In 1930 Stanislavski directed a production of Othello for the Moscow Art Theatre, which was influential in the development of his system. The performance was directed remotely, by letter, while Stanislavski recovered from illness in France. [222] Oliver Parker's 1995 Othello was trailed as an "erotic thriller", including a ritualized love scene between Othello and Desdemona, and, most memorably, Othello's jealous fantasies of encounters between Desdemona and Cassio. [275] [276] Swiss actress Irène Jacob as Desdemona struggled with the verse, as did Laurence Fishburne, more experienced in expletive-ridden thriller roles, as Othello. [277] Iago was Kenneth Branagh in his first outing as a screen villain. [278] The overall effect was to create, in Douglas Brode's words "the tragedy of Iago" - a performance in which Iago's dominance is such that Othello is a foil to him, not the other way around. [279] The film was described as a "fair stab at turning the Bard into a decent night at the multiplex" [280] but failed to achieve success at the box office. [281] Robert Smallwood writing for Shakespeare Quarterly in 1990, quoted by Welles, 2000, pp.307-313 at p.311. Scholars have identified many other influences on Othello: things which are not themselves sources but whose impact on Shakespeare can be identified in the play: [7] these include Virgil's Aeneid, [8] Ovid's Metamorphoses, [9] both The Merchant's Tale and The Miller's Tale from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, [10] Geoffrey Fenton's Certaine Tragicall Discourses, [11] [12] Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, [13] George Peele's The Battle of Alcazar, [14] [15] the anonymous Arden of Faversham, [16] Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, [17] and Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness. [18] These also include Shakespeare's own earlier plays Much Ado About Nothing, in which a similar plot was used in a comedy, [19] The Merchant of Venice with its high-born, Moorish, Prince of Morocco, [20] and Titus Andronicus, in which a Moor, Aaron, was a prominent villain, and as such was a forerunner of both Othello and Iago. [21] Portrait of Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud ben Mohammed Anoun, Moorish ambassador to Queen Elizabeth I in 1600, sometimes suggested as the inspiration for Othello. [22]

In Shakespeare's main source, Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi, the character Disdemona (the equivalent of Shakespeare's Desdemona) says "I know not what to say of the Moor; he used to be all love towards me; but within these few days he has become another man; and much I fear that I shall prove a warning to young girls not to marry against the wishes of their parents, and that the Italian ladies may learn from me not to wed a man whose nature and habitude of life estrange from us" [87] [88] TL;DR (may contain spoilers): Iago manipulates literally everyone. Othello gets really jealous. (Almost) everyone dies. Othello Summary Bob Dylan's song Po' Boy features lyrics in which Desdemona turns the tables on Othello, borrowing the idea of using poisoned wine from the final act of Hamlet. [326] Literature [ edit ]McAlindon, Tom (ed.), Muir, Kenneth (ed.) and Shakespeare, William "Othello" Penguin Shakespeare Series, Penguin Books, 2005 pp.lxvi-lxvii.

There are stories of extravagant audience reactions to the play. One of the most extreme is related by French novelist Stendhal who reports that at the Baltimore Theatre in 1822 a soldier interrupted the performance just before Desdemona's murder, shouting "It will never be said that in my presence a confounded Negro has killed a white woman!" The soldier fired his gun, breaking the arm of the actor playing Othello. [204] The word "honest" is used more than 40 times in the play, sometimes with reference to Desdemona's chastity, but in almost all other cases with reference to Iago, where it has a double meaning - as a condescending term for a social inferior, and as a reference to his supposed truthfulness. [142] Greenhall, Susanne and Shaughnessy, Robert "Our Shakespeares: British Television and the Strains of Multiculturalism" in Burnett, Mark Thornton and Wray, Ramona (eds.) "Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century" Edinburgh University Press Ltd., 2006 pp.90-112 at p.94.

