Othello Feminist Essay

Shakespeare’s Othello In the book “Gender Trouble” (1990), feminist theorist Judith Butler explains “gender is not only a social construct, but also a kind of performance such as a show we put on, a costume or disguise we wear” (Butler). In other words, gender is a performance, an act, and costumes, not the main aspect of essential identity. By understanding this theory of gender as an act, performance, we can see how gender has greatly impacted the outcome of the play in William Shakespeare’s Othello. From

Othello, The Moore of Venice is a production, adapted from one of Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare has written many plays, The Moore of Venice is one he wrote during a dark time in his career in between his most famous works Hamlet and King Lear the profound re-workings of old plays. According to Kristin Johnsen-Nashati (Aug. 8, 2005), “some scholars have speculated that Shakespeare wrote Othello to please King James I. The setting of this play takes place during the ancient Greek renaissance sometime

Women in Othello The role of women and gender representation in Othello challenged the male dominated society in that time period. Women in Shakespeare’s time were seen as being loyal and submissive to their husbands and not going against their husband’s judgment. Shakespeare developed complex and varied female characters in his plays, especially the women portrayed in Othello. In the play, Shakespeare introduces three female characters: Desdemona, Othello 's wife, Emilia, Iago’s wife and mistress

English 2800: Great Works HMA 15 December 2015 Emilia’s Character in Othello Often within novels, plays or sorties, individuals are labeled to a certain category of character that fits an evident template. Emilia within Shakespeare’s Othello is unlike many of the other characters in that prospect as she is unique. Emilia has several different views and outlooks on the worldly matters, especially in comparison to say Desdemona or Othello whom respectively represent innocence and jealousy. The apparent

presentation of the themes obsession and control found in The Collector, Othello and The Picture of Dorian Gray Shakespeare employs obsession as a thematic device extensively in Othello with many characters exhibiting complexes which come into direct conflict with the fixations of others, highlighting the self-destructive and all-consuming nature of obsession. This is reinforced by the climax of the play, the deaths of Othello, Desdemona and Emilia and Iago’s subsequent arrest and torture. Similarly

Throughout the entirety of Othello, Emilia has few lines but plays a key part in the story. Emilia begins as Desdemona’s assistant and as Iago’s wife. The marriage that the two share is considerably bad. The effect for their terrible marriage allows Emilia and Desdemona to bond over their husbands. Iago is the villain of this story, but Emilia doesn’t share the same antagonistic goals. In the entirety of the play, she doesn’t attempt to stray any of the other characters into doing wrong. Even though

In Shakespeare’s “Othello” and Geoffrey’s film appropriation of “Othello”, the context and circumstances of which these two productions are set, feed heavily in to the ways the composer is conveying and dictating the values that particular time privileges. Through the vastly different centered audiences (Elizabethan and modern), the themes of race and ethnicity, language and imagery, both composer’s skilfully represent these issues and values. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the christian context dictates

William Shakespeare's play "Othello” shows us the different status and social values of women in the society. Marriage and trust play a big role in this play. Women had a low position, they were expected to keep their ideas to themselves and be obedient to their husbands, brothers, fathers and all men in general. The patriarchal time serves as a natural order, because women were supposed to be physically inferior to their men. The three women are Desdemona who is Othello’s wife, Emilia who is Iago’s

1. Literary Era Othello, by William Shakespeare was a play set in Venice, Italy in the Renaissance Era. This era brought forth an array of new and exciting types of art, plays, and etcetera dealing in entertainment. We also saw the introduction of Elizabethan staging and Shakespearean language which was new to the people in Europe because he wrote for the actors and not the readers and it was complex. You often had to listen to the way the actors performed it to understand the mood and meaning of

Othello’s Female Roles         Let’s look at the roles of the three lady-characters in the Shakespearean drama Othello. Their roles are not marginal, but are rather vital to the tragedy.   In the Introduction to Shakespeare’s Othello: The Harbrace Theatre Edition, John Russell Brown summarizes the role of the heroine of the play:   When considered functionally, Desdemona’s role may be seen to be every bit as demanding as those of the principals. The fact that she has far fewer