The value of a great text is its ability to speak to responders of different times and places. Is this true with Shakespeare's "Othello?" Discuss this with reference to at least two texts. .
Response.
William Shakespeare's "Othello" has the ability to speak to responders of different times and places as they all share different perspectives, including feminism, gay, lesbian and queer, which makes it such a "great text." Shakespeare reflects Elizabethan contexts and values whilst depicting a tragedy instigated by jealousy and mistrust. Geoffrey Sax's representation of "Othello," a film directed in 2001 focuses on the role of women after the feminist movement, being set in modern London fuelled by racial hate. The interpretation of Othello through film by Oliver Parker in 1995, conjugates the theme of homosexuality, reflective of his own context in the late 20th century, despite being set in the Elizabethan era. Thus in examining these different interpretations, the varying portrayals that mirror the composer's context reinforce why Shakespeare's "Othello" is such a great text.
Shakespeare's "Othello" depicts the Elizabethan culture, illustrating how women were oppressed during those times and marginalised in society. Men viewed females as property, illustrated in the opening scene where Brabantio describes that he has been 'robb(ed)' when he realises that his daughter Desdemona has run off with Othello, exclaiming that she has been 'stol'n from me.' The roles of a woman during the 1600s was to follow her husband or father's commanding orders ( 'I am obedient') and were often caught between their own desires and the dominating male's demands. Wives were seen by their husbands as 'nothing, but (only) to please his fantas(ies),' treated as 'maids' and to be present just to 'pleasure' them, constantly telling him to 'come away to bed.' Many derogatory terms are aimed towards women throughout the play, describing them as 'impudent strumpet(s)'and 'cunning whore(s) of Venice.
