1. Introduction to Drama and Shakespeare

2. The History of Drama from internetshakespeare. uvic
The History of Drama from internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/drama/greektragedy.html
The great tragedies of Aeschylus*, Sophocles*, and Euripides* were performed annually at the spring festival of Dionysus, god of wine, and inspiration.

3. The History of Drama from internetshakespeare. uvic
The History of Drama from internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/drama/greektragedy.html
Tragedy (the Greek word "tragoidia" means goat-song) began with the introduction of an actor, who played various roles by changing masks, whose actions the chorus commented upon in song, and who exchanged dialogue with the leader of the chorus.

4. Ancient Greek Theater
Place. The setting of the play should be one location:
Time. The action of the play should represent the passage of no more than one day. Previous events leading up to the present situation were recounted on stage.
Action. No action or scene in the play was to be a digression; all were to contribute directly in some way to the plot.
Roman theatre, Kermessos. Photograph Peter Smith.

5. Drama
The form of literature known as plays; but drama also refers to the type of serious play that is often concerned with the leading character’s relationship to society.

6. Important Dramatic Terms
Prologue—a speech, which is often in verse, that is recited to the audience by one or more actors at the beginning of a play. The prologue sets the stage for the action that will follow and can be thought of as a sort of preface or introduction to a dramatic work.

7. Important Dramatic Terms
Tragedy—a drama of a solemn and dignified quality that typically depicts the development of a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force, such as fate, circumstance, or society, and reaches a mournful or ruinous conclusion.

8. Important Dramatic Terms
Tragic flaw—a defect in the protagonist that brings about his or her downfall.
Hubris: derived from the Greek word hybris, means “excessive pride.” In Greek tragedy, hubris is often viewed as the flaw that leads to the downfall of the tragic hero.

9. Important Dramatic Terms
Tragic hero: the main character of great importance to his state or culture and who is conventionally of noble birth and high social station, the ruler or an important leader in his society.
The moral health of the state is identified with, and dependent on, that of its ruler, and so the tragic hero’s story is also that of his state.

10. Important Dramatic Terms
Such heroes are mixed characters, neither thoroughly good or thoroughly evil, yet “better” or “greater” than the rest of us in the sense that they are of higher than ordinary moral worth and social significance.

11. Shakespeare: The Man 1564: Shakespeare's birth
1582: Shakespeare's marriage
1593: Shakespeare's first publication
1599: the Globe Theatre is built
1616: Shakespeare's death
Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library.

12. First published in 1623 as part of First Folio
Othello:
Written in 1604
First published in 1623 as part of First Folio
Major Characters
Duke of Venice
Othello: Moor, married to Desdona
Iago: Solider in Othello’s army
Cassio: Lieutenant in Othello’s army
Desdemona: Othello’s wife
Emilia: Iago’s wife
Roderigo: Solider, loves Desdemona

13. Othello:
Setting (time) · Late sixteenth century, during the wars between Venice and Turkey
Setting (place) · Venice in Act I; the island of Cyprus thereafter

14. Sources of Othello
Shakespeare’s source is Cinthio but he changed a few things:
Iago is Shakespeare’s own invention
Cinthio’s Ensign is Iago’s basis but:
Ensign falls in love with Desdemona
She shuns him in favor of Othello
Ensign blames it all on Cassio
Ensign beats Desdemona to death

15. Story of Othello
Othello is a Moor in Venice, who has attained success as a renowned general and has married fair Desdemona. Iago, his ancient, envies him and resents the fact that Cassio has been named Othello's lieutenant. They are all sent to Cyprus to defend the island from an attack that never comes.

16. Story of Othello
There, Iago plots against Othello, cunningly making him believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. Iago is constantly maneuvering other characters and makes an ideal villain, so clever and cynical, as well as close to his victim.
Andres Becerra, Resident Scholar

17. Othello and his tragic flaws
The only magic that Othello possesses is in his power of language.
His language shows his pride in his achievements
Othello portrays himself as a tested, honorable warrior, and indeed is such.

