William ShakespeareLife, History, and Othello

The Beginning…

Baptized: April 26th 1564 Birthday is not exactly known,

although most believe it was April 23rd

This is a convenient date because: 1) this is the date of his death and 2) this is the feast day of St. George, the patron saint of England.

Even if this date is incorrect, it is very likely the D.O.B. would be within a day or two of this date because parents were quick to get a child baptized.

Twenty percent of all children under the age of one would die in this time period.

Rough times…

Life in 1564, not just for infants, was very vulnerable.

If one made it to 15, one would likely make it to 50.

But, no more than 60% of people at this time made it past their teens.

For example, in 1563 one year before Shakespeare’s birth, an outbreak of plague claimed over one third of the population of London.

In addition to the plague fire, starvation, and weakened immune systems were a serious threat to peoples health.

Personal information…

At Home In Entire Country

Shakespeare was one of 8 children, two of whom did not survive their 1st year.

One died at age 8, another at age 27, and the remaining four siblings died between ages 39- Shakespeare’s own 52.

There were often rumors of invasion and civil war.

The Protestant Queen Elizabeth assumed the crown after her Catholic half-sister Mary died.

Nobody was completely sure Elizabeth could provide prosperity while facing the dual threat of powerful Catholic Monarchies and some of her own population who were reluctant to give up their religion.

Elizabethan England: The world in which Shakespeare was born…

At the time of Shakespeare’s birth England was still poor and backwards. English itself was a minor language, barely spoken outside of the country’s borders.

Religious struggle was prominent in society. Protestantism was trying to establish itself as the national religion while Catholicism was trying to re-establish itself as the national religion.

In 1570 Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth.

Elizabethan England continued…

Although dark and dreary, the landscape of England would dramatically change.

In the course of Shakespeare’s life England went from a backwards and unsophisticated nation to a confident, prosperous, and global presence.

Although Shakespeare is very popular today and some view this time period as “The Age of Shakespeare,” the change within England is accountable to the queen.

This was Elizabethan England.

Queen Elizabeth and her England

Elizabeth thought stability was her greatest responsibility.

She surrounded herself with talented counselors.

Religion was very important. It was not largely voluntary as it is today. Obedience to religion was not only a matter of conscience but one of law.

This fact consistently divided the nation.

She achieved temporary stability, defeated Spain in battle, and established England as a world power.

Why is this significant?

Queen Elizabeth’s England

Shakespeare

The world in which we live shapes our identities.

The troubling landscape along with a prospering people creates an environment where drama can thrive.

Shakespeare wrote in a time when his country was prosperous and influential, but at the same time England had deep-rooted divisions of means, faiths, and allegiances. As David Kastan states “Arguably this is the very condition of great drama- sufficient peace and prosperity to support a theater industry and sufficient provocation in the troubling uncertainties about what the nation was and what fundamentally mattered to its people.”

A brief look at Shakespeare’s life..

Father: John Shakespeare who in 1568 became a bailiff (a position equal to mayor).

Mother: Mary Arden was from an old family who owned land (a step up the social ladder for John).

They lived in Stratford-upon-Avon.Although no school records exist, it is

commonly believed Shakespeare attended grammar school here.

Shakespeare’s life continued…

Shakespeare did not go to the university, so he learned much from the local school.

At 18 he married Anne Hathaway.Then… the next 8 years are a mystery. Until we

see Shakespeare’s name show up in the London theater records there is no concrete proof where he was.

In 1592 a fellow dramatist Robert Green left a pamphlet on his deathbed criticizing Shakespeare. This is the first mention of Shakespeare in the London theater scene.

Shakespeare’s life continued..

Once he established himself in England he became very wealthy and successful.

He worked with the Lord Chamberlain’s company of players who later became the King’s men.

They had the best actor, Richard Burbage; they had the best theatre, the Globe (finished by the autumn of 1599); they had the best dramatist, Shakespeare.

In 1597 he bought a large home called “New Place” in Stratford.

And now…Shakespeare’s Language!!! Yeeaaah!

Lets face it: Shakespeare can be difficult to read.

Seeing the play makes it easier because actors use gestures to help understanding with the difficult words.

Shakespeare sometimes uses words that are no longer currently used in English or words whose meanings have changed.

Words, Words, Words

Shakespeare is difficult for us, and it was difficult for people when he lived.

Shakespeare’s words make what is demanded of us (understanding the story) easier.

