Study Guide. Othello

Transcription

1 Study Guide Othello

2 Contents ATTENDING A PERFORMANCE AT TILLES CENTER YOUR ROLE AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER... 5 A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF OTHELLO ABOUT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY... 9 PREPARING STUDENTS TO SEE A SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION9-10 ABOUT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY S TOURING PRODUCTIONS AND LIVE PERFORMANCES CHARACTERS OTHELLO PLOT SYNOPSIS QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER THE HISTORY OF SHAKESPEARE S OTHELLO ABOUT OTHELLO TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING EVENTS BEFORE AND DURING SHAKESPEARE S LIFETIME MOOR SEEMING REFLECTION INCOMPLETE LIST OF USEFUL SHAKESPEAREAN WEBSITES WORKS CITED ABOUT TILLES CENTER

3 ATTENDING A PERFORMANCE The concert hall at Tilles Center seats 2,242 people. Hillwood Recital Hall seats 490 people. When you attend a performance at Tilles Center, there are a few things you should remember: ARRIVAL Plan to arrive approximately 30 minutes prior to the show. Performances cannot be held for late buses. LIU Post Public Safety will direct buses to parking areas. Remain seated on the bus until instructed to unload. Please stagger chaperones throughout the group to help keep students in line and moving quickly to the seating area. Groups are directed into the theater in the order that they arrive. BEING SEATED (IMPORTANT!) Upon entering the theater, ushers will direct students and teachers to sit row by row. Students will be seated in the order which they enter the building. Groups from your school may be seated separately from one another throughout the theatre. We ask that at least one chaperone is assigned to every 15 students for grades Pre-K- 5, and one chaperone to every 30 students for grades We recommend that a teacher or chaperone sit at the end of each row of students in the theatre. With adequate adult supervision, students which may be seated in different sections of the theatre will have enough chaperones to ensure safety. We ask for your full cooperation with this procedure in order to start the show on time! Please allow ushers to seat your group in its entirety before making adjustments within the row. This allows us to continue seating groups that arrive after you. Once the entire group is seated you may rearrange students in new seats and use the restrooms. Schools are not allowed to change their seats. All students must be supervised by a teacher at all times including when going to the restroom - high school students are no exception. 3

4 DURING THE SHOW There is no food or drink permitted in the theater or lobby areas. Photography and audio/video recording are not permitted during the performance. Please turn off (or leave behind) all electronic devices, including cell phones, portable games, cameras, and recording equipment. Keep them off for the entire performance. The devices may interfere with the theater s sound system as well as being disruptive to both the audience and the actors. And please no texting or checking messages during the show! Please do not disturb the performers and other members of the audience by talking. If something in the show is meant to be funny, laughter is encouraged! Please do not leave and re-enter the theater during the performance. There is no intermission; visit the restroom prior to the start of the show. Performances generally run minutes. EMERGENCY CANCELLATIONS If schools throughout the area are closed due to inclement weather, Tilles Center performances will be cancelled. If, on the day prior to a performance, it appears that inclement weather may cause a performance to be cancelled, all schools will be called by our staff to alert them to this possibility. School representatives should periodically check the Tilles Center website (tillescenter.org) when winter weather advisories and warnings are in effect. Updates will be posted regularly on the home page. On the morning of the performance a message will be posted on the website no later than 6:30 AM indicating if the performance has been cancelled. If a performance is cancelled, Tilles Center will attempt to reschedule performances on a date mutually agreeable to the artists and the majority of ticket buyers. 4

5 YOUR ROLE AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER TO THE TEACHER: An essential component needed to create a live performance is the audience. Please talk with your students about what it means to be an audience member and how a live performance is different from TV and movies. Please share the following information with your students prior to your visit to Tilles Center. Some performances may involve audience participation so students should behave appropriately, given the nature of the performance and the requests of the artists on the stage. By discussing appropriate audience behavior, as a class ahead of time, the students will be better prepared to express their enthusiasm in acceptable ways during the performance. BEING AN AUDIENCE MEMBER: Audience members play an important role until an audience shows up, the performers are only rehearsing! When there is a great house (an outstanding audience) it makes the show even better, because the artists feel a live connection with everyone who is watching them. When the house lights (the lights in the part of the theater where the audience is sitting) go down, everyone feels a thrill of anticipation. Focus all your attention on the stage and watch and listen carefully to the performance. The most important quality of a good audience member is the ability to respond appropriately to what s happening on stage sometimes it s important to be quiet, but other times, it s acceptable to laugh, clap, or make noise! If the audience watches in a concentrated, quiet way, this supports the performers and they can do their best work. They can feel that you are with them! The theater is a very live space. This means that sound carries very well, usually all over the auditorium. Theaters are designed in this way so that the voices of singers and actors can be heard. It also means that any sounds in the audience - whispering, rustling papers, or speaking - can be heard by other audience members and by the performers. This can destroy everyone s concentration and spoil a performance. Do not make any unnecessary noise that would distract the people sitting around you. Be respectful! Applause is the best way for an audience in a theater to share its enthusiasm and to appreciate the performers, so feel free to applaud at the end of the performance. At the end of the performance, it is customary to continue clapping until the curtain drops or the lights on stage go dark. During the curtain call, the performers bow to show their appreciation to the audience. If you really enjoyed the performance, you might even thank the artists with a standing ovation! 5

