Othello (by Shakespeare)

William Shakespeare:

o He wrote during the Elizabethan period (1558-1603). This period saw the flourishing of
English drama. Shakespeare wrote plays for the Globe Theatre.
o The Elizabethan period was an era of nationalistic pride, economic expansion and religious
turmoil. Nationalistic pride and economic expansion are tied to the discovery of America
some years before. New lands were sought, because this would mean more goods to trade
and more colonies. In fact, in 1583, Newfoundland, the first English colony in America was
discovered. Its discovery gave Elizabeth a steady income of fish. Religious turmoil is related
to the parliament passing the “Act of Supremacy” (1558) by which England’s
independency from the Church of Rome of re-stated: this meant that Elizabeth I was now
the Supreme Governor of the State of England.
o During Shakespearean times, there weren’t any decorations available for the stage, this is
why the language was very important: through language, a lot of things that now we take
for granted had to be conveyed.
o Performances were given during the daylight, and sometimes candles were used to convey
the idea of night in the play.

Othello. Soldado y amante:

Othello is a Moor. In those days, Elizabethan society took Moors as being uncivilized, sexually
rampant, heathen. However, Othello is a brave soldier, and in spite of his origins, he’s asked by the
Signori to defend Cyprus of the attack of the Turks. Othello, in spite being a Moor, excels in the art
of war. It’s interesting to notice that the only part that Shakespeare kept of the “Moor” stereotype
is just the “black” part. In every other respect Othello doesn’t conform to the stereotype: he says
he doesn’t have much of a sexual appetite, he’s a Christian, and he’s quite civilized. In fact, he
claims that he doesn’t love her to have sex with her, because his sexual appetite is dead, but that
he loved her for her mind.

La aventura como seducción. ¿??? No hay nadie teniendo una aventura acá. Seducción de que??
jaja

El amor y la aceptación social.

We could say Othello’s an outsider, a stranger to the ways of Venetian society. Although militarily
recognized, unlike evil Iago, he’s not a part of the Venetian society, and, in fact, he’s a black Moor,
a lower category of human being, something that Brabantio makes him feel. Brabantio says that
Othello is something to be feared, not loved (again, Moors were regarded as inferior, heathen,
sexually rampant, etc.) and that his daughter would never marry this man, because she could be
with any man in the whole city. He even accuses Othello of having enchanted her and wants
Othello to be sent to prison (Brabantio believes her daughter could’ve never been in love with a
Moor). When responding to these accusations, Othello says that the only thing he knows is how to
fight, and doesn’t know how to speak very well, but he’d tell the story of how Desdemona and him
met. Their love is pure, and Desdemona always loved him: her admiration and love toward him
started when he went to her house to talk to Brabantio about his fights and his life. Desdemona
comes and confirms what Othello says. Brabantio says his daughter is dead to him.

Another reading can be done: Kristeva talks about the third party: when we select our love object
we unconsciously select the power that comes with it. Maybe Othello selected Desdemona,
unconsciously, because her loving would grant him with some sort of acceptance: he’d become
the son in law of a Signori and therefore a member of the aristocracy.

La transparencia de Othello y Desdemona.

Othello’s blackness is a constant reminded of her devotion to him: her love for him doesn’t stem
from her social self (since of course, as a Venetian upper-class woman she was expected to marry
someone at least not black), but from her inner nature. Even though Desdemona conforms to the
stereotype of the Venetian woman in some ways (well-educated, capable of flirtation –we see a
mild flirtation with Cassio, when he kisses her fingers before Othello’s arrival in Cyprus), she’s
utterly constant in her love to Othello. And as long as Othello accepts this absolute commitment,
their relationship is strong. Desdemona said she loved him for the dangers he’d survived, and
Othello loved her for feeling such strong emotions about him. But Othello gives in to Iago’s words:
the knowledge that Othello has that he’s the object of love of Desdemona is intuitive, he knows
who the individual Desdemona is. But he favours Iago’s generalization of Venetian women.

Othello y los celos.

