Episode 206

Last time I discussed the dating and sources for Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Othello’, the early performance history, and some points about the structure and poetry in the play. Then I took you through the first part of the play, up to the point where Iago had managed to sow seeds of doubt into Othello’s mind about the constancy of women and get his professional rival Michael Cassio so drunk and fired up that he got involved in a brawl with the town governor and is demoted. In doing so I looked at the characters of Iago, Brabantio and Cassio, so on this occasion listening to that episode is essential before starting on this one. If you need to do that as soon as you are back, I will be picking up from exactly where I left off last time.

The character and expected role of Emelia

The relationship of Emelia and Desdemona

The character of Bianca and the Venetian courtesan

How Bianca contrasts with Desdemona

Conflicting views of the character of Desdemona

The character of Othello

The play as a tragedy of Greek proportions

The disintegration of Othello from strong leader to murderer

Othello as a social disruptor

The ‘noble savage’ Vs the veneer of sophistication

The role of resentment and honour in the play

Later performances of the play

Some very selected criticism of the play

Support the podcast at:

www.thehistoryofeuropeantheatre.com

www.patreon.com/thoetp

www.ko-fi.com/thoetp

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.