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 VENICE AND OTHELLO ON CANVAS 1 Venice was well known to the English as an important naval power in the Mediterranean and as an international port. During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I the connections with Italian culture were very close2: Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio were familiar names with English Renaissance3 intellectuals as well as Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raffaello. It was also possible to visualize and imagine aspects of Italian life and typical landscapes4 through paintings and engravings5. The Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio (Venice, 1460/65-1525/26) illustrated Venetian life during the early Renaissance in an incomparable manner. In fact his paintings are rich in landscape details and full of characters in the sumptuous clothes6 of the period. 4. landscape: paesaggio. 5. engraving: incisione. 6. clothes: abiti. 1. canvas: tela. 2. close: stretto. 3. Renaissance: Rinascimento. Carpaccio, Campo San Vidal. 36 

Carpaccio was appreciated in England for the typically Venetian settings7 that he painted and for the special atmosphere that he created with light. He was also known because two of his cycles of narrative paintings described English saints: St. Ursula and St. George. Another painter that later made Venice known all over8 Europe was Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal   Venice, 1697-1768). Very famous in England, he produced entire series of views9 of Venice and of the Venetian mainland10 for his English patrons. For a time he also lived in England where he painted detailed views of London and of various country houses. Not only Venice has been the subject of famous canvas works, but also Shakespeare s tragedies have inspired a number of artists. Unfortunately Othello has not been very popular with painters and engravers, because the protagonist was black and because the theme was jealousy caused by an illicit sexual relationship11, even if imagined. 7. setting: ambientazione. 8. all over: in tutto. 9. view: vista, panorama. 10. mainland: terraferma. 11. relationship: rapporto. Canaletto, St. Mark docks. 37 

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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