CHRISTian Moor, has a high reputation as a general in the Venetian army, married to Desdemona, characterized by his plainspoken, honest nature, with his status as an outsider he is vulnerable to the plots of Iago, to make him suspect his loyal wife of inf
Othello
Othello's disloyal standard bearer, Shakespeare's most intricate villain, angry because he was passed over by Othello for rank of Lieutenant (Cassio is Lieutenant), enjoys created mayhem just for the thrill of it, married to Emilia, and develops conspirac
Iago
daughter of Brabantio, elopes with Othello, a model wife, too trusting of Iago, follows Othello to Cyprus, and is loyal to Othello
Desdemona
Iago's wife, Desdemona's friend and serving woman, less idealistic about marriage and the world than Desdemona, and is loyal to mistress
Emilia
Charming soldier Othello made Lieutenant, loyal to Othello, nice to Desdemona, rude to Bianca, not cunning, and victim of Iago's plof
Michael Cassio
senator in Venice, Desdemona's father, and never gave a heartfelt blessing to his daughter's marriage
Brabantio
rejected suitor of Desdemona, tries to woo her with jewels, duped by Iago, and not really like Othello
Roderigo
what year(s) is Othello set in?
late 16th century
where does the story take place? (location(s) wise)
war between Venice and Turkey, Venice, and island of Cyprus
where is Cyprus located?
east of Italy in Mediterranean Sea, south of Turkey
who are the Venetians?
noblemen and women (Brabantio, Desdemona, and Roderigo), servants (Emilia), soldiers (Cassio and Iago), and Venetian government (Duke)
who are the Moors?
colored nomadic people of Africa, converted to Islam in the 8th century, dominated Spain till the 11th century, great dynasty till 1492, exterminated by Spanish Inquisition, suffer discrimination, and accepted in some ways
who uses trust contrasted by Othello's nobility and integrity, malcontent, and whose name translates to "Santiago" or "St. James," St. James of Spain is also known as the "Moor Killer
Iago
what was the wife's status? (culture of the time)
obediently listens and follows husband
define evil women
women thought to cheat on their husband, solely because of their gender
define cuckhold
a man whose wife cheated on him without his knowledge (wore horns as a sign of wife's infidelity)
what is the irrational, Deadly Sin of Envy, "infection with no cure," eroding trust, and bringing it could let in evil and chaos
Jealously
in Elizabethan England, this term was used to describe a wide range of non-Europeans
Moor
what was Othello referred to because he was a Moor?
Barbary horse," "thick-lips," "sooty," and "black
is it possible to know what Shakespeare and his audience thought a Moor was?
no
big, brawny gentleman, good natured, extremely necessary because he is a military genius, and is considered taboo because of his marriage
Othello
daughter of Brabantio and wife of Othello
Desdemona
Very dumb, gullible, and is in love with Desdemona
Roderigo
low class and Shakespeare's most complex and intricate villain
Iago
Iago's wide, low class, treated like an object by Iago, and a friend and servant of Desdemona
Emilia
flirty, smooth talker, talked his way into the rank of Lieutenant, and did not deserve the title
Cassio
loves Cassio, but Cassio does not love her because she is a prostitute
Bianca
Senator in Venice, Desdemona's father, and is in "trouble" because if he cannot control his own daughter (Othello and Desdemona eloped) how could he control a city
Brabantio
Shakespeare wrote his lines to have how many syllables?
10
having 10 syllables makes the tone go
up then down and stress then unstress
Shakespeare changes the order of words in a sentence, what is this called?
syntax
why is Shakespeare's work hard to read?
he wrote his lines so they had 10 syllables, up/down and stress/unstress, changed syntax, and put words were they didn't fit
how many words did Shakespeare invent?
over 3,000
what are some words Shakespeare invented?
swag, bandit, critic, dauntless, dwindle, elbow (V), green-eyed, lackluster, lonely, and skim-milk
from the 11-15th century Catholics tried to re-conquer Spain from who? They had successfully occupied it since the 900s.
Islamic Arabs and Berbers, or Moors
Who expelled 300,000 "Moriscos" from the Iberian peninsula not long after Shakespeare finished Othello in 1609
Philip III of Spain
in England during Shakespeare's time, views regarding "Moors" were slightly complex because
strong anti-Catholic sentiment in England and English fears of invasion by the Spanish
England maintained independent trade relations with who despite Spanish and Portuguese protest? What also brought people of color to Europe?
Moorish Northern Africa, the English slave trade
who founded the Barbary Company, formally institutionalizing the slave trade; in addition they received a delegation of Moroccan diplomats in 1600
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth issued a degree expelling who from the boundary of England in 1599 and 1601
Moors from Africa and Spanish "Moriscos
a kind of extended monologue, no one is there, you are center stage, and the character expresses themselves. The truth comes out, if a character was acting one way throughout the show, now we see their real thoughts. There are 3 types of this.
Soliloquy
when character talks to dead body (West Side Story/Romeo and Juliet) or an inanimate object (Little Shop of Horrors)
surrogate soliloquy
tell their plan or motive, they are thinking out loud (You're a Good Man Charlie Brown)
talking to oneself
(most popular) the trickster, crosses the boundaries between legal vs. illegal, day vs. night, female vs. male, and dream vs. reality, and only seen during this
directed toward audience
4th wall is broken for a small period of time and if 3 characters are on stage 2 will be having a what but one won't hear. Basically anything that interrupts the flow of the story
aside
tells the audience he is evil and what his plan is during this
Iago's soliloquy
And what's he, then, that says I play the villain. When this advice is free I give and honest, probal to thinking, and indeed the course To win the Moor again? For 'tis most easy Th' inclining Desdemona to subdue In any honest suit. She's framed as fruit
Shakespeare, Othello's soul is chained to the love of Desdemona, his love for Desdemona, Cassio, sociopath, oxymoron, he is the devil, Desdemona's love
misuse of a word intentionally, by replacing it with a word that sounds similar, comedic relief, and gives character an idea (wife/life)
Malaporpism