After crossing a stormy sea, Cassio, Desdemona, Iago, Emilia, and Roderigo arrive in Cyprus. Cassio shows what a 'ladies' man' he is, and Iago plans to use that against him. Othello arrives, has a joyful reunion with Desdemona, and announces that the threat from the Turkish fleet has been blown away by the storm. Iago persuades Roderigo that Desdemona is in love with Cassio and that therefore Cassio must be made to lose his lieutenancy. In a soliloquy, Iago again explains his motives and plans.
Shakespeare Navigator Summary (Act II, scene i):
http://shakespeare-navigators.com/othello/S11.html
No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare's language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English—the kind of English people actually speak today.
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/othello/
2.1 Dramatic Reading of Shakesepeare's Othello
By Dr. Greg Martin
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/9332179
2.1 Explanation of Shakespeare's Othello
By Dr. Greg Martin
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/9044939
GO!
http://shakespeare-navigators.com/othello/S11.html
No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare's language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English—the kind of English people actually speak today.
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/othello/
2.1 Dramatic Reading of Shakesepeare's Othello
By Dr. Greg Martin
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/9332179
2.1 Explanation of Shakespeare's Othello
By Dr. Greg Martin
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/9044939
GO!
- Look at the two images below. Quickly note down any associations they bring to mind:
KNOW
SHOW
SETTING
Venice is left behind, and the action of the play shifts to Cyprus. This change of setting has important consequences for the events that follow. Venice, in Shakespeare's presentation, is the classically ordered city, ruled by law and reasoned government. Iago's attempts to stir up trouble for Othello in Venice fail because Brabantio's grievances are not immediately acted on, but rather judged in a court of law that weighs evidence and pronounces judgment. As Brabantio himself says when he first hears Roderigo and Iago's clamor: "what tell'st thou me of robbing? This is Venice; / My house is not a grange" (I.i.102-3). This is Venice, in other words, where chaos has no place.
Cyprus, by contrast, is not nearly so secure. It is an outpost of the city, vulnerable to assault, and surrounded by ocean, where the only authority is invested in Othello. It is also a place where, in classical mythology, Aphrodite (the goddess of love) was first carried ashore. Indeed, Cassio's greeting to Desdemona, when he says "the riches of the ship is come ashore... hail to thee lady!" (II.i.83-85) seems to invoke this image of the goddess of love making a landing. The rest of the play sees the steady encroachment of these forces--the civil disorder of an outpost community, and the power of Aphrodite, manifested in Othello's jealousy--on attempts to maintain order. Iago could not use the forces of lawlessness and riot in Venice, but in Cyprus his power can be unleashed. The subsequent brawls in the streets of the city, and the chaos to which Othello's inner life is reduced, reflect how easily Iago exploits the vulnerabilities of the island outpost.
http://www.theatredance.com/othello/comments.html
- Find at least one reference to Venice and one reference to Cyprus that have already been made in the play.
- Note down the relevant quotations
- After considering the quotations selected, what relevance might the different settings have for the action of the play?
- Can you add any historical knowledge regarding the significance of Shakespeare using Venice and Cyprus as settings for the play?
SHOW
SETTING
Venice is left behind, and the action of the play shifts to Cyprus. This change of setting has important consequences for the events that follow. Venice, in Shakespeare's presentation, is the classically ordered city, ruled by law and reasoned government. Iago's attempts to stir up trouble for Othello in Venice fail because Brabantio's grievances are not immediately acted on, but rather judged in a court of law that weighs evidence and pronounces judgment. As Brabantio himself says when he first hears Roderigo and Iago's clamor: "what tell'st thou me of robbing? This is Venice; / My house is not a grange" (I.i.102-3). This is Venice, in other words, where chaos has no place.
Cyprus, by contrast, is not nearly so secure. It is an outpost of the city, vulnerable to assault, and surrounded by ocean, where the only authority is invested in Othello. It is also a place where, in classical mythology, Aphrodite (the goddess of love) was first carried ashore. Indeed, Cassio's greeting to Desdemona, when he says "the riches of the ship is come ashore... hail to thee lady!" (II.i.83-85) seems to invoke this image of the goddess of love making a landing. The rest of the play sees the steady encroachment of these forces--the civil disorder of an outpost community, and the power of Aphrodite, manifested in Othello's jealousy--on attempts to maintain order. Iago could not use the forces of lawlessness and riot in Venice, but in Cyprus his power can be unleashed. The subsequent brawls in the streets of the city, and the chaos to which Othello's inner life is reduced, reflect how easily Iago exploits the vulnerabilities of the island outpost.
http://www.theatredance.com/othello/comments.html
In 1604, when Othello's first recorded performance took place, the Ottoman realm stretched from Arabia to Egypt to Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) to the Crimea to Hungary. The Turks and their vassal states surrounded the Black Sea, and their vassal states covered the south coast of the Mediterranean -- Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli (modern Libya). Only the defeat dealt at Lepanto had kept the Turks from dominating the Mediterranean, and even so, their armies were formidable. They imported 20,000 Russian and African slaves annually for the army. Their "toll of boys" required that every fifth Christian boy be surrendered to the elite "janissaries," a corps of Christian children brought up as slaves to become fanatical Moslem warriors. Any production of Othello must be aware that the Turks were the terror of Europe.
SHARE
Reading/Performing and annotation: Act II.i
PAIR
Reading/Performing and annotation: Act II.i
PAIR
- Read the excerpt from 'Othello: A Contextual History' [ http://books.google.it/books?id=fepct4EClZQC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=cyprus+othello&source=bl&ots=aAQCB-gscP&sig=DtApouSB1H58yXyaAeuYJqcvUwA&hl=it&sa=X&ei=6Y9pULXZFrP34QTrooDIDA&ved=0CDEQuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=cyprus%20othello&f=false ]
- Using the essay to help you, create a table like the one below and complete it, in order to compare and contrast the significance of each setting to the play:
VENICEE.g.
|
CYPRUSE.g.
|
PERFECT
How does the contrast between the two settings of Venice and Cyprus relate to, or perhaps are mirrored by, the figure of Othello?
REFLECT
https://www.google.it/search?tbm=bks&hl=it&q=jacobean+perspective&btnG=#hl=it&tbs=bkv:p&tbm=bks&sclient=psy-ab&q=othello+jacobean+perspective&oq=othello+jacobean+perspective&gs_l=serp.3...22958.24380.0.24711.8.8.0.0.0.0.136.1018.0j8.8.0...0.0...1c.1.RmZagENuv74&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=e661da7985eae1cf&biw=1440&bih=809
How does the contrast between the two settings of Venice and Cyprus relate to, or perhaps are mirrored by, the figure of Othello?
REFLECT
- Why do you think Shakespeare chose Venice and Cyprus as settings for the play?
- After conducting some appropriate research* , how do you think the use of these settings reflect Jacobean views?
- Post your ideas on the forum below:
https://www.google.it/search?tbm=bks&hl=it&q=jacobean+perspective&btnG=#hl=it&tbs=bkv:p&tbm=bks&sclient=psy-ab&q=othello+jacobean+perspective&oq=othello+jacobean+perspective&gs_l=serp.3...22958.24380.0.24711.8.8.0.0.0.0.136.1018.0j8.8.0...0.0...1c.1.RmZagENuv74&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=e661da7985eae1cf&biw=1440&bih=809