His stage had no sets and few props, so his words are all we have to enable us to imagine what his characters see.

The most deceptive words are words that we know but mean something different. There are many words that can mislead us: “his” sometimes means “its,” “an” often means “if,” “envy” means something more like “malice.”

Words, Words, Words

Some meanings can be difficult, but keep in mind that Shakespeare is the source of a great many words in English.

Sometimes he coined them himself, or, if he didn't invent them, he was the first person whose writing of them has survived.

Assassination, bedroom, countless, fashionable, frugal, laughable, lonely, and useful are some that he made popular.

His working vocabulary, about 18,000 words, is staggering.

He was the first person to use about 1000 of these.

More Words…

Shakespeare’s words usually work in this way: in part describing what the characters see and as often betraying what they feel.

The words are poetic: everything matters. When a character says something that might be considered redundant it is up to the reader to interpret this as Shakespeare’s way of implying significance to the words used.

Shakespeare’s verse

Shakespeare is distinctive because most of his writing is in verse.

Almost all of his works mix poetry and prose, but the poetry dominates.

In most of his plays about 70% of his lines are written in verse.

Shakespeare’s characteristic verse-lining in non-rhyming iambic pentameter (blank verse).

What does this mean?

This means ten syllables with every second one stressed.

“Methought I was enamored of an ass.” “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks.” In both examples the line has ten syllables organized

into five regular beats. Each beat consisting of the stress on the second syllable

of a pair, as in “But soft,” the da-dum rhythm forming an “iamb.”

Although this may seem like a strict set of rules, Shakespeare’s verse is usually flexible, allowing a range of rhythmical effects.

This type of verse simply forces the reader to stress the words that Shakespeare deemed the most important.

And Words finally… prose

Although Shakespeare’s plays are dominated by verse, prose plays a significant role.

His prose has its own rhythms, but it lacks the formal patterning of verse, so it is printed without line breaks and without the capitals that mark the beginning of the verse line.

Shakespeare commonly used verse and prose as a social marker.

Upper-class characters speak in verse; lower-class characters speak in prose.

And Now… Othello

Othello

Shakespeare’s Othello uses both realism and symbolism to produce powerful dramatic effects.

On the one hand, the tragedy is a study in the psychology of deception and jealousy.

What makes Othello an enduring work of art is the realistic presentation of all-too human passions and actions.

Iago, Othello, and Desdemona are not only characters, they are embodiments of larger concepts such as evil, difference, and innocence.

Characters….

Othello - The play’s protagonist and hero. A Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, Othello is an eloquent and physically powerful figure, respected by all those around him. In spite of his elevated status, he is nevertheless easy prey to insecurities because of his age, his life as a soldier, and his race. He possesses a “free and open nature,” which his ensign Iago uses to twist his love for his wife, Desdemona, into a powerful and destructive jealousy (I.iii.381).

Desdemona

Desdemona - The daughter of the Venetian senator Brabanzio. Desdemona and Othello are secretly married before the play begins. While in many ways stereotypically pure and meek, Desdemona is also determined and self-possessed. She is equally capable of defending her marriage, jesting bawdily with Iago, and responding with dignity to Othello’s incomprehensible jealousy

Iago

Iago - Othello’s ensign (a job also known as an ancient or standard-bearer), and the villain of the play. Iago is twenty-eight years old. While his ostensible reason for desiring Othello’s demise is that he has been passed over for promotion to lieutenant, Iago’s motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to originate in an obsessive, almost aesthetic delight in manipulation and destruction.

Michael Cassio

Michael Cassio - Othello’s lieutenant. Cassio is a young and inexperienced soldier, whose high position is much resented by Iago. Truly devoted to Othello, Cassio is extremely ashamed after being implicated in a drunken brawl on Cyprus and losing his place as lieutenant. Iago uses Cassio’s youth, good looks, and friendship with Desdemona to play on Othello’s insecurities about Desdemona’s fidelity.

And the rest…

Emilia - Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s attendant. Roderigo - A jealous suitor of Desdemona. Bianca - A courtesan, or prostitute, in Cyprus.

Bianca’s favorite customer is Cassio.Brabanzio - Desdemona’s father.Duke of Venice Montano - The governor of Cyprus before

Othello. Lodovico - One of Brabanzio’s kinsmen.Graziano - Brabanzio’s kinsman who

accompanies Lodovico to Cyprus. Clown - Othello’s servant.