![]() ![]() ![]() The two men denounce the Moor to the Venetian Seignory. The ensign then seeks revenge by disclosing to "the squadron leader" (the tale's Cassio counterpart) the Moor's involvement in Desdemona's death. He demotes him, and refuses to have him in his company. The Moor misses his wife greatly, however, and comes to loathe the sight of his ensign. ![]() In gruesome detail, Cinthio follows each blow, and, when she is dead, the Moor and his ensign place her lifeless body upon her bed, smash her skull, and then cause the cracked ceiling above the bed to collapse upon her, giving the impression the falling rafters caused her death. Desdemona dies in an entirely different manner in Cinthio's tale the Moor commissions his ensign to bludgeon her to death with a sand-filled stocking. ![]() In Cinthio's tale, for example, the ensign suffers an unrequited lust for the Moor's wife, Desdemona, which then drives his vengeance. While Shakespeare closely followed Cinthio's tale in composing Othello, he departed from it in some details. Cinthio's tale may have been based on an actual incident occurring in Venice about 1508. While no English translation of Cinthio was available in Shakespeare's lifetime, it is possible Shakespeare knew the Italian original, Gabriel Chappuy's 1584 French translation, or an English translation in manuscript. There, the character is simply "the ensign". The character's source is traced to Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi (1565). The role is thought to have been first played by Robert Armin, who typically played intelligent clown roles like Touchstone in As You Like It and Feste in Twelfth Night. Iago hates Othello and devises a plan to destroy him by making him believe that Desdemona is having an affair with his lieutenant, Michael Cassio. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. Is Othello a Muslim or not? How do you know? To what extent can we say, in Act Two, that Othello is or is not Venetian? Use quotes from the play in your answer.Iago ( / i ˈ ɑː ɡ oʊ/) is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Othello (c. How do you see those assumptions being deployed by Iago in Act Two? Take a look especially at how Iago speaks to Roderigo, Cassio, and the other men in this play. Use specific quotes in your answer.Ģ. Talk about Othello’s identity, specifically as it is defined in Act Two. We said in class that Moors are assumed, generally, to be Muslims. We said in class on Tuesday that Iago is drawing on certain assumptions about Moors and about women in order to put his plan into action. Once you know what’s happening, in terms of the plot, it’s easier to make sense of some of the thicker, more challenging passages.ġ. If you’re having trouble with the language, please do not hesitate to take a look at some of the online plot summaries that are available. Be prepared on Tuesday to discuss BOTH acts (2&3) and to do some in-class writing based on the assigned reading. Your response should be somewhere between 250-350 words. This week, we’ll be reading Acts Two and Three of Othello. Your online assignment (due Sunday, 11:59pm) is to write a response to one of the questions posted below. ![]()
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