The History Of European Theatre Othello part 2: ‘Farewell the Tranquil Mind, Farewell Content’
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
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