Introduction to Drama
and
Shakespeare
The History of Drama
from internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/drama/greektragedy.html
• The great tragedies of
Aeschylus*,
Sophocles*, and
Euripides* were
performed annually at
the spring festival of
Dionysus, god of wine,
and inspiration.
The History of Drama
from internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/drama/greektragedy.html
• Tragedy (the Greek word
"tragoidia" means goat-song)
began with the introduction of
an actor, who played various
roles by changing masks,
whose actions the chorus
commented upon in song, and
who exchanged dialogue with
the leader of the chorus.
Ancient Greek Theater
Place. The setting of the play
should be one location:
Time. The action of the play
should represent the passage
of no more than one day.
Previous events leading up to
the present situation were
recounted on stage.
Roman theatre, Kermessos. Photograph Peter
Smith.
Action. No action or scene in
the play was to be a
digression; all were to
contribute directly in some
way to the plot.
Drama
The form of literature known as plays; but
drama also refers to the type of serious
play that is often concerned with the
leading character’s relationship to society.
Important Dramatic Terms
Prologue—a speech, which is often in verse, that
is recited to the audience by one or more
actors at the beginning of a play. The
prologue sets the stage for the action that will
follow and can be thought of as a sort of
preface or introduction to a dramatic work.
Important Dramatic Terms
Tragedy—a drama of a solemn and dignified
quality that typically depicts the development
of a conflict between the protagonist and a
superior force, such as fate, circumstance, or
society, and reaches a mournful or ruinous
conclusion.
Important Dramatic Terms
Tragic flaw—a defect in the protagonist that
brings about his or her downfall.
Hubris: derived from the Greek word hybris,
means “excessive pride.” In Greek tragedy,
hubris is often viewed as the flaw that leads to
the downfall of the tragic hero.
Important Dramatic Terms
• Tragic hero: the main character of great
importance to his state or culture and who is
conventionally of noble birth and high social
station, the ruler or an important leader in his
society.
• The moral health of the state is identified with,
and dependent on, that of its ruler, and so the
tragic hero’s story is also that of his state.
Important Dramatic Terms
• Such heroes are mixed characters, neither
thoroughly good or thoroughly evil, yet
“better” or “greater” than the rest of us in
the sense that they are of higher than
ordinary moral worth and social
significance.
Shakespeare: The Man
1564: Shakespeare's birth
1582: Shakespeare's marriage
1593: Shakespeare's first
publication
1599: the Globe Theatre is
built
1616: Shakespeare's death
Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library.
Othello:Written in 1604
First published in 1623 as part of
First Folio
Major Characters
Duke of Venice
Othello: Moor, married to Desdona
Iago: Solider in Othello’s army
Cassio: Lieutenant in Othello’s
army
Desdemona: Othello’s wife
Emilia: Iago’s wife
Roderigo: Solider, loves
Desdemona
Othello:
Setting (time) · Late sixteenth
century, during the wars
between Venice and Turkey
Setting (place) · Venice in Act
I; the island of Cyprus
thereafter
Sources of Othello
•Shakespeare’s source is Cinthio but he
changed a few things:
•Iago is Shakespeare’s own invention
•Cinthio’s Ensign is Iago’s basis but:
•Ensign falls in love with Desdemona
•She shuns him in favor of Othello
•Ensign blames it all on Cassio
•Ensign beats Desdemona to death
Story of Othello
•Othello is a Moor in Venice, who has
attained success as a renowned
general and has married fair
Desdemona. Iago, his ancient, envies
him and resents the fact that Cassio
has been named Othello's lieutenant.
They are all sent to Cyprus to defend
the island from an attack that never
comes.
Story of Othello
•There, Iago plots against Othello,
cunningly making him believe that
Desdemona is having an affair with
Cassio.
Iago is constantly maneuvering other
characters and makes an ideal villain,
so clever and cynical, as well as close
to his victim.
•
Andres Becerra, Resident Scholar
Othello and his tragic flaws
•The only magic that Othello possesses is in
his power of language.