6 New England Tour of Shakespeare 2018 William Shakespeare s Othello Directed by Kevin G. Coleman Tour Manager... Brittney Holland Costume Designer... Govane Lohbauer Sound Coordinator... David Bertoldi Fight Choreography... Kai Tsikosi Director of Education... Kevin G. Coleman Associate Director of Education..Jonathan Croy Director of Youth Programs... Jennie Jadow The Cast Iago... Gregory J. Boover Othello... Kai Tshikosi Roderigo/Emilia/The Duke... Caitlin Kraft Cassio... Andrew Barrett Desdemona/Senator/Brabantio s Servant/Soldier.Kirsten Peacock Brabantio/Montano/Lodovico... David Bertoldi Bianca/Officer/Senator/Soldier/Gratiano... Alison Howard 6

7 A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF OTHELLO Othello is a play of contradictions. Iago, the most duplicitous character in the play (and one of the greatest villains in Shakespeare) is constantly called honest Iago. His is a cultivated persona, a tool that has allowed him to ascend military ranks where honor and duty are rewarded. Desdemona, referred to as pure, fair, divine, proves herself to have a strength of spirit and strength of will that allow her to stand up for her love of Othello in front of her father and the Senate, and then to forgive Othello in her last moments. Emilia, as most women in Venice, lives as a second-class citizen. But her sharp observations on the dynamic between men and women reveal an intelligence and wit that rival any of the men in the play, and her courage near the end when her life is threatened reveal an individual of great strength and integrity. And Othello a non-white man in a white society, a man vilified for his cultural heritage, that has achieved great status through his accomplishments. An alien in this society that has shown uncommon duty. A devoted and trusting husband that gives in to mistrust. A man defined by his difference who falls victim to universal weaknesses doubt, jealousy, mistrust and distrust. Every twist and turn in the story is driven by extremes the threat of war that evaporates in a storm, friends that betray friends, attempted murders gone awry, love fueling hatred. Even the language of the play, so straightforward at first glance, carries great intricacy of thought. 7

8 None of this is uncommon in Shakespeare s plays; there are many instances of extremes in behavior, language or action that reveal truths that exist within those extremes. But the sheer preponderance in Othello are unique. This is a world in which everything is what it is until it isn t. Another thread that has been on my mind is the idea of use. Othello is valued for his skills as a warrior, and that defines his value to this society. Husbands speak of and deal with their wives in this play in terms of their purpose, whether it s Othello s flights of fancy about his love for Desdemona, or Iago s cynicism about his marriage to Emilia (or even, I suppose, the parallel professional personal relationship between Bianca and Cassio), the relationship seems to have as much weight to each individual as it serves them. Roderigo is used by Iago, and when his usefulness is at an end, so is he. One last thought-- Shakespeare seems to have been fascinated by the innate tension of an alien in a community. Shylock s religion, Richard III s deformities, Edmund s bastardy (or The Bastard in King John), Othello s race; each of these characters are driven by their personal circumstances to see the world around them from a unique perspective. I personally don t believe that Othello is a racist play or that The Merchant of Venice is an Anti-Semitic play, or that The Taming of the Shrew is a Misogynistic play. I don t know how anyone would write a play that involves racism without creating characters that are racist in thought and action. Same with misogyny; same with anti-semitism. I believe that Shakespeare was a humanist, a playwright that wrote about the world he lived in with great clarity, and that sometimes that meant delving into the less savory qualities of the human condition. Kevin G. Coleman Director of Education 8

9 ABOUT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY Founded in 1978, Shakespeare & Company aspires to create a theatre of unprecedented excellence rooted in the classical ideals of inquiry, balance and harmony; a company that performs as the Elizabethans did -- in love with poetry, physical prowess, and the mysteries of the universe. With a core of over 120 artists, the Company performs Shakespeare, generating opportunities for collaboration between actors, directors, and designers of all races, nationalities, and backgrounds. Shakespeare & Company provides original, in-depth, classical training and performance methods, influencing theatre professionals and actors-in-training from all over the world. Shakespeare & Company also develops and produces new plays of social and political significance, with particular interest in plays that emphasize language. This synergy is further enhanced as Shakespeare & Company s Education Program brings our work to students and teachers across the nation. Through a company-wide commitment to performance, education and training, Shakespeare & Company inspires actors, directors, designers, students, teachers and audiences to rediscover the resonance of Shakespeare s truths in the everyday world, demonstrating the influence that classical theatre can have within a community and the world. PREPARING STUDENTS TO SEE A SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION Give them a sense of the story The plots of Shakespeare s plays are usually pretty simple for an audience to follow and easy to detail beforehand. His plays are not murder mysteries that emphasize plot twists or surprise revelations to keep the excitement high. It doesn t spoil the experience to know beforehand that, say, Romeo and Juliet die in the end (the opening Chorus reveals this anyway), or to know that in his comedies, the lovers almost always get married in the end. Shakespeare s plays are character-driven. The audience or reader becomes engaged by the individual characters, their thoughts, feelings and their relationships. If we know the plot ahead of time, we can then quiet our minds about the what and focus on the who and why. Introduce them to the characters Before the play starts, if the audience is able to know and remember who the characters are, they will more easily relax, enjoy and be curious about why the characters do what they do be interested 9

