Other
Manipulation in Othello
- Course
- Institution
A full, in-depth A* essay plan exploring the theme of Manipulation in Shakespeare's "Othello", for the Pearson Edexcel A-Level English Literature.
[Show more]
3 reviews
By: evmckimm • 6 months ago
By: mischacarr1 • 5 months ago
By: graceelizabethsothcott • 7 months ago
Seller
Follow
evaagrayy
Reviews received
Content preview
ManipulationIntro
- Powerlessness of the audience and dramatic irony, soliloquies from beginning: “I am not what I am” –
embodiment of the devil - Watts: “semiotic manipulation”
- Draper “unholy alliance” – captures nature of relationship to both defy Christian doctrines upholding
Elizabethan society, and also shows how Othello has given in to evil omnipresent within him evil in the
play
- Many argue for Iago’s “motiveless malignity” (Coleridge) due to devilish nature, Greer points out,
“Shakespeare never tells us exactly why Iago hates Othello” but could be due to race
- Manipulates social anxieties of civilised Venetian society and Christian Elizabethan audience through
power of language and expectation of dishonesty from Genesis 2
- Dishonesty was punishable by eternal damnation; would view him as devilish
1) Iago’s manipulation of Roderigo and Brabantio through their hatred of Othello and love for Desdemona
- Roderigo - “put thy money in thus purse”, “thus do I ever make my fool my purse…for my sport and profit”
– appeals to R’s self-interest, social status, desire for more power – Marxist critical perspective, appeals to
greed
- Roderigo - "to the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor" - adjective “gross” = something abhorrent about
Othello’s relationship with Desdemona; verb “clasps” = connotes that Othello is trapping Desdemona
against her will and is being excessively possessive; adjective “lascivious” implies that Othello is lustful
(sinful - one of seven deadly sins); stereotype that Africans were particularly sexual, Burton, 1616
“southern men are hot, lascivious and jealous”
- Brabantio - “beasts with two backs”, “old black ram is tupping your white ewe” – juxtaposes innocence and
“sin” to mock D’s innocence to her father, daughter is being corrupted. Animalistic and sexualised imagery,
monstrous coupling. Renaissance era context; father, patriarchal society, miscegenation is the limit. Leo
Africanus “lusty”, “beastly” – fuels Brabantio’s prejudice which was normal in era due to hypocritical
attitudes to miscegenation in multicultural Venice
- Brabantio - “she has deceived her father and may thee” – Robertson; women obey men. This is the doorway
Iago uses to access and manipulate Brabantio
Iago’s manipulation of Othello
- Iago - calls him “honest Iago”, “Iago is most honest”, “thy husband, honest, honest Iago” – Iago in position
where O should be able to trust his honesty, yet this is a seemingly oxymoronic phrase in the context of the
play - Iago’s reputation as an honest man, referred to as honest over fifty times in the play by almost every
character. Remains steadfast until the very end of the play
- “Strangle her in bed, even the bed she hath contaminated” - manipulation becomes more direct with
increasing use of imperatives to instruct Othello
- “I follow him to serve my turn upon him” – extreme foreshadowing, exposes intentions, dramatic irony;
leads to “honest Iago” and Desdemona being a “strumpet”, accuses her of adultery despite honesty –
Blamires says it is Othello’s inability to understand people’s true natures that leads to the tragic ending
- “The Moor […] thinks men honest that but seem to be so and will as tenderly be led by the nose as asses
are” - Othello’s gullibility, Leo Africanus, 1550, Africans are gullible
- Baum – “with Iago, Shakespeare showed us how one motivated liar can have tremendous power, simply
because of the destructive force of his lies”
- "it is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock/The meat it feeds on" - metaphor for jealousy, suggesting
whoever is jealous is consumed by it; humiliate jealous individual and ruin their reputation; colour imagery
links to belief in the four humors (Galen) and excess of jealousy would add green tinge to skin (bile);
everything O now sees will be tainted through the filter of jealousy (and animalistic metaphor foreshadows
O’s descent into animalism) – Greer; Othello’s jealousy is his “enemy within”
Iago as a manipulator
- Great use of dramatic irony by Shakespeare, importance of soliloquies in exposing his deception from
beginning; “I am not what I am”, lying, manipulation – devil (Coleridge “motiveless malignity”). Manages
to deceive people, Machiavellian, devilish – devil traditionally in Elizabethan stereotypes presented as
initially charming/alluring but then realise identity after too late - extreme dishonesty with no guilt YET O
thinks he is “honest Iago”
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller evaagrayy. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
82871 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now