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Cobbe Portrait of William Shakespeare
Tag Archives: drama
“All of them die: the noble ones and the villains; the level-headed ones and the madmen; the empiricists and the absolutists. All choices are bad.”
Othello Act Five, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ——————– Let’s start by finishing up with Jan Kott: “They talk about her even before she has appeared. They shout that she has run away with a Negro. Her image is already … Continue reading
“Then must you speak/Of one that loved not wisely but too well/Of one not easily jealous…”
Othello Act Five, Part One By Dennis Abrams Act Five: At Iago’s bidding, Roderigo attacks Cassio but only managed to wound him, and in the confusion that follows Iago stabs Roderigo to death. Othello, meanwhile, is about to kill the … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Five, Cassio, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, Hamlet, Iago, language, literature, one that loved not wisely but too well, Othello, othello and desdemona, renaissance humanism, Samuel Johnson, Shakespeare, tragedy, William Shakespeare, writing
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“The world’s history is just that of spiders and flies.”
Othello Act Four, Part Two By Dennis Abrams For today’s post, we’re going to be looking at Othello from two very different angles – contemporary and old school. First, from Polish avant-garde activist, critic, and theoretician, from his book Shakespeare … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Four, Desdemona, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, Iago, Iago and Othello, Jan Kott, King Lear, language, literature, Macbeth, Othello, othello and desdemona, renaissance humanism, Shakespeare, shakespearean tragedy, tragedy, William Shakespeare, writing
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“Lie with her? Lie on her?”
Othello Act Four, Part One By Dennis Abrams ———————- Act Four: Iago continues to fuel Othello’s growing jealousy, to the point where he collapses in a fit. When he recovers, Iago “arranges” for him to overhear a meeting with Cassio, … Continue reading
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Tagged A.C. Bradley, Act Four, Desdemona, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, Falstaff, Hamlet, Iago, language, literature, Othello, renaissance humanism, Shakespeare, Shakesperean tragedy, The Moor of Venice, tragedy, Venice, william hazlitt, William Shakespeare, writing
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“Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore,/Be sure of it; give me the ocular proof:”
Othello Act Three, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ————————– Othello persuades himself that he is acting rationally by demanding “some proof” of Desdemona’s infidelity, but he fails to take into account Iago’s skill at manipulation – or the mysterious workings … Continue reading
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Tagged absolute horror, Act Three, Cyprus, Desdemona, drama, Elizabethan theater, Falstaff, Hamlet, Henry IV, holy writ, Iago, jealousy, language, literature, Othello, politics, religion, renaissance humanism, Shakespeare, temptation scene, The Moor of Venice, torture, tragedy, Venice, waterboarding, William Shakespeare, writing
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“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!/It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/The meat it feeds on.”
Othello Act Three, Part One By Dennis Abrams ———————————- Act Three: When Desdemona intervenes on Cassio’s behalf, Iago suggests to Othello that she is doing so for reasons that go beyond mere friendship. Othello is resistant to Iago’s suggestion at … Continue reading
“Desdemona and Othello, alas, scarcely know each other, and sexually do not know each other at all.”
Othello Act Two, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————————— To continue on where we left off in my last post with Bloom: “Iago derides Othello’s ‘weak function’; that seems more a hint of Iago’s impotence than of Othello’s, and yet … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Two, Cassio, Cyprus, Desdemona, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, Iago, jealousy, language, literature, love, Moor of Venice, Othello, renaissance humanism, Roderigo, Shakespeare, tragedy, Venice, war, William Shakespeare, writing
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“So will I turn her virtue into pitch,/And out of her goodness make the net/That shall enmesh them all.”
Othello Act Two, Part One By Dennis Abrams ——————— Act Two: Though battered by storms, the Venetians, led by Othello, arrive safely in Cyprus to the news that the Turkish threat has been eliminated. Roderigo is also on Cyprus, and … Continue reading
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Tagged Act Two, Cassio, Cyprus, Desdemona, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, Hamlet, Iago, jealousy, language, literature, Othello, othello desdemona, politics, renaissance humanism, Roderigo, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Shakespeare, tragedy, turkish fleet, turkish threat, Turks, Venice, William Shakespeare, writing
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“Othello’s tragedy is precisely that Iago should know him better than the Moor knows himself.”
Othello Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ——————————————— First off – a few interesting points (or at least hopefully so): 1. What prompted Shakespeare to write Othello? One intriguing possibility is that the ambassador of the King of Barbary … Continue reading
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Tagged act one, Brabantio, Cassio, Cyprus, Desdemona, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, entertainment, Iago, jealousy, language, literature, lust, marriage, Othello, Othello music, politics, racism, renaissance humanism, Roderigo, sex, Shakespeare, society, tragedy, Venice, war, William Shakespeare, witchcraft
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“I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.”
Othello Act One By Dennis Abrams ———————————– MAJOR CHARACTERS Othello, a black soldier, the “Moor” of Venice Desdemona, Othello’s new wife Michael Cassio, Othello’s lieutenant Bianca, a courtesan in love with Cassio Iago, Othello’s ensign (a lower-ranking officer) Emilia, Iago’s … Continue reading
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Tagged act one, beast with two backs, blackamoor, Cassio, Desdemona, drama, Elizabethan theater, Elizabethan tragedy, Hamlet, Iago, jealousy, king henry iv, language, literature, Moor, Moor of Venice, Othello, politics, renaissance humanism, Roderigo, Shakespeare, tragedy, Venice, William Shakespeare, writing
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