10 in character development and interpretation. Since most of Shakespeare s plays have long lists of characters, they can become a feast of familiar friends, or a tangle of confusing strangers. Knowing whether a character is part of, say, the Capulet or Montague household, what social status or wealth they have (nobility, servant) and what political power (civil or religious) they wield also helps to clarify characters and their actions. Get them excited about the language Shakespeare s language is different from that of movie dialogue, song lyrics, newspapers or novels. The language is poetic, so it can involve unusual sentence structure and syntax. The language is inherently designed to be dramatic. Most people think of Shakespeare s English as 400 years older than the English we speak today and focus on the words that have fallen out of usage, or those that have slightly or even completely different meanings. It is more appropriate to think of Shakespeare s language as 400 years younger than what we speak now. It is more vibrant, exciting and daring language, a language replete with images, a language to hold your attention on the stage. Shakespeare nearly overwhelms our modern ear with a myriad of images that surprise, delight, inspire or even break our hearts. Discuss the qualities of live theatrical performance It s important for students who don t attend theater regularly to reflect on the nature of live performance. Because we re so used to other forms of entertainment, it can be surprising to remember that everything happens in real time, in the actual moment of performance, and that each performance is unique. At Shakespeare & Company, we celebrate these aspects of live performances, placing great emphasis on the relationship between the actors and the audience. Our actors look directly at the audience, speak to them directly sometimes even ask them for a response. There is constant acknowledgement that this is a play, being performed in the moment and in the presence of people who have come to see and hear it, in other words, the actors will continually dance between the real reality of being on a stage in front of people watching, and the imaginative reality of say, Verona in the heat of the summer. We also ask students to reflect on their role as audience. Rather than focusing on theatre etiquette, we invite students to participate as an engaged audience. We want them to join us in the telling of the story. When an audience is actively attentive and responsive, they share in the success of the performance. 10

11 ABOUT SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY S TOURING PRODUCTIONS AND LIVE PERFORMANCES What you will be seeing is a seven-actor touring production of Othello. The model of a small cast of actors playing multiple roles and traveling has a long history in various parts of Europe and England stretching from the Middle Ages, but we can easily imagine this model being employed from the earliest beginnings of theatre. Touring productions would leave London and take to the road for various reasons; the plague, political and religious suppression, the winter weather, or financial need. As a resident of Stratford-upon-Avon, a town whose location made it important in commerce and travel, it is very likely that Shakespeare was exposed to touring productions as he was growing up. While there is no direct evidence to prove this, or his early fascination with performances, it is more reasonable to imagine it being true than to reject it because of the absence of documented proof. Our touring production visits schools and theatre venues across the northeast for 16 weeks. Shakespeare & Company performs in huge spaces (like The Hanover Theater in Worcester, MA; The Stadium Theater in Woonsocket, RI) and in small spaces like middle and high school theatres (or Café-gym-natoriums ). Audience members range in age from elementary students, through middle school, high school, college, community, even to senior citizens. Because of this, the production and the actors performing must be extremely flexible to adjust to the wide range of audience members and all types of spaces. The production elements (sets, sound, props, weapons and costumes) have been carefully designed to accommodate the wide variety of locations and their size, the demands of travel, quick load-ins and assembly and the quick costume changes each actor must achieve to play multiple roles. Theatrical lights are not transported because of the time involved to set them up and find adequate power. Besides, Shakespeare s plays were written for performances in the middle of the day when the sun was illuminating the audience as well as the stage. Real swords are used because they are better constructed, balanced and can be trusted by the actors not to break in performance. The only adjustments made to the weapons are to dull the edges and blunt the tips, which the audience won t particularly notice, but which makes them safer for the actors. The design concept must serve to help the audience keep track of the characters and story, particularly that audience which is least familiar with live theatre. Without additional technical staff (which keeps the cost of the tour 11

12 affordable for schools) the actors themselves are responsible for transporting everything, assembling the set and caring for the props and costumes. Our schedule is very packed. Five performances each week is normal, but with additional workshops, days of multiple performances, travel, load-in, set up, vocal and fight warm-ups, strike and more travel, the schedule calls for some very early mornings and late nights. The demand is on the actors to present multiple characters through their physical and vocal adjustments, but the costumes also serve to help the audience differentiate between characters. Since playbills are impractical in most locations, the costumes become very important just for this. The same was true for those Elizabethan actors who also traveled with reduced versions of longer Shakespeare plays. Scholars are finding evidence that the plays in performance were always edited and shorter than the longer versions that got the approval of the Master of Revels, or that we read or study in literature classes as the published versions. For example, Romeo and Juliet, which takes over 3 hours to read aloud, most likely was only 2 hours in performance, including the many fights and dances, just as the Chorus claims at the beginning of the play. Our 90-minute performance of Romeo and Juliet is similarly edited and performed without intermission. A bit shorter than what the Elizabethans probably heard, this version fits better into school schedules. Shakespeare s plays are essentially about language. Elizabethan audiences went to hear a play their expression. Today we go to see a movie, watch TV, or describe ourselves as sports spectators our expressions. Elizabethan audiences particularly enjoyed the language of the plays, and this appreciation demanded plays in which the language was first and foremost, dramatic. Some of the words and expressions in Shakespeare s plays are unfamiliar to us. They likewise would have been unfamiliar to Shakespeare s audiences. But that was part of the enjoyment for them. It would be counter-productive for Shakespeare, or any playwright, to be writing words and expressions that intentionally confuse their audience. Rather, new words and expressions were created to surprise and delight the hearer. And we too should approach them that way with curiosity rather than resentment. One final thing to keep in mind In the Elizabethan playhouses, the actors would address the audience directly, even eliciting responses when needed. There was minimal separation between the actors onstage and the members of the audience. Shakespeare goes out of his way to acknowledge the audience and to keep bringing their awareness to the fact that they are watching a play. This is a style of theatre that is esthetically and practically very different from our own. 12

