5165979
Description
Othello - Themes
- Jealousy
- Jealousy drives most of
the action in 'Othello" -
Iago's jealousy prompts
him to ruin Cassio's
career and Othello's
happiness, and
Othello's jealousy
causes him to destroy
his marriage, kill his
wife and eventually kill
himself
- Iago experiences
professional jealousy
- Sexual jealousy springs from
love to insecurity
- Shakespeare presents jealousy as consuming
and unnatural - Characters become consumed
and cannot think rationally: Iago describes
Othello "eaten up with passion"
- Its debatable whether Othello becomes jealous to
easily - 1. he doesn't give into the jealousy
immediately. 2. It only takes seeing the handkerchief
(memorable object) with cassio for jim to believe his
story
- Iago experiences
professional jealousy
- Jealousy drives most of
the action in 'Othello" -
Iago's jealousy prompts
him to ruin Cassio's
career and Othello's
happiness, and
Othello's jealousy
causes him to destroy
his marriage, kill his
wife and eventually kill
himself
- Gender/Sexuality
- Gender played an important role in
Elizabethan Society
- Men: Society was patriarchal - men had
more power. - Honour and reputation
were very important and men were
expected to act rather than talk.
- Women: It was an accepted idea
women were responsible for
humanity's fall into 'evil'
- Women: It was an accepted idea
women were responsible for
humanity's fall into 'evil'
- Men: Society was patriarchal - men had
more power. - Honour and reputation
were very important and men were
expected to act rather than talk.
- Men in 'Othello' try to control women
- Women are often referred to as
property - Othello starts as
treating Des as an equal but
later try's to gain control.
- Cassio expects Bianca to obey him,
using orders - "take it"
- Iago controls Emilia's behaviour,
giving her instructions
- Iago controls Emilia's behaviour,
giving her instructions
- Women are often referred to as
property - Othello starts as
treating Des as an equal but
later try's to gain control.
- Female Character break society's conventions
- Des breaks convention by
marrying a black man
- When Emilia sees iago's
scheming, she goes against him,
when iago realises he cant
control emilia anymore he kills
her.
- Bianca is seen promiscuous and
dishonest because she's a courtesan
- Bianca is seen promiscuous and
dishonest because she's a courtesan
- Des breaks convention by
marrying a black man
- Gender played an important role in
Elizabethan Society
- Love and War
- The male characters define themselves as soldiers - Othello
has been a solider since the age of 7 - Othello trust Iago as
soldiers becuase they were normally loyal and honest. -
even though cassio hasnt experienced battle he puts great
importance on military honour. - Men shared military
background strengthens their friendship
- Love is a Powerful Force: Othello is a
domestic tragedy focusses on personal
relationships rather than politics of
war - love motivates the characters -
Othello positively affected "it stops me
here, it is too much of joy" (2.1.191)
- Love and War seem
compatible at first.....
Combined by Othello and
Desdemona - however their
are early hints the love will be
disrupted by war, in Cyprus
othello describes des as "FAIR
WARRIOR" admiring her
strength and beauty
- Othello's speech in Act 1, scene 3:
places love before war.
- When war ends conflicts shift in
othello's marriage: Othellos elf-esteem
is based on his military honour.
- Love and War are NOT compatible
- When Othello murders Des its shows him acting as a soldier not a
husband, Othello recognises his falure as a lover becuase he didnt
love 'wisely' and was 'perplexed' by jealousy and realises he "threw a
pearl away"
- When Othello murders Des its shows him acting as a soldier not a
husband, Othello recognises his falure as a lover becuase he didnt
love 'wisely' and was 'perplexed' by jealousy and realises he "threw a
pearl away"
- The male characters define themselves as soldiers - Othello
has been a solider since the age of 7 - Othello trust Iago as
soldiers becuase they were normally loyal and honest. -
even though cassio hasnt experienced battle he puts great
importance on military honour. - Men shared military
background strengthens their friendship
- Race
- Elizabethan society had
negative views of black
people - Othello is described
as the 'moor' - Racial
prejudices existed in
Elizabethan england, Moors
were generally viewed as
savages and treated as
slaves.
- Othello is victim of racism -
Racist characters: Iago,
Brabantio and Roderigo
- Some Characters look past othello's race - uses his race as
a 'positive quality', othello is well respected in the military -
Des overlooks his skin colour, Des fell in love with is exotic
history which could make his race a weakness.
- Elizabethan society had
negative views of black
people - Othello is described
as the 'moor' - Racial
prejudices existed in
Elizabethan england, Moors
were generally viewed as
savages and treated as
slaves.
- Honesty and Deception
- Truth and Honour in 'Othello' -
- 'Honest' has many meanings in Shakespeare's time,
Honourable and to integrity, for women meant chastity.
- Honest, is used frequently mainly by Iago which is
ironic but shows how deceiving he is.
- Honest, is used frequently mainly by Iago which is
ironic but shows how deceiving he is.
- 'Honest' has many meanings in Shakespeare's time,
Honourable and to integrity, for women meant chastity.
- Appearances can be deceptive - Iago lets the
other characters see what he wants them to see,
B'cause of Iago Othello goes from seeing Des'
beauty and "sweet" smell which disguises
corruption and evil.
- Truth and Honour in 'Othello' -
0 comments
Want to create your own Mind Maps for free with GoConqr? Learn more.