10.1.2

Traditional

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Overview of Traditional Criticism

Othello has been reviewed by many critics, both negatively, positively and probingly.

__Rymer__

Rymer

  • Thomas Rymer (c.1641-1713) attacked the play for its use of Othello as a tragic hero and said that it was contrived because, unlike classical tragedies, it shifted its location (the conventional model was to have one location).
  • He felt that the play had an ‘improbable’ plot.
Racism

Racism

  • Rymer seemed to have a racist outlook because he could not conceive of how a Moorish or Black character could be a tragic hero.
  • Rymer also argued that one of the play’s morals was a warning ‘to all good wives that they look well to their men’.
  • Feminist Literary scholarship may have something to say about this, as examined below.
__Johnson__

Johnson

  • Samuel Johnson (1709-84) meanwhile, praised the play for its ‘aesthetic qualities’ showing that he much appreciated the poetry in the text.
  • He also admired the ‘cool malignity’ of Iago and saw the play as being very modern in its presentation of characterisation.
  • He also admired the swift movement of the action.
__Coleridge__

Coleridge

  • The critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) gave a series of lectures about Othello made between 1818-9.
  • Coleridge most admired Shakespeare’s creation of Roderigo as a ‘dupe’, but he contested the common interpretation of Othello as a Black sub-Saharan African.
  • Coleridge felt he should be truly presented as a Muslim North African, though admits that seemingly characters in the play are unable to make the distinction.
Motives and suspicion

Motives and suspicion

  • Coleridge famously also said that the search for Iago’s motive was ‘the motive-hunting of [a] motiveless Malignity’ and that, in fact, Iago was ‘a being next to a devil, but not quite a devil’.
  • Interestingly, Coleridge also said that the play was not really about ‘jealousy’ and that, in fact, it was about ‘suspicion’.

Overview of Traditional Performance

The first known performance of Othello occurred on 1 November 1604, at Whitehall Palace in London.

Alterations

Alterations

  • After the death of Shakespeare, many of his plays were altered and changed to fit tastes in successive centuries.
  • However, Othello is one of the few Shakespearean plays not to be adapted or changed during the Restoration and the eighteenth century.
Endurance

Endurance

  • History has shown that Othello is one of Shakespeare’s most enduring plays.
  • One of its core themes—the notion of jealousy—is so timeless, that this may well be the reason why it is still well-received today.
Jump to other topics
1

Context

1.1

Introduction

1.1.1Specifications
1.2

Background

1.2.1Shakespeare1.2.2Love1.2.3Tragedy1.2.4Historical Context
1.3

Othello

1.3.1Setting1.3.2Social Issues
2

Act One: Summaries & Themes

2.1

Act and Scene Summaries

2.1.1Structure2.1.2The Exam
2.2

Scene One

2.2.1Key Events2.2.2Key Themes2.2.3Key Ideas
2.3

Scene Two

2.3.1Key Events2.3.2Key Themes2.3.3Key Ideas
2.4

Scene Three

2.4.1Key Events2.4.2Key Events 22.4.3Key Themes2.4.4Key Ideas
3

Act Two: Summaries & Themes

3.1

Scene One & Two

3.1.1Scene One: Events3.1.2Key Events 23.1.3Key Ideas: Love & Tragedy3.1.4Scene Two: Events
3.2

Scene Three

3.2.1Key Events3.2.2Key Ideas
4

Act Three: Summaries & Themes

4.1

Key Events

4.1.1Scene One & Two4.1.2Scene Three4.1.3Scene Three: Key Ideas4.1.4Scene Four
5

Act Four

5.1

Scene One

5.1.1Key Events5.1.2Key Ideas
5.2

Scene Two

5.2.1Key Events5.2.2Key Ideas
5.3

Scene Three

5.3.1Key Events5.3.2Key Ideas
6

Act Five

6.1

Scene One

6.1.1Key Events6.1.2Key Ideas
6.2

Scene Two

6.2.1Key Events6.2.2Key Ideas
7

Character Profiles

7.1

Major Characters

7.1.1Othello7.1.2Iago7.1.3Desdemona7.1.4Emilia7.1.5Cassio
7.2

Minor Characters

7.2.1Roderigo & Brabantio7.2.2Other Characters
8

Key Themes

8.1

Love & Tragedy

8.1.1Love8.1.2Love 28.1.3Tragedy8.1.4Tragedy 2
8.2

Other Key Themes

8.2.1Public versus Private8.2.2Appearance & Reality
9

Writing Techniques

9.1

Writing Techniques

9.1.1Structure9.1.2Genre9.1.3Form & Language9.1.4Language & Imagery
10

Critical Debates

10.1

Criticism & Performance

10.1.1Shakespeare's Legacy10.1.2Traditional10.1.3Modern & Contemporary
10.2

Approaches

10.2.1Feminist Approach10.2.2Psychoanalytic Approach10.2.3Marxist Approach
11

Approaching AQA English Literature

11.1

Specification A

11.1.1Specification A11.1.2Love Through the Ages
11.2

Specification B

11.2.1Specification B11.2.2Aspects of Tragedy
12

Issues of Assessment

12.1

The Exams

12.1.1AOs12.1.2Mark Scheme

Practice questions on Traditional

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    How did __Samuel Johnson (1709-84)__ respond to _Othello_?True / false
  2. 2
    Which critic thought that _Othello_ was about __'suspicion'__ rather than __'jealousy'__?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    How did Coleridge think Othello should be presented?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    Which of these are true of _Othello_?True / false
  5. 5
    When, in particular, were many of Shakespeare's plays altered?Multiple choice
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Shakespeare's Legacy

Modern & Contemporary