13 CHARACTERS Othello: A Moor, and an officer in the Venetian military. He falls in love with, and marries, the delicate Desdemona though he is middle-aged, and she is still young. Othello is bold and a good warrior, but he is a good man undone by his two main failings, jealousy and pride. Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice. Then, must you speak Of one that loved not wisely but too well --Othello Desdemona: Othello's wife, a young Venetian woman of high birth, great strength, intelligence, integrity and good breeding. I am not merry; but I do beguile The thing I am, by seeming otherwise. --Desdemona Cassio: Othello's lieutenant, though he has little field experience. Cassio is a smooth-talking Florentine courtier, the opposite of Othello in many respects, which is why Othello admires him. Othello is led to believe that Cassio has had an affair with his wife, though Cassio has only honorable intentions toward Desdemona. Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh I have lost my reputation! I have lost the immortal part of myself, and what remains is bestial. --Cassio Iago: Othello's Ancient (ensign) who was passed over for the lieutenant position in favor of Cassio. Iago is young, wounded and willing to be treacherous. In explanation of his actions, he cites both the missed promotion and the rumor that Othello might once have had an extra-marital relationship with his wife Emilia. He is immoral, but very perceptive, keen, and able to manipulate people into falling for his deceptions. I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at: I am not what I am. --Iago 13

14 Emilia: Iago's wife, and later Desdemona's handmaiden. She is entrusted with bringing people into Desdemona's presence, staying with her at all times, etc. Emilia is not aware of her husband's machinations, nor his darker qualities. She remains loyal to Desdemona above all others, although she unwittingly plays a key part in Iago's treachery. Then let them use us well. Else let them know, the ills we do, their ills instruct us so. --Emilia Brabantio: Desdemona's father, a senator and renowned citizen of Venice. He is not at all pleased by Desdemona's union, and warns Othello that as Desdemona betrayed her father, she may betray her husband too. Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see. She has deceived her father, and may thee. --Brabantio Roderigo: A foppish Venetian of some means who lusts after Desdemona, and thus a tool in Iago's plots. Iago promises Roderigo that he shall have Desdemona's love in return for his help; Roderigo actually receives nothing but a disgraced death following his attempt on Cassio's life. I will incontinently drown myself. --Roderigo Duke of Venice: Ruler of the city, and Othello's superior. He allows Othello and Desdemona to stay together despite her father's protests. The Duke also sends Othello off to Cyprus to battle the Moors. And, noble signior, If virtue no delighted beauty lack, Your son-in-law is far more fair than black. --The Duke of Venice 14

15 Bianca: A courtesan who Cassio visits frequently; Cassio asks her to make a copy of Desdemona's handkerchief, and the fact that the handkerchief is found in her place further incriminates Cassio. She is the only female in the play whom Cassio shows less than full respect to, likely because she is a prostitute. I must be circumstanced. --Bianca Montano, Governor of Cyprus: He is the main law and order figure of Cyprus, and is in charge after Othello dies, and Iago is proven unfit. Heaven bless the isle of Cyprus and our noble general, Othello! --Montano Lodovico and Gratiano: Two Venetian nobles, both known to the Venetians in Cyprus. To you, lord Governor, Remains the censure of this hellish villain. The time, the place, the torture, O enforce it. --Lodovico Senators: Members of the ruling council in Venice. Othello answers to them and the Duke in matters of war. 15

16 OTHELLO PLOT SYNOPSIS The play begins with Greg Boover speaking to the audience as himself and welcoming them to the production. At one point, he is interrupted by the actor playing Roderigo. Greg immediately assumes the character of Iago and the story of the play begins. Scene One: Roderigo is greatly displeased with Iago. We discover that he is employing Iago to support his romantic pursuit of Desdemona; a young woman who we now learn has secretly married Othello, a Moor, a General in service to the wealthy city-state of Venice. Additionally Othello, as a Moor, is black and therefore racially different from white Venetians; racially inferior in the prejudiced minds of some. Iago professes his loyalty to Roderigo and expresses his personal and racial hatred for Othello. He reveals that Othello passed him over for promotion in favor of Michael Cassio, a less experienced soldier. Cassio is selected by Othello to be his Lieutenant, and Iago is to remain his Ancient (Ensign), a lesser rank in the military. This seems to infuriate Iago, dangerously so. Together they decide to provoke the newly married couple by exposing their secret marriage to her father, whose home they, conveniently, are standing right outside of at a very late hour of the night. Scene Two: Desdemona s father, Signore (Senator) Brabantio, having been rudely wakened and obscenely confronted with the displeasing news about his daughter s marriage, immediately sets off in pursuit of her and the Moor. Roderigo leads the enraged rescue party. Iago slips away to avoid being recognized by Brabantio, and to prepare Othello for the confrontation. Scene Three: Iago warns his General that Desdemona s father Senator Brabantio is enraged and seeking both him and his daughter. Iago carefully omits that he himself had a hand in enraging Brabantio.Othello seems unthreatened by this news and professes his love for Desdemona. Lieutenant Cassio unexpectedly arrives with a summons from the Duke of Venice to immediately meet at the Senate. Cassio speculates about trouble in Cyprus, a large island in the eastern Mediterranean that is an outpost of Venice. Othello is about to set off with him towards the Senate when the Brabantio party intercepts them all. Brabantio threatens to arrest Othello on the charge of using witchcraft or possibly drugs to seduce and steal his daughter. This would have been a serious crime, a capital offense for the Elizabethans. However, hearing that the Senate is in emergency session and Othello sent for, Brabantio hastens to the Senate, bringing Othello and the others with him. 16

