ipl-logo

Historical Context In Othello And Goblin Market

1217 Words5 Pages

What Difference does an Engagement with Historical Context make to our Readings of Literature? Historical context makes a considerable difference to readings of literary texts. In my chosen texts, Othello, and Goblin Market (GM), readings that are intimate with context enrich out understanding much more than a singular focus on the text. Many believe Othello was written in 1604, but there is evidence it was written as early as 1601. This was a time of social uncertainty as James 1 succeeded Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne. Due to this periodization overlap I will call this timeframe the Renaissance period. Unlike Othello, GM has been interpreted in different ways, readings ranging from sexual, biblical and fairy tale, to even a didactic allegory. Thus, historical context for both texts is vital to any scholarship reading them. Kirk agrees with my view that historical context is essential and argues …show more content…

This reinforces the difference historical context can have to a contemporary readership as racism is typically not thought to be a main issue in Renaissance society. The Ottoman Empire has conquered 1/3rd of the globe and a Renaissance audience would have felt great pathos towards Venice’s feelings of vulnerability towards this great power. Othello’s historical attachment to the Ottomans therefore make him alien- a social ‘other’, and a threat to their righteous morality. Racial discourse viewed him as a ‘moor’, and a ‘Turk’, both derogatory idioms that ‘personified all things evil’, in Protestant Reformation propaganda (Barin, 38). This is reinforced through Iago’s repetitive use of belittling, racist discourse towards Othello- ‘barbary horse…devil’, (1.1.109-11) and the use of violent, visual animal imagery- ‘old black ram is tupping your white ewe’, (1.1.88-89). This denounces Othello and Desdemona’s relationship and conforms to the stereotype that black men were sexually

Show More
Related

  • Race In Othello

    1161 Words  | 5 Pages

    Othello IO Tinatin Kakabadze Period F 9/1/15 Word Count: 1222 “Race” in the context of Elizabethan England Race, in Elizabethan Era, which was from 1485 to 1603 and was known as the Golden Age of England, was usually ignored. People with dark skin were thought of as exotic and bizarre, though they had no rights as they were forced into England despite many protests. Due to the way North/West Africans clothed themselves, many people in Elizabethan England would call them ‘devils’ and other obscene things. Though, they soon grew a few rights and weren't ridiculed as much, but were still thought of as a lower race.

    Read More

  • Othello Cultural Criticism Essay

    439 Words  | 2 Pages

    Othello is the General of the Cyprus army with honest Iago by his side. During this time racism was happening and Othello was a part of it. Othello tried his best for everybody to like him; people would talk behind his back, call him names, and would eventually ruin his life. Iago was an ensign in the army, and his “good” friend, who would put lies into Othello's head, which eventually, he took control of Othello. In this essay Othello will display cultural criticism and how it displays him as a person in the story.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Prejudice In Othello

    1010 Words  | 5 Pages

    The tragedy that unfolds in Shakespeare's Othello (1604) is caused by societal prejudice that triggers Othello's inherent naivety and susceptibility to jealousy. The Jacobean era's newfound creative nature influenced Shakespeare to include certain religious ideologies such as The Great Chain of Being. Through consistent racial prejudice directed towards Othello, we witness the belief that those of African descent are low class. Through prejudice, Othello gains a reverence for social status, which manifests into jealousy that allows him to be easily manipulated. The nature of Venetian society made it exceptionally difficult for Othello to gain social status.

    Read More

  • What Are The Interlopers In The Great Gatsby

    312 Words  | 2 Pages

    white have created conflict between the members of the play. Since the 16th century dictates that black people, or Moors, are inferior to white people, Othello is stuck in the darkness as an outsider; thus suggesting that interlopers are alone, not part of a community. Within these contrasting worlds, outsiders, like Othello, try to integrate into society, but can’t. For instance, this ingrained mindset portraying the inferiority of black people is further shown when Othello exclaims, “Her name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black / As mine own face.”

    Read More

  • A Close Reading In Shakespeare's Othello: A Close Reading

    1359 Words  | 6 Pages

    Othello: A Close Reading This is an analysis of the lines 260-279 of the third scene of the third act of Shakespeare’s Othello. In an attempt to fulfill the incessant need for comfortable dichotomies, societies tend to be divided into two groups: the ‘in-crowd’ and the ‘others’. These strict dualities, constructed upon the inherent need for adversaries, are often as arbitrary as they are false and based on nothing but fear.

