William Shakespare

a cura di J. Pignet e C. Aira
 
 A tragedy of jealousy, but not only. Venice has entrusted Othello, a professional soldier, with its security. But Othello is a Moor and, as a consequence, external to Venetian society.
 After marrying Desdemona, the Moor is convinced by Iago's machinations to kill his wife because of her presumed unfaithfulness.
 A tragedy of great passion in which the personality of the wicked character prevails: Iago, in fact, is one of the most complex and ambiguous figures of the shakespearean gallery of characters. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Il dramma della gelosia, ma non solo. Othello è un militare professionista su cui Venezia fa molto affidamento. È anche un Moro Africano, però, e quindi una figura estranea alla società veneziana. Dopo avere sposato Desdemona, Othello viene convinto dalle macchinazioni di Iago ad uccidere la moglie, perché ritenuta infedele.
 Tragedia di passioni dove spicca la personalità del "cattivo", Iago, una delle figure più complesse e ambigue della galleria di personaggi shakespeariani..

William Shakespeare

Chapter 1 – Resentful Hearts

Extension: Othello on the stage

Chapter 2 – My Lord, the Moor

Extension: Othello and the cinema

Chapter 3 – The Net for a Big Fly

Extension: Othello and music

Chapter 4 – A Perverse Plan

Extension: Venice and Othello on the canvas

Chapter 5 – Injecting Poison

Extension: Is the story original?

Chapter 6 – A Sacred Promise

Extension: Why Venice and Cyprus?

Chapter 7 – The Poison Works

Extension: The villain and his victims: who are they?

Chapter 8 – Richer than All His Tribe

Extension: Not only jealousy

Summing-up activities

Passages for acting

E X T E N S I O N OTHELLO ON THE STAGE The history of Othello on the stage is in part the history of the actors that have played this role. As the various productions have demonstrated, Iago is the starring1 character. Othello was first acted at court, in front of King James I, on 1st November 1604. Richard Burbage (1567-1619) performed the role of Othello. He was the leading actor in the King s Men Company, and the very man2 Shakespeare had in mind when he created the character. Probably Burbage, when he acted Paul Robeson. Othello, took inspiration from the illustrations of national costumes and races (1598) by the Italian artist Cesare Vecellio (1545-1611) and from the portraits3 of Moorish ambassadors to Queen Elizabeth. In the following centuries Othello was represented sometimes as a black man wearing a British army uniform, sometimes as a more domesticated4 Moor, with a large powdered5 wig6 and white gloves over a blackened7 skin. The most famous Othello of the 19th century was Edmund Kean (1789-1833 ), who stressed the oriental nature of Othello, portraying him as a  tawny8 Othello , not as a negro.The first black to play Othello was Ira Aldridge. A Maryland native, he was accepted on stage only in England and Germany in the 1830-1840s, but not in America. Paul Robeson, son of an ex slave9, gave Othello the characteristics of a noble warrior and was the first black American who starred in America. When as Othello he kissed Uta Hagen (Desdemona) in Broadway in 1943, it marked the first time a black actor had kissed a white actress on a major American stage. The most famous Othello on the stage in the 20th century was Laurence Olivier (1907-89), who played a dark, ferocious primitive Moor and said:  It s tremendously sexual because it s a black man.  This  Mediterranean tragedy  shows conflicts and prejudices which still exist today. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. starring: principale. the very man: proprio l uomo. portrait: ritratto. domesticated: incivilito. powdered: incipriato. 6. 7. 8. 9. 14 wig: parrucca. blacken: tinto di nero. tawny: dalla pelle scura. ex slave: un tempo schiavo. 

2  My Lord, the Moor Chapter BEFORE READING 1 Write one of the following verbs next to its correct explanation. shine   flash   wake   shout   protect a. b. c. d. e. 2 produce light: .................................................................................................................... defend: .................................................................................................................................. to produce light for a moment: .......................................................................... to stop sleeping: ............................................................................................................ What do you think Brabantio will do after he discovers that his daughter Desdemona has run away with the Moor? Tick (3) the suggestion/s you prefer. Brabantio will: c c c c 3 speak in a loud voice: .................................................................................................. disinherit his daughter. look for his daughter and pardon her. try to find his daughter and kill her. accuse the Moor of violence. Look at the picture on p. 17 and describe the girl you see in it. Follow the hints. The girl in the middle of the room is dressed in ..................................... . Her hair is ................................ . She is (physical description) ................................ . In her hand I can see ................................ . Piazza San Marco. 15 

Tragedia di passioni e gelosia. Othello, Moro Africano, manipolato da Iago, uccide la moglie. Shakespeare esplora l'oscurità umana.

Othello Collana RAINBOWS

Level A2 • Elementary - Collana RAINBOWS

Othello

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