Othello by William Shakespeare - Literary Sociological Criticism - Research Paper Example

"Othello by William Shakespeare" Literally Sociological Criticism In the play Othello, William Shakespeare compares one society to his own highlighting prominently the differences between the two politically and in a creative manner. Shakespeare, using the play, illustrates his ability to appreciate and portray different forms of political entities without neglecting the issues of personal subjectivity and relationships in certain specific contexts. He applies sociological imagination in coming up with the captivating play while at the same time making reference to the autocratic government of his time. Through Othello, the renowned author represents the republican culture in its true nature contrasting it with the autocratic culture that he was used to. Instead of using a Renaissance court or feudal monarchy in the play, Shakespeare chooses to represent an Italian state or city (Venice) in survival in spite of Habsburg domination of most of the peninsula. Venice, in fact, offered a stable and practical alternative to the enduring monarchial order that existed during Shakespeare’s time according to Shaul and Laura (29). The institutions that are in place in Venice in some ways shape the people’s personal experiences and relationships. They also inform and complicate how the cultural exchange process develops. The play also focuses on how women are treated in the other culture. In spite of other authors’ unfavorable representation of Venice, in their literary works, Shakespeare presents the place positively thereby exploring the high points of a republican culture. It may be noted that the author also expresses sympathy to Essex and Sydney for their political interests. Shakespeare does this having had an experience of the two places and connects well with the establishments. Those belonging to the aristocratic circles had an interest in Venetian republic’s mixed government. If fact, being protestants, they approved fervent opposition to the authoritarian nature of counter-reformation (Matheson par 4). The incidental vitality of Venice’s governmental structure is indispensable in generating the drama that comes to play. In fact, it influences each and every personal relationship that is seen in the play. In the first act, a compelling portrayal of the city’s culture and political establishment is evident in several ways. A more republican discourse is used in Othello possibly owing to Shakespeare’s intervening work with the republicanism characteristic of Rome as portrayed in Julius Caesar. Instead of simple magnificoes, Shakespeare features Senators in Othello. Cassio is compared to togaed consuls who evidently have almost no military experience. Yet again, in reference to members of the Venetian council at the time, the author features Iago. This fact is brought to light in Act in the case where Cassio applies the term “consuls” which is characteristically republican to refer to senators in a meeting with the Duke. The words spoken by Iago give a glance of Rome although they may also be assumed to refer to Venetian practice. The Venetian council members were known not to have military pretensions. One character that is greatly shaped by the institutions of Venice is Desdemona. Partly, this influence is traditional considering that the household of Brabanzio typically functions based on the patriarchal model. Although his leadership is mainly benign, his spontaneous lamentation over Desdemona’s actions and elopement with Othello reveals a political idiom. After the elopement, he says, I” am glad at soul I have no other child, For thy escape would teach me tyranny, To hang clogs on em” (Shakespeare 195). In Act 1, Brabanzio communicates to his family members with a language that has nothing short of fatherly ownership. He speaks with the kind of intensity that frightens and has managed to instill obedience in his daughter Desdemona. However, the father’s absolute regime in the family setup is quite in contrast with the state government which is founded on consultation and debate. Back at home, the older political model is at play, the head of the family naturally being unquestionable. In the larger sense, the participants in the res publica model include the citizens as opposed to subjects, state activities being done with a view on equality. At one point, Brabanzio inquires of his daughter, Desdemona, where she owes obedience most. The girl responds by stating that she owes respect to her father. This response represents a shift in culture from the father’s expectation of the family. The girl’s choice of word (respect) indicates partly the level to which she has been shaped by Venice’s relatively liberal institutions. In fact, the word is so some extent specific to the republican world. In this sense, it characterizes the nature of relations that exist between council members. As such, the government has made Desdemona privy to alternatives to the doctrine of obedience without question. Brabanzio’s problem is in respect of the fact that the economic and political progression of life in Venice works below his conservative ideas in regard to paternal relations and gender. Shakespeare wide representation of the political life in Venetia reinforces Desdemona’s capacity for independent thinking and action more practical. The author hence portrays Desdemona’s self confidence partly as a result of the progression that is being witnessed in the Venetian culture as portrayed in the play. As an outsider, Othello comes to the city and finds the government’s principles favorable in that merit is favored far above family ties and other less worthy evaluation factors. Racism is also quite evident in the play and is openly portrayed at the beginning of the play. The mention of the word “statesman” by Brabanzio when demanding the hearing of a case at night reminds the audience of the Italian city-state being basically republican oriented. The author furthermore depicts the limits of participation by commons in the modern republican government. Brabanzio’s negative references to Othello’ slavery and conversion to Christianity show how many cultures view the outsider in terms of black and white. Shakespeare indeed makes references to races in various occasions using the terms white and black, and giving them different detonations. In this respect, Doris (34) notes that “The terms black and white have been complex and confusion since the beginning of language, and Shakespeare seem to have fully exploited their complexity within Othello”. . These references however help Othello to live beyond the stereotypical images that people create about his cultural background. In essence, Othello emerges as a most conservative character in the play. This is a fact considering how the author portrays his conservative nature as a sensible person as derived from his interactions with Venice’s institutions. Shakespeare reveals to what extent he has a relationship with the monarchial tradition through Othello according to Potter (67). Othello uses a language that tends to assure obscurity the economic relationship he enjoys with the state. This relationship is defined by Iago when he mentions the war trade. Othello