchief. Othello is convinced, he wants ot kill desdemona, iago tells him to strangle her. Lodovico comes from venice. Othellow strikes desdemona (public.private)

4.2 Othello questions emilia who defends desdemona, in private, othello accuses dedemona. Desdemona emilia and iago converse. Iago persuades roderigo to kill cassio.

4.3 DEsdemona and Emilia discuss othelo and nature of fidelity

5.1 iago and rodruigo assult cassio. Iago wounds cassio and kills roderigo pretending to serve justive

5.2 bedroom, othello strangles dedemona. Emilia sees her die. She tells othello he is wrong. Othello cites iago/s info. Emilia revea the theft, iago kills her. Othello wounds iago who refuses to explain and then othello commits suicide

Act 3 scene 4 (Women of the play)
Handkercheif is imbued with emotion by iago. The value exceeds its worth
Iago says “Lie?” pun of lying or laying in bed.

Othello goes into a trance like state being hung up about this

Othello goes “I wouldnt feel this way if nature didn’t allow it???”
Iago sets him up, othellow does the work

Man. Being a man is a cuckhold. Thats bc women suck - iago. WOW

Navigate his public and private identities. Lugivigo and DEsdomona talking to him at the same time

Repetition vs eloquence. He can use epic simile and when he gets angry hes boiled down. In this scene he is extremely divided

Interior vs exterior - cassio’s coat protects his life

Roderigo and iago’s convo where iago convinces him is not shown. We are outside this story

Profoundly homo-social story, the women become devices of the plot

Desdemona has a similar status to othello. Is there as witness for him in the trial, they use fair warrior to greet each other, people refer to her with military metaphors

Emilia and DEsdemona convo
Emilia is like WTF Desdemona your husband isnt jealous? I thought all dudes were trash??
You cant tell that othello is jealous?
Desdemona is like, nahh, the african sun burned away his bile humours (jealously)
Desdemona is separating of emilia and iago as an identity
Emilia is pragmatic, worldly thinking. She takes things literally
Desdemona believes in absolutes. Emilia thinks, if she trades her husband as a cuckold for the world, then she can modify that reality
Emilia is a relativist. We Declare Something Right, there is nothing absolute. Its how its percieved
She’s aware of appearances and interpretation
She goes from Prose to Verse- higher status achieved
She is aware that the man has the pwoer in the relationship, if the woman falls it is the man’s fault. She is aware of gender relationships
She accuses of men of being toxic and abusive, cheating
This play has zero evidence of women cheating, but the men do all kinds of toxic shit

They go over all the reasons why men might be so bad?
Emilia says she doesnt want to be bad, but to learn and be good. She embraces the polarity. She cant acknolwedhe that she could be bad bc she is so innocent


Othello intends to kill desdemona without scarring her. He is continuing to be perplexed that she is so beautiful outside but unfaithful inside. He is very commited to outward and inward appearance matching

Iago refuses resolution. The tragedy kind of leaves us wanting for the audience tension to be resolved. However, the story ends in ambiguitiy. He calls on the bluff of language and law. There is no occular proof, there is no absolute. He refuses to partake in a system built on words by choosing silence.

OTehllow becomes language. He refers to bible stuff, arabian trees, he’s always telling stories, even as hes killing himself.