17 Scene Four: The Duke and some Senators are worrying over conflicting reports detailing a Turkish fleet of warships sailing towards Cyprus. The Ottoman Empire may well be moving against Cyprus. Senator Brabantio arrives with Othello in tow. The Duke first greets Othello, whom he had sent messengers to find, and begins to enroll Othello in the defense of Cyprus. When Brabantio expresses his distress for his lost daughter, all business in the Senate stops. Othello is compelled to defend himself against Brabantio s serious charges. Desdemona is sent for, and Othello recounts his whole course of wooing Desdemona at her house and as her father s guest. Desdemona arrives, overhears what Othello has said, and affirms her choice of him as husband, even against her father s wishes. The secret marriage problem seems to be resolved, however painfully for Brabantio. Othello is dispatched to the defense of Cyprus, and Desdemona is permitted to follow him. Brabantio warns Othello and glances at her unfaithfulness to himself. Othello reiterates his love and confidence in Desdemona. The Senate breaks up. Othello entrusts Desdemona to honest Iago for his care and protection on the journey to Cyprus. Othello and Desdemona exit together before his hurried departure to defend Cyprus. Scene Five: Roderigo re-enters in even greater despair, presumably having overheard Desdemona confessing her love for Othello in the Senate. Iago scolds Roderigo for his unmanly lovesickness. Eventually he begins to comfort him and even assures him that Desdemona, for various reasons, will eventually leave the Moor and choose him. Money will no doubt tip the scale in Roderigo s favor. Roderigo goes off to sell all his land. Iago, alone onstage, tells the audience how little he respects Roderigo, how much he hates Othello, and how he might contrive to destroy him. Iago is remarkably candid with the audience, and the consequences of his yet unformed plan are horrifyingly dire. Scene Six: The play shifts to the isle of Cyprus were we meet Governor Montano, a young woman named Bianca and other unnamed island soldiers. We quickly discover that there has been a terrible storm at sea, and the Turkish fleet is all but destroyed. Lieutenant Cassio arrives and is deeply worried for the safety of Othello. Immediately another ship arrives. It is Iago, his wife Emilia and Desdemona, who also is greatly concerned for the safety of her husband. When Othello finally arrives and sees Desdemona, safe from the tempest that destroyed the Turkish fleet, their scene of reunion has some of the most sublime expressions of love in all of Shakespeare. Roderigo arrives later and Iago sets him up to do some mischief to Cassio who, he tells Roderigo, is in love with Desdemona as well. Roderigo, devastated by this new disappointment, agrees. Iago, again alone onstage, tells the audience how he will use Cassio s guilelessness and attractiveness, and the innocence and goodness of Desdemona to make Othello jealous. Iago s plan is taking on greater shape and clarity. 17

18 Scene Seven: Governor Montano reads a proclamation announcing a triumph to celebrate both the destruction of the Turkish fleet as well as Othello s wedding. The whole island is invited to celebrate these events, and that includes much drinking. Even Cassio, who knows he has a problem with drinking, gets caught up in the revelry. When it s time to send the soldiers to the watch, Iago discreetly sends Roderigo after Cassio. A huge fight ensues. The island is alarmed, Montano is gravely injured and Cassio is shamed. Othello arrives from bed and strips Cassio of his rank. When things quiet down, Cassio despairs over what he has done and complains to Iago. Iago counsels him to seek Desdemona s help in getting Othello to restore his position. Cassio, somewhat heartened, goes away. Iago again speaks to the audience as his plan begins to unfold. Iago is bent on destruction, which now necessarily includes Cassio and Desdemona as well as Othello. The scene shifts to the next morning. Scene Eight: The next morning we meet Emilia, Desdemona and Cassio in mid conversation. Desdemona promises to solicit Othello on his behalf to restore his position. When Othello and Iago enter, engrossed in island fortification business, Cassio hastily departs. Desdemona then approaches Othello and pleads for Cassio. Othello puts her off for the moment, but promises to grant whatever she requests. Desdemona departs playfully, and Othello reaffirms his love for her to the audience. Iago then, very gradually and very skillfully begins to erode Othello s confidence in Desdemona. Scene Nine: Iago begins very deftly and subtly to cast suspicion on Desdemona and Cassio s relationship. He assures Othello that he s cautioning him about this situation out of love. Othello, convinced that Iago is honest and loves him, begins to entertain what Iago is telling him. As Iago s poison begins to work, Othello, alone onstage, shares his doubts with the audience. Emilia and Desdemona return to invite him to lunch. Othello seeks her aid in relieving a headache, and she offers to bind his head with her handkerchief, a beautiful one spotted with strawberries. Othello carelessly dismisses her efforts, and the handkerchief is dropped and forgotten. Unobserved, Emilia retrieves it, recognizes the strawberries and its significance as the first love token Othello gave Desdemona, and declares she will give it to her husband who had oftentimes requested it. Iago happens by, and she somewhat reluctantly gives him the handkerchief. When she leaves, Iago reveals he will plant the handkerchief in Cassio s lodging. Othello enters is great distress and attacks Iago for undermining his belief in Desdemona. Iago skillfully diffuses the confrontation and recounts to Othello a fictitious incident concerning Cassio talking about Desdemona in his sleep. Iago additionally uses Othello s handkerchief to further deceive him, suggesting that Desdemona carelessly gave it to Cassio. Othello is devastated and completely believes whatever Iago 18

