"Good gentleman, let me have leave to speak./ 'Tis proper I obey him - but not now!" Emilia [5.2.192-193]

Questions: Act 5 scene 2 lines 1-233

Answer in full sentences, with quotations. Type your responses and post to your blog.

1. Othello believes that he must kill Desdemona as a way to stop her from causing the pain he has suffered to anyone else 'Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men'. By having this as his reason Othello believes that he is killing Desdemona for an honourable cause.
   
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2. In his scene it is evident that Shakespeare is following the racial stereotypes of the time when Emilia describes Othello as the 'blacker devil'. This adheres to the racial stereotypes of Elizabethan times as ethic minorities were often associated with hell and the devil as they were seen as 'deformed' which often had connotations with hell and its abnormal surroundings.;
3. During line 68 where Othello believes that Cassio has confessed to having an affair with Desdemona he has in fact confessed that he has slept with Bianca. Othello is left to believe that he is talking about Desdemona because Cassio shows Iago her handkerchief leading Othello to put the two scenarios together
4. Emilia says "Good gentleman, let me have leave to speak./ 'Tis proper I obey him - but not now!" This quote indicates that Emilia is not the sort of women that is going to conform to the expectations of society but she does make it apparent that she knows she is breaking them. Women where expected to be 'mild, timorous, tractable and benign'. In this scene Emilia break all of these stereotypes and speaks about what she thinks is right. here it can also be suggested that Emilia is accepting that she is going to die for speaking the truth. this can be suggested when she say 'but not know' as she could be informing the audience that she has stayed quite for too long and now must speak out against her husband even if that means she will lose her life because of it. this revels that Emilia is one of the strongest female characters in this play even though she isn't of a high social status but she is still willing to speak out and ask questions, which is the opposite of Desdemona.
5. Once Emilia realises what Othello has done to Desdemona she begins to verbally insult Othello, associating what she says around his race. he makes several references to him being a 'devil' as they unnaturalness of ethnic minorities was often associated with hell and the devil. she also describes Othello to be 'as ignorant as dirt'. she describes him in this way to emphasise how foolish he was to believe Iago's lies as she knows him better than anyone and knows that he manipulates people into getting what he wants. she also describes his as a 'cruel moor'. this contrast from the image of Othello which is portrayed at the beginning of the play as a 'valiant moor'. this contrast is a representation of how Othello's status and power has deteriorated. although he is always represented as a moor showing how he will always be inferior due to his ethnic background, no mater his social status.

How does Shakespeare create a sense of fear and confusion in Act 5 scene 1? Consider:

• Setting
• Language
• Structure of lines
• Use of characters
• Other dramatic methods

During this scene Iago and Roderigo are discussion how they are going to kill Cassio. Iago is trying to convince Roderigo that he should kill Cassio because he is the one that has stolen Desdemona from him, although his true motif is so he doesn't have to get involved as it would ruin his opportunity to become lieutenant.


The setting of this scene is important to creating a sense of fear and confusion. This is because the setting of the street leads it to be a vulnerable place as their would have been no street lighting. Having this sense of vulnerability builds up fear in both the audience and the characters as they cannot anticipate when the attack is going to happen. After the attack it also leaves confusion as the characters are unaware of who has fought who and the amount of people wounded which is displayed by Shakespeare's use of short lines and constant use of questions.


Shakespeare's use of entrances and exits at this point in the play also helps to add to the sense of confusion. This is because the use of having so many characters on the stage creates a manic atmosphere.


Iago's aside at the end of this scene is also something which heightens the fear in the audience. 'This is the night,That either makes me, or foredoes me quite.' as an audience we then feel fear because we know that this is the point where Iago's plan all falls into place and Othello will kill Desdemona. we feel fear as an audience because we have created a sense of empathy for Desdemona as we now that she has committed the affair Othello believes her to have.