Shakespeare’s exploration of jealousy leads to the far-reaching theme of the human psyche’s
predilection for the “monstrous”. Monsters of the mind are self-generating, even without a
precipitating agent that a depraved manipulator such as Iago supplies. When jealousy is
personified as a monster in the play, it is to suggest how human beings can be taken over by a
passion that is huge. Iago defines “jealousy” as “the green eyed monster”, a grotesque parasite
that feeds on its host. As Othello’s jealousy heightens, it turns the noble warrior into a monster.
But does Iago really give him proof? In fact, Othello has not found factual or scientific truth; thanks
to Iago, he has discovered within himself an aptitude to believe in the fiction of Desdemona’s
infidelity.

But a less traditional view on jealousy may lead us to the concept of “delusional jealousy”, which
originates on the repressed impulse to infidelity, but the objects of its fantasies belong to the
same sex. It is an attempt at defense against a very strong homosexual striving, and in a man it
may be expressed in the formula, “Indeed, I do not love him, she loves him” (Freud).
Iago, el villano.

While Othello finds it difficult to “construe signs” within an alien culture, Iago is an accomplished
manipulator of these signs. Iago claims he knows what Venetian women want and how they act,
when he asserts that Venetian women just don’t want to get caught cheating. Moreover, he tells
Othello that Desdemona has cheated on her father, and it’s possible she’ll do it again, this time, to
him. He’s in some ways the typical insider, trusted by Venetians. But he’s more alien than Othello
himself, for while Othello is merely a stranger in Venice, Iago has cut himself off from the entire
human world. To him people are puppets. Iago wants to destroy Othello and Desdemona’s
marriage since their very existence in mutual love and trust is living refutation of the values Iago
lives by: expediency (suited to the end in view), deviousness (cunning) and ruthless self-assertion
(asserting one’s superiority over others). Another interesting view can be put forward if we take
into consideration the timing of the riot that Iago stirs: just when Othello and Desdemona were
supposed to be consummating his marriage. Maybe Iago’s evilness and decision to destroy this
marriage stems from his own homosexual desires. This last view could have support if we look into
the quote by Iago “I am not what I am”.

Deconstrucción.

o Started in the 1960s and it’s the most influential and well known kind of a literary criticism
known as post-structuralism.

Structuralism Deconstruction
o Posited fixed meanings and o Allows for plurality of meaning: texts
interpretations on readings. are fluid and dynamic entities that are
given new life in interaction with other
texts.

o It was possible to arrive at the o Meaning is undecidable and the

meaning of a text if we focused on its systematic grammar of the text cannot
underlying structure. be found. Since there’s no objective
truth, or meaning, there is no
transcendental signified
o Focus: structure

o Focus: places of the text where it

contradicts and therefore
o Sign: stable (one signifier is always deconstructs itself.
tied to one signified)
o Sign: unstable (one signifier is not tied
to one signified but to other signifiers
in an endless chain).
 o Language refers to concepts (or
signifieds) in the mind, not to an
external reality.
o Language refers to itself only. It’s an
ongoing play of signifiers that never
comes to rest. Our minds are in
constant flux. We might have the
illusion of signification, but that’s just
the trace, i.e. what’s left from the
ongoing play of signifiers. This play is
what Derrida calls “differánce”,
asserting that meaning is always
postponed, leaving in its place only
difference.

o Binary oppositions: pair of terms that

make it possible for us to understand
both the other more fully. They’re
seen as stable
o Built on this notion of binary
opposition, but:
1. The first member of the pair is always
a privilege member. The privilege
member defines itself by means of
what it’s not. Looking at the world in
terms of opposites is oversimplifying
its nature.
2. Since there’s no transcendental
signified, such binaries are not fixed
and are open to change. This unstable
relationship between members of a
binary opposition Derrida calls
supplementation. Any centre can be
decentred, and, in doing so, one could
go beyond logocentrism. Derrida
asserts that Western society is
logocentric, meaning we want to
believe there’s a centring principle in
which all action and behavior are
based.

Other relevant concepts:

o Metaphysics of presence: western civilization assumes that conscious, integrated selves

are at the core of human activity. Derrida calls this belief metaphysics of presence. These
ideas include: logocentrism, phonocentrism (the primacy of speech over written discourse)
and our acceptance of a transcendental signified.
o Aporia: it’s the point where the contradictions in a text cannot be resolved anymore and
the text deconstructs itself.