•His language shows his pride in his
achievements
•Othello portrays himself as a tested,
honorable warrior, and indeed is such.
Othello and his tragic flaws
•This view of himself will prove troublesome
when he is hard pressed to recognize his
jealousy and his lust
•His inability to reconcile himself with these two
aspects of his personality means that his
comeuppance is almost certain.
•Othello's lack of self-knowledge means that
he will be unable to stop himself once Iago
begins to ignite his jealousy
Othello and his tragic flaws
•There is no conscience in Othello
•Shakespeare had a tragic obcession with the idea of a
good name living on after the protagonist’s death:
•Horatio to discuss Hamlet
•Cassio to tell of Othello
•Tragedies, literary or human, depend on imperfect
knowledge
•Shakespeare came naturally to histories, comedies
and romances, but tragedies took work
•The tragedies especially are not religious in any
reguard
•No killer kills in the name of any god, ever
•War is the religion in Othello, Macbeth, Lear, and
Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt)
Themes in Othello
Appearance vs. reality: Especially relevant to
the issue of Iago's character; for although he is
called "honest" by almost everyone in the play,
he is treacherous, deceitful, and manipulative.
Also applies to Desdemona, as Othello
believes that she is deceitful and impure,
although she is really blameless and innocent.
Themes in Othello
Race: Race is an extremely important theme; it has a
great amount of influence on how people regard
Othello ‹for those who distrust black people merely on
looks never like Othello, like Iago. Race also
determines how Othello perceives himself as a rough
outsider, though he is nothing of the sort. Othello's
race sets him apart, and makes him very selfconscious; it makes him work hard and look carefully
after his reputation, so he is regarded as equal to the
white people that surround him.
.
Themes in Othello
Magic: Usually has something to do with Othello's
heritage. Othello is charged with using magic to woo
Desdemona, merely because he is black, and
therefore, "pagan." Yet, Othello does have real magic,
in the words he uses and the stories he tells. Magic
also reappears when Desdemona's handkerchief
cannot be found; Othello has too much trust in the
symbolism and charm of the handkerchief, which is
why the object is so significant to him.
Themes in Othello
Pride: Especially important with regards to Othello;
Othello is defensively proud of himself and his
achievements, and especially proud of the honorable
appearance he presents. The allegations of
Desdemona's affair hurt his pride even more than they
inflame his vanity and jealousy; he wants to appear
powerful, accomplished, and moral at every possible
instance, and when this is almost denied to him, his
wounded pride becomes especially powerful.
Themes in Othello
Honesty: Although the word "honest" is usually used
in an ironic way throughout the text, most characters in
the play go through a crisis of learning who and who
not to trust. Most of them, unfortunately, trust in Iago's
honesty; this leads to the downfall of many characters,
as this trust in Iago's "honesty" became a crucial
contributor to their undoing.
Themes in Othello
Order vs. chaos: As Othello begins to abandon
reason and language, chaos takes over. His world
begins to be ruled by chaotic emotions and very shady
allegations, with order pushed to one side. This chaos
rushes him into tragedy, and once Othello has sunk
into it, he is unable to stop his fate from taking him
over.
Self-knowledge: Othello's lack of self-knowledge
makes him easy prey for Iago. Once Iago inflames
Othello's jealousy and gets the darker aspects of
Othello's nature into action, there is nothing Othello
can do to stop it, since he cannot even admit that he
has these darker traits.
Themes in Othello
Misrepresentation: This also allows Iago to gain trust
and manipulate other people; misrepresentation
means that Iago is able to appear to be "honest," in
order to deceive and misdirect people. Othello also
misrepresents himself, as being simple and plainspoken; this is not for deceptive effect, but also is used
to present an image of himself which is not exactly the
truth.
Themes in Othello
Good vs. Evil: Though there is much gray area
between these two, Iago's battle against Othello and
Cassio certainly counts as an embodiment of this
theme. Iago and his evil battle to corrupt and turn the
flawed natures of other characters, and he does
succeed to some extent. By the end of the play, neither
has won, as Desdemona and Emilia are both dead,
and Iago revealed and punished.
Newer Versions of Othello