19 implies about Desdemona s unfaithfulness. Othello makes a vow to revenge his lost honor and love by killing his wife. Iago promises to kill Cassio as well. At the end of this horror, based on nothing but Iago s lies and insinuations, Othello elevates honest Iago to the role of his Lieutenant. Scene Ten: Desdemona and Emilia return to the stage in desperate search for the strawberried handkerchief. Emilia conceals the fact she gave it to Iago. When Othello enters, he tests Desdemona by asking for the handkerchief he is certain she gave to Cassio. Desdemona is unwilling to talk about it. Othello misinterprets this and stomps off, all the more convinced of her guilt and infidelity. Emilia observes that Othello is jealous. Desdemona seeks to resolve this misunderstanding with Othello, but Cassio enters and presses his case as she is leaving. She puts him off, and Desdemona and Emilia exit to find Othello. Scene Eleven: Cassio is alone onstage when Bianca enters. She is a young woman and seems to know Cassio quite intimately. He asks her to copy the design of some strawberries on a handkerchief he has and says he found in his lodgings. Bianca is at first surprised by this, but later agrees to do it. She entices Cassio to sup with her later that night. Cassio agrees. Scene Twelve: Othello and Iago enter in conversation about the handkerchief. As Iago implies even greater and more graphic sexual business between Desdemona and Cassio, Othello has a kind of fit and falls unconscious. At that moment, Cassio re-enters and is filled with concern for Othello. Iago, pretending knowledge of Othello s condition, sends Cassio off for a moment. When Othello recovers, Iago quickly has him hide to overhear what he will get Cassio to say about Desdemona. When Cassio returns, Iago questions him instead about Bianca. Othello eavesdrops thinking he is speaking about Desdemona. Bianca returns in fury and refuses to copy the handkerchief as she has become convinced it is a love token from some other mistress of Cassio s. He eventually calms her down and sends her off promising to dine with her that evening. Othello comes out of hiding and inquires of Iago how to best kill Cassio. Iago suggests strangling in her bed and offers to kill Cassio himself. Scene Thirteen: A trumpet announces the arrival of Lodovico and Gratiano from Venice. Both are kinsmen to Desdemona s father Brabantio. Lodovico delivers a missive from the Venetian Senate summoning Othello back and elevating Cassio to be the supreme authority in Cyprus. When Desdemona expresses gratitude for this new plan, Othello gets physically violent. The scene ends awkwardly with Lodovico and Gratiano in shock about Othello s mental state. Scene Fourteen: In frustration, Othello confronts Emilia to confess and reveal Desdemona s secret behavior with Cassio. Emilia has nothing to reveal which 19

20 frustrates him even more. He sends her away and sends for Desdemona. In one of the final scenes with the two of them, even as Othello is mistakenly confronting Desdemona about being a whore, the hurt and heartbreak that is beneath the anger that lives in both of them is palpable. Othello calls Desdemona a whore and exits the stage. Scene Fifteen: Desdemona is devastated. She asks Emilia to place her wedding sheets on her bed. She asks Iago how she might win Othello s love again. Iago tries to comfort her. Emilia becomes enraged at Othello s calling Desdemona a whore. Iago sends them both away and Roderigo enters. Iago gulls him into ambushing Cassio and killing him. Roderigo agrees after some hesitancy. Iago and Roderigo leave together. Scene Sixteen: Desdemona comes into her bedroom singing a song from her childhood. Emilia enters. The two of them talk about men and jealousy and revenge and injustice. Emilia has a lot to say. Desdemona has a different way of looking at her love and her marriage. Emilia leaves, Desdemona prays and goes to bed. Scene Seventeen: Roderigo and Iago hide to ambush Cassio returning in the dark from dinner at Bianca s. Roderigo botches it and Cassio wounds him. Iago, unseen, wounds Cassio, then helps Roderigo off. Then kills him. He returns to kill Cassio but Lodovico s and Gratiano s presence deter him. Bianca arrives and ministers to Cassio. Emilia arrives and Iago sends her off to tell Othello what has changed. Scene Eighteen: Othello enters the bedroom with a candle. He is there to kill Desdemona, but is finding it difficult to do. He talks about it to the audience. When she wakes up, they talk together. He accuses her of betraying him with Cassio. She denies it. He doesn t believe her. A handkerchief was the final proof for him. He smothers her in her bed. Emilia knocks to come in and report on the Cassio/Roderigo event. When Othello lets her in, she discovers Desdemona murdered. She stands up against Othello and raises Montano, Lodovico, Gratiano and Iago. Scene Nineteen: She confronts Iago who has lied about Desdemona s fidelity. Othello sticks up for Iago and explains he has a handkerchief as proof. Emilia realizes how her gift to Iago has been used to deceive Othello into killing his wife. Emilia reveals the truth as Iago tries to silence her. Failing that, Iago kills her and flees. Gratiano and Montano exit the room, pursuing Iago and preventing Othello s escape. Emilia dies singing Desdemona s song. 20