has a relationship with the state that is defined in terms of religious devotion and duty to the state. Generally, Shakespeare had a militant and revolutionary perspective against feudal institutions and governments according to Smirnov (par 40). No wonder he mentions feuds and military organizations in his play. In his view, the highest authority rested with the absolute monarchy. Through the play, Shakespeare seeks to challenge the powers that be and his audience of the need for change. The republican system, in his view is better than the more traditional monarchical rule that in many cases ends up being autocratic. Beyond doubt, Othello is susceptible to exploitation in Venice as realized by Iago. Shakespeare makes this clear by pointing out Iago’s role in the Venetian army with its rigid structures and command chain. The army in this case is portrayed as a community that is envisioned by the ideas of the modern monarchy. With the use of Cassio as a character, Shakespeare analyses the male identity in the army as they depend on hierarchical relations and positions. Conclusion The play Othello makes a lot of references to the occurrences that took place during the life of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare in the book makes mention of the racial prejudices that none Europeans were subjected to for example in Europe. He also mentions the aristocratic government that was characteristic of the Monarchial rule in Europe. The interplay of cultures is also a subject of focus in the play. When various cultures meet, there emerge several differences between them and the unfavorable qualities such as treachery and barbarism are replaced over time. Shakespeare uses the imaginary land of Venice, its culture, political institutions and perspectives on gender and race to critique the ideals of his time regarding the same. Shakespeare’s interest in various social organizations forms the basis upon which Othello is written. The author seeks in essence to bring out the tension that exists between republicanism and monarchy. No wonder the author uses language that is punctuated with political significance and nuance. He tries to represent the life of a non-European in Venice and how a woman’s life is impacted by her experiences in the city as informed by the interaction of various cultures. Shakespeare cleverly endorses ideological perspectives that do not fall in the gambit of the patriarchal and monarchical frameworks. As such the play tells a lot in terms of the republican society as compared to the monarchical and patriarchal ones. The author relates the play to his society indirectly by focusing on what happens in another (imaginary) society. Works Cited Doris Adler, "The Rhetoric of Black and White in Othello" Shakespeare Quarterly, 25 (1974) Matheson, Mark. Venetian Culture and the Politics of Othello. University of Utah. Nd. 1 December, 2011. Web. http://www.enotes.com/othello-criticism/venetian-culture-and-politics-othello Potter, Lois. Othello:Shakespeare in performance. Manchester University Press. 2002. Print. Shakespeare, William. Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. Bantam Books. 1988. Print. Shaul Bassi & Laura Tosi. Visions of Venice in Shakespeare. Ashgate Publishing. Ltd. 2011. Smirnov, Aleksandr. Shakespeare: A Marxist Interpretation. Nd. 1 December, 2011. Web. http://www.marxists.org/subject/art/lit_crit/works/shakes.htm Matheson, Mark. Venetian Culture and the Politics of Othello. University of Utah. Nd. 1 December, 2011. Web. http://www.enotes.com/othello-criticism/venetian-culture-and-politics-othello Paraphrase 1 The play is itself the product of cultural exchange, and Shakespeares imaginative sensitivity to the ways of a different society generates political energies in the text which carry it beyond the ideological boundaries of official English culture. Shakespeares more favourable representation of Venice may suggest an imaginative willingness to explore the strengths of a republican culture, and may also reflect a sympathy with the political interests of the Sidney and Essex circles, with which of course he had some connection. Members of these aristocratic circles were interested in the mixed government of the Venetian republic, and as Protestants they approved of its steadfast opposition to the authoritarianism of the Counter-Reformation. Some took a specific interest in the work of Lewkenor, who in his address to the reader describes the Venetian state as comprising monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic elements. The prince has all exterior ornamentes of royall dignitie but is nevertheless wholy subiected to the lawes; the Corniceli of Pregati or Senators is invested with great authority but has no power, mean, or possibility at all to tyranize; and a Democrasie or popular estate is evident in the existence of a great councell, consisting at least of 3000. Gentlemen, whereupon the highest strength and mightinesse of the estate absolutely relyeth.4 Lewkenors adverb in this final clause demonstrates how terms usually associated with monarchy could slip from their ordinary usage in descriptions of a state with a mixed constitution, and his account is an example of how cultural exchange could destabilize and enrich conventional English political discourse. There is unquestionably a degree of idealization in Lewkenors discussion of Venice, just as there is in the text of Contarini, but the enthusiasm he reveals is itself suggestive of the political interest the city was generating in England at the end of the sixteenth century. Paraphrase 2 Smirnov, Aleksandr. Shakespeare: A Marxist Interpretation. Nd. 1 December, 2011. Web. http://www.marxists.org/subject/art/lit_crit/works/shakes.htm Is this not equally applicable to the literary scene? It is impossible, purely on the basis of the aristocratic nature of his characterizations and subject-matter to draw the conclusion that Shakespeare was the ideologist of the new nobility which was fast acquiring bourgeois trappings. On the contrary, Shakespeare was strongly opposed to the attempt on the part of this new nobility to appropriate the fruits of primary accumulation and to monopolize all culture. However, Shakespeare found subject-matter and imagery of a feudal character to be a convenient form for the following reasons: the traditional dramatic plots, the blending of nobility and bourgeoisie, the avoidance of middle-class limitations. Since the substance was completely bourgeois, through contact with the "new" content, the form was materially changed. Direct Quote 1 Shakespeare, William. Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. Bantam Books. 1988. Print. Barbantio: " o heaven ! How got she out? O treason of the blood! Fathers, from hence trust not your daughters minds By what you see them act.-- Is there not charms by which the property of youth and maidhood may be abused? Have you not read, Roderigo, Of some such thing?" Direct Quote 2 Doris Adler, "The Rhetoric of Black and White in Othello" Shakespeare Quarterly, 25 (1974) Summary 1 Shaul Bassi & Laura Tosi. Visions of Venice in Shakespeare. Ashgate Publishing. Ltd. 2011. Summary 2 Potter, Lois. Othello:Shakespeare in performance. Manchester University Press. 2002. Print. Read More