Othello by William
Shakespeare
Renaissance: Brief Historical
Context
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1. Roughly 14th to 17th century
– Shakespeare wrote during the
16th and beginning of 17th
centuries
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Period of violent and sweeping
change
Authority of the Roman
Catholic Church questioned
National govt. formed around
strong monarchs
Merchant and professional
classes grew
Renaissance: Humanism
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2. Renaissance means “re-birth”
Humanism is from the Italian word,
“umanista”
3.Focus on humanism: Intellectual movement
– 4 A. Emphasized human powers to know and change
the world
– B. Insisted on scholar’s rights to pursue knowledge
without being constrained by the Church
– C. Directed attention to new approaches to literature,
history, and science
Renaissance: Religion
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Arguably, the most
important person in Europe
before the Renaissance was
the Pope
5. Catholicism was the
dominant religion in
Europe (America was in its
infancy)
6. England, under Queen
Elizabeth I, became
Protestant
Movement away from one
school of thought and toward
the emphasis on individual
choice
Renaissance: Women in the
Renaissance (pre-notes)
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Had few rights during this
time period
Confined to the domestic
sphere, but not necessarily
unhappy
– No general trend that they
were mistreated or unhappy
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Role was limited largely
due to lack of birth control
– Had a baby, on average,
every two years
• Made it impractical to
work full time
7. Renaissance: Women in the
Renaissance (notes)
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7. Women’s limitations:
– Could not be educated by a tutor, but schools
were reserved for boys
– Not allowed to vote
– Could not enter the professions (law, medicine,
politics, etc.)
– Could not be heirs to their father’s titles
– Man had the legal right to chastise his wife as
he was seen as the head of the marriage.
Queen Elizabeth I
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Called the Virgin Queen
because refused to get
married
At the time, it was
unheard of for a woman to
rule without a king.
She proclaimed that she is
married to her country –
England.
Had to be very careful by
still presenting herself as a
woman to not offend the
culture of her time
Plot Overview
Othello (a Moor and Captain in the Venetian
army) marries Desdemona, a white
Venetian, which upsets her father.
Additionally, Iago (Othello’s ancient or
assistant) is jealous of Othello’s promotion.
He wants Othello fired and tormented. Iago
concocts an elaborate plan to convince
Othello that Desdemona is sleeping with
another man.
8. Othello is a Moor, which means he is most likely
a Muslim of Arab or North African (Berber)
descent (this point has been argued, however).
Because of this, he is often portrayed as having
dark skin.
What is a Moor?…the Other
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9. Moors were characterized as
being alternately or even
simultaneously noble/ monstrous,
civil/ savage
10. Being a different race meant
being an Other (non-English, nonChristian, etc.)
Queen Elizabeth expelled Jews,
Africans, and “Blackamoors” from
England in 1596 and 1601.
Many blacks in England were
slaves, most were persecuted.
12. Many felt foreigners were a
threat to cultural homogeneity
(sameness) – 13. ethnocentrism:
belief in the superiority of one's
own ethnic group
-14. xenophobia:Intense or
irrational dislike or fear of people
from other countries
Setting
15. The play begins in
Venice, Italy.
However, the Duke
sends Othello to
Cyprus to protect the
island from the Turks
(Ottomans) at the end
of Act I.
Othello Summary via Shmoop
http://www.shmoop.com/video/othellosummary