21 Scene Twenty: Othello realizes that he has been deceived. He realizes Desdemona s faithfulness and his own infidelity to her. Iago is captured and returned. Cassio enters having dressed the wounds he received in the dark. Othello tries to kill Iago but the others disarm him. Iago is wounded and refuses to speak when questioned. Lodovico arrives and empowers Cassio to rule in Cyprus, Othello being forcibly returned to Venice. Othello kills himself with a weapon no one suspected he had. Three bodies lie dead as the other characters leave the stage. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER 1. How does the convention of actors playing multiple roles enhance or detract from your enjoyment of the play? 2. How does the convention of talking directly to the audience enhance or detract from your engagement with the characters and/or the story of the play? 3. How might Brabantio feel being thwarted in the search for his daughter as he went off to the Senate instead? 4. Why do you think the Duke and Senators believed Othello in his recounting of how he won the affections of Brabantio s daughter? 5. How important is one s reputation? Is Cassio s concern about his reputation realistic? 6. Why do you think Othello so quickly, or so easily believes what Iago tells him about Desdemona? 7. Why do you think Emilia didn t admit giving the handkerchief to Iago when she pretended to look for it with Desdemona? 8. Why do you think Desdemona didn t admit she misplaced the handkerchief when Othello asked for it? 9. Does this scene make sense psychologically? Could it have possibly ended differently? How? 21

22 10. What do you think Othello thought his suicide would accomplish? 11. What do you think Othello was feeling when he took his own life at the end of the play? THE HISTORY OF SHAKESPEARE S OTHELLO "The green-eyed monster," one of Shakespeare's many expressions still heard today, actually derives from a play about just that - jealousy. Othello, one of Shakespeare's most popular and performed tragedies, has deeply resonated with audiences since it was first performed in The play was remarkably ahead of its time: after its opening (and many subsequent productions), the subject of interracial marriage was not tackled again in mainstream entertainment until the movie Who's Coming to Dinner in over 350 years later. The plot of Othello, like many of Shakespeare's plays, was adapted from a story already in existence. The story "The Moor of Venice" was published in 1565 in Gli Ecatommiti, a collection of tales by Italian author Cinthio (in which Shakespeare also found his source material for Measure for Measure). The plot of Othello differs slightly from "The Moor of Venice." For instance, Shakespeare set his play in war-torn Cyprus, an island that would have held political significance to his Elizabethan audience. In 1571, seven years after Shakespeare was born, the Battle of Lepanto was fought on the Mediterranean Sea between Italian Christian forces and the Ottoman Turks over Cyprus. It was the largest naval battle in Western history, and gave Shakespeare the perfect wartime landscape for Othello. While the play was originally performed by a cast of white men, Othello has been a progressive vehicle for black actors and women over time. The first professional actress in England, Margaret Hughes, made her career debut as Desdemona in The first black man to play the title role was African- American Ira Aldridge on the London stage in 1833, and it did not happen again until singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson performed on Broadway in 1943 (which holds the Broadway record to this day of the longest run of any Shakespeare play). Many black actors have since played Othello to great acclaim, including James Earl Jones, Laurence Fishburne, and John Douglas Thompson. But before Ira Aldridge, the role was solely played by seasoned white actors in blackface, and this practice continued well into the 20th century. Orson Welles donned blackface for his Othello film in 1951, as did 22

23 Laurence Olivier in 1961, and Antony Hopkins in In 1997, Patrick Stewart famously played the role as a white man in an otherwise African-American cast in a "race-reversed production. And as recently as 2015, the Metropolitan Opera faced criticism for "darkening" the lead actor in Otello, Verdi's opera based on the play. ABOUT OTHELLO "He was revered in his own world where there was no racism. He has no sense of inferiority as the Western black man sometimes has." - James Earl Jones, 1993 "Othello is deliberately a racially charged play, and interpreters who minimize or deny Othello's blackness [...] seem to me to diminish it. [...] Aesthetically, thematically, dramatically, logically, the play requires him to be black. He himself claims his blackness very directly: "I am black..." (III,iii). Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio establish the early attitudes in the play, and they, of course, readily work with the existing prejudices [...]. And then Shakespeare brings on his black Othello, and instead of a stage villain we see a majestic, assured, wise, virtuous, eloquent, splendid individual, almost out of the world of legends, myth, or exotic dreams." - Archibald Leyasmeyer, 1993 "In some respects Othello is an Everyman. He just got married. He succumbs to sexual jealousy as many of us do white, black, whatever. And things happen. That s what s so contemporary about it. Yeah, he does go from A to, like, Z. But if you really look at it, and you take the political correctness out of it, this is a man who s trying to deal with something that he just doesn t have the facilities for. He s trying to get a grasp on it, and in the process it explodes." - John Douglas Thompson, Shakespeare & Company member, 2003 "There is nobility in him." - Laurence Fishburne,