Videos

Othello comes to his sleeping wife's bedroom to murder her as punishment for her supposed adultery. He smothers her with a pillow as she asserts her innocence. Emilia alerts the household, causing Iago and others to come to the scene. Othello defends himself, mentioning the handkerchief as evidence. Emilia realises what has happened and betrays Iago‘s plots against Othello. Iago, reacting to his wife's accusations, stabs and kills her. Iago is arrested and sent to trial after Othello wounds him (he doesn't even die). Othello, facing the inevitability of his own trial, uses a hidden weapon to commit suicide. The play ends with Cassio reinstated and placed in command as Governor of Cyprus. But there is also a long time scheme. Iago persuades Othello that Desdemona and Cassio have "the act of shame a thousand times committed"; [170] Emilia says Iago "hath a hundred times" [171] asked her to steal the handkerchief; Bianca complains Cassio has been away from her "a week"; [172] news of the Turkish defeat needs time to reach Venice then Lodovico needs time to reach Cyprus; [173] and by Act 4 Roderigo (who sold all his land at the end of Act 1) [174] has already squandered all his money. [175] [176] Both Desdemona and Othello defy by their words and gestures the calumnies heaped upon them by Roderigo and Brabantio and vindicate the imperatives of the heart over parental authority and custom. As in a typical Shakespearean comedy, love, tested, triumphs over all opposition. Shakespeare's source story in Cinthio takes place entirely in the long time scheme: Shakespeare appears to have introduced the shorter time scheme to increase dramatic tension, while also introducing moments where Iago's plot could fall apart – for example if Emilia had given an honest answer to Desdemona's "Where should I lose that handkerchief?" [177] or if Roderigo had chosen to denounce Iago. [178] Bartels, Emily C. "Shakespeare's View of the World" in Wells, Stanley and Orlin, Lena Cowen "Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide", Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.151-164 at pp. 160-161.

The official authority in Venice, the duke has great respect for Othello as a public and military servant. His primary role within the play is to reconcile Othello and Brabanzio in Act I, scene iii, and then to send Othello to Cyprus. Montano These sentiments were instrumental in ushering in the so-called "bronze age of Othello" (discussed further under "19th century" below). [94] Gay, Penny "Women and Shakespearean Performance" in Wells, Stanley and Stanton, Sarah (eds.) "The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage" Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp.155–173, at p.157. Banham, Martin; Mooneeram, Roshni and Plastow, Jane "Shakespeare in Africa" in Wells, Stanley and Stanton, Sarah (eds.) "The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage", Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp.284-299 at pp.288-289. In an attempt at reconciliation, Cassio sends some musicians to play beneath Othello’s window. Othello, however, sends his clown to tell the musicians to go away. Hoping to arrange a meeting with Desdemona, Cassio asks the clown, a peasant who serves Othello, to send Emilia to him. After the clown departs, Iago passes by and tells Cassio that he will get Othello out of the way so that Cassio can speak privately with Desdemona. Othello, Iago, and a gentleman go to examine some of the town’s fortifications.

Introduction to the play

Act 3, scene 1 Cassio arrives with musicians to honor Othello and Desdemona. As Iago has recommended, Cassio asks Emilia to arrange a meeting with Desdemona, even though Emilia assures him that Desdemona is already urging Othello to reinstate him. This jealousy is symbolized in the play through animal imagery. In the early acts of the play it is Iago who mentions ass, daws, flies, ram, jennet, guinea-hen, baboon, wild-cat, snipe, monkeys, monster and wolves. But from the third act onwards Othello catches this line of imagery from Iago as his irrational jealousy takes hold. [62] The same occurs with "diabolical" imagery (i.e. images of hell and devils) of which Iago uses 14 of his 16 diabolical images in the first two acts, yet Othello uses 25 of his 26 in the last three acts. [63] Desmet, Chisty "Character Criticism" in Wells, Stanley and Orlin, Lena Cowen "Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide", Oxford University Press, 2003, pp.351-372 at p.357, citing A. C. Bradley's Shakespearean Tragedy. At the turn of the century, performances at the RSC were dominated by their Iagos. Richard McCabe followed Simon Russell Beale in portraying misogynistic, embittered NCOs, older than their respective Othellos: [240] Stanislavski himself first played Othello in 1896. He was dissatisfied with his own performance, later recalling "I was able to reach nothing more than insane strain, spiritual and physical impotence, and the squeezing of tragic emotion out of myself." [220] 20th century [ edit ] Paul Robeson as Othello, photographed by Carl Van Vechten (1944)