Othello 20th century criticism

Othello 20th century criticism

1. critics thought that Othello was more ambiguous

2. 'Othello is a noble hero'

   • A.C. Bradley
     • sympathetic to Othello
     • 'Iago was an artist of evil'
       • motivated by pride, and a need to prove his 'power and superiority'
         • behaviour an expression of frustration
       • a thoroughly bad, cold man
       • destroys Othello by turning his virtues against him, simultaneously causing his own downfall
     • Othello is not naturally jealous

3. 'Othello is deeply flawed'

   • T.S. Eliot
     • final speech was 'an attitude of self-dramatization'
       • spends final scene 'endeavouring to escape reality'
         • othello trying to delude himself, gives the wrong (?) impression that he is noble
       • at this stage othello has stopped thinking about desdemona 'and is thinking about himself'
   • F.R. Leavis
     • iago's role as villain overplayed
     • iago's success comes as a result of othello's 'readiness to respond' to his accusations
     • othello already has weakness - vulnerable to jealousy
     • othello 'self-centered'
     • othello has no 'self-knowledge', which is both 'humiliating and disastrous' for him

4. feminism and historicism - recent critical developments

   • how Othello fits in with its social and historical background
   • the role of women
   • the issue of 'otherness' in the play

5. sexuality

   • Valerie Traub thought that the play showed how Elizabethan women were defined by 'their sexual activity'

6. OR does it challenge social attitudes?

   • Karen Newman thought that Othello has a mixed message, both part of a traditional patriarchy and challenging it
     • Desdemona marrying a black man is portrayed as 'heroic rather than demonic'

7. othello 'confirms the traditional patriarchy'

   • Marilyn French thought that Othello is a very masculine play, rejecting female sexuality

8. questioning of racial stereotypes

   • Karen Newman thought that othello's portrayal was both 'heroic and tragic'
   • Ania Loomba thought that by the end of the play, othello is both a defender and an enemy of the state

9. presentation of religion

   • Desdemona is a Christian, Shakespeare emphasises Othello's conversion to Christianity 'Christian shame'
   • Othello guilty of several sins that would damn him to hello