24 TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING EVENTS BEFORE AND DURING SHAKESPEARE S LIFETIME 5 Ovid writes Metamorphoses 43 London founded 50 Gauls teach Romans about the use of soap 140 Roman theatre built at Verubalium (St. Albans), England 285 Alexandrian writer Pappus describes the use of four simple machines: lever, wedge, cogwheel and screw 304 Genesius, an actor, dies a martyr s death during performance in Rome 410 Start of Alchemy and the search for the Elixir of Life 452 Venice founded by refugees from Attila s Huns 500 Xenophon writes Ephesiaca 543 Disastrous earthquakes shake the world 615 Petroleum used in Japan 1026 Guido D Arezzo introduces solmisation in music (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la ) 1174 Leaning Tower of Pisa built 1200 Engagement rings come into fashion 1202 The first court jesters at European courts 1256 Hundred Years War (feuding families) between Venice and Genoa 1304 Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) the Italian poet born 1307 Dante composes Divinia Commedia 24

25 1412 Joan of Arc born 1476 Massuccio Salerno writes II Novellino 1512 Copernicus writes Commentariolus, which theorizes a heliocentric (sun at the center) universe 1530 Luigi da Porto s narrative is published 1531 Henry VIII recognized as the supreme head of the church in England 1533 Future Queen Elizabeth I born 1536 Michelangelo paints Last Judgment on the altar of the Sistine Chapel 1538 Mercator uses the name America for the first time 1542 Pope Paul III establishes the Inquisition in Rome 1546 Michelangelo designs the dome that completes St. Peter s Church in Rome 1547 French Astrologer, Nostradamus makes his first predictions 1550 Game of billiards played for the first time in Italy 1554 Matteo Bandello s novella is published 1555 Michelangelo s Pieta sculpture, Florence 1557 Influenza epidemic all over Europe 1558 Queen Elizabeth ascends the throne 1559 Pierre Boiastuau adapted and translated Bandello s novella into French 1562 Arthur Brooke s long poem, The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, published Matteo Bandello dies 25

26 1563 General outbreak of plague in Europe kills more than 20,000 people in London 1564 William Shakespeare born on April 23 Galileo Galilei, scientist, born Feb. 15 Michelangelo dies 1565 The Hecatommithi is published. It is a collection of short stories by Giovanni Battista Giraldi (most often called Cinthio ). One section deals with The Unfaithfulness of Husbands and Wives, and one of the stories in that section, Un Capitano Moro, becomes the basis for the play Othello Plague kills 15,000 in London 1593 Christopher Marlowe, playwright, is murdered in a bar brawl London theaters are closed due to plague 1594 First opera performed: Dafne by Jacopo Peri 1595 Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night s Dream Mercator s Atlas published 1596 Galileo invents the thermometer First water closets (indoor bathrooms) installed at Queen s Palace, Richmond 1602 Rumored to be the year of the first performance of Othello; later disproved The first recorded performance of Othello, at Court, on November 1st Shakespeare dies on April The first printing of the script of Othello, in a collection of Shakespeare s plays. 26

27 1623 Shakespeare s First Folio is published by his friends, John Heming and Henry Condell. Source: The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events, by Bernard Grun, based upon Werner Stein s Kulturfahrplan; New York: Simon &Schuster, MOOR Although characters described as "moors" appear in two other Shakespeare plays (Titus Andronicus and The Merchant of Venice), such characters were a rarity in contemporary theatre, and it was unknown for them to take centre stage. There is no consensus over Othello's ethnic origin. E. A. J. Honigmann, the editor of the Arden Shakespeare edition, concluded that Othello's race is ambiguous. "Renaissance representations of the Moor were vague, varied, inconsistent, and contradictory. As critics have established, the term 'Moor' referred to dark-skinned people in general, used interchangeably with terms such as 'African', 'Somali', 'Ethiopian', 'Negro', 'Arab', 'Berber', and even 'Indian' to designate a figure from Africa (or beyond)." Various uses of the word black (for example, "Haply for I am black") are insufficient evidence for any accurate racial classification, Honigmann argues, since black could simply mean swarthy to Elizabethans. Iago twice uses the word Barbary or Barbarian to refer to Othello, seemingly referring to the Barbary Coast inhabited by Berbers. Roderigo calls Othello "the thicklips", which seems to refer to Sub-Saharan African physiognomy, but Honigmann counters that, as these comments are all intended as insults by the characters, they need not be taken literally. Michael Neill, editor of The Oxford Shakespeare, notes that the earliest critical references to Othello's color (Thomas Rymer's 1693 critique of the play, and the 1709 engraving in Nicholas Rowe's edition of Shakespeare) assume him to be Sub-Saharan, while the earliest known North African interpretation was not until Edmund Kean's production of Honigmann discusses the view that Abd el- Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun, Moorish ambassador of the Arab King of Barbary (Morocco) to Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, was one inspiration for Othello. He stayed with his retinue in London for several months and occasioned much discussion. While Shakespeare's play was written only a few years afterwards, Honigmann questions the view that ben Messaoud himself was a significant influence on it. 27