    Read More

  • Othello Passage Analysis

    923 Words  | 4 Pages

    Iago uses very clever methods of persuasion and manipulation aimed to use Othello’s hamartia against him, pointing out that “ “She (Desdemona) did deceive her father, marrying you,” so much so that Brabantio “thought ’twas witchcraft”. Through this, Iago is subtly raising the issues of Othello’s cultural differences with Desdemona; a root cause behind Othello’s insecurities with his wife – along with inadequacy due to race, degree of sophistication and age. As Iago prompts Othello to think the worst, his utterances are short and uneasy, revealing the beginning to his downfall, whilst Iago’s dialogue is at length highlighting his growing power of

    Read More

  • Othello Rhetoric Analysis

    1095 Words  | 5 Pages

    With the laws of Venice miles behind them, the characters of Othello seem to have entered a Hobbesian state of nature where anything is permissible so long as it furthers the individual interest. Indeed, upon arriving in Cyprus, the majority of the characters have lives that are “poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes 76). Othello is the perfect illustration of the dangers of rhetoric. Iago exemplified the type of rhetoric that made the Greek demagogues threatening.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Desdemona's Jealousy In Othello

    971 Words  | 4 Pages

    Olson, Rebecca. “ €Too Gentle: Jealousy and Class in Othello.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 3–25.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography: Othello's Racial Identity

    1443 Words  | 6 Pages

    Despite the play's racist society, Brabantio's prejudice is validated and reinforced by Iago's early sexualizing and racializing characterization of Othello. Iago's relationship to the world he conjures up is discussed in the article's conclusion since the play itself appears to come from Iago's wounded "I." He is an expert at dividing people in two and luring them into his realm of self-alienation. Lago's character shows how Racism is a psychological problem that affects not only its victims but also its

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Racism In Othello

    1640 Words  | 7 Pages

    This extent of hostility and aggression coming from several other sources in the play was enough to ruin Othello. Thus, Othello’s downfall was more of a result of his race being that the main underlying motive behind the characters’ efforts to destroy him was racism.   It is inadequate to bypass the sociology behind racism, the concept of race, prior to defining what racism actually is. The common understanding of race suggests the division of groups based upon the color of one’s skin, hair, eyes, etc. “Although biologically meaningless when applied to humans – physical differences such as skin color have no natural association with group differences in ability or behavior – race nevertheless has tremendous significance in structuring social reality” (Clair).

    Read More

  • Overt Racism In Othello

    1097 Words  | 5 Pages

    When people of one race believe themselves to be superior to those of another, only catastrophe can result. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, racism was extremely prevalent, and white supremacy was much more pronounced. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello. Most characters in Othello display both covert racism and overt racism towards Othello.

    Read More

  • New Historicism In Othello

    1636 Words  | 7 Pages

    We find both racial attitudes towards Othello even though he is a man that works hard to get what he wants. The racial attitude is only because of the era that they live in, the Elizabethan era in

    Read More

  • Themes In Harlem Duet

    1382 Words  | 6 Pages

    Othello is for instance not really Othello 's play. Othello is not Othello 's story” (Buntin). Othello is focused more on the schemes of Iago and the tragic life of Desdemona. By retelling this story Sears is putting Othello in the centre of the narrative and giving focus to the nuances of his life as a black man. Dickson

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racism In Othello

    1501 Words  | 7 Pages

    According to Kader Mutlu in “Racism in Othello,” Othello “has a harmony of racism. This harmony is provided by the tireless verbalization of ‘otherness’ in the words of ‘Moor’ and ‘Black’” (Mutlu 136). In addition to

    Read More

  • Othello Act 3 Scene 3 Analysis

    982 Words  | 4 Pages

    Act 3, Scene 3 of Shakespeare’s Othello embodies a pivotal point in the play, as it is a transition act that grounds the foundation of Iago’s development as an antagonist and the play’s development as a tragedy. In fact, Othello is written by William Shakespeare in the early 17th century. In Act 3 Scene 3, Iago begins his insinuations of an affair between Cassio and Desdemona, which petition Othello to consider the likelihood of Desdemona’s infidelity and Cassio’s disloyalty. In this particular scene, Shakespeare makes meticulous use of linguistic and dramatic techniques to characterise Iago as an scheming, deceptive and hypocritical antagonist.

    Read More

More about Historical Context In Othello And Goblin Market

Open Document