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1. Desdemona agrees to Cassio’s case because she knows that they are close friends and due to the fact that he helped to get Desdemona and Othello together in the first place
2. When Iago say ‘ha! I like not that’ he is referring to the fact that he can see Cassio and Desdemona talking to each other. By doing this he is making Othello feel paranoid because it makes him think that they are doing something they shouldn’t instead of having a harmless conversation.
3. After Othello repeatedly urges Iago to tell him what's on his mind, Iago says "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;/It is the green eyed monster, which doth mock / The meat it feeds on." Othello responds with ‘O misery’. By saying this Othello is showing that he has fallen out of certainty of his love to Desdemona as he describes it as a misery. This could then suggest that he wants reassurance and sympathy from Iago and also the truth to what he thinks is happening.
4. Iago says that all the women of Venice ‘dare not show their husbands; their best consciousness is not to leave’t undone, but keep’t unknown’. This is then suggesting that he sees all women to be untrustworthy as they will keep secrets from their husbands. This then reinforces the doubt Othello has at it makes him believe that it is not an uncommon situation, making him question his wife’s loyalty
5. As stated by Thomas Coryat in ‘Coryats Crudities’ the women of Venice are described as Courtezan of Venice displaying them all be to prostitutes and therefore unfaithful.
6. This contextual evidence may then influence Othello’s decision to believe Iago about being unable to trust his wife because during the 1600’s this was the way Venetian women were displayed and along with the fact that Desdemona went behind her father’s back to get married with Othello it also suggests that she would do the same to him with another man
7. Iago echoes Brabantios earlier warning to Othello by saying ‘she did deceive her father, marrying you; and when she seemed to shake, and fear your looks, she loved them most’.
8. In this statement Iago makes the statement that it is unnatural for Desdemona and Othello to be together because of his race as he takes reference to his looks and how it was something that she should fear
9. During this scene Desdemona handkerchief becomes an important piece of stage business. It is first produced as she gives it to Othello to help him with his headache.; at this point Othello drops it on the floor and Emilia picks it up so that she can give it to Iago hoping that he will give it back to her as a token of his love. She does this because Othello first gave Desdemona the handkerchief as a token of his love to her and this is all Emilia wants from Iago
10. The fact that Emilia is able to see the importance the handkerchief has to both Desdemona and Othello could be something which motivates her to take it as it is all she wants from her husband.
11. When Othello returns to the scene he warns Iago with ‘ha, ha, false to me?’ showing that he realised Iago has been lying to him
12. Iago proves to Othello that Desdemona is disloyal by saying that  “I lay with Cassio lately, And, being troubled with a ranging tooth, I could not sleep. There are a kind of men so loose of soul, That in their sleeps will mutter their affairs: One of this kind is Cassio .In sleep I heard him say ‘Sweet Desdemona, Let us be wary, let us hide our loves’; And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand, Cry out ‘Sweet creature!’, and then kiss me hard, As if he plucked up kisses by the roots, That grew upon my lips; then laid his leg Over my thigh, and sighed, and kissed, and then Cried ‘Cursed fate, that gave thee to the Moor!’”
13. during this scene Othello's language becomes more monosyllabic. this is to represent how Othello is become more similar to Iago showing how well he has managed to manipulate him.

classical tragedies

Classical tragedies

What is a classical tragedy?

A classical tragedy is the story of a hero (or heroine) that experiences a reversal of fortune set in motion by the gods as a result of hubris. The hero of the tragedy is often of a high status and the story often ends in their death.

The concept was an idea that was first thought up by the Greeks in ancient Athens during the 5^th century BC.

Examples of early classical tragedies include:

• ‘Oedipus the king’ by Sophocles, which was first performed in 429BC
• ‘Oedipus at Colonus’ by Sophocles, in 406BC
• ‘The Oresteia’ by Aeschylus, was first performed during 45BC
• ‘The Trojan Women’ by Euripides, was produced in 415BC
• ‘Hippolytus’ by Euripides, was first produced in Athens in 428BC

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who was alive between 384BC and 322BC. He is best known his books which include work on subjects like poetry, theatre, music, biology, physics, zoology, and logic

‘Poetics’- Aristotle

This was written in 335BC by Aristotle giving his theory on tragedies. In this book Aristotle defines the aim of a tragedy bring about catharsis of the spectators, to arouse in them feelings of pity and fear and to purge them of these emotions so that they leave the theatre feeling cleansed and uplifted, with a heightened understanding of the ways of gods and men.

Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody are the six component parts which Aristotle says make up a tragedy.

Aristotle also states in this book that there are several things that make a good tragedy, these include characteristics: (1) it is mimetic, (2) it is serious, (3) it tells a full story of an appropriate length, (4) it contains rhythm and harmony, (5) rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different parts of the tragedy, (6) it is performed rather than narrated, and (7) it arouses feelings of pity and fear and then purges these feelings through catharsis. A well-formed plot must have a beginning, which is not a necessary consequence of any previous action; a middle, which follows logically from the beginning; and an end, which follows logically from the middle and from which no further action necessarily follows. The plot should be unified, meaning that every element of the plot should tie in to the rest of the plot, leaving no loose ends.

For a tragedy to arouse pity and fear, we must observe a hero who is relatively noble going from happiness to misery as a result of error on the part of the hero.

Hamartia: Greek for "error.") An offense committed in ignorance of some material fact; a great mistake made as a result of an error by a morally good person.

Tragic flaw: A fatal weakness or moral flaw in the protagonist that brings him or her to a bad end. Sometimes offered as an alternative understanding of hamartia, in contrast to the idea that the tragic hero's catastrophe is caused by an error in judgment.

Hubris: Overweening pride, outrageous behaviour, or the insolence that leads to ruin, the antithesis of moderation or rectitude.

Peripeteia: Peripeteia (Anglicized as peripety; Greek for "sudden change.") A reversal of fortune, a sudden change of circumstance affecting the protagonist. According to Aristotle, the play's peripety occurs when a certain result is expected and instead its opposite effect is produced. In a tragedy, the reversal takes the protagonist from good fortune to catastrophe.

Recognition: In tragic plotting, the moment of recognition occurs when ignorance gives way to knowledge, illusion to disillusion.

Catharsis: Often translated from Greek as purgation or purification.) the feeling of emotional release or calm the spectator feels at the end of tragedy. The term is drawn from Aristotle's definition of tragedy, relating to the final cause or purpose of tragic art. Some feel that through catharsis, drama taught the audience compassion for the vulnerabilities of others and schooled it in justice and other civic virtues.