1. Othello
Context (AO4)

2. Othello
Othello was written at the end of the Elizabethan Era and first performed during the Jacobean Era. This gives you a unique opportunity to use two different contexts when exploring the same play. The Elizabethan Era would have influenced Shakespeare’s writing, while the Jacobean Era would have influenced how the audience responded.

3. The New world
During the Medieval Times, very little was known of the world beyond Europe. It was a fable-like world. With increasing trade, exploration and colonization, the West became more exposed to ‘the new world’ Africans were seen as an inferior race. Christian Renessaince traditions believed Africans to be descended from Noah’s son who was cursed, therefore they believed Africans to be an accursed race. Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ challenged social views regarding Africans. The word ‘Moor’ is often used in the play, replacing Othello’s name. This is a racist device which replaces Othello’s identity with his race. ‘Moor’ presumes North African origins, and implies a Muslim identity (despite Othello being a Christian) this emphasizes his split identity.

4. Religious context
Shakespeare was a Christian and would have had to attend Church by law. ‘Othello’ is set in a Christian world, which allows Shakespeare to explore Christian ideas such as sin, the after-death and judgement. The Bible was extremely familiar to Christians at the time, so they would have easily understood all the allusions and biblical intertexuality. You can easily include religious context by connecting characters to the 7 deadly sins. For example, Envy: Othello and Iago Lust: Iago Pride: Othello Sloth: Emilia Wrath: Iago

5. Genre/form and theatre
Othello is a morality play, influenced by the morality plays of the Medieval Era. These focus on the spiritual struggle of the everyman. Good vs Evil and the 7 deadly sins were conventions of morality plays that are potent in ‘Othello.’ Eg. The idea that Desdemona represents truth and fidelity. Othello is also a revenge tragedy. Conventions present include: a Machiavellian villain, themes of revenge and atmosphere of terror and retribution, soliloquies (Iago has 8) murder and corpses, shocking events (such as the death of Emilia)

6. The malcontent
The early 17th century was pervaded by an air of melancholy not present in the more optimistic 16th century, due to social and economic discontent. This lead to the creation of the character of the malcontent.
The malcontent was
1) discontent with social structure. (Such as Iago’s jealousy over Cassio’s promotion)
2) Often an outsider (Iago is both an insider as an Italian, but an outsider in regards to his sinister agenda)
3) Self-aware in a way that other characters are not. (This is especially true, as Iago knows himself completely while Othello utterly lacks in self knowledge.)
James Callaghan says the malcontent “interpolates some of (the audience’s) own fundamental social norms in a way that implicates them in his villainy.”
This links to how Iago’s racist views would have been shared by much of the audience. Through his soliloquies, the audience is almost complicit in Iago’s scheming, and their racist views bring about a doom that the audience may feel guilty about.
He also says “misogyny is part of the malcontent pathology” Iago is an extremely misogynistic character.

7. Cyprus, venice and turkey
The conflict between the Muslim Ottoman Empire and Christians was very contemporary for Shakespearean audiences.
Cyprus is thought to be the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Goddess of love. Thus the island of love was dominated by the war between the Ottomans and the Venetians. This is the perfect setting for the destruction of love in Othello and the triumph of destruction
Cyprus has a history of invasion spanning over 4000 years. Cyprus’s distance from the Venetian republic makes it vulnerable in a way that Othello is vulnerable as he is isolated from Venetian society.
Venetian women were stereotyped as being very promiscuous. Iago uses this to manipulate Othello.
Venice also had a dark side, with revenge murders occurring in the dark. This perfectly symbolizes Iago and his preference for the dark, as he often has scenes during the night.

8. Life in the Elizabethan era
THE ECONOMY
Nobles held great power and lived extravagant lives, but were only 3% of the population. The vast majority were poor and uneducated.
Due to poor relations with Spain (the Anglo-Spanish war from 1585 to 1604) most English citizens had very poor living conditions. There were severe harvest failures in every decade of Elizabeth’s reign. The population also nearly doubled during her reign, thus inflation caused the price of food and clothing to skyrocket.

9. Life in the Elizabethan era
FAMILY
Marriages were arranged by parents and were not normally for love, but for social/financial gain.
Children were raised to be respectful and to serve their parents according to the 10 commandments. Viewed as the property of their fathers (this links to how Brabantio treats Desdemona ‘how got she out’ almost as a prisoner.) Disobedience was seen as a crime to Christianity. Thus, Desdemona’s betrayal of her father would have been extremely shocking and frowned upon.

10. Life in the Elizabethan era
WOMEN
Faced many constraints. Inferior to men. Disobedience to their husbands was often punished by beatings, even for royal women. Expected to treat their spouse as a servant serves their master. This links to how Iago treats Emilia, Cassio treats Bianca, and Othello begins to treat Desdemona towards the end of the play. Note that during the beginning of the play, Othello treats Desdemona as an equal.
Over 90% of defamation cases against women in the 17th century included the woman’s sexual history. Men had much more sexual freedom than women.
Reputation was extremely important for men. Consider this when Cassio laments over his reputation, and how Othello reacts to his supposed loss of reputation. Even more, consider how Iago uses his reputation to his advantage.

11. Life in the Elizabethan era
The Elizabethans believed that physical deformities indicated evil/corruption within. Example: cuckoldry was indicated by horns, and blackness was linked to the devil. Othello makes a note of his fear of being cuckolded and having horns when he says he has a headache. Shakespeare inverts the black=evil, white=good by having Iago as a poisonous force who corrupts the noble Othello. This would have been extremely shocking for audiences. Cuckoldry was the highest ridicule for a man as it destroyed his reputation.
The idea that Iago was an evil force that couldn’t be seen, was extremely disconcerting for an Elizabethan society who liked to believe that the outside always reflected the inside.
Elizabethans believed that before the formation of the world, there was ‘Chaos’and that when the natural order was upset it would be reflected in nature. This links to the symbolism of the Storm as Iago is trying to upset the natural order.
Elizabethans believed in witchcraft. Due to their limited scientific knowledge, superstition regarding witchcraft was a popular scapegoat for inexplicable and tragic events. This emphasizes how vulnerable Othello is in Venetian society as despite his rank Brabantio believes he used witchcraft to court Desdemona. Thus Brabantio viewed such a union as completely inexplicable, due to Othello’s race.

12. Life in the Elizabethan era
The Great Chain of Being was an Elizabethan belief that God set out an order for everything in a hierarchy: God, Angels, Kings, Humans, Animals, Plants, Rocks and Minerals.
Thus when Iago uses animal imagery for Othello, it is extremely insulting. However, this still isn’t as bad as when he uses object/plant imagery when discussing Desdemona. This shows that Iago’s misogyny is even worse than his racism. Do you think Iago is actually racist or just using racism as a tool to his advantage?
The Divine Right of Kings gave divine importance to Kings. Othello, being a General is the symbolic equivalent in the play. His fall would have been shocking to audiences, especially for Jacobean audiences who had a king- king James, as it challenged the divinity of power.