18. Othello and his tragic flaws
This view of himself will prove troublesome when he is hard pressed to recognize his jealousy and his lust
His inability to reconcile himself with these two aspects of his personality means that his comeuppance is almost certain.
Othello's lack of self-knowledge means that he will be unable to stop himself once Iago begins to ignite his jealousy

19. Othello and his tragic flaws
There is no conscience in Othello
Shakespeare had a tragic obcession with the idea of a good name living on after the protagonist’s death:
Horatio to discuss Hamlet
Cassio to tell of Othello
Tragedies, literary or human, depend on imperfect knowledge
Shakespeare came naturally to histories, comedies and romances, but tragedies took work
The tragedies especially are not religious in any reguard
No killer kills in the name of any god, ever
War is the religion in Othello, Macbeth, Lear, and Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt)

20. Themes in Othello
Appearance vs. reality: Especially relevant to the issue of Iago's character; for although he is called "honest" by almost everyone in the play, he is treacherous, deceitful, and manipulative. Also applies to Desdemona, as Othello believes that she is deceitful and impure, although she is really blameless and innocent.

21. Themes in Othello
Race: Race is an extremely important theme; it has a great amount of influence on how people regard Othello ‹for those who distrust black people merely on looks never like Othello, like Iago. Race also determines how Othello perceives himself as a rough outsider, though he is nothing of the sort. Othello's race sets him apart, and makes him very self-conscious; it makes him work hard and look carefully after his reputation, so he is regarded as equal to the white people that surround him. .

22. Themes in Othello
Magic: Usually has something to do with Othello's heritage. Othello is charged with using magic to woo Desdemona, merely because he is black, and therefore, "pagan." Yet, Othello does have real magic, in the words he uses and the stories he tells. Magic also reappears when Desdemona's handkerchief cannot be found; Othello has too much trust in the symbolism and charm of the handkerchief, which is why the object is so significant to him.

23. Themes in Othello
Pride: Especially important with regards to Othello; Othello is defensively proud of himself and his achievements, and especially proud of the honorable appearance he presents. The allegations of Desdemona's affair hurt his pride even more than they inflame his vanity and jealousy; he wants to appear powerful, accomplished, and moral at every possible instance, and when this is almost denied to him, his wounded pride becomes especially powerful.

24. Themes in Othello
Honesty: Although the word "honest" is usually used in an ironic way throughout the text, most characters in the play go through a crisis of learning who and who not to trust. Most of them, unfortunately, trust in Iago's honesty; this leads to the downfall of many characters, as this trust in Iago's "honesty" became a crucial contributor to their undoing.

25. Themes in Othello
Order vs. chaos: As Othello begins to abandon reason and language, chaos takes over. His world begins to be ruled by chaotic emotions and very shady allegations, with order pushed to one side. This chaos rushes him into tragedy, and once Othello has sunk into it, he is unable to stop his fate from taking him over.
Self-knowledge: Othello's lack of self-knowledge makes him easy prey for Iago. Once Iago inflames Othello's jealousy and gets the darker aspects of Othello's nature into action, there is nothing Othello can do to stop it, since he cannot even admit that he has these darker traits.

26. Themes in Othello
Misrepresentation: This also allows Iago to gain trust and manipulate other people; misrepresentation means that Iago is able to appear to be "honest," in order to deceive and misdirect people. Othello also misrepresents himself, as being simple and plain-spoken; this is not for deceptive effect, but also is used to present an image of himself which is not exactly the truth.

27. Themes in Othello
Good vs. Evil: Though there is much gray area between these two, Iago's battle against Othello and Cassio certainly counts as an embodiment of this theme. Iago and his evil battle to corrupt and turn the flawed natures of other characters, and he does succeed to some extent. By the end of the play, neither has won, as Desdemona and Emilia are both dead, and Iago revealed and punished.

28. Newer Versions of Othello